J. Wold. project manager of the Print Software, Inc., wants you to prepare a project network; compute the early, late, and slack activity times; determine the planned project duration; and identify the critical path. His assistant has collected the following information for the Color Printer Drivers Software Project
To create a project network and compute the early, late, and slack activity times, the first step is to organize the given data, which is usually provided in the form of a table. For this example, let's assume we received the following data:
Activity: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J
Duration: 6, 8, 5, 9, 7, 5, 6, 7, 4, 5
Predecessor Activity: None, A, A, B, C, C, D, E, F, G and H
To construct the project network:
1. Identify the beginning and ending nodes.
2. Draw arrows for each activity according to their predecessor relationships.
3. Label each arrow with the activity letter and its duration.
Once the project network is complete, we can compute the early, late, and slack activity times:
1. Early Start (ES): starting date of an activity when no delays occur.
2. Early Finish (EF): earliest date an activity can be completed (ES + activity duration).
3. Late Start (LS): latest date an activity can start without delaying the project.
4. Late Finish (LF): latest date an activity can be completed without delaying the project.
5. Slack Time (SL): the difference between LS and ES, or LF and EF.
Given this information, let's compute the early and late activity times for the Color Printer Drivers Software Project (assume project start time is 0):
Activity A:
- ES = 0
- EF = 0 + 6 = 6
Activity B:
- ES = 6
- EF = 6 + 8 = 14
Activity C:
- ES = 6
- EF = 6 + 5 = 11
Activity D:
- ES = 14
- EF = 14 + 9 = 23
Activity E:
- ES = 11
- EF = 11 + 7 = 18
Activity F:
- ES = 11
- EF = 11 + 5 = 16
Activity G:
- ES = 23
- EF = 23 + 6 = 29
Activity H:
- ES = 18
- EF = 18 + 7 = 25
Activity I:
- ES = 16
- EF = 16 + 4 = 20
Activity J:
- ES = 25
- EF = 25 + 5 = 30
To calculate the late starts and finishes, we can work backward:
Activity J:
- LF = 30
- LS = 30 - 5 = 25
Activity I:
- LF = 20
- LS = 20 - 4 = 16
Activity H:
- LF = 25
- LS = 25 - 7 = 18
Activity G:
- LF = 29
- LS = 29 - 6 = 23
Activity F:
- LF = 16
- LS = 16 - 5 = 11
Activity E:
- LF = 18
- LS = 18 - 7 = 11
Activity D:
- LF = 23
- LS = 23 - 9 = 14
Activity C:
- LF = 11
- LS = 11 - 5 = 6
Activity B:
- LF = 14
- LS = 14 - 8 = 6
Activity A:
- LF = 6
- LS = 6 - 6 = 0
Lastly, we can calculate the slack time (SL) for each activity:
Activity A: SL = 0
Activity B: SL = 0
Activity C: SL = 0
Activity D: SL = 0
Activity E: SL = 0
Activity F: SL = 0
Activity G: SL = 0
Activity H: SL = 0
Activity I: SL = 0
Activity J: SL = 0
The critical path is the longest path from the start to the end of the project, which consists of activities with zero slack time. In this case, the critical path is A → B → D → G → H → J. The planned project duration can be identified as the total time to complete the critical path activities, which is 30 days.
To prepare a project network and determine the early, late, and slack activity times, we need the following information for the Color Printer Drivers Software Project. Please provide the data for the project activities/tasks, their immediate predecessors, and their durations along with any other relevant information.
To prepare a project network, compute the early, late, and slack activity times, determine the planned project duration, and identify the critical path, you can follow these steps:
Step 1: Gather the project information: Start by collecting all the relevant information for the project, such as task names, durations, dependencies, and constraints. This information should provide a comprehensive understanding of the project's scope.
Step 2: Create a project network diagram: Draw a visual representation of the project tasks and their dependencies using a network diagram. This diagram will help you analyze the sequential flow of the project activities.
Step 3: Determine the critical path: The critical path consists of those tasks that directly impact the project's overall duration. To identify the critical path, calculate the earliest start time (EST) and earliest finish time (EFT) for each task. The critical path is the longest path with zero slack.
Step 4: Calculate the late start time and late finish time: Once you have determined the critical path, calculate the latest start time (LST) and latest finish time (LFT) for each task. The late times represent the maximum amount of delay that can be tolerated before affecting the project's duration.
Step 5: Calculate the slack: Slack, also known as float, refers to the flexibility available for non-critical tasks. It represents the amount of time a task can be delayed without impacting the project's overall duration. Calculate the slack by subtracting the EST from the LST for each non-critical task.
Step 6: Determine the planned project duration: The planned project duration is the sum of the durations of tasks in the critical path. It represents the minimum time required to complete the project.
Step 7: Identify the critical path: The critical path is the sequence of tasks that determines the shortest possible project duration. It is essential to identify the critical path to focus on the tasks that are most critical to the project's success.
By following these steps, you should be able to prepare a project network, compute the early, late, and slack activity times, determine the planned project duration, and identify the critical path for the Color Printer Drivers Software Project.