Lecture 06 Project Planning and Scheduling

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Lecture 06Project Planning and Scheduling
ME 479 Project Planning Richard B. Hathaway, PhD,
P.E.
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Steps in the Planning Process

• Identify the tasks.
• Clearly state the objective of each task.
• Estimate the Personnel, Time and Resources to
  meet objectives.
• Develop a task sequence.
• Estimate the product development costs.

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Steps in the Planning Process

• Identify the tasks.
• Tasks bring the project from a problem to a
  product.
• Initially activities to be performed
• Start with major development activities
• Break down into smaller tasks
• Clearly state the objective of each task.
• Tasks refined to where results of the activities
  are stated objectives.
• Easily understood by entire design team
• Specific as to what info is to be developed
• Feasible
• Given time, personnel, equipment

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Steps in the Planning Process

• Estimate the Personnel, Time and Resources to
  meet objectives.
• Estimates are always difficult as design takes
  time.
• A variety of schemes are used to estimate, all
  are based on assumptions. Track record within
  companies is always the best indicator.

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Function Diagram (for Product Complexity)
Reasonable estimates of time are based on
product complexity.
Overall Function
Level 1
Sub function 1.0
Sub function 2.0
Sub function 3.0
Level 2
Sub function 2.1
Sub function 2.2
Sub function 2.3
Level 3
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Function Diagram (for Product Complexity)
j Level in function diagram Fj number of
functions at that level
Product complexity (PC)
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Time Estimation
j Level in function diagram Fj number of
functions at that level
Product complexity (PC)
A Constant based on company history and size A
30 Small and responsive A 150 Large with
normal responsiveness
D Project Difficulty 1 Not difficult, know
technologies 2 Difficult, some new
technology 3 Very difficult, lots of new
technology
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Time Estimation
PC Product complexity
A Constant based on company history and size
D Project Difficulty
A simple Weighted Average technique
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Steps in the Planning Process

• Develop a task sequence.
• Sequential Tasks
• Parallel tasks
• Coupled
• Uncoupled
• Develop a planning/scheduling chart
• milestone or Gantt chart
• PERT

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Steps in the Planning Process

• Develop a task sequence.
• Design Structure Matrix (Shows Dependency of
  tasks)

• Estimate the product development costs.

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Planning and Scheduling

• Gantt Chart
• The bar or Gantt Chart is a widely used simple
  project scheduling technique.
• Advantages include
• Direct correlation with time.
• Straight forward relationship with projects
  involving a limited number of tasks.
• Straight forward integration of subtasks having
  separate scheduling charts.
• Time schedule is flexible and is expanded to show
  tasks of shorter nature.
• Progress against the plan is easily reflected.
• Disadvantage includes
• That it does not convey the complex
  interrelationships that may occur between tasks.

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Gantt Chart
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Planning and Scheduling

• Milestone Chart
• A Milestone chart is similar to a Gantt Chart
  with the emphasis placed on task completion.
• It embodies the same simplified techniques as
  does the Gantt chart. It does not portray the
  interrelationships between tasks and hence does
  not identify the critical path.

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Milestone Chart
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Planning and Scheduling

• PERT Program Evaluation and Review Technique
• The PERT chart has distinct advantages for
  complex projects with interrelated tasks.
• PERT, due to its complexity of time estimations,
  has given way to more popular CPM methods.

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Planning and Scheduling

• PERT Chart
• Three Time Estimates
• OPTIMISTIC - Shortest time to
• MOST LIKELY - Best Estimate tM
• PESSIMISTIC - Longest time tp

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Pert Chart
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Planning and Scheduling
PERT Chart
A weighted average is used to establish the
Expected Time te
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Planning and Scheduling

• PERT Chart standard deviation

The standard deviation of the expected time for
each activity
The standard deviation of the expected time along
a path is
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Planning and Scheduling

• PERT chart
• Slack Time - The time difference between paths
  in the PERT network.
• TS TL - TE
• Example
• A-D-F-G 4.586.5 19
• A-B-E-G 358 16
• Slack 3
• A-C-F 27 9
• A-D-F 4.58 12.5
• Slack 3.5

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Planning and Scheduling

• Critical Path Method
• Has some common characteristics with PERT
• Defined by activities and events
• An activity is a time-consuming effort that is
  required to complete part of a project. Shown as
  an arrow on the diagram
• An event is denoted by a circle and defines the
  end of one activity and beginning of the next.
  An event may be a decision point.

Event
Activity
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Planning and Scheduling

• Critical Path Method
• Terminology
• Earliest Start time (ES)
• Latest Start time (LS)
• Earliest Finish time (EF),
• Duration (D)
• EF ES D
• Latest Finish (LF) LF LS D
• Total Float (TF) TF LS - ES
• (Slack between the earliest and latest start
  times)
• On CP, the total float is zero.

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Critical Path Method
CPM Example
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Critical Path Method
Earliest Start Times Established
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Critical Path Method
Calculation of the latest start times
(Starting at Project completion)
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Critical Path Method
Summary of Boundary timetable
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The End Thank You for your attention!