Define activity, event, and path as used in network construction. What is a dummy activity?
According to Kerzner, an event is the starting or end point for a group of activites. An activity is the work required to proceed from one event or point in time to another. A path any sequence of activities and paths. Dummy activities are artificial activities use to show dependencies between events but do not consume resources or time like a typical activity.
What characteristic of the critical path times makes them critical?
The critical path is the longest path through a network diagram or between milestones. If an activity takes longer to complete than expected, the added duration will negatively impact the start/complete dates of the balance of the activities, also pushing out milestones on the path and the potentially the end date of the project.
What two factors are compared by Gantt charting?
Gantt charts are used to plot activities or events against time or dollars.
How does the Gantt chart differ in purpose from the project master schedule?
Traditional Gantt charts are just bars spread over a time scale. As a result, they do not show activity interdependencies and other information like network diagrams do. Kerzner states that without the interdependencies, the bar charts have little predictive value. However, using modern software like MS Project, the PM can modify the traditional bar charts to include activity interdependencies.
What are some benefits of the network approach to project planning? What are some drawbacks?
Kerzner provides a list of the benefits in the text. I won’t relist them here. Instead, I want to highlight one that I feel is the most important. The network approach helps to identify the interdependencies of activities. I use MS Project to schedule the activities for my projects. We have a structured approach to developing the schedules. We typically work with experts in each area to identify the tasks needed to complete the requirements or deliverables. We assign resources . We identify the duration of each activity and we identify the interdependencies. It is the interdependencies that bring the schedule to life. Without interdependencies between the activities, you just have a long list of tasks that all start on the same date and end on different dates depending on the duration assigned. Without the interdependencies you will have people trying to start stuff that they can’t actually start because they relay on something else being completed. The interdependencies are the biggest benefit of the network diagram. But they can also be a drawback. Interdependencies can become very complicated, especially on larger projects with multiple departments and plans. The trick is to keep the network diagrams simple enough to work with but still have enough detail to drive the right activities at the right time.
Should the critical path activities be managed differently from noncritical path activities? Explain.
Absolutely. Activities on the critical path directly impact milestones on the critical path and potentially the end date of the project. The project manager should focus more attention on critical path activities because of the impact on milestones and the overall project. However, this doesn’t mean the PM can ignore noncritical path activities. Some paths within the network can become critical paths if the activities on the path slip far enough to chew up the slack. So the PM must close attention to the critical path activities while also keeping an eye on activities that might become critical.
Reference
Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, by Harold Kerzner.
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