Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology

31st March 2025. Vol.103. No.6

© Little Lion Scientific

ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195

SOFTWARE PROJECT MONITORING USING MILESTONES

AND PERT-AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
1
DR. GADALA SUHASINI, 2DR S. SAI KUMAR,3MONICA KALBANDE, 4DR. P. PUNITHA,
5
DR HARI KISHAN CHAPALA, 6CHINNAM SABITHA, 7CHETLA CHANDRA MOHAN

1
Asst Prof, Dept. of IT, Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, Barjara Hills, Hyderabad.
2
Sr Asst Professor, Dept. of IT, PVP Siddhartha Institute of Technology Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
3
Asst Professor, Dept. of Electronics Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering Nagpur, Maharashtra
4
Assoc Professor, Dept. of CSE ( DS), Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar, Hyderabad
5
Professor & Head, Dept. Of CSE-AI&ML, St. Ann's College of Engineering &Technology, Chirala, AP
6
Asst Professor Dept. of CSE, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, AP
7
Asst Professor, Dept. of IT, PVP Siddhartha Institute of Technology Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

Email: suhasini.gadala@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This paper concentrates on monitoring projects through the PERT and MILESTONES. Complex,
multilayered and distributed projects require a series of activities, some of which must be preferred
sequentially and others parallely. This collection of series and parallel tasks can be modeled as a network.
PERT is statistical technique applied to such a networks. In this paper we attempted to simulate the PERT
networks and graphically represented the tasks along with them inter dependencies. Here project identifies
the critical and non-critical tasks and evaluates the critical path to determine which tasks have an impact on
the schedule. Once a project has advanced to the phase of performance, the focus shifts from the discovery
to tracking and reviewing it. MILESTONES are used to track the progress of the project at different stages
and the PERT chart, on continual basis. This paper integrated both these techniques for an efficient and
easier monitoring. In order to reap the results of the project sooner, we gave a provision to reduce the
scheduled completion time with minimum cost burden. This can be achieved by assigning more labor and
resources to the various activities.

Keywords: PERT, MILESTONES, Project, Resources, Schedule.

1.INTRODUCTION:  enhance project performance and

ensures congruence with the required
Project monitoring is the ongoing collection and criteria.
review of information on project implementation  provides the basis for technical and
, coverage and utilization o f inputs. It also financial accountability
involves the analysis of data about project  builds local capacity to implement and
activities. The should be easy to collect and easy manage projects successfully and
to understand . The focus of monitoring is to  promotes the identification and
use the gained to correct and adjust project dissemination of lessons learned by
implementation and management in order to participants themselves.
achieve project objectives. Monitoring allows To be successful monitoring and evaluation
project participants to keep track of project begins with clear project design. This project
activities , to determine whether project provides guidance about incorporating monitoring
objectives are being achieved , and to make and evaluation elements in each stage of the
whatever changes are necessary to improve project cycle. Monitoring allows project managers
project performance. and participants to identify and assess potential
Project monitoring and evaluation serves several problems and difficulties during and program
purposes: implementation. Adjustments and corrections in
 facilities the identification and resolution project and program design and implementation
of problems can then be made and thus enhance chances
of project success. However , for monitoring to

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ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195

lead to the desired results , it needs to done in a v. Physical scope in quantitative terms with
consistent and timely manner. It therefore components detail and
requires planning , coordination ,and systematic vi. Phasing of the physical scope as per its
reporting and agreement upon these and other implementation schedule , duly based on Bar charts
matters by all project participants before projects , milestone charts or PERT /CPM networks.
are undertaken. Specifically , monitoring and
evaluation activities and reports help projects and 1.3techniques For Project Monitoring
programs maintain accountability ,achieve 1.3.1 Grant Chart :
sustainability , allow for replicability and A Grant chart is a horizontal bar chart developed
provide opportunities for eliciting and as a production control tool in 1917 by Henry
communicating lessons learned. Ideally , the L.Gantt , an American engineer and social scientist.
results or lessons learned from monitoring will Frequently used in project management , a Grantt
be used to improve project and program design chart provide a graphical illustration of a schedule
and implementation and more specifically , that helps to plan , coordinate and track specific
will enable recipients to carry on project tasks in a project. Grantt charts may be simple
activities well after the period is over. versions created on graph paper or more complex
automated versions created using project
1.1Role in the Project Cycle: The first three management applications such as Excel.
stages of the project cycle( identification , A Grantt chart is constructed with a horizontal
preparation , appraisal/approval) precede the axis representing the total time span of the project
actual project implementation stage. Once the ,broken down into increments( for example days ,
implementation stage is reached , the weekly) and a vertical axis representing the tasks
“monitoring activity “ assumes great importance that make up the project. Horizontal bars of
which is followed by the final stage ,i.e project varying lengths represent the sequences , timing,
completion / post completion evaluation. The and time span for each task. As the project
importance of “ monitoring and evaluation” progresses ,secondary bars , arrowheads or
activities hardly needs any emphasis since both darkened bars may be added to indicate complete
provide timely and useful information not only to tasks or the portions of tasks that have been
the project management / implementation agencies completed. A vertical line is used to represent the
but also a feedback to the policy makers. The report date.
linkage between the stage is also important .each
stage leads to the next and the last phase , in turn,
produces new approaches /ideas , improving the
planning and implementation process of future
projects. This makes the “Project Cycle” self-
renewing. The system of watching / monitoring
the progress of programme/ project
implementation , besides being an important link
in the project cycle , helps in the identification /
analysis and removal of bottlenecks and
expending action where projects have stalled or
fallen behind schedule.
Fig-1.1: Gantt Chart
1.2Requirements for effective monitoring: The above diagram depicts the various stages in
For an effective monitoring system , the project manpower planning. The above diagram give a
document must have the following essential data / clear illustration of project status , but the problems
information: with them are:
i. A clear-cut statement of project objectives and  They don’t indicate task dependencies-
benefits. you cannot tell how one task falling
ii. Detailed project cost estimates- component behind s schedule affects other
/activity-wise. tasks.
iii. Source of funding  They cannot reflect the project progress.
iv. Annual financial phasing conceived on the It is so because they represent the time
basis of implementation plan. duration of the activity.

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ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195

 They cannot reflect the project The work break down structure is normally shown
uncertainties in an accurate manner in the form of a chart, similar to a family tree. Each
.Sudden technological developments level breaking down the scope of the work into
may change the nature of the project more defined components ,until the lowest works
and such type of emergencies cannot be package level. The recommended method for
handled through Grantt charts. defining scope is to built-up a Work break down
structure. The lowest level of the work break down
1.3.2 MILESONE CHART structure and the most defined group of work tasks
Milestone chart is an improvement over Gantt is called a ‘work package’. The work package
chart. Every task represented by the Gantt chart components , the lowest level of the work break
is sub- divided in terms of milestones. Each down structure consists mainly of physical work.
milestone is a key event or point in time. For example , manufacturing of components and
sub assemblies. Each component of the work
In a Gantt chart , a bar is broken into several pieces break down structure has its own set of goals and
, each of which stands for an identifiable major project objectives that must be achieved in order
event. Each event is numbered and an explanatory for the overall project objectives to be met. The
table is given identifying the number with an higher levels of the work break down structure
event. These are specific events or points of time are simply aggregation of works packages into
which the management identifies as important logical sets. For example buildings or machines.
reference points during the completion of the In general case , a system is broken down to sub-
project. The breakdown increases the awareness of system and each sub-system to sub-sub –systems
interdependencies between the tasks. everyone of which in turn reduces to major
components ,minor components , and so on. The
break down is continued until the assembly is
reduced to elements or components representing
manageable units for planning and control.

Fig –1.2 Milestones

1.4 WORK-BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

A work break down structure is a deliverable –
oriented grouping of project elements that
organizes and defines the total scope of the project.
It can be used to confirm a common understanding Fig –1.3 Work Breakdown Structure
of the full scope of the project. Any work not The several units in the break down could be
included in the work breakdown structure is not either end-item oriented or product oriented. The
included in the scope of the project. end-item oriented units are the ones which form a
The work break down structure facilities the necessary part of the final item. These could be
planning and control of cost schedule and like a transmitting system or a control unit in the
technical quality of the project outcome. A work final deliverable system. The product oriented units
break down structure is developed by identifying include organizational or service units which are
the project deliverable and then successively also essential for the completion of a project. Each
subdividing that deliverable into increasingly unit , whether product oriented or end item
detailed and manageable sub subsidiary oriented must be definable segments of the work
deliverable or components. to be accomplished ,and should form key points,
There is single best way to develop a work break each with a time schedule for satisfactory
down structure. It is acceptable practice to use a completion of the entire project. Project success is
work break down structure template or a work assured by managing cost , schedule and quality at
break down structure from previous project when the works package level.
developing a project specific work break down
structure. In fact this may be preferable in certain 1.5 Genesis of PERT:
organizations for standardization and ease of From the work-break down structure and the
under standing. milestone chart evolved the PERT and CPM

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ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195

networks. In many situations managers assume the

responsibility for planning , scheduling and
controlling projects that consists of numerous
separate jobs or tasks performed by a variety of
departments / individuals. Often these projects are
so large and complex that the
Manager cannot possibly keep all the information
pertaining to the plan, schedule and progress of the
project in his head. In these situations , the
1.6 INTRODUCTION TO MILESTONES
technique of PERT and CPM have proved to be
Milestones represent the beginning of the
extremely valuable in assisting in managers in
completion of some activity or a group of activities.
carrying out their project management activities.
The emphasis on events has its roots in the
The US Navy created PERT to plan and control milestone method of management, in which
the activities of hundreds of who were building the program progress is monitored in terms of success
first US Polaris Missile Submarine since many job
or failure in reaching certain important milestones
and activities associated with the Polaris Missile
at scheduled points in time. Milestones represent
Submarine had never been attempted previously, it
earmarked phases in network planning presenting
was difficult to predict the time to complete the
“ deliverable” with dates. The project evaluation o
various jobs or activities. Consecutively PERT was review technique suggests assessment of project
developed with the objective of being able to progress at milestones. The deliverable represents
handle uncertainties in activity completion on time.
statistical data showing the details of work
On the other hand ,CPM was developed primarily
performed as against the budgeted to be
for scheduling and controlling industrial projects
performed as on the date of the review and also
were job or activity times were considered
forecast for the remaining work to complete the
known. In to days usage, the distinction between project.
PERT and CPM as two separate technique has
There are two kinds of milestones : major
largely disappeared. Modern project planning ,
milestones and minor milestones
scheduling and controlling procedures have
essentially combined the features of PERT and
CPM so that a distinction between the two
technique is no longer necessary. When planning
projects of any nature , activities must be planned
, documented and mapped accordingly to reduce
losses and costs resulting from poor planning. In
estimating the time required for a project ,critical
path scheduling is commonly used. One of the
most popular critical path scheduling technique is
PERT charts. A Program Evaluation and Review
Technique(PERT) chart is a method to visually
represent a project. PERT chart are effective tools
in activities and their relations with other activities. 2. PERT CHART DESCRITION:
PERT have two major components arrows and
nodes. Activities called nodes are connected by Project management is concerned with the overall
arrows with their previous and following planning and coordination of a project from
activities. Once the activities are plotted and inception to completion aimed at meeting the
connected , a project manager can then client’s requirements and ensuring completion on
determine the critical path. The path of a project time , within cost and to required quality
can be defined as the sequence of activities that standards. Every organization has finite
are essential to the completion of the project and resources and a limit to the number of project it
the duration of the project is affected by changing can initiate and control. Pushing too many
the duration of any activities on the critical path. projects through a resource-limited organization
causes gridlock and stress. Managing the project
portfolio efficiently is a fundamental principle of
good project management. Complex project
require a series of activities ,some of which must
be performed sequentially and others that can be

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performed in parallel with other activities. This d) Dummy Activity : Represented by

collection of series and parallel tasks can be
modeled as a network.
Net work analysis refers to a number of
techniques for the planning and control of 2.1 Network Diagram : In a project , an activity
complex projects. The basis of network planning is a task that must be performed and an event is a
is the representation of sequential relationship milestone marking the completion of one or more
between activities by means of a network of activities. Before an activity can begin , all of its
lines and circles. The idea is to link the various predecessor activities must be completed. Project
activities in such a way that the overall time spent network models represent activities and
on the project is kept to a minimum. milestones by arcs and nodes. PERT originally
For a project having 5 activities /components , a was an activity on arc network , in which the
simple PERT /CPM DIAGRAM 1 activities are represented on the lines and
May have the following shape : milestones on the nodes. Over time some people
began to use PERT as an activity on node
network. For this discussion ,we will use the
original form of activity on arc. The PERT chart
may have multiple pages with many sub-tasks
The events generally are numbered so that the
ending node of an activity has a higher number
than the beginning node. Incrementing the number
by 10 allows for a new ones to be inserted
without modifying the numbering of the entire
diagram.
2.2. SETPS IN NETWORK CONSTRUCTION:
Step 1: Split the work contents involved in the
Before going into details we should familiarize implementation of the project to the level of
ourselves with the following terms and activities which represent , individually, category
symbols : of works.
Step 2: Arrange the activities in sequential order
a) NETWORK :Systematic diagram showing the of operation. Establish the relationship of the
logical sequence and inter-relationships between activities. We will note that some of the activities
events and activities. are preceded by completion of other activities-
except the first one –when there is no other
b) EVENT : Represented by preceding activity and hence can be designated
START. One activity can be started on completion
of other preceding activity or activities, depending
up on the inter-relationship.
Step 3: We know that the event is happening –a
particular point of time representing completion of
one or more activities and at the same time , some
other activity or activities emerge out of it. i.e the
starting time of other activity. We also know that
while an activity is represented by a straight line
arrow from left to right-with one arrow for each
activity-the event is represented by a “circle”. The
length of the arrow need not be proportionate with
the duration of activities .The arrows may also be
bent. Now that we have arranged the activities in a
c)ACTIVITY: Represented by logical sequence we can establish their
interrelationship and show the schedule of works
by diagram as shown below along with numbering
the events and in most cases, the head event
having a greater number than the tail event.

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5. All the activities must be tied into the network

,i.e
they must contribute to the progression. Events
that
are left untied to the overall network are
called
danglers.
Step 4: In network construction the following two 6.It is better if arrows do not cross each other.
cases are wrong and must be avoided: Whenever possible crossing of arrow Should
a)LOOPS : We have mentioned that the be
directions of arrows are from left to right. avoided.
Care should be taken that the arrows do not 7. An arrow should always be straight and not
traverse right to left and form a loop curved ,
depicted as and head from left to right.
follows. 8.The length of the arrow should be uniform.
9.Loop networks should be avoided.
10.Arrows cannot go backward.
11.Use dummies only when required. Use of
dummy
activities is to be minimized in the network.
2.3Steps in the PERT Process:
PERT Process involves the following steps:
In the above diagram , the arrow from (3)  Identify the specific activities and
comes back to (2) and thus form a loop, which milestones.
is illogical ,as it will indicate s never-ending  Determine the proper sequence of the
situation-as the path will indicate sn infinite activities
circle between(2) to (3) and back to(2).  Construct the time required for each
b) As we have mentioned earlier the network activity
shows an interrelationship of all the activities  Determine the critical path.: The critical
taken together. A dangling of an activity in path is determined by adding the times
the network will indicate an activity in the for the activities in each sequence and
network will indicate an activity left over as determine the longest path in the
shown . project. The critical path determines the
total calendar time required for the
project. If the activities outside the
critical path speed up or slow down(
within limits), the total project time does
not change. The amount of time that a
non-critical path activity can be delayed
without delaying the project is referred
Activity (2) to (5) left as event (5) represents a
to as slack time.
‘dangling” and is wrong.
If the critical path is not immediately
2.2. Rules for drawing a network diagram:
obvious, it may be helpful to determine
1. A complete network should have only one
the following four quantities for each
point of
activity:
entry( a start event) one point of exit(an end
 ES- Earliest Start time
event)
 EF- Earliest Finish time
2. Every activity must have one preceding
 LS – Latest Start time
event(tail)
 LF – Latest Finish time
and one succeeding event (head).
3. No activity can start until its tail event is
These times are calculated using the
reached.
expected time for the relevant activities.
4. An event is not complete until all activities
lending  Update the PERT chart as the project
progresses.
into it are complete.

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2.4 Calculations in determining the critical TE30 =TE20 + te 00-30 = 6+7 =13 and TE30 =
10 10-30
path: TE +te =0+2 =2.
The earliest expected time denoted by TE – refers The appropriate value of TE30 is 13 since this is
to the maximum value.
the time when an event can be expected to be
completed. It is computed by add the te‘s of the 2.5.1latest Allowable Occurance Time:
activity paths leading to that event. Let us consider The latest time by which an event must occur to
the network shown below: keep the project on schedule is known as the latest
allowable occurrence time , and is represented by
TL.
Let us assume that it has been agreed to complete
the project within a certain allotted time called the
contractual obligation time denoted by Ts. This
From the three times estimates expected time te’ time refers to the occurrence of the end event.
have been calculated. Assuming event 1 as the Lets us consider the following network
Initial event , the earliest expected time TE for
event2 is 3.17, as this is the expected time for the
completion of activity 1-2.TE for the next event
is 3.17 +8.33 =11.50 .The total TE is 23.67 Which
is the sum of the expected times of the activity
paths leading to this event.
In general , Let us say that the contractual obligation time Ts
TE (Succ. event) = TE( Predecessor event) for the project is 27. this means that the end event
+te(activity) 4 must occur 27 units of time after the project is
In this rule TE of successor event is obtained by initiated. Activity3-4 tacks 12.127 units of time for
adding the value of TE for the predecessor Event its completion. Hence event 3 cannot occur lesser
to the value of te for the activity connecting the than 27-12.17 = 14.83 units of time after the
predecessor and successor events. initiation of the project. Since activity 2-3 takes
Symbolically if ‘I’ and ‘j’ refer respectively , to 8.33 units of time , the latest allowable occurrence
predecessor and successor events and is i-j refer Time for event1 is 6.50-3.17=3.33.These values of
to the activity connecting events I and j, then the TL for various events are indicated in the diagram
rule can be written as above. The importance of TL for the events in
TEj =TEi +te ij where the superscripts refer to the this network is fairly evident. Let us
events ( i and j) or the activity (i-j) Assume that the project gets started as on schedule ,
When there are more than one predecessor event that is event 1 occur at time 0. Activity 1-2 goes
for a successor event j, this rule needs on as planned with TE2 =3.17 Since t 2-3=8.33.The
modification because an event j cannot occur until earliest expected time TE3 =11.3. If due to some
all activities leading to that event are Completed. labour problem , or the non availability of materials
Therefore for the right hand side of the rule e activity 2-3 is delayed, the maximum delay that
should chose the maximum value, can be tolerated is 3.33 units of time after the
occurrence of event 2 since , for event 3, the latest
TEj =Maximum(TEi +te ij ). allowable occurrence time isTL3= 14.83.The same
For example consider the following diagram , type of analysis can also be applied to other
where activities. A rule is formulated for the calculation
of the latest allowable time for any event i.
TE20 =TE10 + te 10-20 OR TE20 = 0+6 =6 We assume again that event j is a successor event
and i is the predecessor event.
Then TLi = minimum( TLj – teij )
Where teij represents the expected time for activity
i-j.
2.6 Computation Of Slack:
Slack is simply the difference between the latest
allowable time and the earliest expected time.
Slack = TL-TE
In event 30 we have two predecessor events 20
and 10 . for these

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The team refer to an event since both TL and TE 30-40 can be started late up to a combined total
refer to events. Hence , we can rewrite this slack time of 3weeks without affecting the
expression as TS j = slack for J= TL j -TEj scheduled completion date. The other events 10,20,
Where TS stands for slack time Ts for the event and 40 do not have any time and their occurrence
j.In a tabular form , the value of TS j is obtained is critical if the contractual obligation time is to
by just taking the difference between TLj and TEj be met. In order to make the meaning of slack
occurring in the same row. The values of teij , TLj clearer , we can redraw the network , in a slightly
and TEj are indicated along the arrows and events different manner , called the Time –scaled version.
as shown below.

_________________________________________
___ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12
In the previous figures and table , we observe that
path 10-20-40-50 connecting the initial and end
The following figure gives the tabular entries . (TEj events , consists of events all having zero or
)* and( TLj )* refer to the earliest expected time minimum lack times. This path is called as critical
and the latest allowable time for the events path. The events lying the path are critical in the
irrespective of the maximum or minimum sense that their occurrence cannot be delayed if
values.The maximum value for any event j in the scheduled completion time is to be met. The
column (TEj )* is underscored and entered in the network can be redrawn with the critical path
column TEj indicated in heavy lines. This is the longest path
Similarly, the minimum values in TLj are time-wise connecting the start and end events.
underscored and re-entered in the column TLj With
the appropriate value for event j. The difference
TEj -TLj is entered in the column TSj as the for
event j. here we have assumed that for the end
event 50 and the scheduled completion time TS for
the project is same as TL.
_________________________________________ Chapter 3
____ Job i-j Te (TEj )* TEj (TLj
)* TL TSj j 3 PROJECT CRASHING:
_____________________

Succ. Predec. Project crashing is a method for shortening the

Event j Event i project duration by reducing the time one or
_________________________________________ More of the critical project activities to less than
___ its normal activity time. The object crashing is to
50 40 4 17 13 17 reduce duration while minimizing the cost of
0 crashing. The object crashing is to reduce duration
40 30 5 10 8 13 project while minimizing the cost of crashing.
0 The project manager is confronted with having to
40 20 10 13 3 13 reduce the scheduled completion time of a Project
0 to meet a deadline. Project duration can often be
30 20 2 5 6 8 reduced by assigning more labor to Project
3 activities , in the form over time and by assigning
20 10 3 3 0 3 more resources , such as material equipment etc.
0 However , the additional labor and resources
_________________________________________ increase the project cost. So , the decision to
____ reduce the project duration must based on an
For event 30 , we notice that there is a slack time analysis of the trade-off between time and cost.
of 3 weeks which means that after the occurrence  CRASHING is reducing project time by
of event 20 and event 30 can occur after 2,3,4 or expending additional resources.
5 weeks later. In other words ,activities 20-30 and

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 CRASH TIME is an amount of time Crash time Tc = the minimum time required to
activity is reduced. complete an activity using extra resources, that is
 CRASH COST is the cost of reducing by extra cost
activity. Crash Cost Cc = the direct cost that is estimated
3.1 Reasons Of Crashing: in completing the activity by crash time.
 To reduce the scheduled completion
time to reap the results of the project Activity Cost slope ( ACS) represents the
sooner. additional direct cost incurred per unit of time
 As sooner continue over time , the team saved in completing an activity and is expressed
indirect costs. as
 There may be direct financial penalties _______
for not completing a project on time.
The goal of crashing is to reduce project
duration at minimum cost. To reduce project
duration While minimizing the cost of
crashing , the project team should estimate
require time ,require
The cost , crash time, crash cost for each
activities. And then the team can estimate
total crash time ,total crash cost , the crash
cost per week to reduce project duration at 3.3 Steps for crashing:
minimum cost. A process to establish the total possible crashing
and the relevant increase in the project cost for the
3.2 Time Cost Trade-Off: entire project is called project crashing. This can
We know the critical path in a network is the be elaborated with an example as follows:
sequence of critical activities showing the longest The project database scheduling is as follows :
path in the network from starting event to the final
 Project duration of 32 weeks.
event of the project. We also that time , in
 Project cost of Rs.7,50,000
implementation of a project is very much related to
the project cost. While reduction In duration may  Critical path activities as given below
reduce the administrative cost it may cause extra  Critical activities A,B,E,J and I.
cost on account of more labour , overtime , extra
machines etc. In general reduction of activity
duration causes reduction in indirect cost but
increases over direct costs.
There may be a situation the project earlier than
what has been envisaged in a network plan for the
project showing the critical path, completed on the
basis of normal activity duration and consuming The possibilities of crashing the projects are
the normal resources. It is possible , to a certain explored and the revised schedule of operation with
extent to reduce the activity duration by employing the time crashed , extra cost and crash cost as
additional resources and as such , additional direct estimated are produced in the next diagram.
cost. Of course, such reduction is possible only up
to a limit which is the minimum duration. This Activity Tn Extra direct Cost Cc
process of shortening the activity is called Cn Tc (Reduction) Per
‘crashing’. The time cost trade-off represents week Rs
adjustments of project schedule with a view to A 5 70 4 (1) 5 75
reduce the total cost projected time –over at extra B 7 90 5 ( 1) 3 96
cost-and the process is known as ‘project C 8 100 5 (3) 5
crashing’. 115
The term used in the activity cost slop are:
D 5 60 4 (1) 6
Normal time Tn = the maximum time required to
66
complete an activity under normal conditions.
E 10 120 9 (1) 4
Normal Cost Cn = the lowest cost estimated to
124
complete an activity , in normal time

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F 2 30 2 --- ---
- 30
G 7 90 6 (1 5
) 95
H 3 50 3 --- --
-- 50
I 6 80 6 --- -
-- 80
J 4 60 4 --- -
-- 60
d) the critical path is not disturbed , that is A,B,I
750 and J . The next crashing is E, being cheaper than
791 A and the maximum possible reduction is by one
The total cost estimated is Rs,3,20,000 i.e week. Therefore , activity duration will be nine
@10,000p.w weeks. This reduction of E by one week will
Step 1: we know ,firstly that the critical path is the change the timing of the events 7, 8 and 9 as
longest one and as such ,reducing the duration of 19,19+6=25 and 25+4= 29 ,respectively. But
non-critical activity will not help. Hence , we again , this will change the time of the event 6
would like to deal with crashing the critical also , as, going backward from 7 , it will be 19-3
activities. Study of the critical activities suggest =16.This will change the activity H also as critical
that the activities, I and J cannot be reduced. But and to a second critical path, when we crash the
other critical activities can be reduced at extra costs non –critical activity G by one week to six weeks
as detailed below. The duration of the non-critical and review the position. The network will appear
activities F and H cannot be reduced. as follows with two different critical paths.
_______________________________________
Activities Reduction in weeks C
A 1 5
B 2 3
E 1 4
_________________________________________
____
C= Extra Crashing Cost per week / RS 1000
Project duration now becomes 29 weeks. Project
Step 2: Crashing is done generally from the cost increases further by Rs.9000 , that is
cheapest one to crash to the costliest one, in 7,56,000+ 9,000 =Rs7,65,000. Now to explore the
sequence. probability of the duration of activity common to
The cheapest being the activity B, we start both the critical paths, that is , activity A and one
crashing B till the critical path does not change , week possible at an extra cost of Rs. 5000.The
that is, We crash one week, review the critical path status is reviewed after crashing the activity A as
, and then we crash the second week( which is the follows.
maximum possible to crash). Review again , after Project duration -28 weeks and project cost –
crashing B for two weeks. 7,65,000+Rs.5000= Rs 7,70,000.
a) Project duration will be 32 weeks − 2 weeks =
30 weeks Network diagram .
b) Project cost Rs. 750 + extra cost 3+ 3 = Rs.
7,56,000.
c) The network after B crashed by two weeks
will appear as follows.

The critical paths are a) A,B,E,I and J b)

A,D,G,H,I and J.
Project cost revision a after crashing:

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We have reached the time limit of possible On clicking Ok the main dialog of the program is
crashing. We can tabulate our findings with a shown. It shows all the operations that can be
complete project crashing. performed .
_________________________________________
_
Project schedule Amount in Rs.
‘000
Activities inweeks Ext.cost Dir.cost Ind.cost
T.C
_________________________________________
___
Normal A-J 32 NIL 750 320 The view chart button when clicked shows the pert
1070 chart with milestones. The following diagram
Crash B 30 6 756 300 shows the pert chart for the project id given in the
1056 previous dialog.
Crash E&G 29 9 765 290
1055
Crash A 28 5 770 280
1050
_________________________________________
____From the above table , the management may
review the overall cost of crashing and take a
decision On the course of crashing, that is , if the
management is considered with the total minimum
cost, then the decision should be to crash A,B,E
and G as above and decide the total project
schedule estimate of 28 weeks.

4. RESULTS :
On clicking progress the each activities can be
The following figures provide a manual for the entered
user.
This is the first dialog box that checks for
authentication.

This Chart shows the completion of various

On clicking Ok a dialog box pop up asking for
activities
project identification and todays’ s day

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ISSN: 1992-8645 www.jatit.org E-ISSN: 1817-3195

The compressed chart is shown below. New cost is

shown.

The milestone is entered and is displayed as below On clicking new chart a dialog appears where the
new chart information can be entered.

After all the information for the new chat is entered

click” View Chart” to view the new chart.
On clicking the update new time estimates can be
given

The updated chart is as show below 5.CONCLUSION:

Project is collection of inter related activities are

going to executed in a certain order. Project
manager plays the crucial role, he is the
responsible to see the company does not suffer
from time over runs and cost over runs. Cost over
runs can be achieved by accurate effort
estimations. Where as time over runs can be
achieved by the effective monitoring. The effective
On clicking compress the following appears where monitoring can be achieved by so many
Compressing time can be entered. If the cost is techniques. This paper emphasized on How
feasible for the project manager ,it can be accepted effective monitoring can be achieved by using
otherwise original values are restored. PERT and Milestones.

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