Network Analysis- Advantages and Disadvantages of PERT and CPM – Advantages and Disadvantages of – Studocu

Advantages and Disadvantages of PERT and CPM

Definition of PERT –

Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a project network analysis
technique that is used to undergo planning and controlling of the projects. The PERT
technique focuses on the time and the cost each activity takes.

Advantages of PERT –

The advantages of PERT are mentioned below:

 Planning For Large Projects in PERT – The scheduling of project activities is done
easily with the help of the PERT system by the project manager. This technique is more
active in large sophisticated project works.
 Visibility of Critical Path in PERT – The PERT method will show the critical path in a
well-defined manner. The critical path is the path with activities that cannot be delayed
under any circumstances. Proper knowledge about the stack values with limited conditions
of dependencies will help the project manager to bring fast and quality decisions that will
favor the project performance.
 Analysis of Activity in PERT – The activity and the events are analyzed from the PERT
networks. These are analyzed independently as well as in combination. This will give a
picture of the likely completion of the project and the budget.
 Coordination in PERT – The various departments of the construction organization will
deliver data for the PERT activities. Good integration is developed between all the
departments which will help in improving the planning and the decision-making
capabilities of the project team. The combination of qualitative and quantitative values
from a large amount of data will help in improving the coordination of the project
activities. This will also improve the communication between various departments of the
organization.
 The What-if Analysis – The possibilities and the various level of uncertainties can be
studied from the project activities by properly analyzing the critical path. This type of
analysis is called what-if-analysis. For these various sets of permutation and combination

are conducted. Among them, the most suitable combination is taken into consideration.
This set chosen will be the one with minimum cost, economy, and best result. This analysis
helps to identify the risk associated with any activities.

Disadvantages of PERT –

Various Demerits of PERT are mentioned below:

 Time Focused Method – PERT is a time-bound method, so finishing projects or activities
on time is of high importance. If it does not happen than a problem can arise
 Subjective Analysis – Here, the project activities are recognized according to the available
data. However, it is difficult in PEERT projects as it is applicable for the only new project
are which is not repetitive in nature, therefore, the collection of information to be
subjective in nature.
 Prediction Inaccuracy – PERT does not have any past records for a framework of a
project, so prediction comes into play. The project will be ruined if the prediction is not
accurate.
 Expensive – Too expensive in terms of time consumed, research, prediction, and resources
utilized.
 Other Issues with PERT – This method is highly labor-intensive in nature. As there are
chances of an increase in project activities large and complicated networks are developed
as many task dependencies come into existence. If two activities share common resources,
this technique won’t find very apt for the project.

Definition of CPM

Developed in the late 1950s, the Critical Path Method or CPM is an algorithm used for
planning, scheduling, coordination, and control of activities in a project.

The reason for the identification of critical activities is that, if any activity is delayed, it will
cause the whole process to suffer. That is why it is named as Critical Path Method.