Project Schedules with Pert/Cpm
B
ONLINE SUPPLEMENTAL APPENDIX
PROJECT SCHEDULES WITH PERT/CPM CHARTS
Chapter 3 of Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World explains the techniques and steps required to build a project schedule using the Gantt chart view in MS Project. This appendix provides a similar explanation of how to build a project schedule, but it is based on using a PERT/CPM chart or diagram for the schedule format. A Gantt chart and a PERT/CPM chart both provide essentially the same information about project activities and tasks. Each chart has unique strengths and weaknesses. As you learned in Chapter 3, a Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that is superimposed on a calendar. The primary strength of a Gantt chart is that the bars show the duration and project progress as compared to the days and weeks of the calendar. The calendar comparison provides an effective visual representation of the project timeline and helps you track project progress, because the Gantt chart shows what should have been accomplished by a specific date and what has actually been completed on that date. Chapter 3 illustrates an example of the tracking view of a Gantt chart. A PERT/CPM chart, as you will learn in this appendix, is a network type of diagram with boxes that represent the tasks or activities of the project, and with connecting arrows that represent the sequence and dependencies between tasks. The strength of a PERT/CPM chart is that, as a network, it provides a visual representation of the relationships between tasks of a project. During the development of the project schedule, and especially while trying to determine task dependencies, a PERT/CPM chart is an effective tool. PERT, which stands for Project Evaluation and Review Technique, was first developed in the 1950s and was used by the United States Department of Defense to organize, monitor, and control very large, complex defense projects. CPM, which stands for Critical Path Method, was developed independently, also in the
ONLINE SUPPLEMENTAL APPENDIX
PROJECT SCHEDULES WITH PERT/CPM CHARTS
Chapter 3 of Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World explains the techniques and steps required to build a project schedule using the Gantt chart view in MS Project. This appendix provides a similar explanation of how to build a project schedule, but it is based on using a PERT/CPM chart or diagram for the schedule format. A Gantt chart and a PERT/CPM chart both provide essentially the same information about project activities and tasks. Each chart has unique strengths and weaknesses. As you learned in Chapter 3, a Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that is superimposed on a calendar. The primary strength of a Gantt chart is that the bars show the duration and project progress as compared to the days and weeks of the calendar. The calendar comparison provides an effective visual representation of the project timeline and helps you track project progress, because the Gantt chart shows what should have been accomplished by a specific date and what has actually been completed on that date. Chapter 3 illustrates an example of the tracking view of a Gantt chart. A PERT/CPM chart, as you will learn in this appendix, is a network type of diagram with boxes that represent the tasks or activities of the project, and with connecting arrows that represent the sequence and dependencies between tasks. The strength of a PERT/CPM chart is that, as a network, it provides a visual representation of the relationships between tasks of a project. During the development of the project schedule, and especially while trying to determine task dependencies, a PERT/CPM chart is an effective tool. PERT, which stands for Project Evaluation and Review Technique, was first developed in the 1950s and was used by the United States Department of Defense to organize, monitor, and control very large, complex defense projects. CPM, which stands for Critical Path Method, was developed independently, also in the