Chapter 6 Activity Planning

Effort estimation Detailed plan For whole project For individual activity Detailed plan Starting of each activity End of each activity Risks

Project Vs Activity A project is composed of a number of related activities A project may start when at least one of its activities is ready to start A project will be completed when all of its activities have been completed

Cont… An activity should have a duration that can be forecasted An activity must have a clear start and a clear stop Each activity should have some ‘deliverables’ for ease of monitoring Some activities may require that other activities are completed before they can begin

Activity Planning A project plan is a schedule of activities indicating the start and stop for each activity Also provide the project and resource schedules

Cont… During planning, managers consider: Resource availability Resource allocation Staff responsibility Project Monitoring Cash flow forecasting Re-planning of the project towards the pre- defined goal Resource available: Make sure the resources are there when needed Resource allocation: Make sure there are no competing resources. Staff responsibility: Schedule showing which staff carry out each activity Project Monitoring: Measure the actual achievement Cash flow forecasting:Produce a timed cash flow forecast Re-planning of the project towards the pre-defined goal:re-plan the project so that it will correct drift from the target.

Objectives of Activity Planning Feasibility assessment Time and resource constraints Resource allocation Timescale and resource availability Detailed costing Cost and their timing Motivation Co-ordination Once a detailed activity plan is finished, it can be used to achieve the following: Feasibility assessment: Can the project be delivered on time and within budget (constraints)? Resources allocation: How to allocate the resources with best results? When should those resources be ready? Detailed costing: A detailed estimates on the project cost and the timings. A detailed forecast on when the expenditure is likely to take place. Motivation: Providing targets and being able to monitor the achievement of the targets at the end of the activity can be a good strategy to motivate staff. Co-ordination: Help to set the time and requirements of staff from different departments to work together in the project, if necessary Provide a good way for the project teams to communicate, cooperate and collaborate among themselves

Cont… Activity Planning and scheduling techniques leads to Completing the project in a min. time and at an acceptable cost Activities in parallel

When to plan Ongoing process of refinement During feasibility study and project start- up Focus is on Timescale Risk Further focus shifts to Resource availability Cash flow control

Different Levels of Plans Project Schedule: a plan that shows What are activities Order of activities Dates when each activity should start and stop When and how much of the resources will be required Activity Plan: a plan that describes how each activity will be undertaken The activity plan is done in Steps 4 and 5 of Step Wise framework.

Project Schedule in 4 Stages Ideal Activity Plan An activity plan without any constraints Risk consideration for each activity Resource consideration for whole project Schedule production and publication The word ‘public’ here means those people that are involved in the project.

Activity networks

Planning and Scheduling the Activities Once we have a project plan (or, project schedule), we need to schedule the activities in a project taking into account the resource constraints We need to put the activities in a project and arrange them in their order taking into account of the resource.

Network Planning Model Time flows from Left to Right Simple sequencing Suitable for small projects CPM(Critical Path Method) PERT(Program Evaluation Review Technique) AOA Precedence Network AON

Simple sequencing

CPM Network A project network should have only one start node A project network should have only one end node A link have duration Nodes has no duration Precedents are immediate preceding activities Time moves from Left to Right Nodes are numbered sequentially A network may not contain loops Leads to an impossible sequence A network should not contain dangles

CPM Convention Event Number Earliest date Latest date Slack

Example to construct a CPM Id. Activity Name Duration (weeks) Precedents A Hardware selection 6 B Software design 4 C Hardware Installation 3 D Coding E Data Preparation F User Documentation 10 G User Training E,F H System Installation 2 C,D

Cont… 1 2 6 3 5 4 11 9 10 13 A=6 B=4 D=4 C=3 H=2 F=10 G=3 E=3

Critical Path Any delay in critical path delays the project Slack= difference between earliest and latest dates Any event with slack 0 is critical. Path joining these events is critical path Activity float Float=difference in earliest finish and it’s latest start

Adding the time dimension Critical path approach is concerned with: Project completed as quickly as possible Identifying activities leads to delay project or later activities start date, if delayed. Forward pass Earliest dates of activities Backward pass Latest start dates and the critical path

= |latest start date – earliest start date| Activity Float Time allowed for an activity to delay 3 different types: Total float(no delay in project end date) = |latest start date – earliest start date| Free float(delay without affecting subsequent activity) = |earliest completion date of activity – earliest start date of succeeding activity| Interfering float = |total float - free float| Total float can be used up once. Free float can be used up separately. However, whenever any float is used, the overall timing of the project is changed. Teachers should distinguish between overall timing of the project and overall duration of the project. The overall timing of a project should includes the activities and the duration of each activities. A recalculation of the CPM is need.

Cont… Loop representing impossible sequencing Code Program Release Program Test Program Diagnose Errors Correct Error

Cont… Dangling activities indicate errors in logic Design Program Test Program Code Program Install Program Write User Manual

Cont… Solution is: Remove dangle activities If that is a part of project => re-draw the network Design Program Test Program Code Program Install Program Write User Manual

Revise Specifications Cont… Lagged Activities Build Prototype Test Prototype Revise Specifications Ends 2 day after Test Starts 1 after Test Document amendments

Cont… Dummy activities

Activity on Node Representation

Critical Path Method (cont’d) Adding time dimension The forward pass calculate the earliest start dates of the activities To calculate the project completion date The backward pass calculate the latest start dates for activities identify the critical path from the graph In CPM, each activity has a time estimate. Software Project Management

Critical Path Method (cont’d) Identifying critical path and critical event Critical event: an event that has zero slack Critical path: a path joining those critical events Slack: measures how late an event may be without affecting the overall target date of the project slack = latest start date – earliest start date (for an event) Any delay of the critical events will delay the project There is always at least one critical path in the CPM network. Software Project Management

Activity label, activity description Activity on Node Activity label, activity description Earliest start Duration Earliest finish Latest start Float Latest finish

Example Id. Activity Name Duration (weeks) Precedents A Hardware selection 7 B Software design 4 C Hardware Installation 6 D Coding E Data Preparation 5 F User Documentation 9 G User Training E,F H System Installation 3 C,D

Finish A 7 w C 6 W B 4 W D 4 W H 3 W F 9 W E 5 W G 5 W 7 7 13 4 4 8 13 7 w 7 C 7 6 W 13 B 4 W 4 D 4 4 W 8 H 13 3 W 16 Start Finish F 9 W 9 E 4 5 W 9 G 9 5 W 14

Finish A 7 w C 6 W B 4 W 2 6 D 4 W 9 5 13 H 3 W F 9 W 2 11 E 5 W 6 2 7 w 7 C 7 6 W 13 B 4 W 4 2 6 D 4 4 W 8 9 5 13 H 13 3 W 16 Start Finish F 9 W 9 2 11 E 4 5 W 9 6 2 11 G 9 5 W 14 11 2 16

Example-2

Significance of critical path During planning stage Shortening the critical path will reduce the overall project duration During management stage Pay more attention to those activities which fall in the critical path Actually, it is the shortening of the critical activity by putting more resources in it. The CPM allows you to identify what to shorten. However, it does not tell you how to.