Critical Path of the large complex project file

[neverland]

My project file is too large and complex(Team members:50,
duration:12 month).Are there some tips to make the project
plan,to set the dependence between the tasks,so I can get
the critical path?
My project is a telecom exchange device R&D project ,it
has requirement analysis/high level dev/low level
dev/testing etc. phases..

thanks

 

[Rob Schneider]

To better help you, can you elaborate on what you mean by "too large"
(number of tasks, predecessor/successor logic, etc.) and what sort of
specific issues/challenges you are facing?

rms

 

[Steve House]

It is too large and complex to do what ???? 50 Resources and an estimated
duration of 1 year is not an unusually large or complex project by any
means.

The general process would be to outline the major phases or deliverables to
be created in the project and break them down further and further until you
get to the level of the individual activities or work packages that
describes a specific piece of work that must be done. If the project was to
erect an office building, for example, you would detail it down to where an
individual task might be "paint room 103." Try to keep focussed on the
specific actions that the resource will do. I suggest starting each task
name will and action verb - build, dig, polish, write, test - to help you
keep focussed on the notion that the tasks all are individual pieces of work
done by 1 resource or resource team working as a unit.

To create the deppendencies, once you have outlined the tasks and estimated
he duration of each one, look at how physical product or information flows
throught the project. If a task needs the output of a previous task in
order to proceed - we can't test a prototype until we've built the prototype
and we can't build it until we design it, for example, that describes the
predecessor/successor links.

 

[davegb]

To add to the above comments, remember than your project is not fully
linked until every working level(bottom level)task is linked, with
both having at least one predecessor and one successor (can have more,
of course). Tasks that can start at the beginning of the project (no
input needed from another task, should be preceded by a "Start"
milestone. Tasks with no successor (are the true end of the project)
have a successor of "Finish", also a milestone (task with duration =
0). Once everything is tied in, with the possible exception of weekly
meetings, you have a viable schedule for critical path analysis, which
is why you do them in the first place!

David G. Bellamy
Bellamy Consulting