Project Scheduling

The project is a set of activities that have to be completed following certain precedence relations and to produce pre-determined deliverables in a limited time frame. The main core of project time management consists of how to execute each one of the activities, how to estimate their duration and the (human and material) resources that needed for the execution, and how to manage the cash flow of the project. According to the above frame the course presents tools and techniques for planning, scheduling and monitoring the duration and the budget of the project. The course especially emphasizes on time scheduling.

Objectives

• To know and to understand methods for the effective management of time and cost in accordance with the project quality • To be able to select and apply the appropriate methodology for the project management in accordance with the nature and the scope of the project Successfully completion of the course means that the student is able to: • Evaluate the role of time-cost-quality (parameters) in each project. The success focuses on the ability to define (analysis) the constraints involve each parameter, on the ability to relate (synthesis) those parameters in a project and on the ability to develop (application) a plan in order to manage the parameters in any phase of the project life cycle. • Apply and evaluate the techniques and tools of resource management based on the availability of the resources and the scope of the project. • Evaluate the appropriateness for the application of different scheduling methods for a project.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Syllabus

• The course consists of 3 parts: introductory lectures to the concepts of project, project management and strategic planning (2 lectures), construction and solution of networks (4 lectures) and resource allocation problems (the rest lectures). • Definitions (operation –project -programme),project environment, project life cycle, the Work Breakdown Structure, reasons for the development of WBS • Principles of planning and scheduling, the relationship of planning and scheduling as a critical success factor (or failure) for a project • Planning and pre-estimations. Activities, construction of Activities- on- Arcs (AOA) and Activities-on-Nodes (AON) networks for a project, the GANTT chart of a project, introduction to PERT/CPM • Estimation of earliest start (finish) time for each activity, the duration of the project, estimation of different types float, defining the critical path • Scheduling under uncertainty, the 3 points (times) estimation, the use of Beta distribution • Scheduling under uncertainty, the duration of the project under uncertainty, the variation of the duration, critical path • Resource types, the resource allocation problem, construction of an effective schedule with resources • Resource allocation and the resource levelling problem • Time – cost tradeoffs: crashing duration with cost optimization, a step by step algorithm • Time –cost tradeoffs: selection of the less cost duration for a project • Time – cost tradeoffs: Improving the project schedule • Monitoring the project in terms of duration and budget, activity and project progress, techniques for measuring the progress • Monitoring the project in terms of duration and budget, metrics and tools for estimation of the final duration and budget