SCHEDULING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT (PERM AND CRM)

MD 2: Scheduling and Project Management (PERM and CRM)

MD 2: Scheduling and Project Management (PERM and CRM)

CPM models the activities and events of a project as a network. Activities are depicted as nodes on the network and events that signify the beginning or ending of activities are depicted as arcs or lines between the nodes. The following is an example of a CPM network diagram:

CPM Diagram

Steps in CPM Project Planning

Specify the individual activities.

Determine the sequence of those activities.

Draw a network diagram.

Estimate the completion time for each activity.

Identify the critical path (longest path through the network)

Update the CPM diagram as the project progresses.

1. Specify the Individual Activities

From the work breakdown structure, a listing can be made of all the activities in the project. This listing can be used as the basis for adding sequence and duration information in later steps.

2. Determine the Sequence of the Activities

Some activities are dependent on the completion of others. A listing of the immediate predecessors of each activity is useful for constructing the CPM network diagram.

3. Draw the Network Diagram

Once the activities and their sequencing have been defined, the CPM diagram can be drawn. CPM originally was developed as an activity on node (AON) network, but some project planners prefer to specify the activities on the arcs.

4. Estimate Activity Completion Time

The time required to complete each activity can be estimated using past experience or the estimates of knowledgeable persons. CPM is a deterministic model that does not take into account variation in the completion time, so only one number is used for an activity's time estimate.

5. Identify the Critical Path

The critical path is the longest-duration path through the network. The significance of the critical path is that the activities that lie on it cannot be delayed without delaying the project. Because ...