CPM, PERT and

Networking
Introduction
• Any commercial project, small or large, consists of a number of interrelated
activities which are required to be completed:
1.) In given time.
2.) In the required sequence.
3.) Making optimum consumption of resources.
• The techniques of:
1.) PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and
2.) CPM (Critical Path Method)
are used for project planning, scheduling and controlling, so that the above
stated objectives are achieved effectively.
 PERT CPM
• Probabilistic in nature. • Deterministic in nature.
• Uses 3 time completion • Use of single fixed time estimate.
estimates. • Activity oriented technique.
• Event oriented technique. • Makes use of time-cost trade-
• Makes use of only time offs in analysis.
calculations in analysis. • Used for projects consisting of
• Used for projects involving non- repetitive activities.
repetitive activities. • E.g. construction of building.
• E.g. research and development.
 Events and
Activities
‘Printing’ Activity
1 2
(4 days)
Start event Terminal event
Tail node (i) Head node (j)

Events Activities
• They indicate the start and end • They indicate the actual tasks to
of activities. be performed. (Printing)
• They do not consume any • They consume resources like
resources. time (4 days).
• They are represented by circles • They are represented by arrows
and are numbered sequentially. also called arcs.
• PERT is event oriented. • CPM is activity oriented.
 C (1)
4
F (0)
2
A (2)
D (4)
G (5)
1 5 6

B (3)
3 E (2)
• A is a ‘predecessor’ activity of C.
• D is a ‘successor’ activity of A.
• Node 1 is a ‘burst event’ • A and B are ‘concurrent’ activities.
• Node 5 is a ‘merge event’. • Activities consume resources, like
• No activity can start from a node A(2), means A needs 2 days to
until all the activities complete.
terminating into it are • F is a ‘dummy’ activity which does
completed. not consume any resources.
• They are numbered as 1, 2, 3 …. • For activity ‘A’, 1 is the tail node (i)
and 2 is the head node (j).
Network Construction Rules
• Only one initial and one terminal node.
• All other nodes must be tied to the network on both sides (no
dangling nodes).
• Each activity can have one and only one arrow.
• Two or more activities cannot have the same tail and head node. In
such cases dummy activities are added.
• An activity cannot start until all its preceding activities are completed.
• Generally, progression is shown from left to right.
• Arrows should be straight and not cross each other.
• There should be no looping activities.
 C (1)
4
F (0)
2
A (2)
D (4)
G (5)
Fig. A
1 5 6 Correct

B (3)
3 E (2)

4
C (1) E (2)
2 F (0) Fig. B
A (2)
D (4) Wrong
G (5)
1 5 6

B (3)
3
 Important terms
• Critical path: It is a sequence of critical activities which start from the initial
event and go up to the last event. It is the longest duration path and it
determines the minimum time or expected project completion time. It is
shown by thick line or double line in a network diagram.
Project completion time = sum of duration of critical activities.
For PERT:
• The 3 time estimates :
i.) Optimistic time(a) ii.) Most likely time(m) iii.) Pessimistic time(b)
a<m<b
• Expected time for an activity (te) = (a + 4m + b)
6
1.)
Activity Time in days Immediate
Predecessor
A 1 --
B 4 A
C 3 A 1.) Draw the network diagram.
D 7 A
E 6 B 2.) Determine the critical path and
F 2 C project duration.
G 7 E,F
H 9 D
I 4 G,H
2.
)
Activity Preceding Duration
Activity (Weeks)
A -- 1
1.) Draw the network diagram.
B A 3
C A 4 2.) Determine the critical path and
D A 3 project duration.
E D 2 3.) What is the effect on the
F B,C,E 4 project duration if:
G D 9
H D 5
i.) D is changed to 6 weeks.
I H 2 ii.) F is changed to 8 weeks.
J F,G,I 2
3.)
Activity Time in days
1-2 3
2-3 4
2-4 4
2-5 5 1.) Draw the network diagram.
3-7 4 2.) Determine the critical path and
4-5 2 project duration.
4-7 2
5-6 3
6-7 2
 Activity a m b
1-2 2 4 12

4.) 1-3 10 12 26
2-3 8 9 10 1.) Draw network diagram.
2-4 10 15 20
2.) Find critical path.
2-5 7 7.5 11
3-5 9 9 9 3.) Find Expected project length.
4-5 3 3.5 7
5-6 5 5 5

(*Time estimates are in weeks)

 Network
Analysis
• (i,j): i is the tail node • ES : Earliest starting Activity Floats
and j is the head time. • TF : Total Float
node of the activity. • EF : Earliest finishing • FF : Free Float
• E : Earliest time.
occurrence time. • IF : Independent
• LS : Latest starting Float
• L : Latest time.
occurrence time. Event Slacks
• LF : Latest finishing
• tij : Time duration of time. • Sj : Head Slack
activity(i,j) • Si : Tail Slack

*For critical activities and events, the floats and slacks are 0
 Network
Analysis
(*Duration in days)
3
E (5)
B (3)
D (1)
A (2) I (2)
1 2 4 6 7
C (4) F (3)

G (2) H (0)
5

1.) Perform forward pass to calculate the ‘E’ for each activity.
2.) Perform backward pass to calculate the ‘L’ for each activity.
3.) Then create table for performing the network analysis calculations.
Forward pass and Backward pass

3
5-5 E (5)
B (3)
D (1)
A (2) 2 4 6 I (2) 7
1
0-0 2-2 C (4) 6-7 F (3) 10-10 12-12

G (2) H (0)
5
8-10
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Activity Duration EST EFT LST LFT TF Head FF Tail slack IF

slack (Sj) (Si)
(i – j) tij = Ei =EST+ tij = LFT- tij = Lj =LST-EST = Lj - Ej = TF - Sj = Li - Ei = FF - Si

A(1 - 2) 2

B(2 – 3) 3

C(2 – 4) 4

D(3 – 4) 1

E(3 – 6) 5

F(4 – 6) 3

G(4 – 5) 2

H(5 – 6) 0

I(6 – 7) 2
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Activity Duration EST EFT LST LFT TF Head FF Tail slack IF

slack (Sj) (Si)
(i – j) tij = Ei =EST+ tij = LFT- tij = Lj =LST-EST = Lj - Ej = TF - Sj = Li - Ei = FF - Si

A(1 - 2) 2 0 2

B(2 – 3) 3 2 5

C(2 – 4) 4 2 7

D(3 – 4) 1 5 7

E(3 – 6) 5 5 10

F(4 – 6) 3 6 10

G(4 – 5) 2 6 10

H(5 – 6) 0 8 10

I(6 – 7) 2 10 12
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Activity Duration EST EFT LST LFT TF Head FF Tail slack IF

slack (Sj) (Si)
(i – j) tij = Ei =EST+ tij = LFT- tij = Lj =LST-EST = Lj - Ej = TF - Sj = Li - Ei = FF - Si

A(1 - 2) 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

B(2 – 3) 3 2 5 2 5 0 0 0 0 0

C(2 – 4) 4 2 6 3 7 1 1 0 0 0

D(3 – 4) 1 5 7

E(3 – 6) 5 5 10

F(4 – 6) 3 6 10

G(4 – 5) 2 6 10

H(5 – 6) 0 8 10

I(6 – 7) 2 10 12
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Activity Duration EST EFT LST LFT TF Head FF Tail slack IF

slack (Sj) (Si)
(i – j) tij = Ei =EST+ tij = LFT - tij = Lj =LST-EST = Lj - Ej = TF - Sj = Li - Ei = FF - Si

A(1 - 2) 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

B(2 – 3) 3 2 5 2 5 0 0 0 0 0

C(2 – 4) 4 2 6 3 7 1 1 0 0 0

D(3 – 4) 1 5 6 6 7 1 1 0 0 0

E(3 – 6) 5 5 10 5 10 0 0 0 0 0

F(4 – 6) 3 6 9 7 10 1 0 1 1 0

G(4 – 5) 2 6 8 8 10 2 2 0 1 -1  0

H(5 – 6) 0 8 8 10 10 2 0 2 2 0

I(6 – 7) 2 10 12 10 12 0 0 0 0 0
 Practice: 1)

Activity Preceding Days

Activity
A -- 2
B -- 3
1.) Draw the network diagram.
C A 4
D B 1 2.) Determine the critical path and
E A 5 project duration.
F B 2
G C, D 2
H G, F 5
I E 3
J H, I 4
K J 1
 Practice: 2)
Activity Predecessor a m b
A -- 4 7 13
B A 6 9 11
1.) Draw network diagram.
C A 5 7 9
D B 3 5 7 2.) Find critical path.
E C 7 8 10 3.) Find Expected project
F D 2 3 5 length.
G E 6 7 8
H F,G 2 3 4

(*Time estimates are in weeks)

Practice: 3)
The following table gives the activities in a construction project and other
relevant information:
Activity 1–2 1–3 2–3 2–4 3–4 4–5
Duration 20 25 10 12 6 10
(Days)

i.) Draw the network for the project.

ii.) Find the critical path.
iii.) Determine the minimum project completion time.
iv.) Prepare an activity schedule (showing ES, EF, LS, LF and float for
each activity.
Networking (CPM, PERT)

1.) Draw the network diagram: 2.) Draw network diagram and
Predecessor Activity find critical path:
- A
Activity Duration
- B
1-2 10
A, B C
1-3 15
A D
2-4 10
C, D E
2-5 15
E F
3-5 12
E G
4-6 11
C, D H
F, G I
I, H J