NETWORK DIAGRAMMING TECHINIQUES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

PRESENTERS: Sadia Nosheen Zia ullah Fakhar Abbas Waqas Ali 2k9-che-40 2k9-che-64 2k9-che-122 2k9-che-149

CONTENTS
Definition Types of network diagramss PERT & CPM Differences between PERT & CPM Terminologies Creating a PERT/CPM diagram Importance of network diagramming techinique

Project Time Management

Project time management involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. Processes include: Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Schedule development Schedule control

Schedule development
Schedule converts action plan into operating time table Basis for monitoring and controlling project Scheduling more important in projects than in production, because unique nature

Project Network Diagrams

Project network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing A project network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities Graphical portrayal of activities and event Shows dependency relationships between tasks/activities in a project Clearly shows tasks that must precede (precedence) or follow (succeeding) other tasks in a logical manner Clear representation of plan a powerful tool for planning and controlling project

 Network Diagrams
CPM PERT

Bar Charts
Milestone Chart Gantt Chart

Network Diagrams
Developed in the 1950s A graphical representation of the tasks necessary to complete a project Clearly visualizes the flow of tasks & relationships

Terminology
Activity - A specific task or set of tasks that are required by the project, use up resources, and take time to complete Event - The result of completing one or more activities. An identifiable end state occurring at a particular time. Events use no resources. Network - The combination of all activities and events define the project and the activity precedence relationships

 Path - The series of connected activities (or intermediate events) between any two events in a network Critical - Activities, events, or paths which, if delayed, will delay the completion of the project. A projects critical path is understood to mean that sequence of critical activities that connect the projects start event to its finish event

Dummy Activity
Indicates only precedence relationships Does not require any time of effort

OK, tell me the worst!!

Sometimes we have to use Dummy activities. We use a dashed arrow to record these.

A dummy activity may be needed: to prevent 2 or more activities sharing the same starting and ending events. to maintain network logic i.e. to ensure that the network abides by the precedence table.

Arrows An arrow leads from tail to head directionally Nodes A node is represented by a circle

PRECEEDING

ACTIVITY

SUCCESSOR

EVENT

Network Diagrams
Two classic formats AOA: Activity on Arrow AON: Activity on Node Each activity labeled with Identifier (usually a letter/code) Duration (in standard unit like days)

Formats
Activity-on-arrow (AOA) Arrows represent activities and nodes are events for points in time, It uses an arrow to depict an activity.

The length of arrow shows relative time to complete tasks

 Activity-on-node (AON) Nodes represent activities, and arrows show precedence relationships, It uses a node to depict an activity.

Project Network Rules

Are there any rules to follow when drawing network diagrams?

Networks typically flow from left to right.

An activity can not begin until all of its preceding activities are complete.
Arrows indicate precedence and can cross over each other.

 Identify each activity with a unique identifier, this identifier must increment (1.2.3, A,B,C etc) as the network proceeds. Looping is not allowed. Conditional statements are not allowed. Use the start and stop nodes

Time-Related Task Properties

Situations in network diagram

B A C A C B

A must finish before either B or C can start

both A and B must finish before C can start

both A and C must finish before either of B or D can start

B
Dummy

A must finish before B can start

C D

both A and C must finish before D can start

Example
Develop the network for a project with following activities and immediate predecessors:
Activity A B C D E F G Immediate predecessors B A, C C C D,E,F

Try to do for the first five (A,B,C,D,E) activities

Network of first five activities

5
2

We need to introduce a dummy activity

Network Diagrams
TECHNIQUES NETWORKNETWORK TECHNIQUES
PERT CPM

-Program Evaluation and Review Technique - developed by the US Navy with Booz Hamilton Lockheed - on the Polaris Missile/Submarine program 1958

Critical Path Method Developed by El Dupont for Chemical Plant Shutdown Project- about same time as PERT

Both use same calculations, almost similar Main difference is probabilistic and deterministic in time estimation Gantt Chart also used in scheduling

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is one of several related techniques for doing project planning. CPM is for projects that are made up of a number of individual "activities." If some of the activities require other activities to finish before they can start, then the project becomes a complex web of activities. It is used for one time estimations.

 CPM can help to figure out :

1. how long the complex project will take to complete 2. which activities are "critical," meaning that they have to be done on time or else the whole project will take longer
WOW

If you put in information about the cost of each activity, and how much it costs to speed up each activity, CPM can help to figure out:
1. whether you should try to speed up the project, and, if so, 2. what is the least costly way to speed up the project.

Example

Right, now well solve an example of CPM

Doing well!!!

Keep going!!

Find the total path and the critical path

Critical path

 A Critical Path is a specific set of sequential tasks upon which the project completion date depends Tasks on the critical path cannot be delayed without delaying the project completion day If a task on the critical path is delayed by 1 day, then the project completion date is delayed (at least) by 1 day All projects have at least one Critical Path Critical Paths are the paths with duration = total project duration

CPM: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
Show precedence well Reveal interdependencies not shown in other techniques Ability to calculate critical path Ability to perform what if exercises

Disadvantages
Default model assumes resources are unlimited You need to incorporate this yourself (Resource Dependencies) when determining the real Critical Path Difficult to follow on large projects

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)

A method to analyze the tasks involved in completing a given project. Focus is paid to the time needed to complete each task, and identifying the minimum time needed to complete the total project.

Purpose
To simplify the planning and scheduling of large and complex projects. To incorporate uncertainty in the sense that it was possible to schedule a project not knowing precisely the details and duration's of all the activities. Event-oriented technique rather than start- and completion-oriented. Used more in R&D-type projects where Cost is not a major factor but Time is.

Terminologies
PERT event: is a point that marks the start or completion of one (or more) tasks. It consumes no time, and uses no resources. It marks the completion of one (or more) tasks. It is not reached until all of the activities leading to that event have been completed. Predecessor event: an event (or events) that immediately precedes some other event without any other events intervening. It may be the consequence of more than one activity. Successor event: an event (or events) that immediately follows some other event without any other events intervening. It may be the consequence of more than one activity.

 PERT activity: is the actual performance of a task. It consumes time, it requires resources (such as labor, materials, space, machinery), and it can be understood as representing the time, effort, and resources required to move from one event to another. A PERT activity cannot be completed until the event preceding it has occurred. Optimistic time (O): the minimum possible time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds better than is normally expected Pessimistic time (P): the maximum possible time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything goes wrong (but excluding major catastrophes). Most likely time (M): the best estimate of the time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds as normal.

 Expected time (TE): the best estimate of the time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds as normal (the implication being that the expected time is the average time the task would require if the task were repeated on a number of occasions over an extended period of time).

Creating a PERT Diagram

STEPS 1: Determine the tasks that the project requires and the order in which they must be completed Determine the optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic time of each task Compute for the Expected time using the formula Te=(O+4M+P)/6 Determine whether to use AOA or AON diagrams

Activity

Predecessor

Optimistic (a)

Normal (m)

Pessimistic Te (a+4m+b)/6 (b)

A
Rightnow well solve an example

----A A B, C D E

2 3 4 4 4 3 3

4 5 5 6 5 4 5

6 9 7 10 7 8 8

4.00 5.33 5.17 6.33 5.17 4.50 5.17

B C D E F G
f

C
Start Finish

STEPS 2:
Determine the ES & EF of each activity by: Start at the beginning moving towards the end ES & EF for the start activity is always 0 since they are milestones Use the EF of the predecessor activity as the ES of the current activity EF of an activity is computed by adding its ES with its duration For activities with 2 or more predecessor activities, use the predecessor with the higher EF as the ES of the current activity

Creating a PERT Diagram

STEPS 3: Determine the LS & LF of each activity by: Start at the end and work towards the beginning Use the LS of the successor activity as the LF of the current activity LS of an activity is computed by subtracting its LF with its duration For activities with 2 or more successor activities, use the successor with the lower LS as the LF of the current activity

Creating a PERT Diagram

STEPS 4: Compute for the critical path by adding the duration's of various paths for all activities Determine if any activities have slack by subtracting the activitys LF & EF

PERT & CPM Similarities

Both follow the same steps and use network diagrams Both are used to plan the scheduling of individual activities that make up a project They can be used to determine the earliest/latest start and finish times for each activity

PERT & CPM Differences

PERT is probabilistic whereas CPM is deterministic In CPM, estimates of activity duration are based on historical data In PERT, estimates are uncertain and we talk of ranges of duration and the probability that an activity duration will fall into that range CPM concentrates on Time/Cost trade off.

ADVANTAGES:
PERT chart explicitly defines and makes visible dependencies (precedence relationships) between the work breakdown structure (commonly WBS) elements PERT facilitates identification of the critical path and makes this visible PERT facilitates identification of early start, late start, and slack for each activity PERT provides for potentially reduced project duration due to better understanding of dependencies leading to improved overlapping of activities and tasks where feasible. The large amount of project data can be organized & presented in diagram for use in decision making.

DISADVANTAGES
There can be potentially hundreds or thousands of activities and individual dependency relationships PERT is not easily scalable for smaller projects The network charts tend to be large and unwieldy requiring several pages to print and requiring special size paper The lack of a timeframe on most PERT/CPM charts makes it harder to show status although colours can help (e.g., specific colour for completed nodes) When the PERT/CPM charts become unwieldy, they are no longer used to manage the project.

Importance of a Network Diagram Visual Imagery:

It can be quite difficult for non-technical people to understand how a particular piece of software works, and why its proper operation is so critical to the success of the business. The network diagram includes pictures that show each step in the software process, from inputting the data to distributing the resulting reports.

Faster Education: Creating a detailed network diagram that shows how a particular piece of software interfaces with company hardware and other pieces of software allows both new hires and existing employers to gain a better understanding of the work they need to do and how their particular jobs affect the entire organization. The ability to see each step in the software development and software management process in visual form is often helpful for workers in the IT field and for members of the management team.

Better Record Keeping: Documentation is a critical, but often overlooked, part of any IT organization. Without the proper documentation in place it can be difficult to track down problems in complex systems. By taking the time to create a detailed network diagram for each piece of software used in the company, the IT staff makes it easier for their colleagues to find and resolve problems, even if they have no direct experience with that type of software.

Better Project Planning:

A detailed network diagram allows project managers and other members of the project team to plan their projects more effectively. When everyone on the project team can see exactly how the software works, and what other systems it interfaces with, it is much easier for those team members to move forward with beneficial changes. A good network diagram also allows project teams to avoid costly mistakes that could have an impact the operation of those software packages and the networks on which they run. In fact, the Project Management Institute cites the importance of network diagrams in their training materials and other literature.

REFERENCES
www.smartdraw.com/specials/network.asp www.edrawsoft.com/Network-DiagramTutorials.php www.opnet.com/solutions/network_management /netmapper.htm www.slideshare.com

Thank You