Abstract
Estimation of time in project that involves several activities requires expert’s knowledge to give an accurate estimation of project duration. In most project, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) are used to estimate completion time of project with the basic assumption of normality. This assumption is accepted by many scholars without assessing the errors in the result. Thus, this paper examines the validity of this assumption for activities with different probability distribution functions. The effect on the project’s completion time is addressed by considering a single probability distribution for the entire activities of a network and mixed probability distribution functions within the network, using a computer based simulation called ARENA in Villa house construction project. The findings show that the project completion time for activities that follow different probability distribution function do not follow normality.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
AbouRizk, S.M., Halpin, D.W.: Statistical properties of construction duration data. J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 111(4), 525–544 (1992)
Adlakha, V., Kulkarni, V.G.: A classified bibliography of research on stochastic PERT networks. Infor. 27(3), 272–296 (1989)
Dong-Eun Lee, D.A.-B.: The Probability Distribution of Project Completion Times in Simulation-based Scheduling. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 17(4), 638–645 (2013)
Elmaghraby, S.E.: Activity Networks: Project Planning and Control by Network Models. Wiley, New York (1977)
Fente, J., Knutson, K., Schexnayder, C.: Defining a beta distribution function for construction simulation. In: Proc. 1999 Winter Simulation Conference, pp. 1010–1015. IEEE, Piscataway (1999)
Ang, A.H.-S., Tang, W.H.: Probability concepts in engineering planning and design: Volume I - basic principles. Wiley, New York (1975)
Halpin, D.W., Riggs, L.S.: Planning and analysis of construction operations. Wiley, New York (1992)
Taha, H.A.: Operations Research: An Introduction, 7th edn. Prentice Hall (2010)
Loostsma, F.A.: Network Planning with Stochastic Activity Durations: An Evaluation of PERT. Statistica Neerlandica 20, 43–69 (1966)
Lu, M., AbouRizk, S.M.: Simplified CPM/PERT simulation model. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 126(4), 219–226 (2000)
William, J., Cosgrove, W.: Simplifying PERT Network Simulation with ARENA. California Journal of Operations Management 6(1), 61–68 (2008)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Tesfaye, E., Girma, K., Berhan, E., Beshah, B. (2015). A Simulation of Project Completion Probability Using Different Probability Distribution Functions. In: Abraham, A., Krömer, P., Snasel, V. (eds) Afro-European Conference for Industrial Advancement. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 334. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13572-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13572-4_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13571-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13572-4
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)