The “Critical Path Analysis” and PERT Chart Essay

The “Critical Path Analysis” (Zimmer 2009) and the PERT chart are two very essential aspects of managing critical projects and every manager must know why and how to use them in complex and critical projects. These are very essential elements that are used to solve complex defense management issues. Similarly, in this project we are also making use of the both to complete the project (Milosevic 2003).

Creating a Timeline

Every project has a time line and the same goes for the project we are discussing here. The time line is fixed, while looking at the aspects like the complexity of the job, the money invested in the job, and many other factors this aspect is to be remembered. According to the PERT chart we use a mathematic formula to derive the time line, in accordance to Klastorin (2006), and it is:

“Shortest time + 4 x likely time + longest time

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6” (Klastorin 2006)

We first decide the stages of the job and name them as stages like A, B, C, D and so on, and also decide how much time every job will take. The shortest possible time for the finishing of each job and the longest possible time the job can take if delayed are taken into consideration before calculating the time line. One of the most important aspects of PERT is that it also helps to decide the budget of a project and we are trying to complete our project in the shortest time (Kerzner 2007). By the Critical Path of a PERT chart we can have things like:

1. We can decide the most important paths of a job and what are the tasks to be carried out.
2. The parallel activities while performing a specific job that can reduce the cost of the project can be roughly drawn.
3. One can decide the shortest time to finish a project (Zimmer 2009).
4. The evaluation of resources and prioritizing the tasks.
5. It is the basic way of shortening the construction process (Woolf 2007).

Prioritizing

A project is not done on paper but the successful execution of the project is based in the field. The same is applied here. If I see that the project is getting delayed for some reason, in the very beginning, I will decide the factors affecting the delay in the different parts of the project and how it is affecting the current part of the project. After identifying the problem, I must take necessary steps to solve it but if the solution seems to affect the project thoroughly, we must make necessary substitutions that will ultimately not affect the project (Zimmer 2009).

Suppose the three parts of the project are B, C, and D, we are having problems in B which is due to the lack of supply of raw materials. If the company supplying raw materials are not helping us then we should look forward to a new company who will supply us with raw materials according to our demands. And this will overall help our project (Klastorin 2006).

After solving the problems in Stage B, I should look at the other stages. The problems can affect the other stages and we have to make them clear. This will ultimately help the smooth ending of the project. While the initial and important problems are solved then I will look into the other matters of the problem, and also prioritize them in a systematic way so that all the problems have solutions and by this, the problem will be solved in a correct way (Milosevic 2003).

Any complex project can be handled in a convenient way if we can plan the project accordingly and also execute while keeping in mind that any problems can still arise and we will have to make strategies to solve them. And ultimately this will help us to successfully end the complex project in our hands (Woolf 2007).

References

1. Kerzner, H. (2007). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. NY: Wiley.
2. Klastorin, T. (2006). Project Management: Tools and Trade-offs. NY: Wiley.
3. Milosevic, Z. (2003). Project Management ToolBox: Tools and Techniques for the Practicing Project Manager. NY: Wiley.
4. Woolf, M. (2007). Faster Construction Projects with CPM Scheduling. Boston: McGraw
5. Zimmer, C. (2009). A Guide To The Project Management. Auckland: IPCL Press.