CHAPTER 5

PROJECT PLANNING WITH PERT AND CPM

After working through this chapter you should be able to:

• Construct a PERT network
• Calculate Activity Completion Times
• Determine the Critical Path
• Complete an Activity Schedule
• Calculate Activity Slack Times

5.1 INTRODUCTION

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME IN PLANNING

Time is often a paramount factor in selecting alternative ways of completing projects.

This is especially true of construction projects, which must generally be completed by
the builder by the date the user plant to begin operating the facilities.

The builder will want to finish the job as quickly as possible and will have every
expectation of achieving an acceptable profit. This requires a lot of planning. The
efforts of dozens of subcontractors, who will be separately responsible for such
components as air-conditioning, excavation, glasswork and carpeting, will have to be
coordinated. All subcontractors must adhere to this overall schedule, because a delay
on the part of any one of them could make the entire project late.

One procedure generally used to establish schedules for large projects is the Program
Evaluation and Review Technique, usually referred to by the acronym PERT. This
procedure may also be referred to as the Critical Path Method, or CPM. In addition
to helping establish schedules, PERT can serve as a management tool for controlling
the progress of any large project when timely completion is important.

THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF PERT

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 PERT builds on a foundation of basic work groupings called activities. In
construction, and activity is usually a function, such as excavating or installing
plumbing. In the development of an aircraft, designing the landing gear may be one
activity; that same component may involve several more activities in successive state;
testing materials, establishing final specifications, fabricating test gears, ground
testing, and flight testing. Regardless of how the activities are identified, they have
one feature in common: Activities take time. Usually, activities also consume
resources in the form of labor, material or money.

• Activities are represented by arrows

• Events are represented by circles. Events indicate the starting points or the
ending points of an activity. Events also serve as glue, linking activities together.

5.2 THE PERT NETWORK

The central focus of any PERT procedure is a logical representation of the project
activities. This is accomplished by means of a PERT network, which graphically
indicates the interrelationships between the activities in chronological order. Before a
network can be constructed, all activities must be identified and the immediately
preceding activities must be determined.

Example 1
Consider table 5.1, and construct a PERT network for the given information.

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Table 5.1
IMMEDIATE
EXPECTED
ACTIVITY PRECEDING
COMPLETION TIME
ACTIVITIES

a . 4 days

b . 3 days

c a, b 5 days

d b 4 days

In Table 5.1 we see that the project starts with activities a and b. Activities a and b
have no preceding activities which means that they will all start at event 1. Activity c
is preceded by activities a and b, implying that activities a and b must be completed
before activity c can start. Activity d can only start, once activity b has been completed.
The basic principle underlying a PERT network is that certain activities must be
completed before others can begin, whereas some activities can be conducted
simultaneously. The network must follow the basic chronological logic dictated by the
characteristics of the project.

Figure 5.1 PERT Network for data in Table 5.1

2
c=5 Note: The numbers assigned
a=4 to the events are only labels
and do not necessarily
4 indicate the order of the
1 events.

d=4
b=3
3

Dummy Activities
The broken arrow leading from event 3 to event 2 in Figure 5.1 is an example of a
dummy activity. Such a portrayal is required to meet the underlying chronology of
the work groupings without introducing additional constraining relationships. The
duration of a dummy activity equals zero.

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Activity Completion Times
The duration of an activity is usually uncertain. It is impossible to predict the exact
time it will take to perform an activity, although reliable estimates can be made.

The numbers appearing above the arrows in the PERT network in figure 7.1 are the
expected completion times for the various activities. For instance, activity a has an
expected completion time of 4 days.

5.3 AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERT NETWORK

Thus far, we have seen what a PERT network represents and how such a network
may be constructed. We will soon see how PERT may be used in project planning
and control. A major advantage of PERT is that the network provides a basis for
establishing a compatible activity schedule that permits project completion in a
minimum amount of time.

The Earliest Possible Event Times ( )

When calculating the Earliest Possible Event Times (TE’s) of the PERT network

▪ Calculate from the start of the network to the end of the network
▪ To determine the number of options associated to each event, look
at the number of arrow heads that attaches itself to that specific event.

▪ Choose the largest option.

PERT analysis begins by focusing on events. Recall that an event is simply a point in
time that represents either the completion of one activity or group of parallel activities
or the start of one or more activities. An event is therefore a milestone that must be
reached by all activities that directly precede it before future activities can begin.

Our first step is to find the event time when the respective events occur. If we want to
schedule each activity so that it begins as soon as possible, the permissible starting

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time for a particular activity can be no later than the earliest possible event time for
the event preceding that activity.

The TE for any event is based on the sum of the preceding event’s TE plus the
expected completion time for the connecting activity. The TE for an event must be the
largest sum applicable to those activities that terminate there.

TE values are found by making a forward pass through the network to establish the
earliest possible times expected for the respective events. By adding successive
activity completion times, we can see that an event’s earliest possible time (TE) is
equal to the longest duration of all activity paths leading to it from the start.

Figure 5.2 TE values for Example 1

4

2
c=5
9
a=4
0
4
1
3
d=4

b=3
3

Consider event 2 where two activities terminate (there are two arrows going into event
2), the TE value for event 2 is either 4 (completion time for activity a) or 3 + 0
(completion time for activity b + dummy activity).
Choose the larger of the two options for the TE value for event 2, namely 4.

Similarly, two activities terminate at event 4. To choose TE value for event 4:

Option 1: TE value of event 3 + completion time for d = 3 + 4 = 7
Option 2: TE value of event 2 + completion time for c = 4 + 5 = 9
Choose the larger of the two options for the TE value for event 4, namely 9.

Latest Allowable Event Times (TL )

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A second set of numbers for the network events, called the latest allowable event
times (TL’s), serves to establish limits on the degree of scheduling flexibility.

The latest allowable event times, abbreviated TL, appear inside the circles beside the
respective events in Figure 7.3.

4
Figure 5.3 TE’s and TL’s for example 1
4

2 9
c=5
9
0
a=4
0
4
1 4

3
d=4

b=3
3

The TL and the TE values are determined similarly, but the TL values are computed
in a backward pass through the network and expected activity completion times are
subtracted.
Figure 7.3 illustrates this procedure. We start at the project FINISH, assigning the
same number to the TL value of the last event that we obtained earlier for its TE value.
Thus, event 4 is assigned a latest allowable time of TL = 9 days. Subtracting the 5
days for completing c given event 2 a TL = 4. To calculate the TL for event 3, we have
two values to choose from (since there are two arrows originating from event 3):
Option 1: TL for event 4 – duration of d = 9 – 4 = 5
Option 2: TL for event 2 – duration of dummy activity = 4 – 0 = 4
Choose the lower of the two, namely 4.

Event Slack Times: Finding the Critical Path ( ∆ )

The TE value of an event establishes the earliest possible time within which it can be
expected to occur; the TL value of that event is the latest allowable time that it can
occur without causing expected delays in the entire project. The difference between

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these quantities tells the project manager how much leeway exists in achieving such
an event. This duration, called the event slack time, is computed:

Event slack time = TL – TE

Figure 5.4 TE’s, TL’s and Event Slack times for PERT Network of example 1

4
0

2 9
0
c=5
9
0
a=4
0 1
4
1 4

3
d=4

b=3
3

The main advantage of event slack times in PERT analysis is that they provide another
way to identify the critical path. Although the TE for the terminal event tells us the
length of the critical path, it can be hard to identify exactly which acts compose that
path without some guideline. In a network of several hundred activities, there can be
millions of distinct paths from START to FINISH, but there may be only one critical
path. It would be an incredible waste of time, money and human resources to attempt
to locate it by trial and error or by listing all project path possibilities to see which is
longest.

Because the critical path is the longest activity sequence from START to FINISH, it
should be readily apparent that all connecting events in the critical path must have
zero slack times. This limits our search to those paths connecting zero-slack events.

a–c

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Table 5.2 Critical Activities for Example 1

ACTIVITY SEQUENCE EXPECTED COMPLETION TIME

a 4

c 5

FINISH 9

Because they compose the critical path, the tasks in this table are called critical
activities. They are critical because a delay in completing any one of them will cause
a delay in completing the entire project.

5.4 PLANNING AND CONTROL USING THE PERT NETWORK

The PERT network information in Figure 5.4 can be used to establish project
schedules and to aid in controlling activities so that delays can be avoided.

Activity Scheduling
Recall that the earliest possible event time, TE, sets a lower limit on when successive
activities can be expected to start and that the latest allowable event time, TL, sets an
upper limit on when preceding activities can end without causing expected delays in
the project. Thus, considered together, the TE and TL values provide the basis for
scheduling activities.

A schedule for an activity consists of a starting date and a completion date. The PERT
network establishes limits for these dates. An activity can be expected to begin on
any date between its early starting time, ES, and its late starting time, LS. By
adding the estimated activity completion time, these dates determine the early
finishing time, EF, and the late finishing time, LF.

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Table 5.3 Activity Schedule for Example 1

STARTING TIMES FINISHING TIMES

ACTIVITY t ES LS EF LF

Preceding TE LF - t ES + t Succeeding TL
a 4 0 0 4 4

b 3 0 1 3 4
c 5 4 4 9 9

d 4 3 5 7 9

Activity Slack Times

The activity slack times for example 1 are computed in Table 5.4. Notice that some
activities have zero slack. A critical path connects only zero-slack activities, and all
such activities lie on at least one critical path.

Table 5.4 Activity Slack times for Example 1

FINISHING TIME

ACTIVITY ACTIVITY SLACK TIME

LF EF
a 4 4 0

b 4 3 1

c 9 9 0
d 9 7 2

This example has only one critical path, namely a – c

Although they are very similar, activity slack measures something different than event
slack does, and one set of values cannot generally be computed directly from the other
set.

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Example 2

Consider table 5.5, and construct a PERT network for the given information.

In Table 5.5 we see that the project starts with activities A, B and C. Activities A, B
and C have no preceding activities which means that they will all start at event 1.
Activity D is preceded by activity B, implying that activity B must be completed before
activity D can start. Activity E can only start, once activity A and B have simultaneously
reached a point of completion. Activity F can only start once activity B is completed,
and so on. The basic principle underlying a PERT network is that certain activities
must be completed before others can begin, whereas some activities can be
conducted simultaneously. The network must follow the basic chronological logic
dictated by the characteristics of the project.

The PERT network for this project has 9 circles, which are called events. An event
signals the completion or the starting point of one or more activities. The events
themselves consume neither time nor resources. They serve mainly as project
milestones and provide the logical “glue” that connects the various activities.

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 TABLE 5.5 Basic Data Used to Construct a PERT Network

ACTIVITY IMMEDIATE PRECEDING

EXPECTED COMPLETION
ACTIVITIES
TIME
A - 2 days
B - 3 days
C - 2 days
D B 4 days
E A, B 3 days
F B 2 days
G F, C 5 days
H G 4 days
I F 3 days
J I, D 2 days
K J 1 days
L E 6 days

Figure 5.5: PERT Network for Example 2

3 E=3
9 L=6
A=2

B=3 2 D=4 6 J=2 8 K=1 10

1
F=2 I=3 H=4
4
G=5 7
C=2

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Figure 5.6: TE’s for PERT Network of Example 2

3
6
3 E=3
9 L=6
A=2
0 3 8 10
B=3 2 D=4 6 J=2 8 K=1 10 14
1
F=2 I=3 H=4
4
5 G=5 7
C=2
10
5

Now consider event 5, where two activities terminate. The earliest possible completion
times for these activities are
2 days for activity C or
3 + 2 + 0 days for activities B and F and the dummy activity
Hence the TE for event 5 must be the largest of these values, which is 5.

TE values are found by making a forward pass through the network to establish the
earliest possible times expected for the respective events. By adding successive
activity completion times, we can see that an event’s earliest possible time (TE) is
equal to the longest duration of all activity paths leading to it from the start. For
instance, paths B-D and B-F-I led to event 6: the durations of these paths are
3 + 4 = 7 days for path B-D
3 + 2 + 3 = 8 days for path B-F-I
The longer duration path to event 6 takes 8 days – the same figure found for its TE.

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Figure 5.7: TE’s and TL’s for PERT Network of Example 2
5
8
3
6
3 E=3
0 9
3 L=6 13
A=2
0 3 11 8 14
10
B=3 2 D=4 6 J=2 8 K=1 10 14
1
F=2 I=3
5 H=4
4
5 G=5 7
C=2
10
5
10
5
5

Event 10 is assigned a latest allowable time of TL = 14 days. Subtracting the 6 days

for completing L, we obtain a TL of 14 – 6 = 8 days for event 9. Repeating this step
for event 3, we start with the TL we just found for event 9 and subtract the activity time
of 3 for E- the connecting activity – to obtain 8 − 3 = 5 days, which is the TL for event
3.

To calculate the TL value for event 2, we need to choose between two options:

Option 1: TL value for event 6 – duration of D = 11 – 4 = 7

Option 2: TL value for event 4 – duration of F = 5 – 2 = 3

Choose the smaller of the two, namely 3.

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Figure 5.8: TE’s, TL’s and Slack times for PERT Network of Example 2
2
2
5
8
3
0 6
3 E=3 3
0 9 L=6 0
A=2 3 13
0
0 3 3 11 8 14
10
B=3 2 D=4 6 J=2 8 K=1 10 14
1
0 F=2 I=3
5 H=4
4
5 G=5 7
C=2
10
5
10
5 0
5
0

As an example, consider event 6, which has a TL of 8 days and a TE of 11 days; its

event slack time is therefore 11 – 8 = 3 days. The slack times for other events are
computed similarly. These slack times appear in the triangles beside the respective
events in Figure 7.8.

Because the critical path is the longest activity sequence from START to FINISH, it
should be readily apparent that all connecting events in the critical path must have
zero slack times. This limits our search to those paths connecting zero-slack events.

B−F−G−H
Note: Do not choose C – G – H as the critical path, B and F also have zero slack
times and that is the longer path that leads to the 14 Days.

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TABLE 5.6: Critical Activities for Example 2:

ACTIVITY SEQUENCE EXPECTED COMPLETION TIME

B 3 days

F 2 days

G 5 days

H 4 days

FINISH Total 14 days

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Table 5.7: Activity Schedule for Example 2

STARTING TIMES FINISHING TIMES

ACTIVITY t ES LS EF LF

Preceding TE LF - t ES + t Succeeding TL

A 2 0 3 2 5

B 3 0 0 3 3

C 2 0 3 2 5

D 4 3 7 7 11

E 3 3 5 6 8

F 2 3 3 5 5

G 5 5 5 10 10

H 4 10 10 14 14

I 3 5 8 8 11

J 2 8 11 10 13

K 1 10 13 11 14

L 6 6 8 12 14

Our example has only one critical path, B − F − G − H.

Table 5.8: Activity Slack times for Example 2
FINISHING TIME

ACTIVITY ACTIVITY SLACK TIME

LF EF

A 5 2 3

B 3 3 0

C 5 2 3

D 11 7 4

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 E 8 6 2

F 5 5 0

G 10 10 0

H 14 14 0

I 11 8 3

J 13 10 3

K 14 11 3

L 14 12 2

Example 3

Construct a PERT network from the data in Table 7.9, showing the TE’s, TL’s and event slack
times, and state the critical path.
Complete tables 5.10, 5.11 and 5.12.

Table 5.9: Basic Data Used to Construct a PERT Network for Building a Home
ACTIVITY IMMEDIATE EXPECTED
PRECEDING COMPLETION
ACTIVITIES TIME

(a) Excavating . 5

(b) Pour foundation a 2

(c) Outside plumbing a 6

(d) Framing b 12

(e) Inside plumbing d 10

(f) Wiring d 9

(g) Roofing d 5

(h) Brickwork b 9

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(i) Plumbing inspection c, e 1

(j) Shingling g 2

(k) Cover walls f, i, j 3

(l) Interior finishing k 9

(m) Exterior finishing h, g 7

(n) Landscaping m 8

118
119
TABLE 5.10: Critical Activities for Example 3
ACTIVITY SEQUENCE EXPECTED COMPLETION TIME

TABLE 5.11: Activity Schedule for Example 3

STARTING TIMES FINISHING TIMES

ACTIVITY t ES LS EF LF

Preceding TE LF - t ES + t Succeeding TL

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TABLE 5.12: Activity Slack times for Example 2
FINISHING TIME

ACTIVITY ACTIVITY SLACK TIME

LF EF

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5.5 Exercises: 5.1 – 5.4

1. For the following project:

a. Construct a PERT network
b. Identify the critical path(s)
c. Construct a table showing critical activities
d. Construct a table showing an activity schedule
e. Construct a table showing activity slack times

ACTIVITY PRECEDING ACTIVITY EXPECTED

COMPLETION TIME
A - 8
B - 9
C - 21
D B 10
E A 7
F D, E 8
G B 11
H G 12
I C 10

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2. For the following project:
a. Construct a PERT network
b. Identify the critical path(s)
c. Construct a table showing critical activities
d. Construct a table showing an activity schedule
e. Construct a table showing activity slack times

IMMEDIATE EXPECTED
ACTIVITY PRECEDING COMPLETION
ACTIVITIES TIME

A . 5

B A 6

C A 3
D B 8

E C, D 2
F B 11

G E, F 1

H G 12

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