PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) is a statistical tool developed in 1957 to help the US Navy manage complex projects with many subcontractors, like developing the Polaris submarine weapon system. PERT involves identifying activities, determining their sequence and time estimates, constructing a network diagram to visualize the plan, scheduling tasks based on the critical path of activities with no slack time, and updating the chart over the project lifecycle. It was one of the first project management techniques to help analyze tasks, represent projects, and control scheduling.

1. Fundamentals of Project Management
Program Evaluation and Review
Technique
Dima Semchuk

2. Some history
1957
• USA Navy's Special Projects Office had to
develop Polaris-Submarine weapon system
• Had 100+ subcontractors involved
• Time was critical
• Decision-making tool to save time in achieving
end-objectives was required

3. What
PERT - is a statistical tool, used in project
management, which was designed to analyze and
represent the tasks involved in completing a
project.
Fairly - first project management technique.
Can be tagged as a tool for planning, scheduling and
control.

4. How
1. Identify activities and milestones
2. Determine sequence of the activities
3. Construct a network diagram
4. Estimate the time required for each activity
5. Schedule and determine the critical path
6. Update the PERT chart as the project
progresses

5. Network Diagram

6. PERT chart

7. Estimation tips
• Expected =
(Optimistic + 4MostLikely + Pessimistic)/6
• Variance = [ ( Pessimistic - Optimistic ) / 6 ]2
Optimistic – Ideal world conditions (never happens )
Pessimistic – All goes wrong (can happen)
Most Likely – Some of risks encountered (most
sophisticated prediction)

8. Scheduling
1. Parallel all work that possibly can
be paralleled
2. Place Earliest start and finish
dates (forward-pass computation)
3. Place Latest start and finish dates
(backward-pass computation)
4. Determine Critical Path (sequence
of activities with no slack time)

9. Then…
1. Place it to PM software
2. Assign resources
3. Update your diagrams
during execution
4. Perform corrective
actions when necessary
5. Have fun 