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What does lead measure in a project activity?
What does lead measure in a project activity?
In a Finish to Start (FS) relationship, when can activity B start?
In a Finish to Start (FS) relationship, when can activity B start?
What is the effect if activity C must not start until activity A has started in a Start to Start (SS) relationship?
What is the effect if activity C must not start until activity A has started in a Start to Start (SS) relationship?
In a Finish to Finish (FF) relationship, when can activity A finish?
In a Finish to Finish (FF) relationship, when can activity A finish?
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What is the purpose of resource allocation and leveling in project management?
What is the purpose of resource allocation and leveling in project management?
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In the Start to Finish (SF) relationship, how is the completion of activity B influenced?
In the Start to Finish (SF) relationship, how is the completion of activity B influenced?
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Which of the following statements about lag is true?
Which of the following statements about lag is true?
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How does a Start to Start (SS) relationship affect scheduling between two activities?
How does a Start to Start (SS) relationship affect scheduling between two activities?
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Which of the following best defines the concept of lead in project management?
Which of the following best defines the concept of lead in project management?
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What happens during a Finish to Start (FS) activity link with 2 days of lead?
What happens during a Finish to Start (FS) activity link with 2 days of lead?
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What shape should resource curves ideally take during a project?
What shape should resource curves ideally take during a project?
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What is the worst-case scenario regarding resource distribution in a project?
What is the worst-case scenario regarding resource distribution in a project?
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Which strategy is necessary to improve resource allocation when faced with inefficiencies?
Which strategy is necessary to improve resource allocation when faced with inefficiencies?
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What is the primary purpose of resource distribution in project management?
What is the primary purpose of resource distribution in project management?
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How does resource leveling contribute to project management?
How does resource leveling contribute to project management?
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What is the purpose of dummy activities in network scheduling?
What is the purpose of dummy activities in network scheduling?
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Which step comes immediately after establishing activity relationships in network scheduling?
Which step comes immediately after establishing activity relationships in network scheduling?
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What does a node represent in an arrow diagram?
What does a node represent in an arrow diagram?
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What will result from calculating float values in scheduling?
What will result from calculating float values in scheduling?
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Which of the following is a characteristic of arrows in an arrow diagram?
Which of the following is a characteristic of arrows in an arrow diagram?
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What does the term 'Early Finish' refer to in project management?
What does the term 'Early Finish' refer to in project management?
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What does the term 'critical path' refer to in project scheduling?
What does the term 'critical path' refer to in project scheduling?
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During which step would you determine productivities and assign durations?
During which step would you determine productivities and assign durations?
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Which of the following best defines the 'Critical Path' in project management?
Which of the following best defines the 'Critical Path' in project management?
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Which of the following is NOT a correct application of an arrow diagram convention?
Which of the following is NOT a correct application of an arrow diagram convention?
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What does 'Total Float' represent in the context of critical activities?
What does 'Total Float' represent in the context of critical activities?
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Which of the following statements is true regarding 'Late Start'?
Which of the following statements is true regarding 'Late Start'?
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What role do dummy activities play in project management?
What role do dummy activities play in project management?
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In the context of the Critical Path Method, what does the term 'Activity Duration' refer to?
In the context of the Critical Path Method, what does the term 'Activity Duration' refer to?
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What is meant by 'Early Start' in project scheduling?
What is meant by 'Early Start' in project scheduling?
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Why is determining the 'Project Duration' crucial in project management?
Why is determining the 'Project Duration' crucial in project management?
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What is the early start (ES) for the task 'Move in'?
What is the early start (ES) for the task 'Move in'?
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What is the duration of the task 'Excavate Abutment'?
What is the duration of the task 'Excavate Abutment'?
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What is the earliest finish (EF) for the task 'Order & Deliver Piles'?
What is the earliest finish (EF) for the task 'Order & Deliver Piles'?
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What value does the earliest start (ES) of 'Prefabricate abutment forms' depend on?
What value does the earliest start (ES) of 'Prefabricate abutment forms' depend on?
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What is the latest finish (LF) value for the last task in the project?
What is the latest finish (LF) value for the last task in the project?
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What does the term 'Contract Date' refer to in relation to the project?
What does the term 'Contract Date' refer to in relation to the project?
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What do the calculations of early start (ES) and early finish (EF) help to determine?
What do the calculations of early start (ES) and early finish (EF) help to determine?
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How is the early finish (EF) for the task 'Drive Piles abutment' calculated?
How is the early finish (EF) for the task 'Drive Piles abutment' calculated?
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What is the relationship between 'Drive Piles abutment' and its predecessor tasks?
What is the relationship between 'Drive Piles abutment' and its predecessor tasks?
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What is the primary purpose of performing a forward pass in project management?
What is the primary purpose of performing a forward pass in project management?
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What is the formula for calculating Total Float (TF)?
What is the formula for calculating Total Float (TF)?
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What is the correct calculation for Free Float (FF) if ES of B is 54 and EF of A is 43?
What is the correct calculation for Free Float (FF) if ES of B is 54 and EF of A is 43?
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In a project network, what does the term 'Critical Path' refer to?
In a project network, what does the term 'Critical Path' refer to?
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How is the relationship 'Finish to Start' (FS) depicted in a project schedule?
How is the relationship 'Finish to Start' (FS) depicted in a project schedule?
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What is the purpose of calculating 'Float' in project management?
What is the purpose of calculating 'Float' in project management?
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If Activity A has an EF of 35 and Activity B has an ES of 36, what is the Free Float for Activity A?
If Activity A has an EF of 35 and Activity B has an ES of 36, what is the Free Float for Activity A?
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Which of the following defines 'Lag' in project management?
Which of the following defines 'Lag' in project management?
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In Example #2, how many days does Activity D take?
In Example #2, how many days does Activity D take?
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If the Total Float for Activity H is calculated as TF = 0, what does this imply?
If the Total Float for Activity H is calculated as TF = 0, what does this imply?
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What is the outcome of the Forward Pass process in project scheduling?
What is the outcome of the Forward Pass process in project scheduling?
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Which activity has the latest finish time in Example #2?
Which activity has the latest finish time in Example #2?
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If a project activity is described as having a 'Finish to Finish' relationship with its predecessor, what does this mean?
If a project activity is described as having a 'Finish to Finish' relationship with its predecessor, what does this mean?
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What is the significance of the Backward Pass in project management?
What is the significance of the Backward Pass in project management?
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Study Notes
Network Scheduling
- Network scheduling is a process for planning and managing projects.
- Key steps in the network model include defining activities, determining physical constraints, establishing activity relationships, drawing a network diagram, determining productivities and assigning durations, assigning resources and costs, calculating early and late start and finish times, and computing float values and identifying the critical path.
Steps in the Network Model
- Define activities: Clearly outline all tasks in the project.
- Determine physical constraints: Identify any limitations on the project, such as location, materials, or time.
- Establish activity relationships: Figure out which tasks depend on others. This determines the order of tasks and prevents work from happening prematurely.
- Draw a network diagram: Visually represent the tasks and their relationships. A network diagram (or arrow diagram) uses arrows and nodes. The arrows represent the activity, and the nodes represent the event, when the activity starts and ends.
- Determine productivities and assign durations: Estimate how long each task will take. Productivities involve the output per unit of time and are essential in determining task durations.
- Assign resources and costs: Identify the resources needed for each task and their associated costs. These costs can be labor cost, material cost, etc.
- Calculate early and late start & finish times: Determine the earliest and latest possible completion times for each activity. Early times define the quickest project completion, and late times consider buffer time for potential delays.
- Compute float values and identify critical path: Calculate the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the project completion time. The critical path is the longest path through the network, and delays anywhere on it will affect the project deadline.
Arrow Diagram
- Arrow diagrams use arrows and nodes to represent project activities and events, respectively.
- Arrows show activities, while nodes represent the point in time when activities begin or end.
- This method is often called I-J Diagram or CPM.
Formats
- Different formats can be used in arrow diagrams for projects, including arc format, staff format, and sloping format. Example formats are displayed in the document.
Arrow Diagram Example
- The diagram outlines specific tasks with durations and dependencies.
- A table provides activities, descriptions, and durations.
Arrow Diagram Conventions
- The diagrams conform to various conventions—nonconsecutive node and arrow numbers, J-node numbers greater than I-node numbers.
- The diagrams follow arrow direction (right, up or down) rules for proper connections and ordering. Number ordering conventions are illustrated.
- Activities and precedence relationships are represented.
Dummy Activities
- Dummy activities are activities with zero duration.
- They are used to represent relationships between activities when necessary for unique activity designations, for clearer logical constraints, and to create starting or ending activities. Diagrams of dummy activities, as activity splitters, for logical constraints, and for starting/ending tasks are illustrated.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
- CPM is a method for scheduling and controlling project activities.
- Key terms include early start (ES), early finish (EF), late start (LS), late finish (LF), and activity duration.
- Diagrams and tables define these terms in relation to the project timeline.
Activity Times
- Early Start (ES): The point in time when all preceding activities are completed.
- Early Finish (EF): Earliest time activity can be completed. Calculated as ES + Duration.
- Late Finish (LF): The latest time where all work involved in an activity can be completed to avoid delaying others activities.
- Late Start (LS): Latest time to begin an activity without delaying subsequent activities. Calculated as LF - Duration.
CPM - Definitions
- Duration (D): Average time for an activity.
- Early Start (ES): Earliest start time, following forward pass calculation.
- Early Finish (EF): Earliest possible finish time (ES + Duration)
- Late Start (LS): Latest possible start time for an activity, supporting project finish date (backward pass).
- Late Finish (LF): Latest possible finish time for an activity, supporting project finish date
Critical Path
- The critical path is the sequence of dependent activities in a network diagram that determines the minimum time needed to complete the project. Delays on the critical path affect the project's total completion time.
- The aggregate duration of activities along the critical path determines the project duration.
- Critical activities are those activities on the critical path having no total float. Total Float is the amount of time an activity on the critical path can be delayed without affecting the entire project completion time.
Precedence Diagram (PDM) - AoN
- PDM (Precedence Diagram) is a project management diagram that outlines project activities and their dependencies with boxes (representing activities) and arrows connecting them.
- Predecessors are activities that must be completed before another activity can begin.
- Successors are activities that depend on the completion of another activity.
Forward Pass
- Project starts at day 0 (equivalent to beginning of day 1)
- Early Start (ES): Calculated as the maximum of the early finishes of all preceding activities
- Early Finish (EF) = ES + duration
Backward Pass
- Calculations for late start and finish times are derived using the backward pass method.
- Late Finish (LF): Calculated by working backward from the final activity.
- Late Start (LS) = LF - Duration
Float (Slack)
- Total Float (TF) is the time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.
- Calculated as LS - ES or LF - EF.
- Free float (FF) is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start of any subsequent activities.
- Calculated as ESj - EFi; where ESj is the early start of an activity, and EFi the early finish of the previous activity.
Activity Lead and Lag
- Lag represents the time an activity is delayed from the preceding activity's start or finish.
- Lead represents the time an activity precedes the start or finish of its successor.
Special Relationships
- Start-to-Start (SS): The start of activity B depends upon the start of activity A.
- Finish-to-Start (FS): The start of activity B depends on the finish of activity A.
- Start-to-Finish (SF): The finish of activity B depends on the start of activity A.
- Finish-to-Finish (FF): The finish of activity B depends on the finish of activity A by a given delay.
Importance of Allocating and Leveling Resources
- Resources must be allocated to complete the project. Resource allocation involves bringing resources to the project in an organized manner. Resource leveling smooths out resource usage across the project. The resource curve should rise during the project then fall till the project completes.
- Incorrect allocation of resources in cases of "ups and downs" will be inefficient, costly, and negatively affect staff morale.
- When resources are limited, task start times are adjusted to optimize the use of resources while meeting the project deadline.
Resource Allocation and Leveling
- Resource Allocation deals with the efficient distribution of resources for project activities.
- Resource leveling adjusts activities to better use resources when the project duration isn't adjustable.
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Description
This quiz covers the essential processes involved in network scheduling for project management. Key steps include defining activities, determining constraints, and establishing relationships between tasks. Test your knowledge on creating network diagrams and understanding critical paths in project planning.
