In recent years Eliyahu M. Goldratt has developed several interesting ideas about project management. One of the more controversial ideas is his theory of critical chains. This is a method of adjusting schedules to reduce...
The Monte Carlo process is a simulation technique that is used to statistically predict the duration of a project when there is uncertainty about the duration of the activities of the project. Simulation techniques are...
A buffered schedule is one to which free float has deliberately been added. It is when we take negotiated additional schedule time and add it to the schedule as planned delays between the finish of...
Crashing and fast-tracking a schedule are ways of reducing the length of a project schedule. Crashing is a general term for reducing project schedules. When we crash a schedule, we spend money or resources to...
A resource histogram is one of the tools given to us by the companies that produce project management software to help the allocation of resources in project plans. Automatic resource leveling does not usually give...
A summary or hammock activity, shown in ACTIVITY CHART , is used to represent groups of activities in a project schedule. It is used to summarize the schedule information for a group of activities and...
A milestone is used to represent groups of activities or significant events or commitments in the project. A milestone chart shows a group of milestones in an organized way similar to a Gantt chart with...
The PERT method stands for program evaluation and review technique. It is a statistical approach to project schedules. Actually, it is a statistical way of predicting project completions when there is uncertainty about the project...
The critical path method or CPM is a management tool that helps the project manager recognize where in the project schedule his management effort should be applied. The critical path method recognizes that the activities...
A Gantt chart, as seen in GANTT CHART, is used to show the project schedule in a graphic form. It is probably the most used graphic report in project management and may be the most...
First of all, float and slack are two words that mean the same thing. It is perfectly fine to use either term in project management. Float is a measure of flexibility in the project schedule....
In its simplest form the calculation of the schedule is a matter of establishing a start date for the project and adding the durations of the activities in the schedule, being careful not to include...
The early start, early finish, late start, and late finish dates of a project schedule are the primary dates that are calculated in any project schedule. The early start dates of the project schedule are...
Network diagrams are used in many ways, from engineering to computer programming to management. In project management the network diagram is usually associated with the scheduling function. The network diagram for a schedule shows the...