Networks and Critical Paths Flashcards
Networks provide a visual representation of?
of projects
Networks documents ?
The dependencies between all the activities necessary to complete the project
Networks provide ?
A useful tool to discuss the progress with the project team and stakeholders
When a network is created the duration of the activities or resources are not
Considered
The network is refined with these considerations in a later step.
In summary a network documents the ________ between _____ assuming Infinite _________. The practicalities are dealt with later
Dependencies
Activities
Infinite
The activities are taken from _______ and out into order
WBS
There are 3 main dependencies types which are ?
Finish to start
Start to start
Finish to finish
The most common type of dependency is ?
Finish to start
FINISH TO START
Activity B Can start when activity A has been completed
START TO START
Once and activity has started another activity has started
FINISH TO FINISH
Once an activity has finished another activity can finish
Common Faults when establishing a network : avoid loops
Many operation require rework , it seems easy to put in a loop , in scheduling terms it defies logic.
It is better to have one activity and describe it in great detail as loops require careful consideration when estimating their duration.
Common Faults when establishing a network : avoid Danglers
Where networks have two ends
They can cause problems when calculating the project duration
If there are two or more endpoint a dummy activity should be inserted which can have zero duration instead and link the danglers into it
It is acceptable to have multiple start activities
Common Faults when establishing a network :ensure correct entry and exit points
For finish to start dependencies ensure the linking arrows exit from the right hand side of the activity and enter into the left hand side of the activity
This helps to avoid problems when calculating the project duration in a later step
Network boxes are known as ______ and each box can be divided into ______ areas
Node
7
The project schedule is created by defining all the _______ to be performed taking account of their _________________
Their relationship, estimated durations and the resources required within the project calendar
There are 7 steps in the schedule development process :
- Identifying the task from the WBS
2.Estimating the duration (effort) of each tasks
3.determining the logical relationship between tasks (dependencies) in relation to their delivery - Carrying out optimisation of the schedule and testing the logic
5.assigning resources that are required to carry out work
6.checking that the defined schedule meets the target success criteria for cost and time
7.baseline the schedule and monitoring during its deployment
There are two principle types of scheduling ?
Critical path and critical chain
The critical path approach places _______ on the activities in a project and understanding the _______ time to complete all activities in a logical order.
Emphasis
Shortest
To do this dependencies between each activity that forms the scope of work to be completed need to be agreed.
Establishing the logic between the activities enables a _____________ to be determined. Then estimates of duration (based on the effort required) can be made.
Precedence network
The resulting _________ can be identified as the sequence of activities through the precedence network from start to finish whose duration when summed determines the _________.
Critical path
Overall duration
Within a large project , there can be a number of individual _________ to deal with different aspects of project. The mater schedules combines ________ and keeps track of all _______ schedules within the overall project scope
Schedules
Coordinates
Subordinate
When using an iterative lifecycle rather than considering scope and quality as fixed and estimating time and cost , a _______ approached it Is used.
Time box
A fixed period of
Time with determined resources , during which scope is completed to quality as efficiently as possible
Time boxes =
Sprints
Time boxes and an iterative lifecycle approach are commonly used to manage ?
Technologically novel or risky projects.
Iterative lifecycle projects are repeatedly tasked with satisfying requirements and iteratively moving the solution towards a satisfactory __________ in a short set period of time. The results of this technique are usually presented using a visualisation that shows activities as bars on a timeline known as a __________
Conclusion
Gantt Chart
The critical chain method alternatively called ___________ places emphasis on the resources (labour and non labour) in a project whilst critical path emphasis on the ________
Resource critical path
Activities
When the amount of resources are estimated for an activity , there are various aspects that will influence how that activity will be ultimately performed it’s resulting duration and it’s effects on successors…..
Skills , abilities, tools and motivation are just some factors that will influence work rate
The simplest critical chain approach takes the estimated duration provided for each activity and reduces this by ____to create a time contingency and rather than holding that contingency within the estimate for that activity and included as a a buffer for a _______ of activities
50 percent
Critical chain.
The benefit of a task completing early is lost to the project but the effect
Of the late completing has to be adsorbed into the project the critical chain approach attempts to rebalance this problem
For the critical chain Method to work , people and other resources need to be available at the same time when activity can start achieving this requires
The team and wider stake holders who may need the same resources for other work to screen on this will be achieved
Critical chain depends on a culture being created within the project, where it is accepted that the best case estimates will rarely be achieved but on the understanding that all work will be completed as soon as possible and that the buffer for the chain is available to _________
Protect the project
Using the critical chain approach once resources are allocated , focus is solely on completing the activity to the required ________
Quality standard as quickly as possible
The aim of critical chain is overcome the temptation to delay activities or to do extra work when there seems
To be enough time……
Rather than monitoring start and end dates the focus is on encouraging resources to gain maximum productivity regardless of dates.
In the critical path method the ___________ of activities is the focus for reporting whereas in the critical chain the rate at which the buffer is being consumed is _______
Start and finish
Is reported to stakeholders , commonly using a fever chart
Using the fever chart reporting is it assumed that is 50 percent of the project has been completed , it would be expected that the buffer would have been 50 percent consumed ….
Buffer consumption verses project completion is plotted on the fever chart between pre-defined thresholds
Over or under consumption of the buffer threshold in relation to project progress can be….
Highlighted and actioned or escalated accordingly
In projects where time is critical, there is empirical evidence that out of ordinary results have been achieved when the critical chain method is used in a more advanced way ….
Taking account of the status so variations between different activities and relating them to calculation of an optimised buffer. There are examples of projects being reduced to overall schedules by up to 25 percent.
A Gantt Chart is a bar chart which represents ….
The activities in a project against the calendar
Gantt Chart: the critical path calculation the earliest start time is
The end of that week
Gantt Chart: the critical paths has no float so any delays will cause the _________ to ______
Project end date to slip
Gantt Chart: activities which have float can be started later without having _______ on the _____
Impact on the schedule
GANTT CHART : if an activity is moved until it has no float is becomes part of the ________
Critical path
GANTT CHART: To finish earlier time must be taken from the ?
Critical Path
The completion of key activities are often represented as _______ on a Gantt Chart they are useful for ?
Tracking progress especially for senior management and are often used to trigger payments to contractors
Time box is a ______ of time used in a ______ lifecycle and typically last between ______ and _____ weeks
Fixed period
Iterative
2 and 4
Time boxes start with a kick off meeting followed by 3 distinct steps:
- Investigation where the requirement and deliverables of the time box are reviewed and confirmed
- Refinement where the bulk of the work takes place
- Consolidation where any loose ends related to evolutionary development are tied up and this ensures that all products meets their acceptance criteria.
Close out is where ?
The deliverables from the time box are formally accepted and this is usually followed by a short retrospective to learn any lessons from the time box
The critical path method and critical chain method differ in their approach to ?
Time buffers , resource management , and management of uncertainties
Critical path focuses on
Identifying the Critical path and making sure work is completed on time .
Critical chain considers
Resource restrains , uncertainties and risks that may affect the project schedule
