Name: Kendra Joy B.

Sendico BSCE-4 CPM September 12, 2018

Assigning Realistic Durations

In order to determine the realistic schedule and duration of the entire project,
one must first identify the anticipated time required to define and accomplish
each activity and the sequencing of each of these activities.

Assigning of realistic durations is of utmost significance since almost all

components of the CPM network diagram rely on the activity duration. Some of
these are the distribution of costs, timing of activities, utilization of resources, as
well as the critical path.

However, it may vary depending on several factors and conditions: work

environment, number of people involved/assigned to each activity, equipment
availability, and effectiveness of supervision of work, and quality and quantity of
the project, etc. Without the duration, almost the entire project, including the
overall management and schedule, will be greatly affected.

To determine the activity duration, one must divide the total quantity of work by
the productivity rat, which may also be referred as the function of the number of
people assigned to a certain activity. It is also very important to add a reasonable
amount of time or allowance when calculating the realistic duration of each
activity.

Cost Distribution

The cost distribution may be calculated by assigning the anticipated cost for each
activity, with respect to the time calculated based on the duration and sequencing
of activities.

The cost of each activity must be calculated based on activities starting from the
early to late start, Target schedule (midpoint between early and late start), and
ending from the early to late finish.
When performing cost analysis, the cost of each activity for each day in the
project is summed up to obtain the total cost of that certain day. The target
scheduled cost is also calculated by determining the average values between the
early and late start schedules.

Control Systems

Project control systems may be categorized into two: (1) They may be complex, in
which the results obtained cannot be understood and interpreted; or (2) They
may be too limited, in which only the schedules or costs are applied instead of
integrating schedules, costs ad work accomplished.

Project control systems must be effective and simple in order to be easily

understood by all the people involved in accomplishing the project. Its main
objective is to determine whether the project meets the project work plan's
desired targets. It also involves a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the
project.

In addition, they must also serve as a tool for project development and
improvement so that information obtained can be collected, evaluated and
verified by the project participants.

One of the most common approach to integrated project control systems is the
well-defined work breakdown Structure (WBS). This is where the Critical Path
Method (CPM) is derived through sequencing and integrating of work packages.
While in order to control the costs, the WBS is linked to the Cost Breakdown
Structure (CBS. As for the schedule, it is linked to the Organization Breakdown
Structure (OBS).