1 Project Scheduling We can think of a project as a collection of tasks that should be completed in minimum time OR at a minimal cost.

For example, in painting the outside of a house, the following tasks should be completed: (1) Select color, (2) purchase paint, (3) clean existing siding, (4) mask windows, (5) spray paint large areas, (6) hand paint trim (small areas), and (7) clean up. Factors affecting the completion time might include (a) the number of painters, (b) availability of the selected paint color, (c) the size of the house (in square meters), and (d) special details of the house. The painting contractors primary objective might be: To finish painting the outside of the house in minimal time so that he can move on to another project, OR At minimal total cost so that he will earn the maximum profit from the work. The tasks of a project are called activities. Each activity of a project is associated with an estimated completion time (And sometimes it is associated with a cost). In any project, certain activities must be completed before others are started. Some activities may also need to be completed simultaneously. Determining an accurate set of precedence relations among activities (that is, detailing which activities must precede others) is crucial to developing an optimal schedule for individual activities. Objectives of Project Scheduling Project scheduling is used to plan and control a project efficiently AND it can determine: 1) The Minimal expected completion time for a project. 2) Activities that are critical, in the sense that any delay to any of these critical activities will delay the entire project. 3) The earliest and latest time each activity can be started and completed. 4) Which of two or more completion alternatives is the most cost effective. 5) Whether or not a current project is on schedule or is being completed within budget. 6) A schedule of activities that offers a relatively consistent level of resources while completing the project in minimal time. 7) A schedule of activities that completes the project in minimum time given the limits on the availability of one or more of the resources.

2 These objectives can be accomplished using project scheduling approaches, such as PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Method). These methods, which were developed in the mid 1950s, use project networks to help schedule a projects activities. PERT is a method that treats the completion time of the activities as random variables with specific probability distributions. Whereas, CPM assumes that the completion time of an activity is solely dependent on the amount of money spent to complete the activity. Both PERT and CPM require the modeler to identify the activities of the project and also precedence relations between the activities. This involves determining a set of immediate predecessors for each activity, consisting of those activities that must be completed just prior to its commencement. A precedence relation chart identifies the separate activities of the project and their precedence relations. From this chart, a PERT/CPM network representation of the project can be constructed. Example: Klone Computers is a small manufacturer of personal computers. The company faces three major tasks when introducing a new computer to the market: (1) Manufacturing the new computer, (2) Training staff and vendor representatives to operate the new computer; and (3) Advertising the new computer. Each of these three major tasks are divided into detailed sub-activities as follows: Major Task Manufacturing Activities Activity Code A B C D E F G H I J Description of the Activity Prototype model design Purchase of Materials Manufacture of prototype model Revision of design Initial production run Staff training Staff contribution to prototype models Salesperson training Pre-production Advertising Campaign
Postproduction Advertising Campaign

Training Activities Advertising Activities

3 The entire project is concluded when the initial production run is completed, the salespersons are trained, and the advertising campaign is underway. As a first step in generating a project schedule, Klone Company needs to develop a precedence relations chart THAT shows which other activities must be completed prior to the commencement of each activity (see below). Immediate Activity Requirements Predecessors A No requirements --Prototype model design B Materials can be purchased only after the A Purchase of Materials prototypes have been designed (A) C Materials must be purchased (B) before the B Manufacture of prototype prototypes can be manufactured D Both prototype manufacturing (C) and staff G Revision of design contribution (G) must precede the design revision. However, since prototype manufacturing (C) precedes Staff contribution, it is not an immediate predecessor. E The production run can begin after the design D Initial production run has been revised (D). F Staff training begins after the prototype A Staff training is designed (A) G For staff contribution to prototypes, prototype C, F Staff contribution to prototype must be built(C),And the staff must be trained(F). H Salespersons can be trained immediately after D Salesperson training the design revision (D). I Pre-production advertising can begin as soon as A Preproduction Advertising the prototypes have been designed (A). J Post production advertising begins when both D, I Postproduction Advertising the initial advertising campaign has been Completed (I), AND the design has been revised (D). These relations, and expected completion times of activities are summarized as follows: Activity A B C D E F G H I J Immediate Predecessors -A B G D A C, F D A D, I Estimated Completion Time (days) 90 15 5 20 21 25 14 28 30 45

In the following sections, we will use this precedence relations chart to construct graphical representation of the project. Gantt Charts If each activity of the project were performed sequentially, the estimated completion time of the project would be 90+15+5+20+21+25+14+28+30+45=293 days. However, since work on several activities can be underway at the same time, the total time required to complete the project will be less than 293 days. The goal is to schedule activities so that the entire project is completed in the minimal number of days. A popular device used to display activities and monitor their progress is the Gantt chart. In a Gantt chart, time is measured on the horizontal axis, each activity is listed on the vertical axis, and a bar is drawn corresponding to its completion time. Now, using the information in precedence relations chart, We may draw the Gantt chart for the Klone Computers project.
Activities A B C D E F G H I J Time 90 150 194 days

We can see from this Gantt Chart, if things go as planned, and each activity is started at its earliest possible start date, the project can be completed in 194 days. The following table also demonstrates a detailed scheduling sequence for all activities:
Activity Schedule

5
Activities That can be Scheduled Expected Completion Time Predecessors (Finish Times)

From

To

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

A B F I C G D E H J

90 15 25 30 5 14 20 21 28 45

-A(90) B(105) C(110), F(115) G(129) D(149) D(149), I(120)

0 90 90 90 105 115 129 149 149 149

90 105 115 120 110 129 149 170 177 194

We can use a Gantt chart as a visual aid for tracking the progress of project by shading the completed part of the project on the chart. By this way, at a glance to the Gantt chart, managers can see if the project is being completed on schedule on a given date. However, the Gantt chart gives only one possible schedule (that is based on the earliest possible completion times) for the activities. There may be other ways to sequence those activities, which also provide a minimum completion time. In addition, the precedence relations are not directly revealed on a Gantt chart. Therefore, it is not obvious from the chart alone how a delay in one activity will affect the start date of another. Partly because of these limitations of Gantt charts, another approach to project scheduling, that is PERT/CPM approach, is preferred for performing analysis of possible project schedules. Building PERT/CPM Networks The PERT/CPM approach to project scheduling is based on a network representation that reflects activity precedence relations. In the network presentation, the nodes designate activities and their completion times, and the arcs describe the precedence relations between activities. B C E The following network is drawn for representing the Klone Computer Project:
A 9 0 F 2 5 G 1 4 D 2 0 H 2 8 1 5 5 2 1

FINISH

I 3 0

J 4 5

Since, each activity is represented by a node and an arc, we should end the network by a Dummy Finish node, which is connected to the final activities (E, H, and, J). Two primary objectives of PERT/CPM analyses are (1) To determine the minimal possible completion time for the project, and (2) To determine a range of start and finish times for each activity so that the project can be completed in minimal time. Management at Klone Computers wishes to know the following: 1. The Earliest completion date for the project. 2. The earliest and latest start dates for each activity, which will not alter this date (in 1). 3. The earliest and latest finish dates for each activity, which will not alter this date (in 1). 4. The activities that must adhere to a rigid fixed schedule, and the activities that have slack in their schedule (relax activities). To determine the earliest start time (ES) and the earliest finish time (EF) for the activities, we make a forward pass through the network. We begin by evaluating all activities which have no immediate predecessor. In this case, only activity A has no predecessor. The ES for an activity with no immediate predecessors is 0, AND its EF is simply the activitys completion time. Therefore, for activity A, ES(A) = 0 and EF(A) = 90. We then proceed by selecting any node for which the EF of all its immediate predecessors has been determined -- In this case, B, F, and I. For those activities having only one immediate predecessor, the ES for the activity is simply the EF of its immediate predecessor. For example, ES(B) = 90 and EF(B) = 90 + 15 = 105

7 ES(F) = 90 and EF(F) = 90 + 25 = 115 ES(I) = 90 and EF(I) = 90 + 30 = 120 And similarly, activity C has only one immediate predecessor, that is activity B: ES(C) = EF(B) = 105 and EF(C) = 105 + 5 = 110. However, Consider the activity G. It has two immediate predecessors: C and F. Since all of an activitys immediate predecessors must be completed before the activity can begin, The ES for this activity is the Maximum of the EF times of its immediate predecessors. That is: ES = MAXIMUM (EF of all its immediate predecessors)

And, its EF is equal to the found ES + its activity completion time. Therefore, for activity G: ES(G) = MAX {EF(C); EF(F)} = MAX {110; 115} = 115 and EF(G) = 115 + Its completion time = 115 + 14 = 129. We repeat this process until all nodes (including the finish node) have been evaluated. This gives us a schedule of the earliest start and finish times for each activity. The ES of the finish node is actually the Earliest Completion Time for the project. The sequence of calculations that determine these times is given below: Immediate Activity Predecessor(EF) ES EF A -0 0+90=90 B A(90) 90 90+15=105 F A(90) 90 90+25=115 I A(90) 90 90+30=120 C B(105) 105 105+5=110 G C(110), F(115) 115 115+14=129 D G(129) 129 129+20=149 E D(149) 149 149+21=170 H D(149) 149 149+28=177 J D(149), I(120) 149 149+45=194 90, 105 105, 110 149, 170 Finish E(170), H(177), J(194) 194 194 B C E Total Completion time of the project is 194 days. 1 2 Since Finish node is a dummy node, its completion time is1zero. 5 5 The ES and EF for each activity are represented on the PERT/CPM network by a pair of numbers above the node representing 129 activity, as follows: 0, 90 90, 115 115, the 129,149 149, 177 194, 194
A 9 0 F 2 5 G 1 4 D 2 0 H 2 8 FINISH

90, 120
I 3 0

149, 194
J 4 5

Latest Start and Latest Finish Times To determine the latest start times (LS) and latest finish times (LF) that allows the project to be completed by its minimal completion date, We make a backward pass through the network. We begin by evaluating all activities that immediately precede the finish node. These include activities E, H, and J, which have completion times of 21, 28, and 45, respectively. The LF for each of these activities is the minimal project completion time (194 days). And, the LS for each is determined by subtracting the corresponding activitys completion time from this value: LF(E) = 194 LF(H) = 194 LF(J) = 194 LS(E) = 194 21 = 173 LS(H) = 194 28 = 166 LS(J) = 194 45 = 149

We continue the backward pass by selecting a node for which the LS times for all its immediate successor nodes have been determined. This activity must be completed before all of the activities for which it is an immediate predecessor. Therefore, its LF time is the Minimum of the LS times of its immediate successor activities, And, its LS is calculated by subtracting its completion time from its LF: LF = MINIMUM (LS of all immediate successor activities) LS = LF (Activity Completion Time)

9 For example, activity D has three immediate successors: E, H, and J. LF(D) = Min {LS(E); LS(H); LS(J)} = Min {173, 166, 149} = 149 LS(D) = LF(D) (Its Completion Time) = 149 20 = 129. We repeat this process until all nodes have been evaluated: Activity Finish J H E I D G C F B A Immediate Successors(LS) -Finish(194) Finish(194) Finish(194) J(149) E(173), H(166), J(149) D(129) G(115) G(115) C(110) B(95), F(90), I(119) LF 194 194 194 194 149 149 129 115 115 110 90 LS 194 194-45=149 194-28=166 194-21=173 149-30=119 149-20=129 129-14=115 115-5=110 115-25=90 110-15=95 90-90=0

We denote the LS and LF for each activity on the PERT/CPM network by placing these numbers below the node representing the activity:
90, 105
B 1 5

105, 110
C 5

149, 170
E 2 1

95, 110 0, 90
A 9 0

110, 115 115, 129

G 1 4

173, 194 129,149

D 2 0

90, 115
F 2 5

149, 177
H 2 8

194, 194
FINISH

0, 90

90, 115 90, 120

I 3 0

115, 129

129, 149

166, 194 149, 194

J 4 5

194, 194

119, 149

149, 194