Monique Danao is a highly experienced journalist, editor, and copywriter with an extensive background in B2B SaaS technology. Her work has been published in Forbes Advisor, Decential, Canva, 99Designs, Social Media Today and the South China Morning P.
Monique Danao Small Business and Tech WriterMonique Danao is a highly experienced journalist, editor, and copywriter with an extensive background in B2B SaaS technology. Her work has been published in Forbes Advisor, Decential, Canva, 99Designs, Social Media Today and the South China Morning P.
Written By Monique Danao Small Business and Tech WriterMonique Danao is a highly experienced journalist, editor, and copywriter with an extensive background in B2B SaaS technology. Her work has been published in Forbes Advisor, Decential, Canva, 99Designs, Social Media Today and the South China Morning P.
Monique Danao Small Business and Tech WriterMonique Danao is a highly experienced journalist, editor, and copywriter with an extensive background in B2B SaaS technology. Her work has been published in Forbes Advisor, Decential, Canva, 99Designs, Social Media Today and the South China Morning P.
Small Business and Tech Writer Kiran Aditham Deputy EditorWith 20 years of experience, Kiran Aditham has navigated the field in editorial and writing, from working with major pubs like Adweek, AdAge and PSFK to now working at Forbes Advisor.
Kiran Aditham Deputy EditorWith 20 years of experience, Kiran Aditham has navigated the field in editorial and writing, from working with major pubs like Adweek, AdAge and PSFK to now working at Forbes Advisor.
Kiran Aditham Deputy EditorWith 20 years of experience, Kiran Aditham has navigated the field in editorial and writing, from working with major pubs like Adweek, AdAge and PSFK to now working at Forbes Advisor.
Kiran Aditham Deputy EditorWith 20 years of experience, Kiran Aditham has navigated the field in editorial and writing, from working with major pubs like Adweek, AdAge and PSFK to now working at Forbes Advisor.
Updated: Jun 4, 2024, 3:47pm
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In today’s fast-paced business landscape, efficient project management methodologies are crucial. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a network diagram that lets businesses manage project tasks. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about PERT and show how you can effectively use it to achieve the best outcomes.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a project management methodology that visually represents the time it takes to complete a project. At its core, PERT utilizes a network of diagrams to visually illustrate the sequence of activities in a project timeline and project milestones.
During the Cold War, the U.S. Navy developed PERT charts to coordinate complex defense projects such as the Polaris missile submarine program. Its primary goal was to provide a structured approach to project planning, allowing organizations to make informed decisions based on probabilistic analysis.
Let’s look at some of the most common elements of PERT.
Using a PERT chart might look appealing, but it has pros and cons, depending on your business needs.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Follow these steps to create a PERT chart.
1. Identify Activities: Determine all the activities required to complete the project. Break it into small, manageable tasks with specific actions or deliverables.
2. Determine Dependencies: Consider the flow and order of the tasks. Identify activities the team needs to finish before others can start and establish the relationships between them.
3. Create the PERT Chart: Construct the PERT chart using nodes to represent activities and arrows to represent the sequence of tasks. Each node should have an activity name and corresponding time estimates.
Tasks on similar stages of production but remain on separate branches or paths are known as parallel tasks. They run independently of each other, but they can also occur simultaneously.
4. Assign Time Estimates: Assign time estimates showing the expected duration for completing each activity. There are usually three estimates: optimistic (O), most likely (M) and pessimistic (P).
Project managers can use the PERT formula to identify task duration based on different time estimates.
Here’s the formula:
Let’s say, the optimistic time is 20 minutes, the pessimistic time is 50 minutes and the most likely time is 35 minutes. Using the PERT formula, we can determine the completion time is around 35 minutes.
5. Define the Critical Path: Calculate the total time for each path by adding the activity duration. The critical path is the path with the longest duration.
6. Track Progress: Mark completed activities and adjusted time estimates as the project progresses.
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Below are some examples of PERT charts that can help you get started.
In this PERT chart by Toggl, a team is designing an e-book to get leads and conversions. The chart shows the different tasks involved in creating an e-book and their duration.
Construction workers can use a PERT chart to determine the minimum time to complete a housing project and the predicted risks.
Using a PERT chart, designers can monitor the tasks required to build a website and the time it takes to complete.
PERT offers a structured approach to planning, scheduling and tracking complex projects. Project managers can allocate resources effectively and identify potential bottlenecks by providing a visual representation of the project flow and critical activities. If you need a solution to help facilitate project management, check out our article on the best project management software.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a project management technique that visually represents the project flow. It illustrates project tasks, their dependencies and the estimated time required to complete each task.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) is a project management method used to plan and organize complex projects. It provides project managers a structured approach to ensure projects are completed efficiently and within the desired timeframe.
There are three types of time estimates used for estimating project duration: Optimistic Time (O), Most Likely Time (M) and Pessimistic Time (P). Optimistic time is the shortest duration in which an activity can be completed. Most Likely Time (M) is the most realistic timeframe, while Pessimistic time is the longest time it takes to finish an activity.
You can assign time estimates that show the expected duration for completing each activity, such as: optimistic (O), most likely (M) and pessimistic (P). Then, you can use the PERT formula to identify task duration based on different time estimates. The formula is: (O + (4 × M) + P) / 6
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Small Business and Tech WriterMonique Danao is a highly experienced journalist, editor, and copywriter with an extensive background in B2B SaaS technology. Her work has been published in Forbes Advisor, Decential, Canva, 99Designs, Social Media Today and the South China Morning Post. She has also pursued a Master of Design Research at York University in Toronto, Canada.
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