Chapter 6

Developing a
Project Plan

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
6-2
 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

6-3
From Work Package to Network
WBS/Work Packages to Network

FIGURE 6.1

6-4
From Work Package to Network (cont’d)
WBS/Work Packages to Network (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.1 (cont’d)

6-5
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.

6-6
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.)

6-7
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

6-8
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.

6-9
Activity-on-Node Fundamentals

FIGURE 6.2

6-10
Activity-on-Node Fundamentals (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.2 (cont’d)

6-11
Network Information

TABLE 6.1

6-12
Koll Business Center—Partial Network

FIGURE 6.3

6-13
Koll Business Center—Complete Network

FIGURE 6.4

6-14
 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)

6-15
Network Information

TABLE 6.2

6-16
Activity-on-Node Network

FIGURE 6.5

6-17
Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

FIGURE 6.6

6-18
 Forward Pass Computation
 Addactivity 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.

6-19
Activity-on-Node Network Backward Pass

FIGURE 6.7

6-20
 Backward Pass Computation
 Subtract
activity times along each path in
the network (LF - Duration = LS).
 Carry
the 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.

6-21
 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
 Thecritical path is the network path(s) that
has (have) the least slack in common.

6-22
 Sensitivity of a Network
 The likelihood the original critical path(s)
will change once the project is initiated.
 Function of:
o The number of critical paths
o The amount of slack across near critical
activities

6-23
Activity-on-Node Network with Slack

FIGURE 6.8

6-24
 Practical Considerations
 Network logic errors
 Activity numbering
 Use of computers to develop networks
 Calendar dates
 Multiple starts and multiple projects

6-25
Illogical Loop

FIGURE 6.9

6-26
Air Control Project

FIGURE 6.10

6-27
Air Control Project (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.11

6-28
 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.

6-29
Example of Laddering Using
Finish-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.12

6-30
 Use of Lags
Finish-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.13

Start-to-Start Relationship

FIGURE 6.14

6-31
Use of Lags (cont’d)

Use of Lags to
Reduce Detail

FIGURE 6.15

6-32
New Product
Development
Process
FIGURE 6.16

6-33
Use of Lags (cont’d)

Finish-to-Finish
Relationship
FIGURE 6.17

Start-to-Finish
Relationship FIGURE 6.18

6-34
Network Using Lags

FIGURE 6.20

6-35
 Hammock Activities
 Hammock Activity
 An activity 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.

6-36
Hammock Activity Example

FIGURE 6.21

6-37
 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

6-38
Activity-on-Arrow Network
Building Blocks

FIGURE A6.1

6-39
Activity-on-Arrow Network
Fundamentals

FIGURE A6.2

6-40
Activity-on-Arrow Network
Fundamentals

FIGURE A6.2 (cont’d)

6-41
Koll Center Project: Network Information

TABLE A6.3

6-42
Partial Koll Business Center
AOA Network

FIGURE A6.3

6-43
Partial AOA Koll Network

FIGURE A6.4

6-44
Partial AOA Koll Network (cont’d)

FIGURE A6.4 (cont’d)

6-45
Activity-on-Arrow Network

FIGURE A6.5

6-46
Activity-on-Arrow Network
Forward Pass

FIGURE A6.6

6-47
Activity-on-Arrow Network
Backward Pass

FIGURE A6.7

6-48
Activity-on-Arrow Network Backward
Pass, Forward Pass, and Slack

FIGURE A6.8

6-49
Air Control Inc. Custom Order
Project—AOA Network
Diagram

FIGURE A6.9

6-50
Comparison of AON and AOA Methods

TABLE A6.2 6-51