Programming and Planning Flashcards
What is a programme?
The sequence in which tasks must be carried out to complete a project (within a pre-defined time / duration).
What is the purpose of a programme?
- Monitor progress & performance.
- Model delivery of a project.
- Communicate plan to the team & client.
- Use in appraisals & fee estimates.
What are the different types of programme?
Different presentation styles to tailor to the need of the audience.
Gantt Chart
o Relationships between tasks are mapped.
o Critical path is determined.
o Simple, effective visualisation.
PERT – Programme Evaluation & Review Technique
o PERT breaks down the project into events and activities, and lays down their proper sequence, relationships, and duration in the form of a network.
o Shows the time taken by each component of a project, and the total time required for its completion
o Lines connecting the events are called paths, and the longest path resulting from connecting all events is called the critical path.
Network Path Analysis
o Refinement of PERT.
o Maps the connections & dependencies between the tasks.
Cashflows
o Programmes expenditure throughout the project based on sequencing of works/tasks.
o Used to monitor progress through actual expenditure.
o Useful for funding purposes for banks etc.
What is Acceleration?
- Techniques used when a delay occurs to save time in the most economical way.
- Acceleration methods include:
o Resequencing tasks – most cost effective method.
o Incentives
o Changing construction logistics or methods
o Increase resourcing – either people or hours.
How do you measure performance of a programme?
- Droplines – Shows progress against each task but does not show overall impact of delays.
- Baselines – Planned programme against actual.
How do you determine the critical path?
- List activities
- Establish their duration and dependencies
- Draw network diagram
- Identify critical path
What is a forward pass?
- Technique to move forward through network diagram to determining project duration and finding the critical path or Free Float of the project.
What is a backwards pass?
- Moving backward from the end result to calculate late start or to find if there is any slack in the activity.
What is float?
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying a subsequent activity
What are the different types of float?
- Free Float – the amount of time a task can be delayed without affecting the succeeding task.
- Total Float – This is the amount of time which an activity can be delayed without affecting the end date of the project. On the critical path, total float is zero.
- Terminal Float – difference between a contractors planned completion date, and the completion date set in the contract. Float owned by the contractor within NEC!
Why is programming and planning important?
- Model the project
- Communicate the plan to team and client
- To monitor progress
How would you put together a programme?
- Identify tasks, sequence of tasks & relationships between them, duration of tasks and any milestones along the way.
- Collaborate with the team to get buy-in on task durations
When might you adopt different programming techniques and why
- Different levels of detail required for the audience it is being produced for.
Features that help to identify risk around timing?
- These include the critical path and project float.
What is the relationship between critical path and float?
- There is no float on the critical activities but non-critical activities will have float.
