Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
2002). This paper's focus will be on the CPM and PERT methodologies.
The Rockfest event has 26 tasks, each conveniently denoted by a letter in the alphabet. Having drawn up the Critical Path and analyzed it, I found the following. The Critical Path starts with task A, continues with B, D, E, F, G, and finally O. The time it takes to complete these tasks is 34 weeks. That is approximately eight and a half months. You will notice that the Critical Path does not include myriad tasks. That is because these tasks can be completed while the Critical Path tasks are being implemented.
Now, if, for instance, task B, or "select a local printer" took two more weeks than planned, how would a project manager handle the problem? I argue that the best thing to do, since task B. is part of the Critical Path, is begin crashing tasks until the problem is rectified. Since two weeks is the amount we need to crash, let us find the cheapest task to crash. Now, there are 26 separate tasks in the project, and it can be a pretty daunting task to analyze each one. However, there is one thing we can do to lighten the load. Analyzing only the Critical Path can cut down on analysis time, while resulting in accurate and complete analyses. Since the Critical Path is the longest time the task is going to take, it makes sense to try to cut that down as much as possible. Crashing a non-critical task does not reduce the overall project length, and thus wastes money. Task A costs $11,500 to crash and saves 3 weeks, putting us a week ahead of schedule. Expensive, but it might be worth it. Task D. costs $3,000 and saves two weeks.
Task E. saves the same amount of time, but is $500 dollars...
Task F. costs $5,000 dollars and saves one week, making it useless to us. Task G. cannot be crashed. Task O. takes saves two weeks, and costs $1,800 dollars to crash. We have a winner, as Task O. is the cheapest while still saving the right amount of time.
A recent study determined that "the heart of network-based planning methods is a graphical portrayal of the plan for carrying out the program" (Huang, Wong, Liu, Qiu, 2005, p. 703). Therefore, ensuring the program is carried out efficiently will necessarily include a graphical portrayal of the plan to do so.
There are a plethora of problems a project manager can encounter. CPM is perhaps the best method of simplifying and easing the burden of managing complicated tasks. It creates an easily seen and understandable graphic which delineates potential problems while explaining the length of projects. Implementing CPM can mitigate many of the troubles a project manager will come across.
References
Chen, Y.M. & Liang, M.W.; (2002) Design and implementation of a collaborative engineering information system for allied concurrent engineering, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Vol. 13, pp. 11-30
Chu, X.N.; Tso, S.K.; Zhang, W.J.; Li, Q.; (2002) Partnership synthesis for virtual enterprises, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 19, pp. 384 -- 391
Huang, X.G.; Wong, Y.S.; Liu, Z.J.; Qiu, Z.M.; (2005) Critical-path-analysis-based dynamic component supplier optimization, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Vol. 18, Issue 8, pp. 702- 709
Critical Path Method (CPM) and Critical Chain Method (CCM). How is CCM an improvement over CPM? The Concepts The concept of paths and the slacks on the path have been around the management circles from the 1960s, with the concept of slack being defined as the amount of time an activity on a production line can be halted without affecting the project completion date. (Hansen, 1964) Likewise the critical path and the
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,
Project Management Explain the differences between Activity-on-node and Activity-on-Arrow in developing the project network. They are both flow charts that set out to show the order in which a project's activities are meant to be completed. Activity on node uses nodes to illustrate activities. Activity on arrow uses arrows to illustrate activities. There are differences between the two project networks. First, Activity on node networks mainly focuses on tasks (milestones) while activity
social sciences: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. However, there is another classification of research -- evaluation research -- frequently deployed in organizations. Evaluation research may make use of all of these different methodologies, even though it has a different goal than academic research. "The generic goal of most evaluations is to provide 'useful feedback' to a variety of audiences including sponsors, donors, client-groups, administrators, staff, and other relevant constituencies"
Critical Thinking From a Philosophic Application It is often said that critical thinking is a way we humans think but not specifically what we humans are thinking about. Philosophers and Psychologists all seem to concur on the fact that we take the critical thinking process and utilize it as an ongoing progression that may stem from a simple observation or some unanswered question. In other words, the process of critical thinking
Critical Thinking Barriers At the core of every learning process is the involvement of the mind in analysis and critical thinking. Essential to this is the active participation of the brain to communicate its judgment, assumptions, sense, and logical reasoning. There are several strategies an individual may implement to sharpen his critical thinking skills. Focusing the intellect on a particular subject requiring critical thinking may facilitate the smooth flow of ideas.