Project scheduling & EVM

Breaking the work down

A WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) decomposes the project into manageable tasks *before* you schedule them — you can't schedule what you haven't listed.

PERT / CPM

• Tasks are drawn as a network of dependencies, each with a duration.
• The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks; it sets the shortest possible project duration. A delay on it delays the whole project.
• Slack (float) is how long a task can slip without delaying the project. Critical-path tasks have zero slack.

Earned value management (EVM)

• PV planned value · EV earned value (work actually done) · AC actual cost.
• SV = EV − PV is the schedule variance; CV = EV − AC is the cost variance.
• Negative variance means behind schedule / over budget.