1

Developing a
Project Plan
CHAPTER 6
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Learning Objectives

u Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.

u Diagram a project network using AON methods.
u Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
u Identify and understand the importance of managing the
critical path.
u Distinguish free slack from total slack.
u Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in
compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of an
activity.
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Chapter Outline

u Developing the Project Network

u From Work Package to Network
u Constructing a Project Network
u Activity-on-Node (AON) Fundamentals
u Network Computation Process
u Using the Forward and Backward Pass Information
u Level of Detail for Activities
u Practical Considerations
u Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality
u Assignment
 4

I keep six honest serving-men (they

taught me all I knew); their names
are What and Why and When and
How and Where and Who.

Rudyard Kipling
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Developing
the Project
Network
 6
Developing the Project
Network

u The project network is the tool used for planning, scheduling,

and monitoring project progress.
u The network is developed from the information collected for the
WBS and is a graphic flow chart of the project job plan.
u The network depicts the project activities that must be
completed, the logical sequences, the interdependencies of
the activities to be completed, and in most cases the times for
the activities to start and finish along with the longest path(s)
through the network—the critical path.
u The network is the framework for the project information system
that will be used by the project managers to make decisions
concerning project time, cost, and performance.
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Developing the Project
Network

u Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment.

u Enhances communication among project participants.
u Provides an estimate of the project’s duration.
u Provides a basis for budgeting cash flow.
u Identifies activities that are critical.
u Highlights activities that are “critical” and can not be delayed.
u Highlights which activities to consider if the project needs to be
compressed to meet a deadline.
u Help managers get and stay on plan.
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From Work
Package to
Network
 9
From Work Package to
Network

u Project networks are developed from the WBS.

u The project network is a visual flow diagram of the sequence,
interrelationships, and dependencies of all the activities that must
be accomplished to complete the project.
u An activity is an element in the project that consumes time—for
example, work or waiting.
u Work packages from the WBS are used to build the activities found
in the project network.
u An activity can include one or more work packages.
u The activities are placed in a sequence that provides for orderly
completion of the project.
u Networks are built using nodes (boxes) and arrows (lines).
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From Work Package to
Network

u Integrating the work packages and the network represents a point

where the management process often fails in practice.
u The primary explanations for this failure are that
1. different groups (people) are used to define work packages and
activities and
2. the WBS is poorly constructed and not deliverable/output oriented.
u Networks provide the project schedule by identifying
dependencies, sequencing, and timing of activities, which the WBS
is not designed to do.
u Remember, a work package is defined independently of other
work packages, has definite start and finish points, requires specific
resources, includes technical specifications, and has cost estimates
for the package.
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WBS/Work Packages to
Network
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WBS/Work Packages to
Network
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Constructing a
Project
Network
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Terminology

u Activity – an element of the project that requires time (work or waiting).

u It may not require resources.
u Descriptions of activities should use a verb/noun format.
u Merge Activity – an activity that has more than one activity immediately
preceding it (more than one dependency arrow flowing to it).
u Parallel Activities – activities that can take place at the same time, if the
manager wishes.
u Path – A sequence of connected, dependent activities.
u Critical Path – the path(s) with the longest duration through the network; if
an activity on the path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount
of time.
u Burst Activity – This activity has more than one activity immediately following
it (more than one dependency arrow flowing from it).
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Basic Rules to Follow in
Developing Project Networks

1. Networks flow typically from left to right.

2. An activity cannot begin until all preceding connected
activities have been completed.
3. Arrows on networks indicate precedence and flow. Arrows can
cross over each other.
4. Each activity should have a unique identification number.
5. An activity identification number must be larger than that of
any activities that precede it.
6. Looping is not allowed (in other words, recycling through a set
of activities cannot take place).
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Basic Rules to Follow in
Developing Project Networks

7. Conditional statements are not allowed (that is, this type of

statement should not appear: If successful, do something; if not,
do nothing).
8. Experience suggests that when there are multiple starts, a
common start node can be used to indicate a clear project
beginning on the network. Similarly, a single project end node
can be used to indicate a clear ending.
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Activity-on-Node (AON)
Fundamentals

u Historically, two methods have been used to develop project

networks: Activity-on-node (AON) and Activity-on-arrow (AOA).
u Over time the availability of advanced computer graphics
improved the clarity and visual appeal of the AON method.
u Today, the activity-on-node method has come to dominate
nearly all project network plans.
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Activity-on-Node (AON)
Fundamentals

u An activity is represented by a node (box).

u The dependencies among activities are depicted by arrows
between the nodes.
u Three basic relationships:
u Which activities must be completed immediately before this
activity? (predecessor activities).
u Which activities must immediately follow this activity? (successor
activities).
u Which activities can occur while this activity is taking place?
(concurrent or parallel activities).
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Example – Network Information
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Automated Warehouse—
Partial Network
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Automated Warehouse—
Completed Network
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Network
Computation
Process
 24
Network Computation Process

u Drawing the project network places the activities in the right

sequence for computing start and finish times of activities.
u Activity time estimates are taken from the task times in the work
package and added to the network.
u Performing a few simple computations allows the project
manager to complete a process known as the forward and
backward pass.
u Completion of the forward and backward pass will answer the
following questions:
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Network Computation Process

u Forward Pass—Earliest Times

1. How soon can the activity start? (early start—ES)
2. How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—EF)
3. How soon can the project be finished? (expected time—TE)
u Backward Pass—Latest Times
1. How late can the activity start? (late start—LS)
2. How late can the activity finish? (late finish—LF)
3. Which activities represent the critical path (CP)? This is the longest
path in the network which, when delayed, will delay the project.
4. How long can the activity be delayed? (slack or float—SL)
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Forward Pass—Earliest Times

u The forward pass starts with the first project activity(ies) and
traces each path (chain of sequential activities) through the
network to the last project activity(ies).
u As you trace along the path, you add the activity times.
u The longest path denotes the project completion time for the
plan and is called the critical path (CP).
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Example – Network Information
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Activity-on-Node Network
Automated Warehouse
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Activity-on-Node Network
Forward Pass

u The forward pass requires that you remember just three things
when computing early activity times:
1. You add activity times along each path in the network (ES + DUR =
EF).
2. You carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity where it becomes
its early start (ES), or
3. If the next succeeding activity is a merge activity, you select the
largest early finish number (EF) of all its immediate predecessor
activities.
u The three questions derived from the forward pass have been
answered; that is, early start (ES), early finish (EF), and the
project expected duration (TE) times have been computed.
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Activity-on-Node Network
Forward Pass
 31
Backward Pass—Latest Times

u The backward pass starts with the last project activity(ies) on

the network.
u You trace backward on each path subtracting activity times to
find the late start (LS) and late finish (LF) times for each activity.
u Before the backward pass can be computed, the late finish for
the last project activity(ies) must be selected:
u In early planning stages, this time is usually set equal to the early
finish (EF) of the last project activity (or in the case of multiple finish
activities, the activity with the largest EF).
u In some cases an imposed project duration deadline exists, and this
date will be used.
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Backward Pass—Latest Times

u The backward pass is similar to the forward pass; you need to

remember three things:
1. You subtract activity times along each path starting with the
project end activity (LF − DUR = LS).
2. You carry the LS to the preceding activity to establish its LF, or
3. If the next preceding activity is a burst activity; in this case you
select the smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to
establish its LF.
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Activity-on-Node Network
Backward Pass
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Determining Total Slack (or
Total Float)

u Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed

and not delay the project.
u Stated differently, total slack is the amount of time an activity can
exceed its early finish date without affecting the project end date
or an imposed completion date.
TS = LF – ES – D
u If total slack of one activity in a path is used, the ES for all activities
that follow in the chain will be delayed and their slack reduced.
u Use of total slack must be coordinated with all participants in the
activities that follow in the chain.
u The critical path is the network path(s) that has (have) the least
slack in common.
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Determining Total Slack (or
Total Float)

u When the LF = EF for the end project activity, the critical path can
be identified as those activities that also have LF = EF or a slack of
zero (LF − EF = 0 or LS − ES = 0).
u This awkward arrangement of words is necessary because a
problem arises when the project finish activity has a LF that differs
from the EF found in the forward pass—for example, an imposed
duration date.
u If this is the case, the slack on the critical path will not be zero; it will
be the difference between the project EF and the imposed LF of
the last project activity.
For example, if the EF for the project is 100 days, but the imposed LF or
target date is set at 95 days, all activities on the critical path would
have a slack of minus 5 days.
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Forward and Backward Passes
Completed with Slack Times
 37
Determining Total Slack (or
Total Float)

u We use the term sensitivity to reflect the likelihood the original

critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated.
u Sensitivity is a function of the number of critical or near-critical
paths.
u A network schedule that has only one critical path and noncritical
activities that enjoy significant slack would be labeled insensitive.
u Conversely, a sensitive network would be one with more than one
critical path and/or noncritical activities with very little slack.
u Under these circumstances the original critical path is much
more likely to change once work gets under way on the
project.
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Determining Free Slack (or Free
Float)

u Free Slack (or Float) is the amount of time an activity can be

delayed without delaying any immediately following (successor)
activity.
u Is how long an activity can exceed its early finish date without
affecting early start dates of any successor(s).
u Allows flexibility in scheduling scarce resources.
u Free slack can never be negative.
FS = ES of the succeeding activity – EF
Free float can only occur when two or more activities share a
common successor, or in other words, when activities converge on a
Network Diagram.
 39
Determining Free Slack (or Free
Float)

u The distinction between free and total slack at first glance

seems trivial, but in reality it is very important.
u When you are responsible for a late activity that has zero free
slack you impact the schedules of subsequent activities.
u You should notify the managers of the remaining activities in
the chain that you will be late.
u Again, note that total slack is shared across the whole path.
u Alternatively, if you are responsible for an activity that has free
slack when you start, you do not need to notify anyone as long
as your work does not absorb all of the slack!
 40

Using the
Forward and
Backward
Pass
Information
 41
Using the Forward and
Backward Pass Information

u When the critical path is known, it is possible to tightly manage the

resources of the activities on the critical path so no mistakes are
made that will result in delays.
u In addition, if for some reason the project must be expedited to
meet an earlier date, it is possible to select those activities, or
combination of activities, that will cost the least to shorten the
project.
u Similarly, if the critical path is delayed and the time must be made
up by shortening some activity or activities on the critical path to
make up any negative slack, it is possible to identify the activities
on the critical path that cost the least to shorten.
u If there are other paths with very little slack, it may be necessary to
shorten activities on those paths also.
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Level of Detail
for Activities
 43
Level of Detail for Activities

u Time-phasing work and budgets of the project mandate careful

definition of the activities that make up the project network.
u Typically an activity represents one or more tasks from a work
package.
u How many tasks you include in each activity sets the level of
detail.
u In some cases it is possible to end up with too much information
to manage, and this can result in increased overhead costs.
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Practical
Considerations
 45
Network Logic Errors

u Project network techniques have certain logic rules that must

be followed.
u One rule is that conditional statements such as “if test successful
build proto, if failure redesign” are not permitted.
u The network is not a decision tree; it is a project plan that we
assume will materialize.
u Another rule that defeats the project network and computation
process is looping.
u Looping is an attempt by the planner to return to an earlier
activity.
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Activity Numbering

u Each activity needs a unique identification code—a letter or a

number.
u Most schemes number activities in ascending order, that is,
each succeeding activity has a larger number so that the flow
of the project activities is toward project completion.
u It is customary to leave gaps between numbers (1, 5, 10, 15 . . .).
u Gaps are desirable so you can add missing or new activities
later.
u Because it is nearly impossible to draw a project network
perfectly, numbering networks is frequently not done until after
the network is complete.
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Use of Computers to Develop
Networks
 48
Use of Computers to Develop
Networks
 49
Practical Considerations

u Calendar Dates
u Once developed, assign calendar dates to your network.
u Take care of the work times and non-work times.

u Multiple Starts and Multiple Projects

u Use a common start node and a common finish node for the
network. (activities with zero duration).
u For multiple projects, follow the same rule.
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Extended
Network
Techniques to
Come Closer
to Reality
 51
Extended Network Techniques
to Come Closer to Reality

u The method for showing relationships among activities in the

last section is called the finish-to-start relationship because it
assumes all immediate preceding connected activities must be
completed before the next activity can begin.
u In an effort to come closer to the realities of projects, some
useful extensions have been added.
u The use of laddering was the first obvious extension practitioners
found very useful.
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Laddering

u Under the standard finish-to-start relationship, when an activity

has a long duration and will delay the start of an activity
immediately following it, the activity can be broken into
segments and the network drawn using a laddering approach
so the following activity can begin sooner and not delay the
work.
u This segmenting of the larger activity gives the appearance of
steps on a ladder on the network, thus the name.
Use of Lags to Reduce 53
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration
u The use of lags has been developed to offer greater flexibility in
network construction.
u A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be
delayed to begin or end.
u The use of lags in project networks occurs for two primary reasons:
1. When activities of long duration delay the start or finish of successor
activities, the network designer normally breaks the activity into smaller
activities to avoid the long delay of the successor activity. Use of lags
can avoid such delays and reduce network detail.
2. Lags can be used to constrain the start and finish of an activity.
u The most commonly used relationship extensions are start-to-start,
finish-to-finish, and combinations of these two.
Use of Lags to Reduce 54
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Finish-to-Start Relationship:
u The finish-to-start relationship represents the typical, generic network
style used.
u However, there are situations in which the next activity in a
sequence must be delayed even when the preceding activity is
complete.
u Used for waiting time.
Use of Lags to Reduce 55
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Start-to-Start Relationship:
u An alternative to segmenting the activities as we did earlier is to use
a start-to-start relationship.
Use of Lags to Reduce 56
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Start-to-Start Relationship:
u The start-to-start relationship reduces network detail and project
delays by using lag relationships.
Use of Lags to Reduce 57
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Start-to-Start Relationship:
u It is possible to find compression opportunities by changing finish-to-
start relations to start-to-start relationships.
u A review of finish-to-start critical activities may point out
opportunities that can be revised to be parallel by using start-to-start
relationships.
u Concurrent Engineering, basically breaks activities into smaller
segments so that work can be done in parallel and the project
expedited.
u Start-to-start relationships can depict the concurrent engineering
conditions and reduce network detail.
Use of Lags to Reduce 58
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Finish-to-Finish Relationship:
u The finish of one activity depends on the finish of another activity.
Use of Lags to Reduce 59
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Start-to-Finish Relationship:
u This relationship represents situations in which the finish of an activity
depends on the start of another activity.
Use of Lags to Reduce 60
Schedule Detail and Project
Duration

u Combinations of Lag Relationships:

u More than one lag relationship can be attached to an activity.
u These relationships are usually start-to-start and finish-to-finish
combinations tied to two activities.
An Example Using Lag 61
Relationships—The Forward
and Backward Pass
 62
Hammock Activities

u Another of the extended techniques uses a hammock activity.

u This type of activity derives its name because it spans over a
segment of a project.
u The hammock activity duration is determined after the network
plan is drawn.
u Hammock activities are frequently used to identify the use of
fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project.
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Hammock Activities
 64

Assignment
 65
Assignment

u Exercises: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23 By Hand.

u Excercises: 16, 17, 18 By Computer.
u Case 6.1 – Advantage Energy Technology Data Center
Migration*—Part A (Page 202).
u Case 6.2 – Shoreline Stadium Case (Page 204).
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Thank You