Tool 152: Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

AKA

PERT/CPM Method, Critical Path Method

Classification

Planning/Presenting (PP)

Tool description

Developed in the 1950s by the U. S. Navy, the PERT network is of extreme importance in project management. It is designed to assist in the planning and controlling of projects and new product development efforts. Drawn as a network with various paths, it displays Critical Path sequence, expected activity time and variance, and overall time to completion.

Typical application

• To plan, schedule, and control a new program or product development effort.

• To document and track a complex project.

• To designate critical path and show other interrelationships.

• To ensure time and resource management, and to reduce project costs through coordination and communication.

Problem-solving phase

	Select and define problem or opportunity
	Identify and analyze causes or potential change
	Develop and plan possible solutions or change
→	Implement and evaluate solution or change
→	Measure and report solution or change results
	Recognize and reward team efforts

Typically used by

	Research/statistics
	Creativity/innovation
2	Engineering
1	Project management
4	Manufacturing
	Marketing/sales
5	Administration/documentation
	Servicing/support
	Customer/quality metrics
3	Change management

links to other tools

before

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• Project Planning Log

• Process Analysis

• Milestones Chart

• Activity analysis

after

• Responsibility Martix

• Gantt Chart

• Resource Histogram

• Selection Matrix

• Resource Requirements Matrix

Notes and key points

Activity	a	m	b	TE	σ2
a	4	6	10	6.33	1
b	3	5	10	5.5	1.36
c	2	2	2	2	0
d	6	7	7	6.83	.03
e	4	8	12	8	1.77
f	6	9	16	9.66	2.78
g	5	7	11	7.33	1
h	4	4	10	5	1
i	2	10	12	9	2.78
j	4	4	4	4	0

Step-by-step procedure

• STEP 1 Collect data on project activities. See example Update a Customer Database System.

• STEP 2 Construct a preliminary network, account for all required activities, and calculate expected time (T_E) and variance (σ²) for each.

• STEP 3 Determine and highlight critical path (CP), and calculate early finish (EF) for each node.

• STEP 4 Check all network linkages and calculations and date the finalized PERT network.

Example of tool application