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Scheduling Tools: GANTT CHARTS, PERT, CPM

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Software Project Management (CS615)
LECTURE # 38
8. Scheduling
8.3
Scheduling Tools
i.
GANTT CHARTS
There are various tools that help you create a schedule. One of the simplest
project management tools used to represent the timeline of activities is the Gantt
chart.
Long before the advent of computers, Henry L. Gantt lent his name to a simple
and very useful graphical representation of a project development schedule.
The Gantt chart shows almost all of the information contained in the schedule
activity list, but in a much more digestible way. The schedule information is more
easily grasped and understood, and the activities can be easily compared. The
Gantt chart enables us to see at any given time, which activities should be
occurring in the project.
A Gantt chart has horizontal bars plotted on a chart to represent a schedule. In a
Gantt chart, you plot time on the horizontal axis and activities on the vertical axis.
You represent an activity by a horizontal bar on the Gantt chart. The position of a
horizontal bar shows the start and end time of an activity and the length of the bar
show its duration. You can have one look at the Gantt chart and make out the
progress of the project. Figure 1 displays a sample Gantt chart.
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D
C
B
A
Activities
10
20
30
40
50
60
PLANNED
Time (Person days)
ACTUAL
Figure 1: Example Gantt Chart
In Figure 1, activity D starts on day 1 of the project. The planned duration of this
activity is 20 days. The planned duration is shown in a lighter shade on the Gantt
chart. This is done to differentiate planned duration from the current status of the
activity. In the case of activity D, the current duration of the activity is 19 days.
Therefore, activity D is still one day short of completion. This can be discerned
from the length of the gray and black bars. Activity C, planned for completion on
day 40, is much behind schedule. This can be observed from the smaller length of
the black bar in the Gantt chart.
To understand how you can use a Gantt chart to schedule a project, consider an
example. Table 1 display a set of activities in a software project and the start and
end time for each activity.
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Table 1: Project Activities and Time Allocation Details
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line indicates the status of the project on a specific day. The left side of the line
indicates the tasks that are completed. On-going activities run across the line. The
future activities lie completely to the right of the line. After drawing the Gantt
chart you can extend the bars every week to a length proportional to the work
completed during the week. Therefore, the bars describe the status of the-project
at any point of time.
This process of creating a Gantt chart as discussed above is manual. Nowadays,
automated tools are available for creating Gantt charts. For example, you can use
Microsoft® ProjectTM 2000 developed by Microsoft to create a project schedule
automatically.
Figure 3 is another example of a Gantt chart. The symbols used in the chart are
widely accepted, though not standardized. The inverted triangle, for example, is
commonly used to represent a significant event, such as a major milestone.
The Gantt chart in Fig. 3 demonstrates the ease with which important schedule
information can be quickly perceived. We can immediately see that, except for the
maintenance phase, all phases overlap, and that from November to mid-December
1992 three high level activities overlap.
Major milestones
SRR = Software requirements review
POR = Preliminary design review
COR = Critical design review
TRR = Test readiness review
ATP = Acceptance test procedure
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SPR
Requirements
analysis
PDR
Top level design
CDR
Detailed design
Implementation
TRR
Integration
ATP
Testing
Maintenance
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
1992
May Jun
1993
Major milestones
SRR = Software requirements review
PDR = Preliminary design review
CDR = Critical design review
TRR = Test readiness review
ATP = Acceptance test procedure
Figure 3: High level Gantt chart -project development schedule.
More detailed charts can also include the names of the engineers assigned to each
activity, and the equipment that will be needed for each activity. This information
can be added next to the activity time lines in the graph, or as an inserted
reference table (similar to the list of major milestones in fig 10.1). Some
variations of the Gantt chart do include this type of information on the chart, but
this can cause clutter, which is contrary to the main objective of the chart; to
enable important schedule information to be grasped quickly.
It is also important to understand what Gantt charts do not provide. In a Gantt
chart, it is difficult to provide information on the amount of resources required to
complete each activity. A common mistake is to conclude that if five engineers
are assigned to integration, and the integration activity starts in mid-September
1992 and ends in mid-January 1993 (four months), then integration requires 20
work months. In fact, integration may start with only one engineer, with one more
joining during the second month, and the remaining three engineers joining during
the third month. The integration team may then be reduced to three engineers
during the fourth integration month.
Figure 3 includes only seven activities. As more detail becomes available, lower
level activities can be included on the chart. When the chart has more activities
than it can reasonably carry (a subjective decision), additional charts may be
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added. For example, the design activity can be presented on a separate Gantt chart
(see Fig. 4).
Figure 4 presents both high and low level activities. For example, 'Integrate phase
1 model' contains three low level activities: 'Integrate executive', 'Integrate
operating system' and 'Integrate user interface'. This provides the continuity link
between the detailed Gantt chart (Fig. 4) and the higher level chart (Fig. 3).
Set up
integration site
Integrate phase
I model
Integrate
executive
Integrate
operating
system
Integrate user
interface
Integrate phase
TRR
II model
Sep 15
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
1992
1993
Figure 4: Detailed Gantt chart -integration schedule
Note that each period of one month in Fig. 3 has been divided into four weeks.
Though not completely accurate, this is a common approximation, used also in
estimation and apart from being convenient; it also provides some slack for minor
scheduling adjustments.
Similar detailed Gantt charts can be prepared for each of the major project
development phases. Non-development activities will also appear on the Gantt
chart, such as 'Procurement of development tools', or 'Market research'. This is
particularly useful when certain development activities are dependent on other
non-development activities, such as the procurement of development tools (e.g. a
compiler) that need to be completed before the implementation activities can
begin. In cases where such dependent relationships may have been overlooked,
they will often emerge from' a review of the Gantt chart. This type of dependence
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between activities is best presented in another type of chart, called a Network
precedence chart or a PERT chart.
Network Scheduling Techniques
To plan the activities in a project, you can also use network-scheduling
techniques. Network scheduling techniques use network schedules to trace the
completion of predetermined activities.
There are two basic network-scheduling techniques:
·
PERT and
·
CPM
You can use either of these techniques to analyze a wide variety of projects. Each
technique depicts a project as a sequence of activities. This helps you perform an
analysis of individual activities or the complete project.
The network-scheduling techniques also enable you to analyze the dependencies
that exist between the activities.
Using PERT and CPM, individually or in combination, helps you complete a
project on time. By using these techniques, you can determine the latest time by
when an activity should start to be completed on time.
Despite the different approaches followed by PERT and CPM, both techniques
have some common components. These include:
a)
Activities
b)
Nodes
c)
Network
d)
Critical path
a) Activities
Activities are the basic building blocks of network schedules. An activity is
defined as a task that consumes time, effort, money, or any other resource. It is
necessary to specify all the activities of a project by breaking down a project into
several steps.
You need to define the steps in such a way that they are distinct, homogeneous
tasks for which you can estimate resource requirements.
Each activity is represented on a network schedule by using an arrow with its
head indicating the direction in which the project will progress. Each activity is
identified by a description or an alphabet. In addition, the estimated duration of
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each activity is placed below the activity. Figure 5 shows an activity with
expected duration of 15 days.
A
15 Days
Figure 5: An Activity
After identifying all the activities in a project, it is necessary to schedule them.
This enables you to arrange the activities in the order of completion. You
sequence the activities based on their types.
The different activities that are possible in a project are predecessor, successor,
and concurrent activities.
Predecessor activities need to end before the next can begin. After a predecessor
activity is completed, the successor activity becomes the predecessor for another
activity. However, unlike the predecessor arid successor activities, the concurrent
activities can be completed simultaneously with other activities.
Some activities in a project, irrespective of whether they are predecessor,
successor, or concurrent, may depict a float period. Float is the amount of time by
which an activity may be delayed without affecting the completion date of the
entire project. However, the complex dependencies that exist between activities
result in sequencing constraints for projects. To a large extent, these constraints
limit the flexibility that you may otherwise have in project planning.
b) Nodes
A node on a network schedule is that point in time at which an activity either
begins or ends. The point where an activity begins is called a tail node and the
point where it end is called its head node. On a network schedule, a circle
represents a node. A number identifies each node in a network schedule. Figure 6
represents the tail and head nodes for the activity of interviewing clients in a
project.
2
1
Figure 6: An Activity Connecting Two Nodes
c) Network
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A network is the graphic representation of the activities in a project. It depicts all
the activities and nodes in the project. On- a network, the arrows terminating at a
node need to be completed before the following activity can begin. Figure 7
shows a sample network consisting of five activities in a project.
2
1
5
4
3
Figure 7: Sample Network Schedule
d) Critical Path
The critical path is the longest path through a network. It consists of those
activities that cannot be completed concurrent1y. In other words, the critical path
represents the maximum duration for a project. You can determine the maximum
duration by adding the duration of each activity on the critical path. Typically, a
double line in a network schedule represents the critical path for that project.
Figure 8.6 shows the critical path for a network.
2
1
1
5
5
4
2
6
4
3
3
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Figure 8: Network Schedule with Critical Path Identified
All the activities on the critical path are critical for a project. If an activity on the
critical path is delayed, the entire project is delayed by the same amount of time.
You need to monitor the activities on the critical path because the project depends
on the successful completion of these activities. If required, additional resources
can be applied to these activities to shorten the project duration. However, some
of these activities may also depict a float period.
8.6
Rules for Creating a Network Schedule
There are a few basic rules that are followed while constructing a network
schedule.
1. Each activity has a preceding node and a succeeding node.
2. Each node has a distinct number. As a convention, the number that is assigned
to the head of the arrow is greater than the number that is assigned to the tail.
3. The network schedule has no loops. For example, in Figure 9, activity 1 is the
predecessor of both activity 2 and activity 3. This places activities l, 2, and 3
in a loop.
3
1
2
Fig 9: A loop is not permitted
4. Each activity has a unique preceding and succeeding event associated with it.
For example, in Figure 10, activities A and B have common preceding and
succeeding events associated with them. This is not allowed in a network
schedule.
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A
1
2
B
Figure 10: Activities with Common Preceding and Succeeding Events
At times, you need to introduce a dummy activity in a network schedule. This is
an imaginary activity that enables the network schedule to display parallel
activities. For example, in Figure 11, consider A and B as two parallel activities
that can be executed simultaneously. Both A and B must end so that activity C
can begin. A dummy activity is introduced as a dashed arrow to mark the start of
activity C. The dummy activity is introduced to show the dependency between
activities in the network schedule and does not have a description or duration.
3
B
A
C
1
2
4
Figure 11: Dummy Activity
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8.7
Using PERT to Schedule a Project
PERT was developed in 1957 to cater to the needs of the Polaris Fleet Ballistic
Missile project of the US government. PERT uses a probabilistic approach to time
estimates. You normally apply it to projects that are characterized by uncertainty.
For example, in a complex software project where you require research to identify
activities. PERT allows you to account for the uncertainties that are common to
most software projects. PERT uses the network schedule to represent a project
schedule while taking the uncertainties into account.
i.
Time Estimates in PERT
PERT is a probabilistic technique that uses three time estimates: It assumes
that activity times are represented by a probability distribution. To finish an
activity, it bases the probability distribution of activity time on three time
estimates:
·
Optimistic time
·
Pessimistic time
·
Most likely time
The optimistic time is the shortest time period within which an activity can
end if everything goes well.
The pessimistic time is the time that an activity takes to complete if
everything that can go wrong goes wrong. This is the longest time that an
activity can take to complete.
The most likely time is the estimate of the normal time that an activity takes to
complete.
From these three estimates, you derive the expected time to complete an
activity. The expected time is also referred to as the average time for the
activity.
To calculate the expected time for each activity, you use the following
equation:
T 0 + 4T m  + T p
Te =
6
Where Te is the expected time, T0 is the optimistic time, Tm is the most likely
time, and Tp is the pessimistic time required to complete an activity.
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According to this equation, you calculate the expected time for an activity as a
weighted mean of the optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times. The
weights attached to these times are 1, 4, and 1, respectively.
Consider the example of the activities in a software project as given in Table
1. The time estimates provided in Table 1 are the estimated times for each
activity. Table 2 provides the break-up of the estimated times into the
optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times for each activity.
Table 2: Optimistic, Most Likely Time, and Pessimistic Estimates for Activities
Optimistic Time
Most Likely
Pessimistic
Tasks
Estimates
Time Estimates
Time Estimates
(person days)
(person days)
(person days)
Requirement analysis and project planning
7
10
13
Setting up the environment
3
6
9
Software construction
48
83
100
Unit testing
20
28
33
User training
4
5
6
System testing
10
15
20
User documentation
23
28
45
Data migration
18
18
30
Conducting user acceptance test
14
21
22
Using the formula for calculating estimated time for an activity, the estimated
time for requirements analysis and project planning is:
7 + 4 ( 10 ) + 13
= 60 / 6 = 10 persondays
Te =
6
Similarly, you can calculate the estimated times for all the activities in Table 2
using the above formula.
Figure 12 shows the PERT network schedule created using the time estimates.
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Software
System
Unit Testing
Construction
Testing
Requirements
2
4
9
7
Analysis and
80
30
15
Project
Planning
User
10
Acceptance
User Training
Testing
1
10
User
5
8
Documentation
5
20
6
30
3
Data
Migration
20
6
Node
Activity
Number
Dummy
Activity
Figure 12: PERT Network Schedule for Activities
ii.
PERT packages and enhancements
Some enhanced versions of the PERT chart support additional planning
activities, such as personnel assignment, resource allocation and cost analysis.
The chart can then draw attention to situations where personnel are assigned
more responsibilities than they can handle, or where allocation of resources
conflicts.
An interesting adaptation of PERT, called flow graph representation, which
was developed by Riggs and Jones (1990), uses precedence networks to
perform project life cycle cost analysis. The flow graph technique analyzes
project costs based on relationships between quantities, unit cost, time
variables, staffing costs and learning etc., all of which are represented on the
PERT- like chart.
The flow graph representation technique places a significant amount of
information on the network graph. This information, just like the basic PERT
information, must be kept constantly updated. A small change to a large PERT
chart can require the complete redrawing of the chart and the recalculation of
the critical path. The resulting tedium does not promote much enthusiasm for
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keeping the chart updated. For this reason, many computerized PERT utilities
have been developed.
PERT software packages have been available for many years, but it is only
during the past few years that good professional PERT packages have become
available on PCs and other small computers. These packages take much of the
tedium out of the preparation of PERT charts, and also come with additional
features such as various planning analyzers for activity assignment, what if
scenarios and resource allocation.
Computer utilities have been developed to perform flow graph representation
analysis which produces scheduled costs for major project activities2. These
utilities have proven invaluable for project managers and release managers
from laborious desk work, providing them with more time to actively manage
the project.
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Table of Contents:
  1. Introduction & Fundamentals
  2. Goals of Project management
  3. Project Dimensions, Software Development Lifecycle
  4. Cost Management, Project vs. Program Management, Project Success
  5. Project Management’s nine Knowledge Areas
  6. Team leader, Project Organization, Organizational structure
  7. Project Execution Fundamentals Tracking
  8. Organizational Issues and Project Management
  9. Managing Processes: Project Plan, Managing Quality, Project Execution, Project Initiation
  10. Project Execution: Product Implementation, Project Closedown
  11. Problems in Software Projects, Process- related Problems
  12. Product-related Problems, Technology-related problems
  13. Requirements Management, Requirements analysis
  14. Requirements Elicitation for Software
  15. The Software Requirements Specification
  16. Attributes of Software Design, Key Features of Design
  17. Software Configuration Management Vs Software Maintenance
  18. Quality Assurance Management, Quality Factors
  19. Software Quality Assurance Activities
  20. Software Process, PM Process Groups, Links, PM Phase interactions
  21. Initiating Process: Inputs, Outputs, Tools and Techniques
  22. Planning Process Tasks, Executing Process Tasks, Controlling Process Tasks
  23. Project Planning Objectives, Primary Planning Steps
  24. Tools and Techniques for SDP, Outputs from SDP, SDP Execution
  25. PLANNING: Elements of SDP
  26. Life cycle Models: Spiral Model, Statement of Requirement, Data Item Descriptions
  27. Organizational Systems
  28. ORGANIZATIONAL PLANNING, Organizational Management Tools
  29. Estimation - Concepts
  30. Decomposition Techniques, Estimation – Tools
  31. Estimation – Tools
  32. Work Breakdown Structure
  33. WBS- A Mandatory Management Tool
  34. Characteristics of a High-Quality WBS
  35. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
  36. WBS- Major Steps, WBS Implementation, high level WBS tasks
  37. Schedule: Scheduling Fundamentals
  38. Scheduling Tools: GANTT CHARTS, PERT, CPM
  39. Risk and Change Management: Risk Management Concepts
  40. Risk & Change Management Concepts
  41. Risk Management Process
  42. Quality Concept, Producing quality software, Quality Control
  43. Managing Tasks in Microsoft Project 2000
  44. Commissioning & Migration