ISBN : 978-81-963532-2-3 (E-Book) Fig.36.1:Workbreakdownstructureof anMIS problem Activity networks and critical path method WBS representation of a project is transformed intoanactivitynetworkbyrepresentingactivitiesidentifiedinWBSalongwiththeirinterdependencies. An activity network shows the different activities making up a project, theirestimated durations, and interdependencies (as shown infig. 36.2). Each activity is representedbyarectangularnodeand the duration oftheactivityis shown alongside each task. Managers can estimate the time durations for the different tasks in several ways. One possibilityis that they can empirically assign durations to different tasks. This however is not a good idea,because software engineers often resent such unilateral decisions. A possible alternative is to letengineer himself estimate the time for an activity he can assigned to. However, some managersprefer to estimate the time for various activities themselves. Many managers believe that anaggressive schedule motivates the engineers to do a better and faster job. 178 Software Engineering Keerthana P, Manasa KN, Ganga D Bengal
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