Learning Activity 11-17: Creating a Network Diagram and Calculating Critical Path (Party Exercise)


Learning Activity 11-17: Creating a Network Diagram and Calculating Critical Path (Party Exercise)

GOALS

The goal of this activity is to provide practice in sequencing tasks , creating an AON network diagram, and calculating critical path.

MATERIALS

  • PowerPoint slides 9-78 through 9-81

  • Post-It notes

  • flipchart paper.

TIME

  • approximately 20 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

The scenario is for a fictitious party that will involve the planning, preparation, and serving of food and beverages. The project will start at 1:00 p.m. The table setting would use some antique silver, which requires polishing. Food and drinks must be planned, bought, and prepared prior to starting the party. Indicate that the network diagram to be used is an AON (activity on node) and display slide 9-78 with the tasks. (You may alternatively want to brainstorm the tasks by hiding the slide and facilitating the tasks used in the exercise, but you ‚ ll want to wind up with the same tasks to be consistent with the presentation materials.)

Have each team create Post-It notes for each task and determine dependencies. One task is dependent on another if the other task must be completed first. For instance, for a new office we would wax the floor before moving in the furniture. Thus, moving the furniture is dependent on waxing the floor completing. (In fact, here there is another dependency: allowing the wax to dry!)

After determining dependencies, have participants arrange the tasks on a flipchart page with arrows depicting the dependencies. Have them pencil in the durations on each task.

Show slide 9-79, which contains the sample interim solution for the network.

Next, use slide 9-80 (animated to simulate filling in the times) to explain the concept of forward and backward pass for calculating critical path. Using the animation, walk the participants through the forward pass times, asking them to post the Early Start and Early Finish times and following the rules outlined on the slide.

Next have them work backward, filling in the Late Finish and Late Start times for each task, following the rules on the slide. Leave up slide 9-80, with all figures filled in. Note the circled areas around the non-critical tasks.

The final slide, 9-81, reveals the network with all items filled in, including the 1:00 p.m start time. (This illustrates the typical way that project networks are displayed. Project management software automatically calculates task times once the project start time is entered.)

Often, a second time through this exercise helps to reinforce the calculation methods . If time allows, suggest that they repeat the exercise as a ‚“speed drill. ‚½




Project Management Training
Project Management Training (ASTD Trainers Workshop)
ISBN: 1562863649
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 111

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