|







   
—

 


   | !"

#


#

$ %&' ()&
 || ||#

‡ A project network should not contain any

cycles

A 2 D

C
1 B 4
E
3
 | *
#

The presence of the loop A-C-B shows an

inconsistency or a logical error in the project
network.
A 2 D

1 C 4
B E

3
:  || ||#

‡ Topological Ordering of
activities
‡ Fulkerson¶s Numbering Rule
‡ Squaring Adjacency Matrix
‡ Marimont¶s Procedure
 | 



+ ' Select a job which has no

predecessors and place it on the top of the
list.
+ & Delete the job just placed from the
predecessor list of all remaining jobs.
+ ( Identify any new sources (jobs
without predecessors) so generated for
placement on the list and go to + &,
  + - . - 
. !|

"

+ / Continue until one of the following

happens:
(a) There are no sources on the list of
remaining jobs , This shows the presence of
an inconsistency,
(b) All jobs are placed on the list, which is
now Topologically Ordered, showing there
are no inconsistencies..
 EXAMPLE 1
! 0  
a4
a1 -- a1
a3
a2 --
a2 a5
a3 a1
a4 a1
a5 a2, a3
j
 
 

 EXAMPLE 2
! 0  
a1 -- a4
a1
a2 -- a3
a2 a5
a3 a2, a5
a4 a1,a3
a5 a4
˜    
    
 #
1 : 



Each arc (i,j) of the project network is

numbered such that i<j, by using the
following procedure:
+ ' Identify the source node(s) in the
project network and number them
sequentially from 1 onwards.
+ & For each numbered node delete the
outgoing arcs and identify new sources.
 Fulkerson¶s Rule (Continued)
+ ( Number the newly discovered sources
sequentially.
+ / Continue till one of the following
happens:
(a) All the nodes are numbered indicating a
consistent network.
(b) The absence of sources in the unnumbered
nodes indicating an inconsistency.

++- 
2 -
1 30
.
-
:
4

  
!| *
#

ADJACENCY MATRIX
1 2 3 4 2
1 0 1 1 0 2
2 0 0 1 1 2 4
1
3 0 0 0 1 1
3
4 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 2 2


   !|| :
4

‡ It is a square matrix (n x n) of 0s and 1s.

‡ There is no entry on the diagonal.
‡ The matrix is upper triangular if nodes are
numbered according to Fulkerson¶s rule.
‡ Each entry of 1 indicates an arc in network.
‡ Row (column) sum indicates the no. of arcs
emanating from (converging into) the node.
  
 : 5
!|

"

‡ A vacant column indicates a source node.

‡ A vacant row indicates a sink node.
‡ The rank of the adjacency matrix is (n-1) as
defined by any tree on the graph.
  
| || :
4

Matrix of size (n x m) with entries -1, 0 & 1

a1 a2 a3 a4 a5
1 -1 -1 0 0 0 22
a1 a4
2 1 0 -1 -1 0
1 a3 4
3 0 1 1 0 -1 a2 a5
4 0 0 0 1 1 3
 |
| :
4

Matrix of circuits vs arcs in the network

L3
a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 2
L1 1 -1 1 0 0 a1 L1 a4
L2
L2 0 0 -1 1 -1 a3
1 4
L3 1 -1 0 1 -1
a2 a5
3
 :
4 6
 
|


‡ Multiply the adjacency matrix with itself at

most (n-1) times.
‡ If the matrix is consistent, it must be
nilpotent of index n or less, since in the
absence of loops the maximum spacing
between any two nodes is (n-1).
‡ (A matrix M is nilpotent of index k if Mk=0,
but M(k-1) is not = 0).
 :
4 6

!


  "

M x M = M2 x M = M3
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 10 0101 0011
0010 0010 0001 0010 0100
0001 0001 0100 0001 0010
0100 0100 0010 0100 0001

1 3
4
 MARIMONT¶S PROCEDURE
(Network)

‡ Identify source and sink

‡ Cut the arc and remove that portion from
source and sink
‡ If nothing is left, there is no inconsistency,
otherwise focus on small network left and
remove inconsistency
 Network

Sink

Source
  
7 '

Sink

Source
 
7 &
 
7 (




3 8 -

| ||#
!5 3+-"
! ˜


  
 

A --
B A
C A
D B, C
E B, D
F C, D
G B, D, E, F

| ||#
! 0-  :9 "

| ||#
! 0-  :9 "
 ::
7 

‡ Consistency in a network implies absence

of loops. This is tested by various methods:
± Topological ordering of jobs
± Fulkerson¶s numbering rule
± Squaring of adjacency matrix
± Marimont¶s procedure
 ::
7 

‡ Redundancy in project networks is the

presence of unnecessary additional
precedence information that tends to clutter
the network. Can be removed by
± inspection, for small networks
± the tabular method to generate the predecessor
-successor matrix.
 ::


‡ Consistency checks and redundancy

removal are part of  
    
 
   which yield a valid, well
pruned network for further analysis.
‡ These are generally a part of a good
computer package.

: