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184

CHAPTER 8

PURCHASING ANALYSIS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

3. Execute the plan: Carry out the plan according to the required tasks and

timing.

4. Monitor and control progress: Monitor and control progress to ensure that

the project stays on track and, if issues arise, to determine what needs to

be done to ensure that the project stays on track. If it looks as though the

project cannot be brought back on track, determine how the plan should be

modified to reflect new realities.

5. Close the project: Close the project on completion. This includes going

through all tasks to ensure that they have been completed, all issues have

been dealt with and closed out and so on. An integral part of the close-out

process is carrying out a ‘post mortem’ analysis with the team that worked

on the project to list the things that went well and those that did not go so

well and to record these for use on future projects [3].

8.6 PROJECT PLANNING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Various tools and techniques exist for planning project work. These allow

the project manager to plan the work being carried out and to subsequently

evaluate performance against time and budget. Two useful tools for planning

and controlling a project are Gantt charts and project network tools such as

Critical Path Method (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique

(PERT). Both Gantt charts and project network tools can show what has to be

done, how long a particular activity will take, in what sequence each activity has

to occur, and who is responsible for completing the activity.

8.6.1 BAR CHARTS

Bar charts can be used to detail the critical path, aid in picking up variances

between planned and actual completion of tasks and illustrate dependencies,

relationships and duration of tasks.

Bar charts are relatively simple to construct and to read, and they provide a

good tool for communicating to team members. A bar chart visually displays the

tasks and times associated with a project. It comprises horizontal bars with the

activities to be completed listed vertically and times or dates listed horizontally [4].

An example of a Gantt chart is depicted in Figure 8.3.