Unit – III Presentation

Unit – 3 (Activity Planning)Planning

Planning is a continuous process of refinement done during development.

Identifies the goals or objectives to be achieved and formulates strategies to achieve them.

A detailed plan has to include the schedule of the project comprising of the start and the completion time of every activity defined.

Planning also produce a cash flow forecasting that indicates when the expenditure and the income takes place in the process.

1) Objectives

Activity planning aims to achieve a number of objectives,Feasibility assessmentResource allocationDetailed costingMotivationCo-ordinationActivity planning & scheduling techniques place an

emphasis on completing the project in a minimum time at an acceptable cost.

Feasibility assessment – describes whether it is feasible for the project to exist within the specified time constraint.

Resource allocation – allocate resources to the project depends on the availability factor.

Detailed costing – estimating factors involved in the development process.

Motivation – achieve the target without any delay & shorten the time limit, activities can be carried out in parallel.

Co-ordination – effective team management must be established to carry out the activities in a well coordinated manner.

2) Project ScheduleA project schedule is established based on the constraints

defined for each activity.

Project schedule comprises four main stages,Step 1: Producing the plan

What are the activities have to be carried out?What is the sequence of order in which each activity has to

be handled?Step 2: Ideal activity plan

Can risk occur in this activity?How does a particular activity handle the risk?

Step 3: Resource allocationHow are resources allocated to specific activities?What is the expected availability of resources?

Step 4: Schedule ProductionWhat are the planned start and end dates for each activity?What are the resources allocated to each activity?

3) Sequencing and Scheduling ActivitiesA scheduling is required for every activity that is planned

along with the resources and can be represented using a bar chart.

A scheduling clearly indicates when each of the project’s activities is planned to occur and what resources it will need.

The scheduling has taken an account of the availability of staff and the ways in which the activities have been allocated to them.

The chart defines two factors,Sequencing of tasksSchedule of taskThe logical relationship between the activities are grouped

together and then scheduled for resources.

Two activitiesTo sequence the tasks according to their logical

relationships To schedule them taking into account resources and other

factors.Combining sequencing – scheduling approach is suitable

only for smaller projects and needs to be separated for complex projects as individual process.

ApproachesSeparation between the logical and the physical use

networks to model the project.

4) Network Planning Models

The project scheduling techniques model the project’s activities and their relationships as a network.

In network, the time flows from left to right.An activity on arrow approach can be used to visualize the

project as a network in which activities are shown as arrows joining the circles.

Each node represents either the start or the end of an activity or a set of activities, this network can also be called as precedence network.

The techniques were originally developed in the 1950.

Two best techniques used are, CPM – Critical Path Method PERT – Program Evaluation Review Technique

Both of these techniques uses an activity-on-arrow approach.

The variation on these techniques called precedence networks.

In activity-on-node networks where activities are represented as nodes and the links between nodes represent precedence requirements.

4.1) Constructing precedence networks

There are some conventions used in the construction of precedence networks. Only one start node and one end node must be defined for

a project network. Every node must have duration Links do not have duration Subsequent preceding activities are precedents Flow of activities Loop free network Dangle free network

5) Forward PassThe forward pass is carried out to calculate the earliest dates

on which each activity may be started and completed.

Steps involved in forward pass are,

Start at the start node Compute the top pair of numbers Add the duration to the connecting node’s earliest finish

time.

6) Backward PassCalculate the latest date at which each activity may be

started and finished without delaying the end date of the project.

The project does not start on time it won’t finish on time.

The steps involved in backward pass are, Start at the end node Compute the bottom pair of numbers Subtract the duration from the connecting node’s earliest

start time.

7) Activity FloatThe critical path is a single path that defines the duration of

the project.The total float is shown for each activity, it really belongs to

a path through the networks.Activity float is a measure which calculates the difference

between the activity earliest start and the latest start date.

Types of floats are, Free float Interfering float

There are number of other measures of activity float,Free float – The time by which an activity may be delayed

without affecting any subsequent activity. Interfering float – The difference between total float and

free float.

8) Shortening Project DurationTo shorten the overall durations of a project we would

normally consider attempting to reduce activity durations.Reduce activity times along the critical path we must

continually check for any new critical path emerging and redirect the attention.

Time savings.

9) Activity on Arrow NetworksThe CPM and PERT methods both originally used activity-

on-arrow networks. In activity-on-arrow networks activities are represented by

links and the nodes represent events of activities.

9.1) Activity-on-arrow network rules and conventionsA project network may have only one start nodeA project network may have only one end nodeA link has durationNodes have no durationTime moves from left to rightNodes are numbered sequentiallyA network may not contain loopsA network may not contain dangles.

9.2) Using dummy activities

Two paths within a network have a common event.The problems can be resolve by separating the two

independent paths by introducing a dummy activity.Dummy activities, shown ad dotted lines on the network

diagram, have a zero duration and use no resources.

Use – Two activities share the same start and end

nodes makes it easier to distinguish the

activity end points.

9.3) Representing lagged activitiesActivity-on-arrow networks are less elegant when it comes

to represent lagged parallel activities.

9.4) Activity labellingThe diagram is used to record information about the events

rather than the activities.Divide the node circle into quadrants and use those

quadrants to show the event number, the latest and earliest dates by which the event should occur, and the event slack.

9.5) Network analysis

9.5.1) The forward pass Calculate the earliest date on which each event may be

achieved and the earliest dates on which each activity may be started and completed.

Steps involved in forward pass are, Start at the start node Compute the top pair of numbers Add the duration to the connecting node’s earliest finish

time.

9.5.2) The backward pass Calculate the latest date at which each event may be

achieved and each activity started and finished, without delaying the end date of the project.

The steps involved in backward pass are, Start at the end node Compute the bottom pair of numbers Subtract the duration from the connecting node’s earliest

start time.

CPM network after the backward pass

9.5.3) Identifying the critical path The critical path is identified by using the activity-on-node

networks. Slack is used to identify the path. Slack is the difference between the earliest date and the

latest date of an event.

10) Risk ManagementRisk – An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has

a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives.

11) Nature of RiskA risk is a potential problem – it might happen and it might

not.Conceptual definition of risk

Risk concerns future happenings. Risk involves change in mind, opinion, actions, places,

etc. Risk involves choice and the uncertainty that choice

entails. It involves cause and effect.

Two characteristics of risk

Uncertainty – the risk may or may not happen.Loss – the risk becomes a reality and unwanted

consequences or losses occur.

12) Types of Risk

Project risks They threaten the project plan If they become real, it is likely that the project schedule

will slip and that costs will increase

Technical risks They threaten the quality and timeliness of the software to

be produced. If they become real, implementation may become difficult

or impossible.

Business risks They threaten the viability of the software to be built.The risks that do not affect the project directly.Risks denote the outside responsibilities of the application

team

Categories of risks are,

Actors – different groups of people involved in the development like specialist and user groups etc.

Technology – application implementation and embedded delivered products with technology.

Structure – describes the management and the system structures which affect planning and control process.

Tasks – tasks is an assigned piece of work which has to be completed within a specified time.

Sub-categories of Business risks

Market risk – building an excellent product or system that no one really wants.

Strategic risk – building a product that no longer fits into the overall business strategy for the company.

Sales risk – building a product that the sales force doesn't understand how to sell.

Management risk – losing the support of senior management due to a change in focus or a change in people.

Budget risk – losing budgetary or personnel commitment.

Known risksThose risks that can be uncovered after careful evaluation

of the project plan, the business and technical environment in which the project is being developed, and other reliable information sources (e.g., unrealistic delivery date)

Predictable risksThose risks that are extrapolated from past project

experience (e.g., past turnover)Unpredictable risks

Those risks that can and do occur, but are extremely difficult to identify in advance.

13) Managing Risk

All projects have risks. The key to managing a project is not to avoid risks, but to understand them. A risk is the possibility of an event or condition that would have a negative impact on a project. Risk management is the process of identifying,

mitigating, and controlling the known risks in order to increase the probability of meeting the project objectives.

Managing Risk

Risk Assessment

Scheme for qualitative and quantitative assessments

At all steps, risk reducing measures need to be considered

System definition

Hazard identification

Analysis of accident scenarios

Consequence analysis and modelling

Estimation of accident frequencies

Risk estimation

Risk Analysis

Hazard Identification

Hazard & Scenario Analysis

Likelihood Consequences

Risk

• Fault tree analysis• Event tree analysis• Bowties• Barrier diagrams • Reliability data• Human reliability• Consequence models

Risk Analysis

Hazard Identification

Hazard & Scenario Analysis

Likelihood Consequences

Risk

IdentifySafetyBarriers

14) Hazard IdentificationThe process of identifying and listing the hazards and

accidents associated with a system.Process hazard management is vital to keep a working

environment safe and productive.Process hazard analysis checklist will help in analyzing

process risks.

14.1) Hazard Management ResponsibilitiesDevelop process hazard analysis action plans and keep track

of the implementation.

14.2) Responsibilities of employees

Avoid placing employees at risk of injury.Report any process risks occurred within the working

environment to managers as soon as possible.Participate in the development of appropriate process hazard

analysis methods and risk control measures to eliminate or mitigate risks.

Hazard Identification and Hazard Analysis are parts of the Risk Management process and they are often conducted together or in direct sequence.

15) Hazard AnalysisThe process of describing in detail the hazards and accidents

associated with a system, and defining accident sequences.The main goal of both is to provide the best selection of

means of controlling or eliminating the risk.

15.1) Hazard Analysis Objectives

Identify hazards Identify causes Determine risks.

15.2) Hazard Analysis StepsEstablish the necessity for process hazard management.Process hazard management is necessary when some tasks

and activities within the working environment are under risks of failure.

Risks should be identified, assessed and controlled.

Major steps of a hazard analysis are, Identify hazards Assess hazards Control hazards Report hazards.

16) Risk Planning and Control

Risk acceptance Risk avoidanceRisk reduction and mitigationRisk transfer.