Project Planning and Control
Elly Win
(M.Sc. Shipping Management, WMU;
PhD Logistics, KMOU)
01/24/2024 SM 7003 1
Contents
WBS—to show the scope and structure of the work in the project
CBS—to illustrate the breakdown of costs
OBS—to show the teams and resources to be used to carry out the work
RAM—to allocate task responsibilities to the resources
Network Diagram—to plot the task dependencies
Estimating—to predict the duration of each task
Critical Path Analysis—to calculate the project duration and the most
critical tasks
Gantt Chart—to plot the tasks against the project timescale
Resource Histogram—to illustrate the number of resources used against
the timescale.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 2
Project Planning
Project Management plan describes HOW I plan
manage the changes to
– Scope
– Time
– Cost
– Issues
– Risk
– Quality
– Communication
– Resources
01/24/2024 SM 7003 3
Project Plan
It is a procedure or a set of procedures.
It describes
– the steps to be taken,
– Who will take them
– When and
– how
It is a living document, and evolves as the project evolves.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 4
Key deliverables in a Project
Management Plan
Project management approach Major Milestones and
Work Breakdown Structure their target dates
Budget Resources
Scheduled start and finish dates Risk management plan
Responsibility Open issues
charts/Assignments
Pending decisions
Change Control Plan/system
Project organisation chart
Performance Measurement
Baselines
01/24/2024 SM 7003 5
The plan is nothing; the planning is everything.”
(Dwight Eisenhower)
01/24/2024 SM 7003 6
Step 1: (i) Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
The WBS shows the scope of the project, i.e., the
total work content and what will be the exclusions
from the scope.
It is a useful visual aid and can be used in
brainstorming sessions.
There is no time implied in the WBS.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 7
WBS: How to do
Identify the tasks in the project and put them into sensible
groups.
Add Task Reference numbers to the WBS.
Identify the lowest level (or simple tasks), that will be taken and
are not broken down any further in the WBS.
TWO sets of IDENTIFIERS are: Task References and Task IDs
01/24/2024 SM 7003 8
WBS: Rules of Thumb
There is no rule as to the number of levels that a WBS has
Always start with Project Management as the first Deliverable
There should be no more than 10 top-level deliverables
Use a noun: object naming convention
Each sub-component must have a deliverable---- the lowest
level of sub-division with a deliverable is called a ‘work
package’
Each and every sub-component must be assignable to one and
only one person..
Do not break the work into any finer detail than you intend to
track or is of value – do not micro-manage
01/24/2024 SM 7003 9
Work Breakdown Structure:
Project to decorate a room
Project includes laying a new carpet, painting the
walls, ceiling and woodwork, and installing some
new furniture
Decorate
Prepare
Design Painting Lay carpet Furnish
room
Paint walls Paint Order Install
Buy paint
& Ceiling woodwork furniture furniture
01/24/2024 SM 7003 10
Work breakdown structure with task references
The task references show the parent-child relationships between the tasks.
The industry standard conventions for numbering conventions is based on
hierarchical references. In this, the number of digits in the reference number
reflects the task’s position in the hierarchy.
Decorate
4 Prepare
1 Design 2 Painting 3 Lay carpet 5 Furnish
room
2.2 Paint
2.3 Paint 5.1 Order 5.2 Install
2.1 Buy paint walls &
woodwork furniture furniture
Ceiling
01/24/2024 SM 7003 11
STEP 2: Cost Breakdown Structure
The purpose of CBS is to provide a pictoral view of the costs in the projects.
The task is labelled with the estimated cost.
The total cost of the tasks in the project can be summarised. E.g the total costs
of painting is £200; the total cost of furnishing, £900.
This shows where
the main cost of the
project lies, and can
be seen easily
where the largest
savings can be
made.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 12
Task Ids
Task Ids are used when
working out task
dependencies.
Task references is used
to show the task
hierarchy.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 13
Step 3: Organisational Breakdown Structure
The Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
shows the resources required by the project.
It is drawn using a hierarchy to denote the
reporting lines.
OBS can be based on the WBS.
– Skills required and the tasks
01/24/2024 SM 7003 14
OBS
Project Manager
Interior Painter &
Carpet fitter Labourer
Designer Decorator
Figure: Organisational Breakdown Structure
01/24/2024 SM 7003 15
Step 4: Responsibility Assignment
Matrix
The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) uses both the WBS and the OBS
to assign task to resources
A key is used to denote the way on which the resource is involved in the task.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 16
Step 5: Network Diagrams
Network diagrams shows the project tasks in a
diagrammatic form.
It helps in the calculation of project duration and
identification of some project risks.
Consider
– Dependencies between the tasks (Finish-to-Start)
dependency where the next task cannot start until the
previous one has finished.
A B
Finish-to-start dependency
01/24/2024 SM 7003 17
Task dependency for decorating a
room
The diagram is also known as a ‘precedence Network’ or
‘PERT Chart”.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 18
Dependency
Network
B
D E F
C
A
I
G H
Figure: Network Diagram for decorating a room
01/24/2024 SM 7003 19
Step 6: Estimating
Estimate the duration of each activity in the network.
Effort needed to complete a task and the duration that
the task will take will be different.
Number of days in a year 365
Weekend days 104 Percentage of available
time= 211/253 = 83%
Bank days 8
Number of working days per year 253 80-90% is a standard
Annual leave 25 percentage for the
Training courses 10 project planning
Sick leave 5
Company meetings 2
Number of days worked per year 211
Table of working days per year
01/24/2024 SM 7003 20
Estimating the duration
Subjective estimating: has a very low level of
accuracy, usually at the Conception Phase
Comparative estimating: compare the project with
previous project (Definition Phase)
Parametric estimating: use historical data or
parameter to create an estimate, e.g., the number
of walls
Bottom-up estimating: estimate each task in the
low-levels of WBS.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 21
Step 7: Critical Path Analysis or
Method
Critical Path Analysis uses simple addition and
subtraction on the ‘nodes’ of the precedence
network.
AON (activity on node) is a method of drawing
networks in which activities are drawn as boxes
(which are the nodes), and arrows are used to
define the relationships between them.
Earliest Duration Earliest
Start Time Finish Time
Task Identifier (Activity Number, Activity
Activity On Node
description) Convention
Latest Start Total Float Latest
Time Finish Time
01/24/2024 SM 7003 22
Meanings
The Earliest Start Time is the soonest that the task can start
The Duration is the length of time that the task will take
The Earliest Finish Time is the soonest that the task can finish
The Latest Start Time is the latest that the task can start
The Latest Finish Time is the latest that the task can finish
The Total Float is the amount of delay that could occur on the
task before the project end date is delayed as a consequence.
For example, if the Total Float is zero then the task cannot be
delayed without affecting the whole project
01/24/2024 SM 7003 23
Forward pass and backward pass
First, carry out forward pass, i.e from left to
right to find the Earliest Start Time, and Earliest
Finish Time.
Second carry out a backward pass, i.e., from
right to left to find the Latest Finish Time, the
float, and the Latest Start Time.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 24
The steps of network analysis
1. Enter the duration of each task.
2. Start with a 0 for the Earliest Start of the first task
3. Perform the Forward Pass:
1. For each task, Earliest Finish = Earliest Start + Duration
2. Earliest Start of next task = Earliest Finish of preceding task
3. When there is a choice for Earliest Start, take the highest value
4. For the last task, the Latest Finish = Earliest Finish
5. Perform the Backward Pass:
– For each task, Latest Start = Latest Finish-Duration
– Latest Finish of preceding task = Latest Start of next task
– When there is a choice for Latest Finish, take the lowest value.
6. For each task, Total Float = Latest Start-Earliest Start.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 25
Forward Pass (1,2,3)and Backward Pass (4)
1 2
3 4 Backward pass
01/24/2024 SM 7003 26
The critical path
The Critical Path of the network is the longest
path through the network.
It is the line that joins activities with minimum
float (zero total float), in the previous network,
it’s the path that joins A, C and D.
It is called the critical path because any delay in
any of the activities will delay the whole project.
Thus, this shows the Project Manager the more
risky tasks in the project.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 27
Free Float
Free float is defined as the amount a task can be
delayed without affecting the next activity in the
network.
Free Float is always less than or equal to Total Float,
so if a task has zero Total Float then Free Float will
also be zero.
Free Float occurs only when one task in the network is
dependent on two or more tasks
Note: Slack, also called float, is the amount of time
a task can slip before it bumps into another task.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 28
Free float
Task B has a Free Float
of 1 because the Earliest
Start of Task D is
caused by the Earliest
Finish of Task C.
So if Task C is painting
the walls of a room,
Task B is painting the
ceiling and Task C is
laying the carpet, then
Task B can be delayed
one day if necessary
01/24/2024 SM 7003 29
Example
Task durations for decorating a room
01/24/2024 SM 7003 30
Network for decorating a room
01/24/2024 SM 7003 31
Benefits of a network diagram
when project events don’t go according to plan,
you can easily see the impact of the problem on
the project. For example, in the Figure, if we
cannot buy the paint in one day, as perhaps it has
to be ordered and will take a week, this will delay
the whole project.
The network can be used to show delays on the
project; take a copy of the baseline version and
then the current version can be used as a
comparison.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 32
Step 8: Gantt chart
This information can now be entered into a Gantt Chart.
“A Gantt chart, also known as a bar chart or schedule,
named after the engineer Henry Gantt, shows the
activities of a project mapped against a timescale.”
It also estimate the resources required.
This provides a useful map of the project.
The critical path is drawn on the chart first. (Bold)
Then each non-critical activity is added using the
earliest finish time and duration.
The total float of each non-critical activity is shown in
the hatched boxes.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 33
Step 8: Gantt chart
So immediately it is clear that the activity which has the greatest effect on
the project duration is the waiting time for delivery of the furniture. If the
Project Manager wants to reduce the project duration, there will not be
much to be gained from reducing the duration of the non-critical activities.
If the furniture could be delivered on the day after ordering it, then the
critical path would be very different
01/24/2024 SM 7003 34
Reducing the project duration
The activity which has the greatest effect on the project duration
is the waiting time for delivery of the furniture.
If the Project Manager wants to reduce the project duration, there
will not be much to be gained from reducing the duration of the
non-critical activities. If the furniture could be delivered on the
day after ordering it, then the critical path would be very
different:
01/24/2024 SM 7003 35
Gantt Chart
Gantt Chart shows the time relationships between
tasks in a project.
Two lines are usually used to show the time
allocated for each task, and the actual time taken.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 36
As at the end of week 10 Key
Estimated
Weeks
Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Actual
1. Offer computer/arrange
finance
2. Agree delivery dates
3. Select site
01/24/2024 SM 7003 37
Gantt Chart using Microsoft project
01/24/2024 SM 7003 38
Step 9: Resource management
To make sure that the project has enough
resources available to carry out the tasks each day
of the plan, a resource histogram is drawn.
A histogram is a frequency chart of the number of
resources used per day in the project.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 39
Resource Histogram
1. Draw a critical path first.
2. Task H, waiting for furniture
to be delivered, is a
‘dummy’ task introduced to
make the precedence
network more accurate.
3. It does not need any
resources to carry it out
01/24/2024 SM 7003 40
Adjusted Resource histogram
Day 4 needs four people.
However, if the number of resources available is two, re-planning is required.
Check which tasks are causing a problem, and whether they can be moved (i.e
whether they have any total float). Task B has three days of total float so it can be
moved to start one day later without much risk.
This is known as resource-limited scheduling - scheduling activities so that the
maximum resource level is never exceeded during the project.
If the resource- limited scheduling increase the project duration, it is known as
resource leveling.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 41
Exercise-1
Identify the critical path
01/24/2024 SM 7003 42
Exercise 2
A project has been identified to contain the following
list of activities, along with the required times for
completion.
Activity Time (days) Immediate a. Draw the critical path diagram.
Predecessors
b. Show the critical path
A 1 —
B 4 A
C 3 A
D 7 A
E 6 B
F 2 C, D
G 7 E, F
H 9 D
I 4 G, H
01/24/2024 SM 7003 43
References
The practical guide to project management (p.23)
Project Management: how to plan and deliver a
successful project (p.21)
01/24/2024 SM 7003 44
Add $10,500 per annum to the profit figures to produce the following
cash flows for each proposal.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 45
Other Definitions
Critical Path – the path through the network
where the tasks have NO FLOAT. If any one of
these tasks is even one day late, it will delay the
whole project. These are the CRITICAL TASKS.
FLOAT- those tasks that are NOT on the Critical
Path will have more flexibility in when you can
start them. There is room to manoeuvre.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 46
Constructing the network (AON version)
Begin with the Node called “START” and end
with the Node called “END”.
Activities are represented by rectangles called
“NODE”.
The ARROW shows the precedence relationships:
predecessors or successors.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 47
Activity Network (AON Format)
1a 3a 2a
3b 2b
START 1b END
3d
1c 2c
3c
2d
01/24/2024 SM 7003 48
Forward Pass
Early Start (ES) Early Finish EF
7 12
12 13
C5
4 7 F1
7 10
B3 17 20
D3
I3 END
11 17
17 20
0 4 4 11 G6
START A4 E7 11 13
H2
01/24/2024 SM 7003 49
Forward Pass
Start on day ‘0’.
Add the time the task takes, which give the Early Finish
day of that task. ( 0, 4) , 4 if the Early Finish of that task.
The duration can be written above the node in the middle of
the ES and EF or can be inserted in the Node with the task
ID.
When there are two tasks going into one task, take the
HIGHER of the two numbers.
Once completed the Forward Pass, how long the project
will take can be seen.
The resources, weekends, and holidays, etc., are not taken
into account.
01/24/2024 SM 7003 50
