Project Management
As developed in the 1950's by the U.S. Navy as a method to manage complex projects; the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) "is a network diagram that visually displays the activities and milestones which are required for project completion" (NETMBA.com. N.D. PP. 1). The assembling of a PERT chart requires the compilation of all tasks related to implementing and completing a project, developing activity times and their proper order, and identifying the critical path; the absolute necessity for effective project management.
In terms of creating a timeline, what is meant by the critical path of a PERT chart?
The critical path is "the sequence of schedule activities that determines the duration of the project" (Makar, A. September 10, 2009. PP. 1). Whether a project is outlined in days, weeks, or even years the critical path "identifies the total calendar time required for a project" (NETMBA.com. N.D. PP. 1). Arriving at the critical path begins with the calculation of each activity's duration and then subsequently identifying those which have zero slack or float time. "Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without impacting the start date of a subsequent task" (Makar, A. September 10, 2009. PP. 1). In essence the PERT chart's critical path highlights tasks which must...
Once calculated the critical path becomes merely a matter of lining up tasks which have zero float.
How would a manager go about prioritizing correction of the problem existing in B, C, or D?
In the assignment example, step B is determined as a critical path item while steps C. And D. are not. Understanding the importance of critical path necessitates that "if one of those tasks (on the path) is late by one day, then your project end date will be extended by one day" (Makar, A. September 10, 2009. PP. 1). Any project manager faces the dilemma of the triple constraint: the tradeoffs between performance, time, and cost. In regards to the aforementioned steps, the PM must concentrate their energies on step B to facilitate timely completion of the project overall. As a definitive rule; "if your project is falling behind, placing additional resources on activities that are off the critical path will not result in the overall project completing any earlier." (Mochal, T. September 27, 2005. PP. 1)
Should the manager…
Project Management Project Information, History, Intent, and Life Cycle Gray and Larson, (2008) define project as "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." (p 5). Essential feature of a project is that it has a defined beginning and end often subject to time or fund constraint to achieve stakeholder's goals and objectives. Gray and Larson (2008) differentiate between project and program. "A program is a group of
The 1960's were also characterized by project management development. The discipline and practice of project management were influenced by a series of new techniques and tools like earned value, or work breakdown structures. Project management's importance became even more obvious in the 1970s when it became a permanent function for companies working with projects. This is the time when a series of institutes and organizations designed for project management started to
To date, little research exists on the actual costs and benefits of project management. Much of the information that exists is a product of advertising materials distributed through the project management firms. Little unbiased information regarding the value of project management exists. This research will provide an unbiased view of the benefits and costs of the project manager. Aviation managers will be able to use this information to make decisions
In the book, Project management: strategic design and implementation, David I. Cleland and Lewis R. Ireland report "a review of the results of projects in antiquity reveals evidence about how several historical projects originated and developed" (p. 4). 1. The first of this type of evidence, known as artifacts, typically came from human workmanship. These could have been structures, tools, weapons, or items of substance of archeological or historical interest.
CPM The critical path method (CPM): As applied to construction projects The critical path method (CPM) was originally developed by the DuPont Company in the 1950s as a method of project management when DuPont shutting down its chemical plants for maintenance work. The shutdown process was complex and detailed, and had to be deployed in a highly regimented fashion in terms of the completion of steps and coordination of the workforce (CPM,
76). As automation increasingly assumes the more mundane and routine aspects of work of all types, Drucker was visionary in his assessment of how decisions would be made in the years to come. "In the future," said Drucker, "it was possible that all employment would be managerial in nature, and we would then have progressed from a society of labor to a society of management" (Witzel, p. 76). The