PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique and is sometimes referred to a a Project Network Diagram
The PERT chart is a project management tool that is used to schedule, organise and coordinate tasks for a project.
The PERT chart is a graphical medium to demonstrate the project as a network diagram made up of numbered rectangles or circles that represents milestones or events that are linked together with lines that represent the work packages of the project.
The PERT chart is most useful for planning and tracking entire projects and scheduling in the implementation phase of the project, it is also very useful to make a PERT chart before creating the work breakdown structure as it will give you a graphical representation of the work packages to work from.
How to create a PERT chart
- Identify the tasks
- Put the tasks in order
- Identify which tasks can be completed at the same time
- Identify which tasks are dependent on each other
- Put the tasks in order
- Give all of the tasks a number to reference off
- Identify the task durations
PERT and the Critical Path
The PERT chart can help you identify the critical path of a project. The critical path is all of the tasks that need to be started or completed on time to ensure that the project will stay on schedule and there are no delays.
