Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

5 minutes 5 Questions

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a statistical estimation tool used in project management to plan, analyze, and control uncertain activities within a project. It utilizes the concept of probabilistic time estimates for each activity, considering optimistic, pessimistic, and most li…

Guide on Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a statistical tool used in project management for planning and controlling time schedules of complex projects.

Importance: PERT assists in identifying critical and non-critical tasks, minimizing project duration and costs, and providing early warning signals for risk management. It supports decision-making through its visual representation of the project’s tasks and dependencies.

What PERT is: PERT is a statistical tool that uses a flowchart-like diagram to illustrate the tasks involved in a project and predict its timeline. It considers the task dependencies, timeframes, and alternative paths to compute the shortest possible project duration.

How PERT works: The PERT chart is a diagram that represents tasks and their interdependencies. Each task is represented by an arrow and milestones are represented by nodes. The chart displays three time estimates for each task: the optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times. The critical path, actual task sequence, and duration are then calculated.

Answering PERT-related questions in exams: When answering PERT related exam questions, focus should be on understanding the question scenario, identifying the tasks and sequence, determining the critical path, and analyzing how changes in task duration affect the project schedule.

Exam tips:
1. Understand the basics: Be thorough with fundamentals of PERT including optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely time, as well as their calculations.
2. Task Sequencing: Pay attention to the inter-dependencies between tasks. This understanding can help you answer questions about project duration and critical path.
3. Critical Path: Be clear what the critical path is and how it determines the total project time. Remember, deviations in critical tasks directly influence the project's timeline.
4. Changes in Task Durations: Understand how changes in task durations affect project timelines and total slack. Questions can often ask what effect a delay in a specific task would have.
5. Practice: Solve as many PERT-related problems as possible for better understanding and accuracy.

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Question 1

When employing the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) for project time management, what formula should be used to determine the estimated duration (TE) of an activity?

TE = (O + M + P) / 3 TE = (O + 4M + P) / 6 TE = (2O + M + 2P) / 5 TE = (O + M + 2P) / 4

Correct Answer: TE = (O + 4M + P) / 6

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is used for estimating the time a project activity will take. The formula for calculating the estimated duration (TE) of an activity in PERT is TE = (O + 4M + P) / 6, where 'O' stands for the optimistic time estimate, 'M' for the most likely time estimate, and 'P' for the pessimistic time estimate. The formula represents a weighted average that gives more weight to the most likely time estimate, which is why the factor of 4 is applied to 'M'. The other options provided use different weightings and are incorrect representations of the PERT formula for estimated duration.

Question 2

A project manager is using PERT to estimate the duration for a project activity. The optimistic time is 4 days, the most likely time is 6 days, and the pessimistic time is 10 days. What is the expected duration of the project activity?

5 days 7 days 6.33 days 6 days

Correct Answer: 6.33 days

Using the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) formula for expected duration, which is (Optimistic + 4 × Most Likely + Pessimistic) divided by 6, we calculate the expected duration as follows: Expected Duration = (4 + 4×6 + 10) / 6 = (4 + 24 + 10) / 6 = 38 / 6 ≈ 6.33 days.

Question 3

What aspect of a project does PERT mainly deal with?

Cost Resources Time Quality

Correct Answer: Time

PERT, which stands for Project Evaluation and Review Technique, is primarily focused on Time management in projects. It's used to analyze the time needed to complete each task and identify the minimum time needed to complete the total project. Cost, Quality, and Resources are also important elements in project management, but they are not the main focus of PERT. These techniques may have overlaps, but it's essential to recognize that PERT's key contribution is estimating the project duration based on the tasks, their sequence, and variability in the duration of performing each task.

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