Businesses benefit from projects because they allow employees to zero in on a specific goal and prioritise it above other duties. A company’s project aims to finish a set of tasks within a certain amount of time and money. In contrast to an organization’s regular operations, a project has a defined beginning and end. Project managers are in charge of all tasks and use many tools to ensure projects are finished on time. In project management, PERT is a tool that helps project managers evaluate how the work is going and make sure it gets done on time.
This blog will discuss PERT, the PERT chart, and the importance and advantages of PERT in project management.
Before understanding PERT, you need to know the basics of project management and the problems project managers face as they do their jobs.
Let us start by understanding what project management is.
Project Management: Meaning
Projects are short-term initiatives to develop a service or product that will benefit the business and its clients. As distinct from the routine operations of a company, each project has its dedicated team, precise financial allocation, and a hard deadline. All available assets are committed to the project for the time being. The project team is made up of individuals from throughout the organisation. Managing a project entails coordinating the efforts of many people and allocating sufficient resources to get things done on schedule. Among the most helpful tools for project managers is the PERT chart.
Since the dawn, businesses have used project management to complete unusual or complex projects. But forward-thinking experts in the middle of the 20th century determined there has to be a department with specialised equipment to handle individual tasks. Since then, this approach has been widely adopted by businesses as a reliable means of completing a wide range of studies on time and under budget. PERT has proven to be an invaluable tool for project managers when it comes to managing projects. In this way, the discipline of project management was established.
What is PERT in Project Management?
PERT, which stands for “Program Evaluation and Review Technique,” is one of several planning strategies used in project management. Before starting work, it’s essential to know and estimate the parts of a project, especially if it’s a complicated one. Tasks inside a project need to be planned, organised and coordinated, requiring attention to detail.
The primary focus of PERT is estimation calculation, particularly time estimation. Project managers often use the PERT approach to predict how long it will take to complete a particular job within a project. Time estimations are the basis of PERT’s output.
You may choose from one of three estimated times. They are optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. An optimistic estimate determines the best possible time frame for accomplishing a goal. It helps in pinpointing the window between peak and trough. To be pessimistic, calculate the maximum amount of time required to complete each task.
What is the PERT process?
Many managers use the PERT planning process to estimate how long a project will take and how much it will cost. A series of numbered boxes connected by lines. The numbered boxes, often called nodes, signify milestones and other significant points in a project’s timeline. These containers may take on a square or round shape.
Different forms of work within a given project type are represented by these nodes and their associated labelled lines. In this timeline, arrows show the order of operations, and the timestamps are the allocated durations for each step. To get the most out of the PERT method, everyone in the team has to stick to the prescribed sequence of activities.
The overlapping arrows symbolise interconnected steps that must be completed to move forward. Separate sets of arrows indicate activities that are not related to one another. When a set of overlapping arrows connects two or more tasks, they may be finished simultaneously.
Dependent tasks, however, are an exception to this rule. Using a PERT chart, a project leader and team can predict risks and the time it will take to finish a project. PERT also uses visual representations of data and schedules to make them clear to teammates and the project manager.
What Does The PERT Chart Indicate?
In this section, we will examine the PERT chart and learn how it depicts the project’s tasks. The chart consists of a web of boxes connected by lines. The arrows show the order in which the project leaders must complete the functions in the boxes. The squares are known as nodes. Between each pair of squares are known as “vectors,” lines with labels. Tasks are labelled along these lines to assist you in carrying them out. Time allotments for each activity are indicated by the numbers that appear along the lines. The rules are binding for everyone in the team.
The PERT chart’s parallel lines represent activities that must be completed in sequence. One must be finished before moving on to the next. In addition to parallel lines, this graph also has some divergences. Tasks fall into this category if they can be performed independently. The Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart in project management makes it simple for the project manager and team members to predict how long the project will take to finish. Because the data is presented visually, everyone on the team can use it effectively.
Let’s move forward to understanding the advantages of PERT.
Advantages of Pert in Project Management
The PERT method has numerous advantages. A few of the most useful ones are mentioned below.
Helpful to know the time estimates
Project managers often turn to the PERT method to estimate when a project will be finished. Three-time estimates are used in the PERT method. These have optimistic, probable, and negative outlooks, respectively. Project managers must infer how long it will take to complete a job from these estimations.
Dependence is the primary factor
The PERT approach also aids the project manager in understanding the interdependencies between tasks. The project manager and team can have a good sense of where to start.
When a project manager has this information, they may prioritise which tasks need to be done before moving on to the next phase. Realising which studies rely on others is crucial for keeping the project on track.
Helpful for comparing different paths
Project managers may quickly and easily identify time-saving opportunities by utilising the PERT method. It’s a helpful tool for any project manager looking to get things done efficiently.
It also lets project managers know about any problems and risks that might arise if they take a particular action. It helps the project manager choose the most time-consuming option for completing the project. The critical path is the route taken by essential components.
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Enhances strategy
The PERT method helps managers decide which tactics will be helpful for their projects and which should be avoided; utilizing the PERT method results in substantial learning for team members. It’s an excellent tool for facilitating interaction among the project management team.
Using the PERT planning tool, team members can think about challenging situations and develop alternatives, which they can discuss with the project manager. This results in vastly enhanced methods for dealing with complex issues.
It helps to figure out what resources are needed
A project manager may determine how many of a given set of resources are required for their endeavour by employing the PERT method. The PERT methodology visually represents the sequence of activities and milestones that make up a project.
As a result, a project leader can anticipate and collect everything needed to complete a single assignment. With this information, the project manager may know how many resources will be required for the project. Project management will benefit since they can do a single job more quickly, cheaply, and without problems.
Difference between PERT and CPM
CPM is used for projects when the whole amount of time allotted to finish the project is known in advance. In most cases, it estimates the duration of a particular task or undertaking. In project management, the critical path is the longest route that ensures the project will be done as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is helpful for projects when the duration of individual tasks is unknown. The Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is often used to plan and coordinate activities within a project. It’s an effective method for evaluating projects and laying out their plans.
Conclusion
The project evaluation and review technique (PERT) is a planning method widely used by professionals in project management. Using PERT, project managers can better understand their options for managing and planning their project’s resources and timeline.
Furthermore, the PERT method allows project managers to calculate how much work may be delayed in the event of an unexpected delay. Project risk and danger can be better understood using the PERT approach.
The PERT method is helpful because it shows project managers which tasks depend on each other and when they should be done to get the most done.
