CELE Construction Management & Methods — Project Planning and Scheduling (CPM/PERT)Concept Map

Concept

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Sub Concepts

• Network diagram construction
• Activity dependencies
• Forward pass calculations
• Backward pass calculations
• Critical path identification
• Float and slack analysis
• Project compression and crashing

Relationship To Central

Deterministic scheduling technique for identifying the longest activity sequence

Concept

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

Sub Concepts

• Three-point estimation (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic)
• Expected duration calculation
• Variance and standard deviation
• Probability of project completion
• Risk assessment in scheduling

Relationship To Central

Probabilistic scheduling method for uncertain activity durations

Concept

Network Components

Sub Concepts

• Activities (work packages)
• Events (milestones)
• Nodes and arrows
• Activity-on-node (AON)
• Activity-on-arrow (AOA)
• Dummy activities

Relationship To Central

Building blocks of scheduling networks

Concept

Time Analysis

Sub Concepts

• Early start (ES) and early finish (EF)
• Late start (LS) and late finish (LF)
• Duration estimation
• Activity sequencing
• Lead and lag relationships

Relationship To Central

Core calculations for schedule development

Concept

Float and Scheduling Flexibility

Sub Concepts

• Total float (TF)
• Free float (FF)
• Independent float
• Float consumption
• Float constraints and resource leveling

Relationship To Central

Measures of scheduling flexibility for non-critical activities

Concept

Schedule Optimization

Sub Concepts

• Crashing activities
• Fast-tracking
• Cost-duration trade-off analysis
• Resource leveling
• Resource-constrained scheduling

Relationship To Central

Techniques to compress project duration and manage resources

Concept

Project Management Applications

Sub Concepts

• Schedule baseline establishment
• Progress monitoring
• Schedule updates and revisions
• Earned value management integration
• Risk-based scheduling

Relationship To Central

Practical uses in construction and engineering projects

To

Network Components

From

Critical Path Method CPM

Strength

strong

Relationship

CPM operates on networks composed of activities, events, and dependencies

To

Time Analysis

From

Network Components

Strength

strong

Relationship

Network structure enables ES, EF, LS, LF calculations through structured activity sequencing

To

Critical Path Method CPM

From

Time Analysis

Strength

strong

Relationship

Forward and backward pass calculations directly determine critical path through longest duration path

To

Float and Scheduling Flexibility

From

Critical Path Method CPM

Strength

strong

Relationship

Float calculations depend on CPM time values; critical activities have zero float

To

Time Analysis

From

Program Evaluation and Review Technique PERT

Strength

strong

Relationship

PERT three-point estimates convert to expected durations used in CPM calculations

To

Schedule Optimization

From

Critical Path Method CPM

Strength

strong

Relationship

Crashing focuses only on critical path activities to reduce project duration

To

Project Management Applications

From

Schedule Optimization

Strength

moderate

Relationship

Optimized schedules form the baseline for execution and progress monitoring

To

Float and Scheduling Flexibility

From

Program Evaluation and Review Technique PERT

Strength

moderate

Relationship

PERT variance calculations inform risk assessment of float buffers and schedule contingency

To

Project Management Applications

From

Float and Scheduling Flexibility

Strength

moderate

Relationship

Float values guide resource allocation and schedule baseline establishment

To

Critical Path Method CPM

From

Network Components

Strength

strong

Relationship

Network logic provides the structure through which critical path is identified

To

Float and Scheduling Flexibility

From

Time Analysis

Strength

strong

Relationship

ES, EF, LS, LF values directly calculate total and free float margins

To

Critical Path Method CPM

From

Program Evaluation and Review Technique PERT

Strength

moderate

Relationship

PERT results substitute for deterministic durations in CPM for probabilistic scheduling