CHAPTER 3: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TRUE/FALSE
1. Bechtel was selected to run the project of restoring Kuwait's oil fields in the 1990's even though the firm's competitive advantage was in supply chain management and logistics. False (Global company profile, easy) One phase of a large project is scheduling. True (The importance of project management, easy) ! project organi"ation wor#s $est for an organi"ation when the project resides in only one of its functional areas. False (Project planning, moderate) By their very nature& projects have a limited lifetime& and that sets project management apart from the management of more traditional activities. True (Project planning, moderate) One responsi$ility of a project manager is to ma#e sure that the project meets its (uality goals. True (Project planning, moderate) *or# Brea#down +tructure is a useful tool in project management $ecause it addresses the timing of individual wor# elements. False (Project planning, moderate) -roject managers have their own code of ethics& esta$lished $y the -roject .anagement /nstitute. True (Ethical issues faced in project management, moderate) 1thical issues which can arise in projects include $id rigging& $ri$ery& and 2low $alling.2 True (Ethical issues faced in project management, easy) 3antt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities& $ut do not ade(uately show the interrelationships of activities. True (Project scheduling, moderate) -145& $ut not 6-.& has the a$ility to consider the precedence relationships in a project. False (Project scheduling, moderate) 5he shortest of all paths through the networ# is the critical path. False (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he fundamental difference $etween -145 and 6-. is that -145 uses the $eta distri$ution for crashing projects while 6-. uses cost estimates. False (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) +lac# is the amount of time an activity can $e delayed without delaying the entire project. True (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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10. 11. 12.

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1very networ# has at least one critical path. True (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he critical path can $e determined $y use of either the 2forward pass2 or the 2$ac#ward pass.2 False (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he -145 pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will re(uire. False (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy) 5he standard deviation of project duration is the average of the standard deviation of all activities on the critical path. False (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) /n -145 analysis& the identification of the critical path can $e incorrect if a noncritical activity ta#es su$stantially more than its e7pected time. True (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) +hortening the project's duration $y deleting unnecessary activities is called 2project crashing.2 False (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) /n project management& crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the networ#. True (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate)

10.

19. 20.

MULTIPLE CHOICE
21. *hich of the following statements regarding Bechtel is true8 a. /ts competitive advantage is project management. $. 5he project of restoring Kuwait's oil fields was dominated $y logistical issues. c. 5he Kuwaiti oil field restoration used the port of 9u$ai as a central transshipment point. d. Bechtel's procurement program is glo$al in nature. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. e (Global company profile, moderate) *hich of the following statements a$out Bechtel is true8 a. 1ven though Bechtel is over 100 years old& the Kuwaiti oil fields was its first 2project.2 $. Bechtel is the world's premier manager of massive construction and engineering projects. c. Bechtel's competitive advantage is supply chain management. d. *hile its projects are worldwide& its networ# of suppliers is largely in the :.+. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. b (Global company profile, moderate) 5he phases of project management are a. planning& scheduling& and controlling $. planning& programming& and $udgeting c. planning& organi"ing& staffing& leading& and controlling d. different for manufacturing projects than for service projects e. 3!;55& 6-.& and -145 a (The importance of project management, easy)

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! project organi$ation a. is effective for companies with multiple large projects $. is appropriate only in construction firms c. often fails when the project cuts across organi"ational lines d. is formed to ensure that programs <projects= get proper management and attention e. a and d are $oth true e (Project planning, moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding project management is false8 a. 3antt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities& $ut do not ade(uately show the interrelationships of activities. $. ! project organi"ation wor#s $est for a project that is temporary $ut critical to the organi"ation. c. -roject organi"ation wor#s well when the wor# contains simple& independent tas#s. d. 3antt charts and -145>6-. are never used together. e. ;one of the a$ove is true. c (Project planning, moderate) ! code of ethics especially for project managers a. has $een esta$lished $y the -roject .anagement /nstitute $. has $een formulated $y the ?ederal government c. has $een formulated $y the *orld 5rade Organi"ation d. is inappropriate& since everyone should use the same guidance on ethical issues e. does not e7ist at this time a (Project planning, moderate) 9ivulging information to some $idders on a project to give them an unfair advantage a. is the same thing as altering a status report $. is $ri$ery c. is permitted $y ;!?5! d. is #nown as $id rigging e. is accepta$le for private corporations $ut not for government agencies d (Project planning, moderate) 1thical issues that may arise in projects large and small include a. $id rigging $. e7pense account padding c. compromised safety or health standards d. $ri$ery e. !ll of the a$ove are true. e (Project planning, easy) *hich of the following statements regarding 3antt charts is true8 a. 3antt charts give a timeline and precedence relationships for each activity of a project. $. 3antt charts use the four standard spines of .ethods& .aterials& .anpower& and .achinery. c. 3antt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project. d. 3antt charts are e7pensive. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. c (Project scheduling, moderate)

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*hich of the following statements regarding critical paths is true8 a. 5he shortest of all paths through the networ# is the critical path. $. +ome activities on the critical path may have slac#. c. 1very networ# has e7actly one critical path. d. On a specific project& there can $e multiple critical paths& all with e7actly the same duration. e. 5he duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project networ#. d <Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding 6-. is true8 a. 5he critical path is the shortest of all paths through the networ#. $. 5he critical path is that set of activities that has positive slac#. c. +ome networ#s have no critical path. d. !ll activities on the critical path have their @+ e(ual their predecessor's 1?. e. !ll of the a$ove are false. d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) ! simple 6-. networ# has three activities& !& B& and 6. ! is an immediate predecessor of B and of 6. B is an immediate predecessor of 6. 5he activity durations are !A%& BA & 6A0. a. 5he critical path is !BBB6& duration 1'. $. 5he critical path is !B6& duration 12. c. 5he critical path is !BBB6& duration 1 .' d. 5he critical path cannot $e determined without #nowing -145 e7pected activity times. e. 5he networ# has no critical path. a (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) ! simple 6-. networ# has three activities& 9& 1& and ?. 9 is an immediate predecessor of 1 and of ?. 1 is an immediate predecessor of ?. 5he activity durations are 9A%& 1A & ?A0. a. 5he critical path is 9B1B?& duration 1'. $. 5he critical path is 9B?& duration 12. c. +lac# at 9 is units d. +lac# at 1 is units e. Both a and c are true a (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) ! simple 6-. networ# has five activities& !& B& 6& 9& and 1. ! is an immediate predecessor of 6 and of 9. B is also an immediate predecessor of 6 and of 9. 6 and 9 are $oth immediate predecessors of 1. a. 5here are two paths in this networ#. $. 5here are four paths in this networ#. c. 5here are five paths in this networ#. d. 5here are 2' paths through this networ#. e. ;one of these statements is true. b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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!ctivity 9 on a 6-. networ# has predecessors B and 6& and has successor ?. 9 has duration ). B's earliest finish is 10& while 6's is 20. ?'s late start is 2). *hich of the following is true8 a. B is a critical activity. $. 6 is completed $efore B. c. 9 has no slac# $ut is not critical. d. 9 is critical& and has "ero slac#. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) *hich of the following statements regarding 6-. networ#s is true8 a. 5here can $e multiple critical paths on the same project& all with different durations. $. 5he early finish of an activity is the latest early start of all preceding activities. c. 5he late start of an activity is its late finish plus its duration. d. /f a specific project has multiple critical paths& all of them will have the same duration. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) !ctivity . on a 6-. networ# has predecessors ; and 4& and has successor +. . has duration '. ;'s late finish is 10& while 4's is 20. +'s late start is 1%. *hich of the following is true8 a. . is critical and has "ero slac#. $. . has no slac# $ut is not critical. c. 5he last start time of + is impossi$le. d. ; is a critical activity. e. + is a critical activity. c (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) *hich of the following statements concerning 6-. activities is false8 a. 5he early finish of an activity is the early start of that activity plus its duration. $. 5he late finish is the earliest of the late start times of all successor activities. c. 5he late start of an activity is its late finish less its duration. d. 5he late finish of an activity is the earliest late start of all preceding activities. e. 5he early start of an activity is the latest early finish of all preceding activities. d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) 5he time an activity will ta#e assuming very unfavora$le conditions is a. the optimistic time $. the pessimistic time c. the activity variance d. the minimum time e. e7actly twice as long as the e7pected time b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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5he critical path for the networ# activities shown $elow is CCCCC with duration CCCCCC. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 9uration % 2 , % ' /mmediate -redecessors BBB ! BB ! B&6&9

a. !BBB9D 10 $. !BBB1D 11 c. 6B1D 12 d. !B9B1D 1 e. !BBB6B9B1D 22 d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) %1. 5he critical path for the networ# activities shown $elow is CCCCC with duration CCCCCC. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 9uration 2 % ) 1 2 /mmediate -redecessors BB BB !&B !&B B&6&9

a. !B9B1D ' $. BB1D ) c. BB9B1D , d. !B6B1D 10 e. BB6B1D 12 e (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) %2. 5he CCCCC distri$ution is used $y -145 analysis to calculate e7pected activity times and variances. a. ;ormal $. Beta c. !lpha d. 3aussian e. Binomial b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy)

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5he e7pected activity time in -145 analysis is calculated as a. the simple average of the optimistic& pessimistic& and most li#ely times $. the weighted average of a& m& and b& with m weighted % times as heavily as a and b c. the sum of the optimistic& pessimistic& and most li#ely times d. the sum of the optimistic& pessimistic& and most li#ely times& divided $y si7 e. the sum of the activity variances& divided $y si7 b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he critical path for the networ# activities shown $elow is CCCCC with duration CCCCCC. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 9uration 10 0 2 % ' /mmediate -redecessors BBB BBB ! ! B&6

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a. !B6D 12 $. !B9B1D 19 c. BB1D 1 d. !BBB6B9B1D 29 e. none of the a$ove b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) %'. *hich of the following statements regarding -145 times is true8 a. 5he optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will re(uire. $. 5he optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the ma7imum time an activity will re(uire. c. 5he pro$a$le time estimate is calculated as t A <a E %m E $=. d. -essimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will re(uire. e. .ost li#ely time estimate is an estimate of the ma7imum time an activity will re(uire. a <Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding -145 times is true8 a. 17pected time is an estimate of the time an activity will re(uire if everything goes as planned. $. 5he optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the ma7imum time an activity will re(uire. c. 5he pro$a$le time estimate is calculated as t A <a E %m E $=>). d. -essimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will re(uire. e. .ost li#ely time estimate is an estimate of the ma7imum time an activity will re(uire. c (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he Beta distri$ution is used in project management to a. calculate slac# on activities not on the critical path $. calculate the pro$a$ility that a project will $e completed within its $udget c. calculate pessimistic and optimistic activity times d. determine which activity should $e crashed e. none of the a$ove e (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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5he Beta distri$ution is used in project management to a. determine which activity should $e crashed $. calculate the pro$a$ility that a project will $e completed within its $udget c. calculate e7pected activity times d. calculate slac# for activities on the critical path e. none of the a$ove c (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) /n a -145 networ#& nonBcritical activities that have little slac# need to $e monitored closely a. $ecause -145 treats all activities as e(ually important $. $ecause nearBcritical paths could $ecome critical paths with small delays in these activities c. $ecause slac# is undesira$le and needs to $e eliminated d. $ecause they are causing the entire project to $e delayed e. $ecause they have a high ris# of not $eing completed b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding -145 analysis is true8 a. 1ach activity has two estimates of its duration. $. -roject variance is the sum of all activity variances. c. -roject standard deviation is the sum of all critical activity standard deviations. d. Only critical activities contri$ute to the project variance. e. ;one of the a$ove is true. d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) ! project $eing analy"ed $y -145 has )0 activities& 1 of which are on the critical path. /f the estimated time along the critical path is 21% days with a project variance of 100& the pro$a$ility that the project will ta#e 22% days or more to complete is a. near "ero $. 0.012) c. 0.1'0, d. 0.0%1 e. 2.1% c (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) !n activity on a -145 networ# has these time estimatesF optimistic A 2& most li#ely A '& and pessimistic A 10. /ts e7pected time is a. ' $. '. c. '.), d. 1, e. none of these b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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!n activity on a -145 networ# has these time estimatesF optimistic A 1& most li#ely A 2& and pessimistic A '. /ts e7pected time is a. 2 $. 2. c. 2.), d. 0 e. none of these b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) !n activity on a -145 networ# has these time estimatesF optimistic A 2& most li#ely A & and pessimistic A 0. /ts e7pected time and variance <if it is a critical activity= are a. .),D 1 $. .),D ) c. %. D 1 d. %. D ) e. none of these a (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) ! local project $eing analy"ed $y -145 has %2 activities& 1 of which are on the critical path. /f the estimated time along the critical path is 10' days with a project variance of 2'& the pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed in 9' days or less is a. B0.% $. 0.0220 c. 0. %%% d. 0.9,,2 e. %.2 b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) ! project $eing analy"ed $y -145 has 0 activities& 1) of which are on the critical path. /f the estimated time along the critical path is 90 days with a project variance of 2'& the pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed in 00 days or less is a. 0.0220 $. 0. %%) c. 0.)''% d. 0.9,,2 e. 10 b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) ! -145 project has %' activities& 19 of which are on the critical path. 5he estimated time for the critical path is 120 days. 5he sum of all activity variances is )%& while the sum of variances along the critical path is ). 5he pro$a$ility that the project can $e completed $etween days 100 and 120 is a. B2.00 $. 0.022, c. 0.10'0 d. 0.%,, e. 0.9,, d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult)

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! contractor's project $eing analy"ed $y -145 has an estimated time for the critical path of 120 days. 5he sum of all activity variances is 01D the sum of variances along the critical path is )%. 5he pro$a$ility that the project will ta#e 1 0 or more days to complete is a. 0.10') $. 0.1 ' c. 0.0'12 d. 0.09% e. 1.29 a (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) !nalysis of a -145 pro$lem shows the estimated time for the critical path to $e 100 days with a variance of )%. 5here is a .90 pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed $efore appro7imately day CCCCCC. a. 90 $. 100 c. 109 d. 11' e. 110 e (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) ! project whose critical path has an estimated time of 120 days with a variance of 100 has a 20G chance that the project will $e completed $efore day CCCCCC <rounded to nearest day=. a. 90 $. 112 c. 120 d. 12% e. 220 b (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) ! project whose critical path has an estimated time of 020 days with a variance of 22' has a 20G chance that the project will $e completed $efore day CCCCCC <rounded to nearest day=. a. ) 1 $. )09 c. 00, d. 0 e. 1009 c (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult) 6ontract re(uirements state that a project must $e completed within 100 wor#ing days& or it will incur penalties for late completion. !nalysis of the activity networ# reveals an estimated project time of 1%' wor#ing days with a project variance of %00. *hat is the pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed $efore the lateBpayment deadline8 a. 0.0%01 $. 0.%'99 c. 0.00') d. 0.9'99 e. near 1.0000& or almost certain d (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", difficult)

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*hich of these statements regarding timeBcost tradeoffs in 6-. networ#s is true8 a. 6rashing is not possi$le unless there are multiple critical paths. $. 6rashing a project often reduces the length of longBduration& $ut noncritical& activities. c. !ctivities not on the critical path can never $e on the critical path& even after crashing. d. 6rashing shortens the project duration $y assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tas#s. e. ;one of the a$ove is true. d (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding project management is true8 a. Both -145 and 6-. re(uire that networ# tas#s have unchanging durations. $. 2-roject crashing2 shortens a project $y assigning more resources to at least one critical tas# c. 6rashing need not consider the impact of crashing an activity on other paths in the networ#. d. -roject crashing is an optimi"ing techni(ue. e. 6rash cost depends upon the variance of the activity to $e crashed. b (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) *hich of the following statements regarding timeBcost tradeoffs in 6-. networ#s is false8 a. 2-roject 6rashing2 shortens project duration $y assigning more resources to critical tas#s. $. 6rashing sometimes has the reverse result of lengthening the project duration. c. 6rashing must consider the impact of crashing an activity on all paths in the networ#. d. !ctivities not on the critical path can $ecome critical after crashing ta#es place. e. !ll of the a$ove are true. b (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) /f an activity whose normal duration is 1 days can $e shortened to 10 days for an added cost of H1&'00& the crash cost per period is a. H'00 $. H,'0 $. H1&'00 d. H1 &000 e. H1'&000 a (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) 5wo activities are candidates for crashing on a 6-. networ#. !ctivity details are in the ta$le $elow. 5o cut one day from the project's duration& activity CCCCC should $e crashed first& adding CCCCCC to project cost. !ctivity One 5wo ;ormal 5ime 0 days 10 days ;ormal 6ost H)&000 H%&000 6rash 9uration ) days 9 days 6rash 6ost H)&000 H'&000

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a. OneD H%00 $. OneD H)&000 c. 5woD H1&000 d. 5woD H'&000 e. One or two should $e crashedD H1&%00 a (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate)

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/f an activity whose normal duration is 1' days can $e shortened to 10 days for an added cost of H2&000& the crash cost per period is a. H%00 $. H2&000 c. H10&000 d. H20&000 e. H 0&000 a (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) ! networ# has $een crashed to the point where all activities are critical. !dditional crashing a. is unnecessary $. is impossi$le c. is prohi$itively e7pensive d. may re(uire crashing multiple tas#s simultaneously e. can $e done& $ut all critical tas#s must $e reduced in duration d (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) 5wo activities are candidates for crashing on a 6-. networ#. !ctivity details are in the ta$le $elow. 5o cut one day from the project's duration& activity CCCCC should $e crashed first& adding CCCCCC to project cost. !ctivity B 6 ;ormal 5ime % days ) days ;ormal 6ost H)&000 H%&000 6rash 9uration days % days 6rash 6ost H0&000 H)&000

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a. BD H2&000 $. BD H0&000 c. 6D H1&000 d. 6D H2&000 e. 6D H)&000 c (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate)

FILL-IN-THE BLANK
,1. CCCCCCCCCCCC is an organi"ation formed to ensure that programs <projects= receive the proper management and attention. Project organi$ation (Project planning, easy) CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC divides a project into more and more detailed components. %or& brea&do'n structure or %() (Project planning, moderate) 5he CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC has esta$lished a code of ethics especially for project managers. Project "anagement *nstitute, (Project planning, easy) CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC is a networ# techni(ue using only one time factor per activity that ena$les managers to schedule& monitor& and control large and comple7 projects. !ritical path method or !P" (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy)

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! diagram of all activities and the precedence relationships that e7ist $etween these activities in a project is a<n= CCCCCCCCCCCCC. net'or& (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 5he CCCCCCCCCCCC is the computed longest time path<s= through a networ#. critical path (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy) 5he networ# analysis method that allows activity times to vary is CCCCCCCCCCCCC. PE T or Program E+aluation and e+ie' Technique (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) CCCCCCCCCCCCCC is the amount of time an individual activity in a networ# can $e delayed without delaying the entire project. )lac& time (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy) 5he CCCCCCCCCCCCCC distri$ution is appropriate for calculating e7pected activity times and activity variances in -145 networ#s. (eta (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", easy) CCCCCCCCCCCCC is decreasing activity time in a networ# to reduce time on the critical path so total completion time is reduced. !rashing (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, easy)

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SHORT ANSWER
01. *hat are the three phases of a project8 9escri$e each in a sentence or two. The three phases are planning, scheduling, and controlling, Planning includes goal setting, defining the project, and team organi$ation, )cheduling relates people, money, and supplies to specific acti+ities and relates acti+ities to each other, !ontrolling is 'here the firm monitors resources, costs, quality, and budgets, *t also re+ises or changes plans and shifts resources to meet time and cost demands, (*ntroduction, moderate) @ist the responsi$ilities of project managers. Project managers are directly responsible for ma&ing sure that (-) all necessary acti+ities are finished in proper sequence and on time. (/) the project comes in 'ithin budget. (0) the project meets its quality goals. and (1) the people assigned to the project recei+e the moti+ation, direction, and information needed to do their jobs, (Project planning, moderate) *hat is a project organi"ation8 A project organization is a form of management so that people and other resources are pooled for a limited amount of time to complete a specific goal or project. (Project planning, moderate) /t has $een said that *B+ and 3antt charts are each useful tools& $ut neither is 2complete2 for managing projects. *hat is missing from one that is present in the other so that the two tools are complementary8 9iscuss. %() deals 'ith acti+ity details, 'hile Gantt charts deal more 'ith acti+ity timing, The former ans'ers questions about 'hat is to be done, and the latter ans'ers questions about 'hen tas&s are done, 2either does an adequate job 'ith tas& interrelationships, (Project planning and project scheduling, moderate)
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*hat are some of the ethical issues faced $y project managers8 *hich of these are li#ely to occur $efore a project $egins& which are li#ely to occur while the project is underway& and which may occur after a project is complete8 /llustrate any one of these from recent news. 3 project manager, trying to select firms to underta&e a project, might be e4posed to bid rigging, lo' balling, or bribery on the part of firms competing for business, 5nce a project is under'ay, e4pense account padding, use of substitute (substandard) materials, or ignoring regulatory requirements are possible, Those 'ho report on completed projects might not be truthful about the project6s success (consider the massi+e changes that too& place at 23)3 after t'o shuttle disasters, and note the +ery recent failure of the F(*6s !arni+ore soft'are) (Project planning and project scheduling, moderate) @ist and descri$e $riefly each of the purposes of project scheduling. *t sho's the relationship of each acti+ity to others and to the 'hole project, *t identifies the precedence relationship among acti+ities, *t encourages the setting or realistic time and cost estimates for each acti+ity, *t helps ma&e better use of people, money, and material resources by identifying critical bottlenec&s in the project, (Project scheduling, moderate) *hat is the o$jective of critical path analysis8 !ritical path analysis determines the longest path through a net'or& of acti+ities, This longest path is the &ey to ma&ing the schedule that pro+ides for completing all acti+ities in the shortest time, !ritical path analysis identifies those acti+ities critical to timely completion of all acti+ities so they can recei+e management focus, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 17plain why the critical path is the longest& not the shortest& path through a networ#. !ritical path is that set of acti+ities in a project net'or& that controls the duration of the entire project, The controlling element to completion of all acti+ities is the longest path. any shorter path 'ill not allo' for all acti+ities to be completed, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 9efine slac&. )lac& is the amount of time an acti+ity can be delayed 'ithout delaying the entire project, assuming its preceding acti+ities are completed as early as possible, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) @ist& in order& the si7 steps $asic to $oth -145 and 6-.. -, 7efine the project and prepare the %(), /, 7e+elop the relationships among the acti+ities, 0, 7ra' the net'or& connecting all of the acti+ities, 1, 3ssign the time and8or cost estimates to each acti+ity, 9, !ompute the critical path:the longest time path through the net'or&, ;, <se the net'or& to help plan, schedule, monitor, and control the project, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) *hat is the $asic difference $etween -145 and 6-.8 The basic difference between PERT and CPM is that PERT requires three time estimates of activity completion time, whereas CPM uses only a single estimate. (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

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92.

-145 calculations typically include the duration variance of each activity. *hat is the purpose of this calculationIwhatJs the role of variances in -145 analysis8 The acti+ity +ariances influence the probability of project completion, )pecifically, the sum of the +ariances of the critical tas&s equals the +ariance of the project, Further, large +ariances on noncritical tas&s need to be monitored, )uch an acti+ity might ha+e an actual completion time so large that the tas& becomes a critical tas&, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) 9escri$e the differences $etween a 3antt chart and a -145>6-. networ#. The differences between a Gantt chart and a PERT/CPM network are mainly that PERT/CPM has the ability to consider precedence relationships and interdependence of activities. (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate) Briefly discuss what is meant $y critical path analysis. *hat are critical path activities and why are they important8 The critical path consists of those tasks that determine the overall project completion time (or that will delay the completion of the project if they are delayed); these must be managed most closely to ensure timely completion of the project. Critical path analysis is the determination of which task elements are on, or likely to be on, the critical path (the longest path through the network). (Determining the project schedule, moderate) *hat are the earliest activity start time and latest activity start time& and how are they computed8 The earliest start time is the earliest time at 'hich an acti+ity may start and still satisfy all precedence requirements, The latest start time is the latest time at 'hich an acti+ity may start and still satisfy both precedence requirements and the o+erall project completion time, (Determining the project schedule, moderate) Kow is the e7pected completion time of a project activity& and of a -145 project& computed8 The expected completion time of a project activity uses the Beta distribution; expected time is the weighted average of optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic time estimates. Expected completion of a PERT project is the sum of the expected times for individual activities that are on the critical path. (Determining the project schedule, moderate) 9escri$e the process of 2crashing2 a 6-. project. 17plain the purpose of crashing analysis. Project crashing is shortening the project by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tas&s, !rashing is not an optimi$ing technique, but a trade#off technique, "anagers can decide 'hether to finish later but cheaper, or earlier but more e4pensi+ely, 5nce a decision has been made to crash a project, this technique points to the cheapest 'ay to sa+e a unit of time on the project, (!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) Briefly descri$e the concept of cost>time tradeBoff and how it is used. Cost/time trade-off is fundamentally PERT with additional information provided that enables one to monitor and control project cost and to study possible cost/time trade-offs. This can be done by making a budget for the entire project using the activity cost estimates and by monitoring the budget as the project takes place. Using this approach, we can determine the extent to which a project is incurring a cost overrun or a cost underrun. In addition, we can use the same technique to determine the extent to which a project is ahead of schedule or behind schedule. (Cost-time trade-offs and project crashing, moderate)

9 .

9%.

9'.

9).

9,.

90.

50

99.

*hat are the advantages of using -145 and 6-.8 The ad+antages include its usefulness at +arious stages of the project, its straightfor'ard concept, its graphical displays of relationships bet'een acti+ities, its critical path and slac& time analysis, its ability to document processes, its 'ide range of applicability, and its usefulness in monitoring schedules and costs, (3 critique of PE T and !P", moderate)

PROBLEMS
100. 6onsider the networ# pictured $elow. a. 1numerate all paths through this networ#. $. 6alculate the critical path for the networ#. c. *hat is the minimum duration of the project8 d. Kow much slac# e7ists at each activity8

(a) Possible paths are P#) (length //), P# #T (length /=), and >#T (length /-), (b) The longest of these, P# #T, is the critical path, at /= time units, (c) There is no slac& at P, , or T since these are critical tas&s, ) has ; units slac&, since the path it is on totals only // units, compared to the critical path length of /=, > has ? units of slac& since it is on a /- length path, ? less than the ma4imum, (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

51

101. ! networ# consists of the activities in the following list. 5imes are given in wee#s. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 ? -receding BB BB ! !& B 6 9 5ime 8 3 7 3 4 6

a. 9raw the networ# diagram. $. 6alculate the 1+& 1?& @+& @?& and +lac# for each activity. c. *hat is project completion time8 (a)

(b,c)
esults Tas& 3 ( ! 7 E F Early )tart A A = = -9 -Project Early Finish = 0 -9 --B -? -B @ate )tart A ? = -A -9 -0 @ate Finish = -A -9 -0 -B -B )lac& A ? A / A /

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

52

102. 5he networ# $elow represents a project $eing analy"ed $y 6ritical -ath .ethods. !ctivity
durations are !A12& BA2& 6A12& 9A & 1A'& ?A1& 3A,& KA2& /A10& and LA).

a. *hat tas# must $e on the critical path& regardless of activity durations8 $. *hat is the duration of path !BBB1BKBL8 c. *hat is the critical path of this networ#8 d. *hat is the length of the critical path8 e. *hat is slac# time at activity K8 f. *hat is the @ate ?inish of activity K8 g. /f activity 6 were delayed $y two time units& what would happen to the project duration8 (a) C. (b) -=. (c) 3#(#G#*#C. (d) 0A. (e) 9. (f) /1. (g) no impact, esults Tas& 3 ( ! 7 E F G D * C Early )tart A 9 9 A ? 0 ? -? -1 /1 Project Early Finish 9 ? -? 0 -/ 1 -1 -B /1 0A 0A @ate )tart A 9 -A -A -? -0 ? // -1 /1 @ate Finish 9 ? // -0 // -1 -1 /1 /1 0A )lac& A A 9 -A -A -A A 9 A A

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

53

10 . ! networ# consists of the following list. 5imes are given in wee#s. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 ? 3 K / L K a. $. c. d. -receding BB ! ! ! B B 6& ? 9 K 3& / 1& L 9uration 9 2 12 5 6 8 3 2 8 6 2

9raw the networ# diagram. *hich activities form the critical path8 Kow much slac# e7ists at activities ! and ?8 *hat is the duration of the critical path8

(a) 2et'or& diagram

B E K C F A D H I G J

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

(b) paths 3#7#D#*#C#E and 3#!#G#C#E are critical. (c) 3 has no slac&. F has / units (d) 0/

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10%. ! partially solved -145 pro$lem is detailed in the ta$le $elow. 5imes are given in wee#s. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 ? 3 K / L K a. $. c. d. e. -receding BB ! ! ! B B 6& ? 9 K 3& / 1& L Optimistic 5ime 7 2 8 3 4 6 2 2 6 4 2 -ro$a$le 5ime 9 2 12 5 6 8 3 2 8 6 2 -essimistic 5ime 14 8 16 10 8 10 4 8 16 14 5 17pected 5ime Mariance 1.361 0 0 1.361 0 0 0 1.000 2.778 2.778 0.250

6alculate the e7pected time for each activity. 1nter these values in the appropriate column in the ta$le a$ove. *hich activities form the critical path8 *hat is the estimated time of the critical path8 *hat are the project variance and the project standard deviation8 *hat is the pro$a$ility of completion of the project after wee# %08

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

(a) 3FB,9 (F0 !F-/ 7F9,9 EF; FF= GF0 DF0 *FB CF? EF/,9 (b) 3#7#D#*#C#E. (c) 0;,9. (d) B,90, 0,AB. (e) A,-0,

55

10'. 6onsider the networ# descri$ed in the ta$le $elow. !ctivity /mmediate -redecessor<s = BB BB L L K&. K&. @&; -essimistic -ro$a$le Optimistic

L K @ . ; O -

15 9 10 3 9 10 10

10 8 6 3 5 7 8

8 7 5 3 1 4 3

a. 6alculate the e7pected duration of each activity. $. 6alculate the e7pected duration and variance of the critical path. c. 6alculate the pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed in fewer than 0 time units. (a) )ee table belo', (b) Tas&s C#"#2#P are critical, The sum of their e4pected durations is /;,AA. the sum of their +ariances is 0,A9;, (c) The standard de+iation along the path is F /,-/. the probability that 7uration G 0A is the probability that $ G (0A # /;,AA)8/,-/ F -,=B, The associated normal cur+e area is A,B?A;/,

Tas& C E @ " 2 5 P

Early )tart A A -A,9 -A,9 -0,9 -0,9 -=,9 Project

Early Finish -A,9 = -? -0,9 -=,9 /A,9 /; /;

@ate )tart A 9,9 -B,9 -A,9 -0,9 -B -=,9

@ate Finish -A,9 -0,9 /; -0,9 -=,9 /; /;

)lac& "ean Hariance A -A,9 -,0;---9,9 = B ;,9 A 0 A A 9 -,?????= 9,9 ? A ?,9 -,0;---Project 1,9 )td,de+ /,-/-0/

56

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

57

10). 5he networ# $elow represents a project $eing analy"ed $y 6ritical -ath .ethods. !ctivity durations are indicated on the networ#.

a. /dentify the activities on the critical path. $. *hat is the duration of the critical path8 c. 6alculate the amount of slac# time at activity K. d. /f activity / were delayed $y ten time units& what would $e the impact on the project duration8 (a) !ritical acti+ities are 3#!#C#E. (b) The critical path is /; time units. (c) )lac& at D is B units. (d) * has -- units slac&##a ten unit delay 'ould ha+e no impact on the project, Tas& 3 ( ! 7 E F G D * C E Early )tart A A 9 A 0 1 0 1 -A -; // Project Early Finish 9 0 -; 1 -A -A ? ? -9 // /; /; @ate )tart A ; 9 B B -9 -? -0 /-; // @ate Finish 9 B -; -0 -; //-; /; // /; )lac& A ; A B ; --1 B -A A

(Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

58

107. Three activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below.
!ctivity N O P ;ormal 5ime 0 days days 12 days ;ormal 6ost H)&000 H1&000 H'&000 6rash 9uration ) days 2 days 9 days 6rash 6ost H0&000 H2&%00 H,&,00

a. *hat is the crash cost per unit time for each of the three activities8 $. *hich activity should $e crashed first to cut one day from the project's durationD how much is added to project cost8 c. *hich activity should $e the ne7t activity crashed to cut a second day from the project's durationD how much is added to project cost8 (a) crash cost I F J-,AAA per day. crash cost K F J;AA per day . crash cost L F JBAA per day (b) select K, adding J;AA. (c) select L, adding JBAA

(!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate) 108. Three activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below.
!ctivity ! B 6 ;ormal 5ime 9 days ' days 12 days ;ormal 6ost H0&000 H2&000 H9&000 6rash 9uration , days days 11 days 6rash 6ost H12&000 H10&000 H12&000

a. *hat is the crash cost per unit time for activity !8 $. *hat is the crash cost per unit time for activity B8 c. *hich activity should $e crashed first to cut one day from the project's durationD how much is added to project cost8 d. *hich activity should $e the ne7t activity crashed to cut a second day from the project's durationD how much is added to project cost8 e. !ssuming no other paths $ecome critical& how much can this project $e shortened at what total added cost8 (a) J/,AAA. (b) J1,AAA. (c) 3, J/,AAA. (d) 3 again, J/,AAA additional. (e) 9 days, J-9,AAA,

(!ost#time trade#offs and project crashing, moderate)

59

109. ! networ# consists of the following list. 5imes are given in wee#s. !ctivity ! B 6 9 1 ? 3 K a. $. c. d. (a) -receding BB B BB !& B B 6 9& 1 ? Optimistic 5 3 6 3 4 6 2 3 -ro$a$le 11 3 10 5 6 8 4 3 -essimistic 14 9 14 7 11 13 6 9

9raw the networ# diagram. 6alculate the e7pected duration and variance of each activity. 6alculate the e7pected duration and variance of the critical path. 6alculate the pro$a$ility that the project will $e completed in less than 20 wee#s.

(b,c) Tas& 3 ( ! 7 E F G D Project E4pected time -A,9 1 -A 9 ;,9 =,9 1 1 //,9 Hariance /,/9 -,??= A,111 -,0;-,0;A,111 )td, de+, -,9 -,000 A,;;? -,-;? -,-;? A,;;? )lac& 0 = A 0 = A 0 A Project )td, de+, Hariance

-,??=

-,0;1,-0B /,A01

(d) $ F (/=#//,9)8/,A0 F /,?-, (PGF/=) F ,BB? (Project management techniques: PE T and !P", moderate)

60