Project Scheduling

Tasks, work packages, or activities are scheduled by weeks from start to finish of each unit. Task or work packages might have multiple activities. Sometimes task and activities or used as the same thing, especially if there is one activity to a task. These are a part of Project Network Diagram. This flow is from left to right, indicated by arrows. A task must be finished before its successor. Each activity has a code, letter, or number and is set in a box. These boxes are known as nodes. The schedule incorporates a "Code", "Activity Description", and Time Estimate in Weeks". The first task is known as the "Burst" activity. Also, a task in the project that has multiple successors is a burst activity.

Projects start at week 0. A project has a "Legend" that is made up of "Early Start", "Early Finish", "Late Start", "Late Finish", "Code" and "Time". The "Early Start" is the earliest a task can be started. The "Early Finish" is the earliest a task can be finished. The "Late Start" is the latest task can start. The "Late Finish" is the latest that a task can be finished.

The schedule is maintained to stay on time and reduce slack. This is the leeway before activities become critical in a project. This time is equal to the difference between the late finish and the early start. The critical path is identified by working backward through the project process. The critical path shows zero slack in a project. There can be more than one critical path but there is at least one critical path on a project. The activities in the critical path are known as critical activities. Crashing refers to the ways activities along the critical path can be shortened. These ways can be done by adding infrastructure, working overtime, increasing human resources, and motivating employees to do their best. The critical path or amount of slack is shown in the middle of the "Legend".