PERT Chart

(Program evaluation and review technique)

(PERT) is a technique to analyze and represent the activity in a project, and to illustrate the flow
of events in a project. PERT is a method to evaluate and estimate the time required to complete
each task within deadlines and to identify the minimum time needed to complete the total project.
When to Draw PERT Chart
Project managers can use PERT charts to solve the following problems:

 Plan a realistic timetable for project completion.

 Identify critical path - since the path leads to the minimum time the project requires, any
delays to these tasks will impact the completion of the overall project.
 Identify tasks that can be carried out concurrently.
 Identify tasks that need to be compressed if the overall project time needs to be reduced.
 Identify slack time where certain tasks are not as time-critical to the overall deadline

How to Draw a PERT Chart?

PERT planning involves the following steps:
1- Identify the specific activities
2- Determine the proper sequence of the activities
3- Construct a PERT diagram
4- Estimate the time required for each activity.
5- Determine the critical path.
6- Update the PERT chart as the project progresses
Gantt chart PERT chart

Gantt chart is defined as the bar chart. PERT chart is similar to a network diagram
Gantt chart was developed by Henry L. Gantt. PERT chart was developed by the United States
navy.
Gantt chart is often used for Small Projects PERT chart can be used for large and complex
Projects
Gantt chart focuses on the time required to PERT chart focuses on the dependency of
complete a task relationships.

Gantt chart is simpler and more straightforward PERT chart could be sometimes confusing and
complex but can be used for visualizing critical
path
 CPM / PERT Network Diagram
CPM (Critical Path Method) was developed to solve project scheduling problems.
These methods have been applied to a wide variety of problems in industries and have found
acceptance even in government organizations. These include

rototype of a machine

Basic Steps in PERT / CPM

Project scheduling by PERT / CPM consists of four main steps
1. Planning

projects in turn are divided into activities and are analyzed by the department or section.

the corresponding responsibilities and the authority are also stated.

2. Scheduling
ultimate objective of the scheduling phase is to prepare a time chart showing the start and
finish times for each activity as well as its relationship to other activities of the project.
which require special attention
if the project is to be completed in time.
-critical activities, the schedule must show the amount of slack or float times which can
be used advantageously when such activities are delayed or when limited resources are to be used
effectively.

3. Allocation of resources

variable such as labor, finance, equipment and space which will impose a limitation on time for
the project.
4. Controlling

application of the principle of management by expectation to identify areas that are critical to the
completion of the project.
progress reports from time to time and updating the network continuously, a better
financial as well as technical control over the project is exercised.

Network Diagram Representation

In a network representation of a project certain definitions are used
Activity
Any operation which utilizes resources and has an end and a beginning is called activity. An
arrow is commonly used to represent an activity with its head indicating the direction of progress
in the project. These are classified into four categories
a. Predecessor activity – Activities that must be completed immediately prior to the start of
another activity are called predecessor activities.
b. Successor activity – Activities that cannot be started until one or more of other activities are
completed but immediately succeed them are called successor activities.
c. Concurrent activity – Activities which can be accomplished concurrently are known as
concurrent activities. It may be noted that an activity can be a predecessor or a successor to an
event or it may be concurrent with one or more of other activities.
d. Dummy activity – An activity which does not consume any kind of resource but depicts the
technological dependence is called a dummy activity.
The dummy activity is inserted in the network as shown in fig , For example, consider a
situation where B and C are concurrent activities. C is dependent on A and D is dependent on B
and C both.

A B D
1 2 4 5
1 2
C Dummy activity
3
 Event
An event represents a point in time signifying the completion of some activities and the
beginning of new ones. This is usually represented by a circle in a network which is also called a
node or connector. The events are classified in to three categories
1. Merge event – When more than one activity comes and joins an event such an event is known
as merge event.
2. Burst event – When more than one activity leaves an event such an event is known as burst
event.
3. Merge and Burst event – An activity may be merge and burst event at the same time as with
respect to some activities it can be a merge event and with respect to some other activities it may
be a burst event.

Merge event Burst event Merge and Burst event

Sequencing
The first prerequisite in the development of network is to maintain the precedence relationships.
In order to make a network, the following points should be taken into considerations

Since all further calculations are based on the network, it is necessary that a network be drawn with
full care.
 Rules for Drawing Network Diagram

Rule 1 Each activity is represented by one and only one arrow in the network

Rule 2 In order to ensure the correct precedence relationship in the arrow diagram, following
questions must be checked whenever any activity is added to the network

this instruction may be useful to draw the diagram

may be
used if necessary.

end event.
 Common Errors in Drawing Networks
The three types of errors are most commonly observed in drawing network diagrams
1. Dangling
2. To disconnect an activity before the completion of all activities in a network diagram is known
as dangling. As shown in the figure activities (with red color ) are not the last activities in the
network. So the diagram is wrong and indicates the error of dangling
wrong

wrong

2. Looping or Cycling Looping error is also known as cycling error in a network diagram. Drawing
an endless loop in a network is known as error of looping as shown in the following figure.
wrong

wrong

3. Redundancy unnecessarily inserting the dummy activity in network logic is known as the error of
redundancy as shown in the following diagram

A B
Example : Draw the network for these activities .
Activity The predecessor activity Duration
A -------------- 2
B ---------------- 3
C A 2
D B 4
E C 4
F C 3
G D,E 5
H F,G 2

C2

2 4
A2 F3
H2
1 6 7
E4

B3 D4 G5
3 5

How to plot Earliest time (ET), Latest time (LT) in a network diagram

To determine the project critical path, it is necessary to perform a forward pass and a backward
pass
through the network. The forward pass will identify the early start and finish times. The backward
pass
will identify the late start and finish times. These processes are required to be able to calculate the
float on each activity.
Forward Pass
Let’s take a look at calculating the Forward Pass. A forward pass is performed from left to right
through the network. This process will identify the early start and early finish for each activity.
Start with 0 for the first activities on each path to get the initial early starts, and then add the
duration to the early start. In the forward-pass process, the greater value of the early finish for all
predecessors is always used when multiple predecessors converge into one successor. The early
finish for the last activity in the network is also the project duration. So the rules to remember for
the forward pass are:
1. For any activity without a predecessor, its early start (ES) will be 0.
2. For all activities with a single predecessor, calculate its early start by adding its duration
to its predecessor’s (ES)
3. For activities with multiple predecessors, calculate its early start by adding its duration
to the greatest early finish of all its predecessors.
4. To calculate the early finish date for all activities use the following equation:
EF = ES + duration
Backward Pass
Let’s now take a look at calculating the Backward Pass. A backward pass is performed going
from right to left through the network. It will determine the late start and late finish for each
activity. Presume that the last activity’s late finish will be the same as its early finish.. Then
subtract the duration from the late finish. The lesser value of all successor tasks that converge
from a predecessor is used as the late finish for the predecessor.
So the rules to remember for the backward pass are:
1. Presume that the network’s critical path has zero float so that its last activity’s late finish
will be the same as its early finish.
2. To calculate the late start for all activities, use the following equation: LS = LF – duration
3. For any activities with a single successor, calculate its late finish by subtracting its duration
from its successor’s late start.
4. For any activities with multiple successors, calculate its late finish by choosing the lowest
result of subtracting durations of its successors’ late starts.
Critical Path
A network diagram has many paths originating from one point and ending at another point. Every
path has a duration and the one with the longest duration is the critical path. You can define a
critical path as:

- The longest path in the network diagram, or

- The shortest duration to complete the project
Notice that the first statement is talking about the longest path and the other is talking about the
shortest duration. They may appear to be opposites, but they are conveying the same message.

For example, let’s say you have a project to construct three buildings. The first is the largest, the
second is medium-sized, and the third is the smallest.

You develop the network diagram which comprises three paths; each path represents each
building.

You calculate the duration for each path. For the first building, the duration is 31 months, the
second will take 18 months, and the third will require 13 months.

You can see that the first path is for the largest building, the second path is for the medium-sized
one, and the third path is for the building.

Now, let us review the diagram. Did you notice that the first path is the longest?
It is 13 months longer than the second, and 18 months longer than the third.
This means that you can wait 13 months then you can start working on the second building
because you can complete the second building in 18 months.
Likewise, you could wait 18 months and then start working on the third building because it will
take only 13 months to complete. This means that, even if you start work on the third building
after 18 months from the project start date, you can finish it on time.
This waiting period is known as the float or slack. So, which is the critical path in this network
diagram?
It is the longest path on the network diagram because you cannot complete your project before
finishing the first building. Although you can complete the other two buildings quickly, your
project is not considered complete until the first building is.
This proves the first statement that says “the critical path is the longest path on the network
diagram.”
Now, what is the shortest duration to complete the project?
It is 31 months because you cannot complete your project in less time, and this is the duration of
the critical path.
This proves the second statement that says, “The critical path is the shortest duration in which
you can complete the project.”
So, both definitions are the same.
You can define the critical path as the sequence of activities from start to end, and it has the
longest duration among all paths in a network diagram.
In ideal conditions, a network diagram should have one critical path. If it has more than one
critical path, you will be in a difficult situation because you will have to manage more than one
critical path.
The critical path has the longest duration, and it is the project’s duration. Activities on the critical
path have no float; therefore, you must ensure that critical activities complete on time. Any delay
in a critical activity will delay the project.
Procedure for Finding the Critical Path in a Network Diagram
You can use the following steps to find a critical path in a network diagram:
Draw the network diagram.
Identify all paths in the network diagram.
Find the duration of each path.
The path with the largest duration is the critical path.
Example 2:
Activity The predecessor activity Duration
K ------------- 3
R K 3
L R 5
P R 5
A K 8
W L,P 1
S A,W 8

11 12
1
5
040 0 3 3 6 6 P5 12 12 21 21
K3 R3 L6 W1 S8
1 2 4 6 7 8

13 13
A8
3

11 13

Paths :
1-2-4-6-7-8 = 3+3+6+1+8= 21 ----------------- Critical path
1-2-4-5-6-7-8 = 3+3+5+1+8 = 20
1-2-3-7-8 = 3+8+8 = 19