Scheduling: Critical path, PERT and Gantt - Revision history

Frank Almirudis at 13:25, 4 March 2019

2019-03-04T13:25:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:25, 4 March 2019
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	By Frank Almirudis.		By Frank Almirudis.

	Migrated to <span class="plainlinks">[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Choosing_between_critical_path,_PERT_or_Gantt_as_your_project_scheduling_method ''' Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method ''']</span>,		Migrated to <span class="plainlinks">[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Choosing_between_critical_path,_PERT_or_Gantt_as_your_project_scheduling_method ''' Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method ''']</span>

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Frank Almirudis at 13:24, 4 March 2019

2019-03-04T13:24:56Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:24, 4 March 2019
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	By Frank Almirudis.		By Frank Almirudis.

	Migrated to **<span class="plainlinks">[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Choosing_between_critical_path,_PERT_or_Gantt_as_your_project_scheduling_method ''' Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method ''']</span>		Migrated to <span class="plainlinks">[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Choosing_between_critical_path,_PERT_or_Gantt_as_your_project_scheduling_method ''' Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method ''']</span>,

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Frank Almirudis at 13:24, 4 March 2019

2019-03-04T13:24:18Z

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:24, 4 March 2019
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		By Frank Almirudis.

		Migrated to **<span class="plainlinks">[http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/Choosing_between_critical_path,_PERT_or_Gantt_as_your_project_scheduling_method ''' Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method ''']</span>

Frank Almirudis: Blanked the page

2019-03-04T13:22:44Z

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Frank Almirudis at 13:10, 4 March 2019

2019-03-04T13:10:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:10, 4 March 2019
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	''Developed by Frank Almirudis, currently under construction''		''Developed by Frank Almirudis, currently under construction''

	''Title to be changed to: '''Choosing critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method'''''		''Title to be changed to: '''Choosing between critical path, PERT or Gantt as your project scheduling method'''''

	=Abstract=		=Abstract=

Frank Almirudis: /* Limitations */

2019-03-04T13:09:47Z

Limitations

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	=Limitations=		=Limitations=

	Complexity is a clear limitation for Gantt ~~chart~~, but it is also a limitation to PERT/CPM when the amount of activities and interdependencies are of great amounts (in the thousands). Resource allocation is also a great limitation of the scheduling methods covered in this article as they basically don't cover this region in their methodology, even though it is an area that has direct impact when it comes to the overall planning of a project. In terms of individual methods, PERT/CPM sees its limitations in the lack of a clear timeline, the resources needed to generate the initial model and the legibility for an outsider of the project management team, therefore affecting it's ability to be used as a communication tool. Meanwhile, the biggest limitation of the Gantt diagramm, other than problems with complexity and resource allocation, is its need for constant rework and inflexibility, since any significant change calls for a new Gantt chart to be produced.		Complexity is a clear limitation for Gantt charts, but it is also a limitation to PERT/CPM when the amount of activities and interdependencies are of great amounts (in the thousands). Resource allocation is also a great limitation of the scheduling methods covered in this article as they basically don't cover this region in their methodology, even though it is an area that has direct impact when it comes to the overall planning and delivery of a project. In terms of individual methods, PERT/CPM sees its limitations in the lack of a clear timeline, the resources needed to generate the initial model and the legibility for an outsider of the project management team, therefore affecting it's ability to be used as a communication tool. Meanwhile, the biggest limitation of the Gantt diagramm, other than problems with complexity and resource allocation, is its need for constant rework and inflexibility, since any significant change calls for a new Gantt chart to be produced.

	=Application=		=Application=

Frank Almirudis: /* Resource allocation */

2019-03-04T13:08:46Z

Resource allocation

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	===Resource allocation===		===Resource allocation===

	Finally, although both methods do a poor job when it comes to showcasing resource allocation, Gantt chart does include owners of each activity, meaning that the activities have someone in charge of making sure that they are fulfilled and it can be easily observed when looking at the diagram. PERT/CPM generally does not ~~incldue~~ any form of resource allocation.		Finally, although both methods do a poor job when it comes to showcasing resource allocation, Gantt chart does include owners of each activity, meaning that the activities have someone in charge of making sure that they are fulfilled, and it can be easily observed when looking at the diagram. PERT/CPM generally does not include any form of resource allocation.

	To conclude, when choosing a scheduling method, it is important to note the different indicators listed above. Complexity in the form of quantity of activities and the level of their interdenpendency is by far the most important indicator, but the others mentioned have to be taken into account in order to properly assess if a project management team should consider either PERT/CPM or Gantt as their scheduling method. Generally when the teams have a highly complex project in their hands and opt to use PERT/CPM, they also fall back to have Gantt charts for smaller sections of their project due to the advantages that they possess over PERT/CPM diagrams and how easy they are to read and generate.		To conclude, when choosing a scheduling method, it is important to note the different indicators listed above. Complexity in the form of quantity of activities and the level of their interdenpendency is by far the most important indicator, but the others mentioned have to be taken into account in order to properly assess if a project management team should consider either PERT/CPM or Gantt as their scheduling method. Generally when the teams have a highly complex project in their hands and opt to use PERT/CPM, they also fall back to have Gantt charts for smaller sections of their project due to the advantages that they possess over PERT/CPM diagrams and how easy they are to read and generate.

Frank Almirudis: /* Timeframe clarity */

2019-03-04T13:07:40Z

Timeframe clarity

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	===Timeframe clarity===		===Timeframe clarity===

	Timeframe is often an overlooked aspect of the scheduling methods, even though the single most important thing about a schedule is time keeping. PERT/CPM does state the due dates of each of the activities, but it fails to create a visual guideline of how time is running throughout the project. The project management team has to be consistent in assessing the dates and when a particular task is coming closer to critical state, where as Gantt charts don't have this problem, as the horizontal axis on them are a representation of time, making them particularly good at giving immediate visual feedback to the viewer about what deadlines are getting ever closer. What a lot of project management teams end up doing if they are using PERT/CPM diagrams is to create Gantt ~~chart~~ for small sections within the PERT/CPM diagram. This gives them the visual timeline and therefore become much more aware of which activities deadlines are starting to become more important.		Timeframe is often an overlooked aspect of the scheduling methods, even though the single most important thing about a schedule is time keeping. PERT/CPM does state the due dates of each of the activities, but it fails to create a visual guideline of how time is running throughout the project. The project management team has to be consistent in assessing the dates and when a particular task is coming closer to critical state, where as Gantt charts don't have this problem, as the horizontal axis on them are a representation of time, making them particularly good at giving immediate visual feedback to the viewer about what deadlines are getting ever closer. What a lot of project management teams end up doing if they are using PERT/CPM diagrams is to create Gantt charts for small sections within the PERT/CPM diagram. This gives them the visual timeline and therefore become much more aware of which activities deadlines are starting to become more important.

	===Resource allocation===		===Resource allocation===

Frank Almirudis: /* Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule */

2019-03-04T13:06:16Z

Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule

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	===Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule===		===Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule===

	During the execution of the project, multiple times there will be ~~needs from~~ stakeholders ~~asking~~ for a progress ~~report~~ of the project, it may come in the form of a client wanting to know when they will receive their deliverables, an executive from your own company wanting to better understand the point that the project is at, or simply someone from the team who wants to know when his activity has to be ~~deliver~~. The scheduling method of your choice may or may not be able to help you with these kind of situations. Gantt charts take the lead in this category, as anybody can interpret them. PERT/CPM will not be legible to people outside of your project management team, even if an outsider is profecient with PERT/CPM, most times it takes significant investment to understand how the person who generated the plan structured it, meaning that only people who are constantly engaged with the plan (project management team) will understand it. It is important to take this into account, as choosing to go with PERT/CPM will inevitably create need for additional work in progress reporting in the future.		During the execution of the project, multiple times there will be instances where stakeholders ask for a progress reports of the project, it may come in the form of a client wanting to know when they will receive their deliverables, an executive from your own company wanting to better understand the point that the project is at, or simply someone from the team who wants to know when his activity has to be delivered. The scheduling method of your choice may or may not be able to help you with these kind of situations. Gantt charts take the lead in this category, as anybody can interpret them. PERT/CPM will not be legible to people outside of your project management team, even if an outsider is profecient with PERT/CPM, most times it takes significant personal investment to understand how the person who generated the plan structured it, meaning that only people who are constantly engaged with the plan (project management team) will understand it. It is important to take this into account, as choosing to go with PERT/CPM will inevitably create need for additional work in the form of progress reporting in the future.

	===Dependencies clarity===		===Dependencies clarity===

Frank Almirudis: /* Need for flexibility */

2019-03-04T13:04:16Z

Need for flexibility

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	===Need for flexibility===		===Need for flexibility===

	How much uncertainity exists in the project and how likely is it that activities within the project will change? These are important questions to consider when choosing a scheduling method. This is due to the flexibility of said methods. While PERT/CPM is costly and time consuming to generate, it is also easy to come back and adjust when the project. This is due to the fact that the method not only accounts for the activities that are the most critical to deliver the project, but also the surrounding activities, meaning that if the context of the project was to change, simply adding more nodes of activities or events and updating the corresponding dependencies and dates would be enough to have the project schedule back in track, this makes PERT/CPM an attractive choice when there is risk, since Gantt charts basically have to be generated from scratch each time there is a significant update. Flexibility is one of the strongest points for PERT/CPM.		How much uncertainity exists in the project and how likely is it that activities within the project will change? These are important questions to consider when choosing a scheduling method. This is due to the flexibility of said methods. While PERT/CPM is costly and time consuming to generate, it is also easy to come back and adjust when the project undergoes sudden changes. This is due to the fact that the method not only accounts for the activities that are the most critical to deliver the project, but also the surrounding activities, meaning that if the context of the project was to change, simply adding more nodes of activities or events and updating the corresponding dependencies and dates would be enough to have the project schedule back in track, this makes PERT/CPM an attractive choice when there is risk, since Gantt charts basically have to be generated from scratch each time there is a significant update. Flexibility is one of the strongest points for PERT/CPM.

	===Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule===		===Stakeholders who will need to read the schedule===