Research Methods Project Management Introduction to Project Management

Research Methods & Project Management Introduction to Project Management, Network Analysis and the Critical Path (part 1) M. Tsiknakis

Project Management & Network Analysis v. What is a project? v. One definition of a project (from the Project Management Institute (PMI) is A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. v. Network analysis is the general name given to specific techniques which are used for the planning, management and control of projects.

Project : definition v. This definition serves to highlight some essential features of a project § it is temporary - it has a beginning and an end § it is unique in some way v. With regard to the use of the word unique I personally prefer to use the idea of "nonrepetitive" or "non-routine", § e. g. building the very first Boeing Jumbo jet was a project - building them now is a repetitive/routine manufacturing process, not a project.

Foundations: Graph theory v Graph theory deals with problems that have a graph (or network) structure. v In this context a graph (or network as many people use the terms interchangeable) consists of: § vertices/nodes - which are a collection of points; and § arcs - which are lines running between the nodes. § Such arcs may be directed or undirected and undirected arcs are often called links or edges.

Graph theory v. Graph theory is used in dealing with problems which have a fairly natural graph/network structure, for example: § § communication networks computer systems road networks foreign exchange/multinational tax planning (network of fiscal flows)

Graph theory v Graph theory has a relative long history in classical mathematics. v In 1730 Euler solved the problem of whether given the map in the next column of the city of Konigsberg in Germany, someone could make a complete tour, crossing over all 7 bridges over the river Pregel, and return to their starting point without crossing any bridge more than once.

Work Breakdown Structure v. Typically all projects can be broken down into: § separate activities (tasks/jobs) - where each activity has an associated duration or completion time (i. e. the time from the start of the activity to its finish); § precedence relationships - which govern the order in which we may perform the activities, üe. g. in a project concerned with building a SW system the “requirements analysis" must be finished before the activity “specification of the architecture" can start; vand the problem is to bring all these activities together in a coherent fashion to complete the project.

Network analysis - Example v It is clear that in constructing this list of activities we must make judgements as to the level of detail (timescale) to adopt. v At one extreme we could have just a single activity "do the project" and at the other extreme we could try to break the project down into hourly activities. v The appropriate timescale to adopt - which can be different for different activities - grows out of our knowledge of the situation and experience. v Aside from this list of activities we must also prepare a list of precedence relationships indicating activities which, because of the logic of the situation, must be finished before other activities can start § e. g. in the above list activity number 1 must be finished before activity number 3 can start. v We try to keep this list to a minimum by specifying only immediate relationships, that is relationships involving activities that "occur near to each other in time".

Work Breakdown Structure

Network analysis - Example v We will illustrate the concepts involved (network analysis) with reference to the following example: § Suppose that we are going to carry out a minor redesign of a product and its associated packaging. § We intend to test in the market this redesigned product and then revise it in the light of the test market results, finally presenting the results to the Board of the company.

Network analysis - Example v After much thought we have identified the following list of separate activities together with their associated completion times (assumed known with certainty). v The key question is: How long will it take to complete this project?

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - Our Example v Again after much thought (and aided by the fact that we listed the activities in a logical/chronological order) we come up with the following list of immediate precedence relationships. v The key to constructing this table is, for each activity in turn, to ask the question: v "What activities must be finished before this activity can start"

Notes on our example v Activities 1 and 2 do not appear in the right hand column of the above table, this is because there are no activities which must finish before they can start, i. e. both activities 1 and 2 can start immediately. v Two activities (5 and 6) must be finished before activity 7 can start. v It is plain from this table that non-immediate precedence relationships (e. g. "activity 1 must be finished before activity 9 can start") need not be included in the list since they can be deduced from the relationships already in the list. v Once we have completed our list of activities and our list of precedence relationships we combine them into a diagram/picture (called a network - which is where the name network analysis comes from). v We asked the key question above: How long will it take to complete this project?

Notes on our example v One answer could be if we first do activity 1, then activity 2, then activity 3, . . , then activity 10, then activity 11. v This is possible here and the project would then take the sum of the completion times of all activities, i. e. 30 weeks. v However could we complete the project in less time? It is clear that logically we need to amend our key question to be: What is the minimum possible time in which we can complete this project? v We shall see how the network diagram we construct and its analysis helps us to answer this question.

Situations represented in a Network Diagram

Network diagram

Various Project Management Techniques and Tools v Gantt Chart § Tool that can be used to plan and track project activities. v Critical Path Method (CPM) § A method used for determining the sequence of task activities that directly affect the completion of a project. v Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) § A technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time to calculate the expected time for a particular task. v Microsoft Project § Most widely used project management software § http: //office. microsoft. com/en-us/project/default. aspx

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