Critical Path Planning and Scheduling in Project Management

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 on arrow focuses on events (Larson and Gray 161).

Secondly, AOA networks have different possible networks that describe the same project while AON has a unique representation. Thirdly, AON diagrams are easier to understand for inexperienced users than AOA diagrams. AON diagrams are easy to create compared to AOA diagrams. Fourthly, AOA diagrams only show the finish-to-start relationships. Dummy activities are added in order to show the complex dependencies and relationships between activities. However, AON networks places the activities on the nodes while the interconnection arrows are used in the illustration of dependencies between these activities (Larson and Gray 161).

2) How Critical Path is being identified and A critical path is a procedure for scheduling a different set of project activities (Kelley, p.297). It is a significant tool in project management. It is used with all forms of projects such as software development, engineering, construction, plant maintenance, aerospace and defense. The technique for using Critical path method is to create a project that entails logical ends including deliverable items and milestones. The second one involves a list of activities required to complete a project.

Thirdly, one should identify the duration that is required to complete each activity. The fourth step involves the identification the dependencies of all the activities. Using the above values, a critical path method can calculate the longest route taken by planned activities until the completion of a project or to a logical end. It also identifies the shortest time that each activity can be finished with the use few resources.

It determines which activities have a total float that is can be delayed without necessarily making the project longer and activities are critical on the longest path. A critical path is the order of activities of a project network and always add up to the longest duration overall. The tool facilitates the determination of the shortest time possible required to complete a given project. Any delay of activity on the critical path affects the strategic project completion (Kelley, p.299). This will mean that the critical path lacks float.

A crash duration refers to the shortest time a given activity is scheduled for completion (Larson and Gray 160). Free slack or float is the time an activity can surpass its early finish date without necessarily affecting the start of any successors. Float can never be negative. The activities mainly occur at the end of chain activities where one can merge activities that can have a float (Larson and Gray 160). Parallel activities are the ones that take place at the same time.

3) Provide an example of a project that shows one of these two approaches is the best fit for that project. "Show an illustration/drawing on your chosen approach (AON or AOA) An example of a project to install.