Project control using the problem-oriented language PROJECT

Abstract

The problem-oriented language PROJECT, of which this research forms a part, was developed in order to facilitate the use of CPM and PERT on any project which can be described in terms of work items. The area with which this thesis deals is that of monitoring a project's progress. As is true of the rest of the PROJECT subsystem, no special computer knowledge is necessary to use this feature since all instructions to the computer are couched in the language of project management. The preparation of PROJECT's progress control capability was marked by two phases. The first phase centered around the development of the measures to be used as monitors. The concept underlying this developmental work was that of comparison. Actual work progress and costs are compared with estimated work progress and costs in order to determine a project's status. In addition to being able to determine the status of the project as a single entity, the status of any subset of activities-­ called sub-networks-- can be determined also. The second phase of this research was concerned with interfacing the monitoring feature with PROJECT. It was during the implementation phase that the algorithms developed earlier were translated into workable computer programs, compatible with PROJECT.