The fundamentals of PERT and CPM are presented in this chapter. Both of these techniques are excellent for controlling large and complex projects.

PERT is probabilistic and allows three time estimates for each activity. These estimates are used to compute the project’s expected completion time, the variance of each project activity’s completion time, and the probability that the project will be completed by a given date. $\text{PERT/Cost},$ an extension of standard PERT, can be used to plan, schedule, monitor, and control project costs. Using PERT/Cost, it is possible to determine if there are cost overruns or underruns at any point in time. It is also possible to determine whether the project is on schedule.

CPM, although similar to PERT, has the ability to crash projects by reducing their completion time through additional resource expenditures. Finally, we see that linear programming can also be used to crash a network by a desired amount at a minimum cost.