PERT and CPM - Coursework Example

Running head: PERT and CPM PERT and CPM Affiliation February 2009 In this report I will present the implementation of the two important project management techniques PERT and CPM those are two network models that can be used in many ways in nearly any company. I will discuss implementation of these two techniques in the management and planning of my organization project that is based on the Social Work for the Child Health Program. In the end I will also present the pros and cons of these two methods. PERT PERT stands for the Program Evaluation & Review Technique: is a consequence of research work carried out by the U.S. navy in the late 1950s, when they were trying to put the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile Project on according to their timetable (Wolf et al, 1985). There were thousands of contractors and agencies mixed up in this project. Earlier askance at this practice gave way to esteem when the program ended two years before its planned achievement date (Businessballs.com, 2005). People often speak of PERT and CPM in the same breath. CPM, or Critical Path Method, too has the identical authorization as PERT, though the focus of CPM is slightly different. The same mandate as PERT, though the focus of CPM is slightly diverse. The equation and process modeling a assignment for PERT is the following: E=(O+4M+P)/6 (equation) (Businessballs.com, 2005). E= Expected Value O= Optimistic Value (this is equivalent to a minimum value) M= Most Likely Value P= Pessimistic Value (this is equivalent to a maximum value) CPM The CPM is acknowledged for the Critical Path Method charts are comparable to PERT charts and are occasionally well-known as PERT/CPM. In a Critical Path Method chart, the critical course is point out. A critical path made of a set of interconnected jobs (each associated on the previous one) which jointly get hold of the top time to finish (Leach, 2003). Though it is not usually done, a Critical Path Method chart is able to illustrate numerous, homogeneously critical paths. Jobs which move down on the critical path be made-up to be distinguished in a number of ways, so that they may possibly be given particular attention. One method is to illustrate critical path jobs with a dual line as an alternative of a sole line (Project Management Institute, 2004). Jobs which drop on the critical path should get hold of exceptional concentration by together the project manager and the personnel allocated to them. The critical path for some standard procedure can be shifted as the development progresses; this is able to occur when jobs are over and done with either at the back or ahead of timetable, reasoning other jobs which may still be on timetable to fall on the latest critical path. Project Implementation Our organization is going to start a social project and assigned me the duties of a manager. Here I have listed the following activities for this project and also mentioned their expected time. This is a very large project, here I will only discuss the activities those are significant and I am responsible for there exaction. Task–No Task Description Expected time 1-2 Social Work Team to analysis in Village 5 Weeks 1-3 Social Research Team to do survey of the area 12 Weeks 3-4 Analyze outcomes of survey 5 Weeks 2-4 Start and establish Mother & Child Health Program 14 Weeks 3-5 Establish Rural Credit Program 15 Weeks 4-5 Carry out Immunization of Under Fives 4 Weeks In the projects like this the PERT technique is cooperative, for the reason that it is able to contain the dissimilarity in event conclusion times, based on an expert approximation. For this project we have to find the following three time estimates: Most Pessimistic Most Likely Most Optimistic Then we will calculate the duration of each activity using the following below given formula: E= (O+4M+P)/6 (details of each variable given above) By this I have developed the below give PERT chart Task O M P E Duration 1-3 3 12 21 12 12 Weeks 3-5 6 15 30 16 15 Weeks 1-2 2 5 14 6 5 Weeks 2-4 5 14 17 13 14 Weeks 3-4 2 5 8 5 5 Weeks 4-5 1 4 7 4 4 Weeks Below I have presented the diagram of this project according to the above given chart. Figure 1- Activity Chart Now I will present the CPM of this project that will illustrate the critical path of this project. By this we will get better idea about the critical activities those need more concentration and about the critical path that we have to follow throughout the whole project execution. Figure 2- CPM In the above given figure I have presented the critical path of all activities and their associated dates and time value. In this figure the red colored path is the critical path of the overall project that shows the significance of overall activities of the project. By this we have a better view of the overall project lifecycle. Pros & Cons of the PERT/CPM Method In this section I will present few pros and cons of these two project network model techniques. I have researched a lot and gathered the essential information in this scenario. Advantages   The advantage of the PERT/CPM techniques are given below: These techniques (PERT/CPM chart) evidently illustrates and makes noticeable dependencies among the work break down structure elements, (Leach, 2003)   These techniques makes easy the organization of the critical path and creates this apparent, (Leach, 2003)   These techniques make possible the uncovering of premature commence, not on time start, and impermanent for every activity (Kerzner, 2003),   PERT/CPM provides for potentially condensed project extent due to better understanding of dependencies leading to improved overlapping of activities and tasks where feasible (Kerzner, 2003).   Disadvantages   PERT and CPM has the following given disadvantages:   PERT and CPM are not able to hold the hundreds or thousands of project actions and individual dependency associations, (Kerzner, 2003) In case of hundreds or thousands of project actions the network charts would likely to be massive and awkward necessitating a number of pages to print and need particular size paper (Kerzner, 2003), When the PERT/CPM charts turn out to be heavy, they are better and easy to access and discuss with them for the management of the project (Kerzner, 2003). Conclusion In this paper I have discussed two important project management techniques PERT and CPM those are two network models that can be used in many ways in nearly any company. I have also presented the project and implementation of these techniques regarding this project. At the end I have discussed the pros and cons of these techniques. In this whole report I have tried to present the whole information in an efficient way for the better understanding regarding the project. References 1. Businessballs.com. (2005). Project management: project contingency planning. Retrieved March 5, 2006, from the Businessballs.com Web site: http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm. 2. Kerzner, H. (2003). Project management a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 3. Leach, L. (2003). Schedule and cost buffer sizing: how to account for the bias between project performance and your model. Project Management Journal, 34, 34. Retrieved March 4, 2006, from Business Source Elite database. 4. Project Management Institute. (2004). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (3rd ed.). Newton Square, PA: Author. 5. Wolf, G. L., Hauck, W. C. (1985). PERT/CPM: A tool for managing projects. Industrial Management, 27, 22. Retrieved February 25, 2006, from Business Source Elite database. Read More