AMERICAN SPORTS BUILDERS ASSOCIATION CRITICAL PATH METHOD SCHEDULING FOR SUCCESS

AMERICAN SPORTS BUILDERS ASSOCIATION CRITICAL PATH METHOD SCHEDULING FOR SUCCESS December 6-8, 2008 New Orleans, Louisiana Presented By: Bill Pronevitch SCHEDULING- Is It Necessary? • Effective Project Management involves coordinating activities such as: – – – – Planning Organizing Controlling Time (scheduling) Cost • The “Scheduling” process forces people to: – Quantify their effort in discrete terms – Place tasks in proper relationships SCHEDULING- Methodologies • Two of the most common methodologies: – Bar Charts – Critical Path • ADM: Arrow Diagramming Method • PDM: Precedence Diagramming Method • Both scheduling methods are widely used for: – Controlling – Making optimal use of project time SCHEDULING- Bar Charts • Bar Charts (also called “Gantt Charts”) are primarily for controlling Time elements: – Analyze/ specify the basic approach to be used – Segment the work into a reasonable number of activities that can be scheduled – Estimate the time required to perform each activity (i.e.- activity duration) – Place activities in “time-order” (logic) – Adjust the chart until the specified completion date, if one exists, is satisfied SCHEDULING- Bar Chart A Gantt Chart (Bar Chart) shows: B •All Activities and Status on a Single Chart C D E F 10 11 12 SCHEDULING- Bar Charts • Benefits: – Plan, Schedule, and Progress on a single chart – A simple, understandable way to schedule small projects or undertakings • Disadvantages: – Activity-limited, can’t handle complex projects – Doesn’t show logic ties (activity relationships) – Insufficient detail to enable timely detection of schedule slippages on long duration activities SCHEDULING: Critical Path • The Critical Path Method (CPM) was designed for and is useful on projects where the duration of each activity can be with reasonable certainty - it predicts project overall completion - it identifies the (critical) activities that control the overall length of the project • CPM is widely used in: process industries construction and plant outages/ shutdowns SCHEDULING: Critical Path • Benefits: – Determines shortest project completion time – Identifies “critical” activities – that can not be slipped or delayed (i.e.- “TOTAL FLOAT”) – Shows allowable slippage for “non-critical” activities (i.e.- “FREE FLOAT”) • Disadvantages: – Large number of activities required – Difficult to read, understand, and maintain SCHEDULING: CPM/ADM • ADM (Arrow Diagramming Method): – Arrow (line): represents an Activity – Tail (of arrow): shows an Activity’s start – Head (of arrow): shows an Activity’s finish – Node (or event): shown at each end • The “Activity Number” consists of Head and Tail numbers, commonly referred to as I-J nodes (i.e.- “IJ Method” of CPM) SCHEDULING: CPM/ADM ADM: Arrow Diagramming Method Process Work Requisition Install Order Material Pump Assign Crew (Dummy Activity – shows relationship, zero duration) SCHEDULING – CALC’S • PDM ACTIVITY NOTATION: – – – – Activity Number: unique number to an activity Duration: number of “work periods” assigned ES & EF: calculated in Forward Pass LS & LF: calculated in Backward Pass ACTIVITY NUMBER ES LS LF EF A 5 DURATION FORWARD & BACKWARD PASS  10      40   5        14      20     START 4   50         4   60          5     30      5      Legend FINISH Activity ID   ES  LS  EF Duration   LF FORWARD & BACKWARD PASS  10    40 5            14   19    20     START         10 4    5      13       20  5   24   24   Legend ESs = EFp + EFs = ESs + Ds -  60 30    Early Dates: 4   50 FINISH Activity ID   ES  LS  EF Duration   LF FORWARD & BACKWARD PASS  10 1  5   40     14 19  20 12 START   15 16 4      19   20  5 24   11 5    15   24 Legend LFp = LSs -1 LSp = LFp – D +1  60 30    Late Dates: 4   50 FINISH Activity ID   ES  LS  EF Duration   LF FORWARD & BACKWARD PASS  10  1 1  5   40  5  6 19     14 19  20  6 12 START 4  9  10  15 16 13  20   19   20   4  11 5   9 24    5 24   24 24 15   Legend LFp = LSs -1 LSp = LFp – D +1  60 30    Late Dates:  50 FINISH Activity ID   ES  LS  EF Duration   LF What is the Scheduling Process? Report/ Status Scheduling Planning IDENTIFY MILESTONES • Project Start • Project Phase Start and Finishes • Equipment and/ or Long Lead Item Delivery • Project Finish DEVELOP ACTIVITY LIST (EXAMPLE: HOUSE CONSTURCTION) • Select Lot • Close Financing • Clear and Grub Lot • Landscape • Install Utilities • Purchase Appliance and Lighting Fixtures • Construct House • Install Flooring • Select Contractors • Paint • Arrange Financing ASSIGN DURATION TO ACTIVITES (EXAMPLE: HOUSE CONSTRUCTION) • • • • • • • • • • • Select Lot3 days Clear and Grub Lot 10 days Install Utilities days Construct House 60 days Select Contractors days Arrange Financing days Close Financing day Landscape days Purchase Appliance/Lighting Fixtures Install Flooring days Paint days day SEQUENCE ACTIVITIES ASK THREE QUESTIONS! • What activity must come before this one? • What activity must come after this one? • What activities can I perform at the same time? REVIEW AND FINALIZE • Review Relationships • Review and Finalize Durations • Review Resource Usage • Review and Finalize Project End Date – Does this achieve the desired date? – If it does not… What is the plan NOW?!? SCHEDULING- CONCLUSION • Planning and scheduling functions are usually performed iteratively in order to provide for accomplishing all required tasks within the specified time frames • Both Critical Path Methods (ADM & PDM) create networks showing activity durations and total time for project completion • “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”, hence “Plan the Work, Work the Plan” ... process forces people to: – Quantify their effort in discrete terms – Place tasks in proper relationships SCHEDULING- Methodologies • Two of the most common methodologies: – Bar Charts – Critical Path. .. detection of schedule slippages on long duration activities SCHEDULING: Critical Path • The Critical Path Method (CPM) was designed for and is useful on projects where the duration of each activity... • ADM: Arrow Diagramming Method • PDM: Precedence Diagramming Method • Both scheduling methods are widely used for: – Controlling – Making optimal use of project time SCHEDULING- Bar Charts •