INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK ANALYSIS Flashcards
What is network analysis
Network analysis is a management tool used to break down a project into its component tasks to ensure the project is completed.
What is the crytical path
The critical path is the activities that will delay the project if not completed on time.
What are the circles called
The circles are called ‘nodes’ and represent the start and end of an activity
What do the lines represent
The lines connecting the nodes represent the activity. The number corresponding to the line is it’s duration
What is the number on the left of the node
The number of the node
Do the nodes represent and activity
The circles/ nodes do not represent an activity. It’s the line between the nodes that represent the activity (activity A in this case is conducting market research - and their is a 2 on the other side of the line meaning it will take 2 weeks to complete)
What do the numbers of the right of the node represent
Each node has two numbers in: The ‘earliest start time’ is in the top right, the latest finish time in the bottom right
What does the earliest start time represent
The earliest start time represents the first moment that this activity can commence given the activities that need to be completed before it can commence
What does the latest finish time represent
The latest finish time the last possible moment that this should be completed by without delaying the project
Example from the document
So you can start activity A immediately, then it will take 2 weeks to complete - So the earliest possible time you could start activity D is 2 weeks - So the latest time you could start doing market research would be on week 9 so that you still have 2 weeks to complete market research for week 11 - As long as activity A is completed on time, it won’t delay the whole project (same goes for the other nodes)
The nodes in the middle are the critical path, but the other ones that aren’t on the same line as them are not on the critical path - On the critical path there is no slack - which you can see from both of the numbers on the right hand side of the node being the same. The other nodes (the other ones that aren’t on the critical path) have different numbers on the right hand side, meaning that there is a little bit of slack allowed for those activities.
The activities with float time can be finished first and workers can be deployed - or they can be put off until the last minute to ensure that the tasks on the critical path are completed.
The link to the document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1090QyXcRnp10rAAWHlIUUdqI_DLvYOl3GimygaXnJo4/edit
EXAMPLE of what is looks like
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1090QyXcRnp10rAAWHlIUUdqI_DLvYOl3GimygaXnJo4/edit
