BDM, 2007/s2

Business Decision Models 2007/s2

Critical Path Method CPM
Week 06

Project scheduling is based on a representation

of activities in a project by a network. Each
activity is characterized by

• A duration: how long the activity takes to

perform.

• A list of sequence requirements (or

precedences): activity X can only
commence once activities A, B, C are
complete.

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House construction example.

Break house construction into 14 different

activities, starting with excavating site,
finishing with interior and exterior fixtures.

Commence after
Activity Duration completion of
A1 Excavation 2
A2 Foundations 4 A1
A3 Rough Wall 10 A2
A4 Exterior plumbing 4 A3
A5 Rough electricals 7 A3
A6 Roof 6 A3
A7 Interior plumbing 5 A4
A8 Gyprock 8 A5, A7
A9 Flooring 4 A8
A10 Interior painting 5 A8
A11 Interior fixtures 6 A9, A10
A12 Exterior siding 7 A6
A13 Exterior painting 9 A4, A12
A14 Exterior fixtures 2 A13
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Goals:

1. What is the minimum possible total

project time?

2. What is a good project schedule? That is,

when should each of the component
activities be scheduled to start?

3. What are the critical activities? (Ones that

cause the project time to be as big as it is.)

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Project Network

Start

A1

A2

A3

A5 A4 A6

A7 A12

A8 A13

A9 A10 A14

A11

Finish

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Networks

• Network (=“directed graph”) consists of

– Finite set of “nodes” (=“vertices”). A
node is drawn as a box or circle.
– A set of “links” (=“arcs”, =“edges”).
∗ A link is drawn as an arrow joining
one node to another.
∗ Mathematically: link = “ordered pair
(i, j) of nodes”. (Meaning: “Draw
arrow from Node i to Node j”)
∗ Assume no links of form (i, i).
• Location on page of nodes, links is
irrelevant! These two networks are the
same:

1
2

1 4 2 3

3
4

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• Example.
– Nodes: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
– Links:
{(1, 2), (2, 3), (2, 4), (3, 2)(3, 5), (5, 2)}
– Graphical representation:
4

1 2 3 5

• A node like 1. above with no links

entering is called a “source”.
• A node like 4. above with no links leaving
is called a “sink”.
• A “path” from A to B is a sequence of
links joining A to B:
(A, i1 ), (i1 , i2 ), (i2 , i3 ) . . . , (im , B).
• E.g. path (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 5) joins 1 to 5.
• More briefly, 1 → 2 → 3 → 5.

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• If A and B are the same node, the path is

called a “cycle”.

• E.g. above 2 → 3 → 5 → 2 is a cycle.

• A network with no cycles is called acyclic.

• E.g. Network above has several cycles

(2 → 3 → 2, 2 → 3 → 5 → 2, so is not
acyclic.

• The following network is acyclic:

• Consider Excel. Can use “Audit” functions

to show cell dependencies. These must
constitute an acyclic network. (If not:
Circular cell reference!).

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AON representation

Represent project as a network:

• Nodes represent activities.

(“Activity-on-node” AON).

• Links represent sequencing relations. Link

i → j means activity i must be completed
before j starts.

• A project network must be acyclic.

Suppose not, suppose there was a cycle
like 1 → 2 → 3 → 1. So Activity 1 must
wait for A3, A3 must wait for A2, A2 must
wait for A1. So A1 must wait till A1 is
finished before A1 can start!

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Project Timetable

Earliest Earliest Latest Latest

Activity Duration Start Finish Start Finish S
*A1 2 0 2 0 2
*A2 4 2 6 2 6
*A3 10 6 16 6 16
*A4 4 16 20 16 20
A5 7 16 23 18 25
A6 6 16 22 20 26
*A7 5 20 25 20 25
*A8 8 25 33 25 33
A9 4 33 37 34 38
*A10 5 33 38 33 38
*A11 6 38 44 38 44
A12 7 22 29 26 33
A13 9 29 38 33 42
A14 2 38 40 42 44
[* means critical]
Project duration is 44.

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 Gantt Chart
Essentially the AON network representation with node size proportional to activity duration, and nodes placed along time line.
A very useful graphical presentation of project schedule.
BDM, 2007/s2

A5 A8 A11

A1 A7 A9

A2 A4 A10

A3

A6 A13

A12 A14

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44

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Start

A1

A2

A3

A5 A4 A6

A7 A12

A8 A13

A9 A10 A14

A11

Finish

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Typical Uses

• Planning – tell contractors when they will

be needed, highlight if deadline is tight,
etc.

• Management – monitoring whether project

is ahead/behind schedule, knowing which
activities to monitor most closely (critical
ones) vs which ones have some flexibility
(non-critical).

• Intangible – forcing managers and workers

to think about the interdependencies
among activities enhances appreciation of
everyone’s roles in the project.

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Typical Questions

• Plumber doing A7 Interior Plumbing is

“very busy”, wants to delay start of A7 by
3 days, should we permit this?

• Painter doing A13 Exterior Painting says

the job will be longer than anticipated.
Instead of taking 9 working days, it will
take 11. What impact on project
completion? What if the miscalculation
had been more serious, and A13 was
actually 15 days’ work?

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• Contractor for A6 Roof starts 3 days late

due to rain. Also, A13 will take 2 days
longer than anticipated. What effect on
project completion?

• Contractor for A9 Flooring knows you are

in a rush. Says he can finish job in 3
working days, but it will cost $300 extra.
Worth considering?

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