When you think of PERT, what comes to mind? For business leaders and anyone associated with project management, it should be Program Evaluation and Review Technique, a helpful life cycle concept for defining project task success and growth on a continual basis. You may or may not be aware that PERT exists, or know what it means in application to projects in your industry.

Who benefits from PERT training? Anyone with their hands on the levers of power, or with any responsibility for moving company projects along, can take advantage of PERT training to get more savvy about today's management tools and knowing how to prioritize for best end results. Managers looking to get trained in PERT (sometimes also called project evaluation and review technique) can find:

1. Neat online tutorials outlining PERT in business from a step-by-step perspective for modeling.

2. Seminars in PERT that will provide a structured environment for learning about this project concept.

3. Other online resources for exploring the terminology and concepts around program evaluation and review techniques.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find PERT tutorials for quick online learning

It may only take a few minutes and an efficient group huddle to get your crew informed about PERT and how to use it. If your management has a very linear mindset, use these online services to plug PERT into your project collaborations.

I recommend: The PERT tutorial page at GetAhead offers a step-by-step portrayal of working PERT principles into a flow chart apparatus that can be helpful for modeling and understanding how PERT works. Net MBA offers a similar tutorial, minus some of the diagrams, with step-by-step operations for PERT charts and processes.

Find program evaluation and review technique seminars online

Another training option, albeit an involved one, is to get your crew out to a site training session for getting briefed on PERT technique: this kind of program can benefit staffers for a lifetime.

I recommend: Training classes and seminars at Training-Classes.com offer management the ability to learn about PERT in organized, structured environments. For a high-class option, try the Oxford Management PERT seminar, conveniently located in Dubai, for training you'll have bragging rights to for years.

Find other online resources for PERT training

If it's not built into your business plan to give everyone elaborate training on PERT, do a little self-teaching with resources online that show how PERT programs get handled in different shops, or how much you should know about this particular terminology.

I recommend: Use the easy online self-test at Certification Magazine to challenge your own knowledge of PERT and other project management toolbox theories. Or go online and compare notes at the International Community for Project Managers, where PERT program talk is certainly part of the buzz.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When looking to add PERT training, always think about what projects it will be applied to. Creating new protocols and processes for projects that are already working well can create confusion. Think of PERT training as an investment in the future of a company, and something staffers will use judiciously for evaluating future projects.

When you plan a project, you need to know exactly what's involved and how much time each component requires; the Program Evaluation and Review Technique, or PERT, can help you minimize the guesswork and manage your projects more efficiently.

PERT was invented in the late 1950s by Booz Allen Hamilton, under contract to the US Navy Special Projects Office, part of the United States Department of Defense. Since then, program evaluation and review techniques have caught on across both the public and private sectors, with many companies developing their own version of the PERT technique. PERT in business includes the following steps:

1. Start a business PERT analysis by identifying the specific tasks necessary to the project.
2. Determine the proper sequence of these tasks.
3. Diagram the tasks, and their relationships to each other.
4. Estimate the time needed for each task.
5. Outline the "critical path," by adding the time needed for each task.
6. Update the PERT chart periodically during the project.

Action Steps
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Use PERT training to strengthen your project management skills

If you frequently oversee project management, consider training in PERT or other project management methods. Many materials are web-based or available on CD-ROM, so you can complete the training at your own pace.

I recommend: Take a free online PERT tutorial at GetAhead, or order Project 98, a training program that includes instruction on how to create PERT charts in Microsoft Project.

Model your PERT charts after online examples

Program evaluation and review techniques must take into account a multitude of factors, and the process can intimidate newcomers. However, several websites offer models and step-by-step examples you can use as a basis for your own PERT charts.

I recommend: MindTools offers a detailed checklist for formulating PERT charts and related project management tools such as Critical Path Analysis. NetMBA guides you step-by-step through the PERT process, and alerts you to the benefits and limitations of the technique.

Simplify project management with PERT chart software

For even greater efficiency of project management PERT, consider PERT software. PERT programs automate many of the tasks associated with project management, and allow you to instantly see the potential impact of individual tasks on your schedule.

I recommend: PERT Chart EXPERT calculates an optimum timeline for your project based on your specifications. This PERT program can be used by itself, or integrated with Microsoft Project, and any changes you make in EXPERT are automatically reflected in Microsoft Project. With MinuteMan project management software, you can manage projects with up to 1,000 tasks using Gantt and PERT charts.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When determining the 'critical path' section of your PERT chart, estimate the shortest length of time required by each task, the most likely length of time needed, and the longest length of time if the task should take longer than expected. This provides a more realistic analysis of the total time needed to complete the entire project, taking into account any setbacks.

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) concept, developed originally by U.S. military planners, is very much in use today, in all kinds of businesses throughout the public and private sectors. But how do companies use the PERT technique (sometimes also called project evaluation and review technique) in their daily life? Well, as a management tool, PERT is used in different ways according to what a business wants to accomplish.

Managers and business decision makers are often tasked in figuring out how to integrate concepts like PERT into a business for real, verifiable results. Here are a few ways that PERT can play a role in your action plan today:

1. Use PERT in business demos -- create expert visuals to give presentations that will bowl over investors or top brass and promote your department or crew.

2. Use PERT software to help navigate uncharted waters and ensure a good end result for a critical project.

3. Use PERT principles like critical path and "evangelize" them to get your crew more knowledgeable about building a better mousetrap.

Action Steps
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Use PERT visuals and charts

Here's the scenario: you are tasked with presenting a project, not in a science-teacher linear way, but in a dynamic representation of the complex processes you are working to create and/or control. That's where charts and models using program evaluation and review techniques, systems and principles can help break it down: visitors can see first hand how each step of your plan is tailored to a specific objective. PERT can be part of what gives your planning and presentation materials the stamp of authenticity they so badly need.

I recommend: Model your PERT visuals off charts and models from Instantiations, where similar flow charts and org models are laid out online. Or use the sample PERT chart at Integrated Publishing: "The most informative site on the Internet."

Use PERT software to get 'virtual input'

Here's where planners can utilize the power of the processor. Plug different aspects of your project into a state-of-the-art PERT program. You'll be able to 'see' them laid out in ways that cross-reference each other. This may help you figure out which ones are 'primary,' and with computational power, you should be able to do a little 'modeling' on workstations to see how an initial project shift in terms of time, cost or scope might affect the outcomes later.

I recommend: Get PERT chart and project planning software from Critical Tools, with diagrams and other info neatly presented online. Find more PERT software solutions for computation at FilesLand.

Use and evangelize PERT principles

PERT is a little like chess. Its 'critical path' terminology and triage concepts identify a key goal or goals that you could compare to a chess king, and the smaller components of a plan are the knights, bishops and pawns. This kind of conceptual power can help you figure out when part of a plan should be sacrificed or 'dumped,' but that's not all PERT can do. It's like comprehensive chess theory, helping you to strategize every step in planning a complex process or design.

I recommend: Find articles like this resource for PERT charts for non-project managers at Gantt-Chart.biz. Tech Republic offers more educational articles for PERT that managers can share with staff.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Always think about how PERT principles can be applied to the future of your planning for enterprises that incorporate the best of what is out there. If you have a good result from using PERT tools or principles, don't hesitate to pass that on to others.

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique, also known as PERT, can at first seem complex. But by breaking the concept down based on a few key terms, you can better understand how the theory works and how you can apply it to your organization. PERT can be used several different ways, for everything from creating an action plan for your employees to creating a presentation for investors or senior management. Whatever your purpose for using PERT, the basic steps and concepts are essentially the same.

Action Steps
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Tasks

Tasks are the basis of the PERT method. You start by identifying each task required for a project, and estimating the time needed for each. Only by being able to break a project down to its most basic levels will you be able to successfully implement PERT.

I recommend: Use the work breakdown structure example at NetMBA to help you identify the tasks needed to complete any project.

Critical path

The critical path is an outline of the steps you will take to complete the project. The critical path is what's created by identifying all of the necessary tasks and estimating the time for each.

I recommend: Create your critical path by using the guide to critical path analysis at MindTools.

PERT chart

The PERT chart is what keeps you on track during the project. These charts are useful both in breaking down the project and in showing others all of the steps involved in the process. The PERT chart serves as a visual, step-by-step guide to achieving your company's goal. The PERT chart includes all of the steps of the PERT method.

I recommend: See a sample PERT chart at the Integrated Publishing website; this example can serve as a model for your own chart.

Estimation

In addition to identifying each task needed for the project, you also need to estimate the amount of time needed for each task. Your ability to accurately estimate this time is key to the success of your PERT chart.

I recommend: Learn how you can use PERT for more accurate estimates at TechRepublic.

Project management

PERT is a method used for project management, and understanding the subject as a whole is key to understanding the specifics of PERT, and to understanding your role as a project manager.

I recommend: At the Free Management Library, explore all facets of project management, from overseeing the project itself to communicating the process to team members.

Analysis

PERT really has two aspects: its use as a planning tool, and its function for helping you analyze a project. It's important to understand how those two functions differ, and how they work hand-in-hand in the PERT method to help you evaluate and plan a project.

I recommend: Gain a greater understanding of the role of analysis in PERT at Project Management Basics.