Quote from Abrachan on 03/05/2024, 11:53 AM

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Method) are both project management techniques used to plan and schedule tasks in a project. While they are similar in many ways, there are some key differences between them:

1. Focus:
   • PERT focuses on estimating the time required to complete each task in a project, especially when there is uncertainty in task durations. For each task, three estimates are estimated - Optimistic, Pessimistic and the Most likely.
   • CPM focuses on identifying the critical path in a project, which is the longest sequence of dependent tasks that determines the minimum time required to complete the project.
2. Uncertainty:
   • PERT is particularly useful when there is uncertainty in task durations. It uses three time estimates for each task (optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely) to calculate an expected duration using a weighted average.
   • CPM assumes that task durations are known with certainty and does not explicitly account for uncertainty in task durations.
3. Result Interpretation:
   • PERT provides a range of possible project completion times, along with probabilities associated with each completion time, which helps in assessing project risk.
   • CPM provides a single deterministic project duration based on the critical path, which helps in identifying tasks that must be closely monitored to ensure the project stays on schedule.