1.6. Activity Allocation Process

So, this slide shows the project network diagram of a particular project with activities from A to K. So, the activity duration is represented here as you can see A refers to the activity and 8 refers to the activity duration. So, above the arrow, you can see the numbers are indicating the earliest start time, earliest finish time and below the arrow the numbers are indicating the latest start time and later finish time of the particular activity. So, earliest start time is how early an activity can be started. And later start time is how delayed an activity can be started without affecting the project completion time. So, that means this particular activity A it can start delayed by 3 days, but this one affects the project completion time. So, this has a float of 3 days. So, how much delay an activity you can accommodate without affecting the project completion time that is called as a float of the activity. So, this particular activity A has a float of 3 days, that means the difference between the latest start time and the earlier start time is the total float of the particular activity.

In a project network diagram, each activity (like A, B, C, etc.) has specific properties related to timing. The earliest start time indicates when an activity can commence, while the latest start time tells us how late it can start without jeopardizing the overall project deadline. The float value, which is determined by the difference between these two times, indicates the flexibility available for that task before it impacts the project timeline.

Think of planning a wedding. If you have an event starting at 2 PM (project completion), you can't have the decoration (activity) start after 1 PM (latest start time) if it takes 1 hour (duration). If it can start as early as 11 AM (earliest start time), you have a 'float' of 2 hours — you can delay that decoration task by 2 hours before it impacts the wedding start time.

So, for this particular project, first the network diagram is drawn, I mean, the scheduling is done assuming that resources are unlimited. But everyone knows this cannot be the real case in every project site; there will be a constraint of resource, resources are never unlimited. So, first it is drawn assuming that it is unlimited. And now the project completion time you can see it is 20 days. So, this project is getting completed in 20 days, if you assume there is no constraint on resources.

When planning a project, initial schedules often assume unlimited resources, which simplifies calculations. This means that all activities can be conducted simultaneously if necessary, misleadingly setting a project duration based purely on activity timing (20 days in this case). However, actual projects face resource limitations (like manpower or equipment). Once re-evaluated with these constraints, schedules will have to adjust.

Imagine planning a community clean-up event assuming an unlimited number of volunteers. You might estimate finishing the clean-up in 2 hours if you had 30 people. However, if only 10 volunteers show up, the project completion time will undoubtedly increase, similar to adjusting a project schedule when resources are limited.

So, the critical part of this project is B, E, and I; the critical path is nothing but the longest path in a particular project which decides the project completion time. So, for this project, that the critical path is B, E, I and its duration is 20 days.

The critical path in project management is the sequence of activities that determines the shortest possible duration for a project. Any delays in these activities (like B, E, and I) will directly lead to a delay in project completion. Understanding which tasks are critical is essential for effective management and ensures that when resources are allocated, these critical tasks are prioritized.

If you're baking a cake, the steps that can't be delayed (like baking the cake batter after mixing it) are critical. If you take longer than expected with the batter, the entire cake preparation gets delayed. Similarly, in projects, knowing which tasks can't be delayed helps in prioritizing effort and resources.

Now, how to allocate these 2 cranes for this particular project, ensuring that the idle time for the crane should be less as well as the project completion time should not be significantly delayed, because of this resource constraint. So how to allocate the resources on what criteria we are going to allocate the resources. So, we will go by the simple approach, which is commonly followed in many construction project sites that is least total float approach.

In resource allocation, it's crucial to minimize idle times of equipment (like cranes) while ensuring the project remains on schedule. The least total float approach focuses first on activities that are most critical (with the least float), thereby addressing those tasks that are essential for maintaining the overall project timeline. This method ensures that the most urgent work is completed first, maximizing resource effectiveness.

Imagine you're throwing a surprise birthday party with limited time to decorate. You should first focus on the activities that take the most time or are critical to the decoration process (like lights, balloons) – ensuring they are completed before guests arrive rather than wasting time on smaller tasks that can wait.

At the start of this project, you can see that there are 3 activities. So, you have this activity A, B, and C. All the 3 activities require the crane, but you have only 2 cranes available. So now on what basis we can allocate the resources to these activities. So based on whichever activity is more critical, we have to allocate the crane to the particular activity.

When you have multiple tasks needing the same resource, the critical task (with the least float or latest start time) should be prioritized for resource allocation. In our example, if activities A, B, and C need cranes but only two are available, the allocation will be based on which activity is most critical. In this case, activities with the least float will receive the cranes first.

Imagine two friends needing to borrow the same bike for a party. If one friend needs to leave sooner (critical) and the other can wait, the first friend gets the bike first. This ensures that the most-essential task is completed on time.

So, after allocation, you can see that as activity B is getting completed in 7 days. After this, the crane is available for allocation again. Now we need to see which activities can proceed based on their prerequisites being met and the latest start time.

As activities are completed, resources like cranes become available again for allocation to the next eligible activities. To maintain the project schedule, it's important to assess which activities are ready (have completed prerequisites) and allocate resources to those activities that are most critical, based on their latest start time.

Think of a restaurant where servers are assigned to tables. When one server finishes serving their table, they become available to take on a new table. It’s essential to assign them to a table that needs immediate service (critical), rather than one that can wait.

Whenever there is a resource constraint basically there will be a delay in the project completion, but we should try our level best to make the allocation to the critical activities first, so that the project delay is not very much significant.

Resource constraints inherently lead to project delays. However, by prioritizing critical activities in resource allocation, the overall delay can be minimized. Focusing on tasks with the least float means that measures can be taken to ensure that any potential setbacks are as small as possible.

In a school project with multiple teams, if one group runs into issues, the other teams can minimize delays by focusing on their critical tasks. If they do that, even if one team is behind, the overall project may still finish on time.

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