Project network

A project network diagram is a graph that displays the order in which a project’s activities are to be completed. Derived from the work breakdown structure, the terminal elements of a project are organized sequentially based on the relationship among them. It is typically drawn from left to right to reflect project chronology.[1]

Activity-on-Node Diagram
"Network chart" redirects here. For the 1980s and early 1990s British radio show, see The Network Chart Show.

Techniques

Activity-on-Node

The Activity-on-Node (AON) technique uses nodes to represent individual project activities and path arrows to designate the sequence of activity completion.[2] Nodes are labelled using information pertaining to the activity. According to Project Management, nodes should at least display the following information:[3]

  • Identifier
  • Descriptive label
  • Activity duration
  • Early start time
  • Early finish time
  • Late start time
  • Late finish time
  • Activity float (slack)
Activity Node Labels


Start and finish times are used to determine the critical path of a project. Activity float, or slack, time is used in project crashing.


Other techniques

The condition for a valid project network is that it doesn't contain any circular references.

Project dependencies can also be depicted by a predecessor table. Although such a form is very inconvenient for human analysis, project management software often offers such a view for data entry.

An alternative way of showing and analyzing the sequence of project work is the design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix.

See also

References
  1. "Project Network Diagram". projectauditors.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  2. Kramer, S. W. & Jenkins, J. L. (2006). Understanding the basics of CPM calculations: what is scheduling software really telling you? Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2006—North America, Seattle, WA. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
  3. Pinto, Jeffrey K. (2019). Project management : achieving competitive advantage (Fifth ed.). New York, NY. pp. 316–319. ISBN 978-0-13-473033-2. OCLC 1007502136.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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