PERT FOR MICROS
| Pages | 46-46 |
| Date | 01 October 1980 |
| Published date | 01 October 1980 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057143 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a form of network planning
developed by the US Navy, to improve and maintain the efficiency of arms
production during the Second World War. It has since been adapted for the
planning and control of all kinds of projects in all sections of industry, commerce,
and public service.
The success that is achieved by the
use of a PERT network depends on
the care with which it is designed to
cover all eventualities in logical sequ-
ence,
on accurate regular updating,
and on meaningful periodic analyses
to trap and highlight departures from
plan. It clearly follows that proper
servicing of a PERT nework, carried
out manually, can be tedious and time
consuming; indeed, beyond a certain
degree of complexity it becomes quite
impracticable. The continued and
expanding use of PERT has, there-
fore,
been largely due to the assis-
tance of computers.
Programs to enable PERT network
to be loaded into computers and then
updated and analysed have been in
existence for many years. Computer-
line,
has provided a PERT service on
very large computers since
1971.
The
company has, therefore, been in an
excellent position to note the
increasing/popularity of computer-
ised PERT to plan and control pro-
jects.
It has also been able to observe
that many projects are denied the
advantages of this technique because
they are not big enough to justify the
cost, and because of the problems,
real and imagined, associated in peo-
ple's minds with the use of large com-
puters.
The Impact of Microcomputers
The advent and proliferation of desk
top microcomputers designed for use
by people without the skills of trained
and practised programmers has intro-
duced a new factor. Managers, to
whom electronic data processing was
previously an expensive black art
practised by remote strangers whose
philosophy and skills they neither
understood not particularly trusted,
now find it at their finger tips. The
attitude of such people generally
changes dramatically with the realisa-
tion that they can communicate
directly with a microcomputer, with-
out the intervention of a mysterious
specialist. Once their interest has
been aroused by this feature they
eagerly discover many new areas
where the low cost of a microcompu-
ter justifies the employment of com-
puterised power. Computerline
therefore took the view that a large
market was waiting for an easy to use
PERT
FOR
MICROS
software package to enable a mic-
rocomputer to be employed to run
PERT networks.
Tandy equipment was used in the
development phase to demonstrate
that a microcomputer can run a PERT
program, and to produce a proven
software package that can be mar-
keted. The belief in the potentiality of
MICROPERT is so strong that
enhancement continues; and it is anti-
cipated that adapting the package for
use by other microcomputers will be
comparatively easy.
The major attraction of micropert
is its essentially very simple method of
use.
The user is faced by questions on
the computer's screen to which he is
required to type answers on the
keyboard. Appropriate action then
follows. To make the best of MIC-
ROPERT however, a user needs
basic knowledge of:-
(a) network planning techniques
and construction,
(b) the units which make up a mic-
rocomputer,
(c) the use of MICROPERT.
Principles of PERT Network Design
There should be little need to explain
or expand on the techniques of net-
work planning and construction as
today's project manager
is
well versed
in this area.
It is sufficient to say that to com-
plete a project on time is a vital task of
project management and to achieve
this the manager must know in
advance the critical path through the
project, key events in the project, and
required resources. He has to review
regularly and evaluate progress to
enable management decisions to be
made in advance if delays are likely to
occur. All of this is made possible by
the use of network planning.
The Microcomputer
The system, which requires no special
environmental conditions, consists of
a Z-80 microprocessor with 64K
bytes of memory, a visual display unit
(VDU), a 120 characters-per-second
printer, and two floppy disc drives.
All necessary training in the opera-
tion of the microcomputer together
with easy to follow documentation, is
provided by Computerline.
An interesting factor of the micro is
that it can also be used as an interac-
tive terminal connected to Computer-
line's mainframe computer complex,
giving the user scope to access prog-
rams otherwise not available.
Using MICROPERT
Having drawn up the initial network,
it has to be input to MICROPERT.
This is done quite simply by following
the instruction displayed on the visual
display unit. e.g.
Type in Project code.
Type in Project start date.
Type in Project start event number
etc.
On completion of inputting data,
MICROPERT then displays a menu
on the visual display unit asking the
user to select the type of run he wishes
to carry out e.g.
1.
Create new network.
2.
Amend existing network.
3.
Report progress on existing
network.
4.
Time Analysis.
5.
Resource Analysis, etc.
The appropriate run type being
chosen, MICROPERT carries out
processing and produces reports on
the printer.
Summarising, MICROPERT com-
bines all the facilities of a project
management system, until now only
available on large expensive mini and
mainframe computers, It has the high
performance, low-cost capabilities
offered by today's micro computer
industry.
46 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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