The document discusses Gantt charts, which are bar charts used to illustrate project schedules. A Gantt chart shows the tasks or activities within a project along a timeline, making relationships between activities and time periods visual. The document provides examples of simple Gantt charts and outlines the steps to create one, including determining activities and durations, evaluating dependencies, and using forward or backward scheduling to populate the chart. Both advantages and limitations of Gantt charts are discussed. Alternatives to Gantt charts for project scheduling like PERT and CPM are also mentioned.
2. The Purpose of a Gantt Chart:
To illustrate the relationship between project activities & time.
To show the multiple project activities on one chart
To provide a simple & easy to understand representation of project
scheduling
3. Example of a
simple Gantt
Chart
You will see
that a Gantt
Chart is
basically a
Bar Chart.
Representin
g project
activities
against
time.
4. Creating a Gantt Chart:
There are 2 methods to creating a Gantt Chart (Maylor, 2005).
1. Forward Schedule: starting with the list of activities and a given start date (6th Sept
in previous example) follow them forwards in time until you hit given deadline.
2. Backward Schedule: look at the deadline, from that date work in the logical list of
activities.
Both of these methods allow you to ensure that all necessary activities can possibly be
completed within the given project time frame.
5. Steps to Creating a Gantt Chart:
1. Determine Project start date and deadline.
2. Gather all information surrounding the list of activities within a project – the Work
Breakdown Structure may be useful for this.
3. Determine how long each activity will take
4. Evaluate what activities are dependant on others
5. Create Graph shell including the timeline and list of activities.
6. Using either Forward Scheduling or Backward Scheduling, Begin to add bars
ensuring to include dependencies and the full duration for each activity.
6. Example:
Activity Duration Dependant On
1. Read Literature 21 days N/A
2. Conduct Literature Review 14 days 1
3. Arrange ClientVisits 7 days N/A
4. Prepare Surveys 5 days 1 and 3
5. Conduct Surveys 14 days 4
6. Analyse Surveys 10 days 5
7.Write Up 30 days 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Project Start Date = 1st September
Deadline = 20th Decemeber
7. Step 5 - From the
previous slide, steps 1-4
are already complete. We
now need to create a
‘Graph Shell’.
8. Step 6 – have a go at
using either Forward
Scheduling or
Backward
Scheduling to
populate the graph.
The Finished Product
9. The Advantages:
A useful tool for displaying time-based information within a
project.
Very simple to create
They provide a useful overview of project activities, a good
starting point for project planning.
The charts are widely used and understood.
There exists several PC software packages that allow you to build
Gantt Charts.
10. The Limitations:
The Gantt Chart does not explain the reasoning behind the chosen duration of each
activity. (Maylor, 2001)
The Gantt Chart is very difficult to update when changes to the project plan take
place.This makes it time consuming and results in long-term planning being very
difficult. (Goldratt, 1997)
Gantt Charts encourage a one-step approach to planning – this prevents flexibility in
project planning.
Modern day Gantt Charts, using PC software, can look very professional without
actually having meaning, preventing project teams from challenging their content.
This can lead to difficulties later in the project. (Maylor, 2001)
As Gantt Charts are difficult to update manually, they can often become obsolete.
The charts do not consider project costs or resources.
12. Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT):
Also a very traditional project planning technique
PERT shows the list of activities within a project, their duration and
the relationship between them
PERT is a complex process however it can help to deliver a well
defined project plan.
13. CPM – Critical Path Method
PERT - Program Evaluation and Review technique
CPM (Critical Path Method) was developed by Walker to solve project
scheduling problems.
PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) was developed by team
of engineers working on the polar’s missile programme of US navy.
The methods are essentially network-oriented techniques using the same
principle are also referred as project scheduling techniques.
CPM/PERT
14. Each activity is represented by one and only one arrow in the network.
No two activities can be identified by the same end events.
Rules for drawing network diagram
15. Precedence relationships among all activities must always be maintained.
Dummy activities can be used to maintain precedence relationships only
when actually required. Their use should be minimized in the network
diagram.
Rules for drawing network diagram
16. Looping among the activities must be avoided.
Rules for drawing network diagram
18. Critical activity – The activities with zero total float are known as critical activities.
In other words an activity is said to be critical if a delay in its start will cause a
further delay in the completion date of the entire project.
Critical path – The sequence of critical activities in a network is called critical path.
The critical path is the longest path in the network from the starting event to ending
event and defines the minimum time required to complete the project.
Critical Path in NetworkAnalysis
19. The main objective in the analysis through PERT is to find out the completion
for a particular event within specified date. The PERT approach takes into
account the uncertainties. The three time values are associated with each
activity.
Optimistic time – It is the shortest possible time in which the activity can be
finished. It assumes that every thing goes very well.
Most likely time – It is the estimate of the normal time the activity would
take. This assumes normal delays. If a graph is plotted in the time of
completion and the frequency of completion in that time period, then most
likely time will represent the highest frequency of occurrence.
Pessimistic time – It represents the longest time the activity could take if
everything goes wrong. As in optimistic estimate, this value may be such that
only one in hundred or one in twenty will take time longer than this value. This
Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
20. PERT CPM
PERT is used for non-repetitive jobs like planning the
assembly of the space.
CPM is used for repetitive job like building a house
it is a probabilistic model. It is a deterministic model
It is applied mainly for planning and scheduling
research programmes.
It is applied mainly for construction and business
problems
PERT incorporates statistical analysis and thereby
determines the probabilities concerning the time by
which each activity or entire project would be
completed.
CPM does not incorporate statistical analysis in
determining time estimates, because time is precise and
known.
It is event-oriented as the results of analysis are
expressed in terms of events or distinct points in time
indicative of progress.
It is activity-oriented as the result or calculations are
considered in terms of activities or operations of the
project.
Distinction between PERT and CPM
22. Bench Marking
Benchmarking is the process of
comparing one's business processes
and performance matrices to
industry bests or best practices from
other companies.
23. Bench Marking
Dimensions typically measured are
quality, time and cost. In the process
of best practice benchmarking,
management identifies the best
firms in their industry, or in another
industry where similar processes
exist, and compares the results and
processes of those studied (the
"targets") to one's own results and
processes.
25. TYPES
Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation
and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying
and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark
firms.
Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and
comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall
competitiveness and productivity.
Benchmarking in the public sector - functions as a tool for
improvement and innovation in public administration, where state
organizations invest efforts and resources to achieve quality,
efficiency and effectiveness of the services they provide
26. Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to
assess their competitive position by comparing products and
services with those of target firms.
Product benchmarking - the process of designing new
products or upgrades to current ones.This process can
sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart
competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others
compete.This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it
is best to look at other industries.
27. Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its
benchmarking on a single function to improve the operation
of that particular function.
28. Bench marking in Nursing
Benchmarking in nursing is defined as the process by which
the quest for best practice is identified and pursued over a
period of time for reliable and better performance. Subjects
that can be benchmarked in nursing industry include
strategies, operations and processes
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