PERT and CPM are two project management techniques that every manager should implement. These techniques help in displaying the progress and series of actions and events of a project.
Meaning of PERT
Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is an activity to understand the planning, arranging, scheduling, coordinating, and governing of a project. This program helps to understand the technique of a study taken to complete a project and identify the least and minimum time taken to complete the whole project. PERT was developed in the 1950s, with the aim of the cost and time of a project.
Meaning of CPM
CPM or Critical Path Method is a well-known project modeling technique in project management. It is a resource utilizing an algorithm that was developed in the 1950s by James Kelly and Morgan Walker.
CPM is mainly used in projects to determine critical as well as non-critical tasks that will help in preventing conflicts and reduce bottlenecks. The Critical Path Method has been used in many industries starting from defense, construction, software, aerospace, etc.
Difference Between PERT and CPM
| COMPARISON | PERT | CPM |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | It is a project management technique, used to manage uncertain activities of a project. | It is a statistical technique of project management that manages well-defined activities of a project. |
| What is it? | A technique of planning and control of time. | A method to control cost and time. |
| Orientation | Event-oriented | Activity-oriented |
| Evolution | Evolved as Research & Development project | Evolved as a Construction project |
| Model | Probabilistic Model | Deterministic Model |
| Focuses on | Time | Time-cost trade-off |
| Estimates | Three-time estimates | One time estimate |
| Appropriate for | High precision time estimate | Reasonable time estimate |
| Management of | Unpredictable Activities | Predictable activities |
| Nature of jobs | Non-repetitive nature | Repetitive nature |
| Critical and Non-critical activities | No differentiation | Differentiated |
| Suitable for | Research and Development Project | Non-research projects like civil construction, shipbuilding, etc. |
| Crashing concept | Not Applicable | Applicable |
