Chapter 6

Developing a
Project Plan

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved

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 Developing the Project Plan
 The Project Network
❑A flow chart that graphically depicts the
sequence, interdependencies, and start and finish
times of the project job plan of activities that is the
critical path through the network
o Provides the basis for scheduling labor and
equipment
o Provides an estimate of the project’s duration
o Provides a basis for budgeting cash flow
o Highlights activities that are “critical” and should not
be delayed
o Help managers get and stay on plan

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From Work Package to Network

WBS/Work Packages to Network

FIGURE 6.1

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From Work Package to Network (cont’d)
WBS/Work Packages to Network (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.1 (cont’d)

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Constructing a Project Network

 Terminology

❑ Activity: an element of the

A
project that requires time.
❑ Merge activity: an activity
that has two or more preceding B D
activities on which it depends.
❑ Parallel (concurrent) C
activities: Activities that can
occur independently and, if
desired, not at the same time.

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Constructing a Project Network (cont’d)
 Terminology

❑ Path: a sequence of connected, dependent activities.

❑ Critical path: the longest path through the activity
network that allows for the completion of all project-
related activities;
the shortest expected time in which the entire project
can be completed. Delays on the critical path will
delay completion of the entire project.
C

A B D

(Assumes that minimum of A + B > minimum of C in length of times to complete activities.)

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Constructing a Project Network (cont’d)

 Terminology
❑ Event: a point in time when an activity is started
or completed. It does not consume time.
❑ Burst activity: an activity that has more than one
activity immediately following it (more than one
dependency arrow flowing from it).
B
 Two Approaches
❑ Activity-on-Node (AON)
o Uses a node to depict an activity A C

❑ Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)
o Uses an arrow to depict an activity D

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 Basic Rules to Follow in Developing
Project Networks
 Networks typically flow from left to right.
 An activity cannot begin until all of its activities are
complete.
 Arrows indicate precedence and flow and can cross
over each other.
 Identify each activity with a unique number; this
number must be greater than its predecessors.
 Looping is not allowed.
 Conditional statements are not allowed.
 Use common start and stop nodes.

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Activity-on-Node Fundamentals

FIGURE 6.2

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Activity-on-Node Fundamentals (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.2 (cont’d)

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Network Information

TABLE 6.1

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Koll Business Center—Partial Network

FIGURE 6.3

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Koll Business Center—Complete Network

FIGURE 6.4

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 Network Computation Process
 Forward Pass—Earliest Times
❑ How soon can the activity start? (early start—ES)
❑ How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—EF)
❑ How soon can the project finish? (expected time—
ET)
 Backward Pass—Latest Times
❑ How late can the activity start? (late start—LS)
❑ How late can the activity finish? (late finish—LF)
❑ Which activities represent the critical path?
❑ How long can it be delayed? (slack or float—SL)

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Network Information

TABLE 6.2

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 Activity-on-Node Network

FIGURE 6.5

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

FIGURE 6.6

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 Forward Pass Computation
 Add activity times along each path in the
network (ES + Duration = EF).
 Carry the early finish (EF) to the next
activity where it becomes its early start
(ES) unless…
 The next succeeding activity is a merge
activity, in which case the largest EF of all
preceding activities is selected.

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Activity-on-Node Network Backward Pass

FIGURE 6.7

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 Backward Pass Computation
 Subtractactivity times along each path in
the network (LF - Duration = LS).
 Carrythe late start (LS) to the next activity
where it becomes its late finish (LF)
unless...
 The next succeeding activity is a burst
activity, in which case the smallest LF of
all preceding activities is selected.

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Determining Slack (or Float)

 Free Slack (or Float)
❑ The amount of time an activity can be delayed
without delaying connected successor
activities
 Total Slack
❑ The amount of time an activity can be delayed
without delaying the entire project
 The critical path is the network path(s) that
has (have) the least slack in common.

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 Sensitivity of a Network
 The likelihood the original critical path(s)
will change once the project is initiated.
❑ Function of:
oThe number of critical paths
oThe amount of slack across near critical
activities

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Activity-on-Node Network with Slack

FIGURE 6.8

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 Practical Considerations
 Network logic errors
 Activity numbering
 Use of computers to develop networks
 Calendar dates
 Multiple starts and multiple projects

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Illogical Loop

FIGURE 6.9

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 Air Control Project

FIGURE 6.10

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Air Control Project (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.11

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 Extended Network Techniques
to Come Close to Reality
 Laddering
❑ Activities are broken into segments so the following
activity can begin sooner and not delay the work.
 Lags
❑ The minimum amount of time a dependent activity
must be delayed to begin or end
o Lengthy activities are broken down to reduce the delay
in the start of successor activities.
o Lags can be used to constrain finish-to-start, start-to-
start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish, or combination
relationships.

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Example of Laddering Using

Finish-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.12

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 Use of Lags
Finish-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.13

Start-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.14

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Use of Lags (cont’d)

Use of Lags to
Reduce Detail

FIGURE 6.15

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 New Product
Development
Process
FIGURE 6.16

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Use of Lags (cont’d)

Finish-to-Finish
Relationship
FIGURE 6.17

Start-to-Finish
Relationship FIGURE 6.18

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 Network Using Lags

FIGURE 6.20

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Hammock Activities
 Hammock Activity

❑ Anactivity that spans over a segment of a

project
❑ Duration of hammock activities is determined
after the network plan is drawn.
❑ Hammock activities are used to aggregate
sections of the project to facilitate getting the
right amount of detail for specific sections of a
project.

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 Hammock Activity Example

FIGURE 6.21

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Key Terms
Activity Gantt chart
Activity-on-arrow (AOA) Hammock activity
Activity-on-node (AON) Lag relationship
Burst activity Merge activity
Concurrent engineering Network sensitivity
Critical path Parallel activity
Early and late times Slack/float—total and free

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Activity-on-Arrow Network
Building Blocks

FIGURE A6.1

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Activity-on-Arrow Network
Fundamentals

FIGURE A6.2

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 Activity-on-Arrow Network
Fundamentals

FIGURE A6.2 (cont’d)

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Koll Center Project: Network Information

TABLE A6.1

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Partial Koll Business Center
AOA Network

FIGURE A6.3

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Partial AOA Koll Network

FIGURE A6.4

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Partial AOA Koll Network (cont’d)

FIGURE A6.4 (cont’d)

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Activity-on-Arrow Network

FIGURE A6.5

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Activity-on-Arrow Network
Forward Pass

FIGURE A6.6

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Activity-on-Arrow Network
Backward Pass

FIGURE A6.7

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Activity-on-Arrow Network Backward
Pass, Forward Pass, and Slack

FIGURE A6.8

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Air Control Inc. Custom Order

Project—AOA Network Diagram

FIGURE A6.9

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Comparison of AON and AOA Methods

TABLE A6.2 6-51

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