Difference Between PERT and CPM

1. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) :

PERT is appropriate technique which is used for the projects where the time required or needed to
complete different activities are not known. PERT is majorly applied for scheduling, organization and
integration of different tasks within a project. It provides the blueprint of project and is efficient
technique for project evaluation .
2. Critical Path Method (CPM) :
CPM is a technique which is used for the projects where the time needed for completion of project is
already known. It is majorly used for determining the approximate time within which a project can be
completed. Critical path is the largest path in project management which always provide minimum time
taken for completion of project

PERT CPM
1 PERT is that technique of project management CPM is that technique of project management
which is used to manage uncertain (i.e., time is which is used to manage only certain (i.e., time
not known) activities of any project is known) activities of any project.
2 It is event oriented technique which means that It is activity oriented technique which means
network is constructed on the basis of event that network is constructed on the basis of
activities.
3 It is a probability model. It is a deterministic model.
4 It majorly focuses on time as meeting time It majorly focuses on Time-cost trade off as
target or estimation of percent completion is minimizing cost is more important.
more important.
5 It is appropriate for high precision time It is appropriate for reasonable time estimation.
estimation.
6 It has Non-repetitive nature of job. It has repetitive nature of job.
7 There is no chance of crashing as there is no There may be crashing because of certain time
certainty of time. boundation.
8 It doesn’t use any dummy activities. It uses dummy activities for representing
sequence of activities.
9 It is suitable for projects which required It is suitable for construction projects.
research and development.
Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR COMPARISON PERT CPM

Meaning PERT is a project management CPM is a statistical technique of

technique, used to manage project management that
uncertain activities of a project. manages well defined activities of
a project.

What is it? A technique of planning and A method to control cost and

control of time. time.

Orientation Event-oriented Activity-oriented

Evolution Evolved as Research & Evolved as Construction project

Development project

Model Probabilistic Model Deterministic Model

Focuses on Time Time-cost trade-off

Estimates Three time estimates One time estimate

Appropriate for High precision time estimate Reasonable time estimate

Management of Unpredictable Activities Predictable activities

Nature of jobs Non-repetitive nature Repetitive nature

Critical and Non-critical activities No differentiation Differentiated

Suitable for Research and Development Non-research projects like civil

Project construction, ship building etc.

Crashing concept Not Applicable Applicable

Definition of PERT

PERT is an acronym for Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique, in which planning, scheduling,
organizing, coordinating and controlling uncertain activities take place. The technique studies and represents
the tasks undertaken to complete a project, to identify the least time for completing a task and the minimum
time required to complete the whole project. It was developed in the late 1950s. It is aimed to reduce
the time and cost of the project.

PERT uses time as a variable which represents the planned resource application along with performance
specification. In this technique, first of all, the project is divided into activities and events. After that proper
sequence is ascertained, and a network is constructed. After that time needed in each activity is calculated
and the critical path (longest path connecting all the events) is determined.

Definition of CPM

Developed in the late 1950s, Critical Path Method or CPM is an algorithm used for planning, scheduling,
coordination and control of activities in a project. Here, it is assumed that the activity duration is fixed and
certain. CPM is used to compute the earliest and latest possible start time for each activity.

The process differentiates the critical and non-critical activities to reduce the time and avoid the queue
generation in the process. The reason for the identification of critical activities is that, if any activity is
delayed, it will cause the whole process to suffer. That is why it is named as Critical Path Method.

In this method, first of all, a list is prepared consisting of all the activities needed to complete a project,
followed by the computation of time required to complete each activity. After that, the dependency between
the activities is determined. Here, ‘path’ is defined as a sequence of activities in a network. The critical path is
the path with the highest length.

Key Differences Between PERT and CPM

The most important differences between PERT and CPM are provided below:
1. PERT is a project management technique, whereby planning, scheduling, organizing, coordinating
and controlling uncertain activities are done. CPM is a statistical technique of project management in
which planning, scheduling, organizing, coordination and control of well-defined activities take place.
2. PERT is a technique of planning and control of time. Unlike CPM, which is a method to control costs
and time.
3. While PERT is evolved as a research and development project, CPM evolved as a construction
project.
4. PERT is set according to events while CPM is aligned towards activities.
5. A deterministic model is used in CPM. Conversely, PERT uses a probabilistic model.
6. There are three times estimates in PERT, i.e. optimistic time (to), most likely time ™, pessimistic time
(tp). On the other hand, there is only one estimate in CPM.
7. PERT technique is best suited for a high precision time estimate, whereas CPM is appropriate for a
reasonable time estimate.
8. PERT deals with unpredictable activities, but CPM deals with predictable activities.
9. PERT is used where the nature of the job is non-repetitive. In contrast to, CPM involves the job of
repetitive nature.
 10. There is a demarcation between critical and non-critical activities in CPM, which is not in the case of
PERT.
11. PERT is best for research and development projects, but CPM is for non-research projects like
construction projects.
12. Crashing is a compression technique applied to CPM, to shorten the project duration, along with the
least additional cost. The crashing concept is not applicable to PERT.

Conclusion
The difference between these two project management tools is getting blurred as the techniques are merged
with the passage of time. That is why, in most projects, they are being used as a single project. The primary
point that distinguishes PERT from CPM is that the former gives the extreme importance of time, i.e. if the
time is minimized, consequently the cost will also be reduced. However, cost optimization is the basic
element, in the latter.

What is the Difference Between PERT and CPM

Project management can be defined as a structural way of planning, scheduling, executing, monitoring
and controlling various phases of a project. To achieve the end goal of a project on time, PERT and CPM
are two project management techniques that every management should implement. These techniques
help in displaying the progress and series of actions and events of a project.
Meaning of PERT
Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is an activity to understand the planning,
arranging, scheduling, coordinating and governing of a project. This program helps to understand the
technique of a study taken to complete a project, identify the least and minimum time taken to
complete the whole project. PERT was developed in the 1950s, with the aim of the cost and time of a
project.
Meaning of CPM
Critical Path Method or CPM is a well-known project modelling technique in project management. It is a
resource utilising algorithm that was developed in the 1950s by James Kelly and Morgan Walker.
CPM is mainly used in projects to determine critical as well as non-critical tasks that will help in
preventing conflicts and reduce bottlenecks.
In essence, CPM is about choosing the path in a project that will help in calculating the least amount of
time that is required to complete a task with the least amount of wastage.
The Critical Path Method or CPM has been used in many industries starting from defence, construction,
software, aerospace, etc.
PERT vs CPM

Abbreviation
PERT –  Project Evaluation and Review Technique CPM –  Critical Path Method
What does It Mean? 
PERT –  PERT is a popular project management technique CPM – CPM is a statistical algorithm which has a
that is applicable when the time required to finish a project certain start and end time for a project 
is not certain
Model Type 
PERT – PERT is a probabilistic model CPM – CPM is a deterministic model

Focus 
PERT – The main focus of PERT is to minimise the time CPM – The main focus of CPM is on a trade-off
required for completion of the project between cost and time, with a major emphasis on
cost-cutting.
Orientation type
PERT – PERT is an event-oriented technique CPM – CPM is an activity-oriented technique
 
PERT Example

Adva
ntages of CPM
 Provides an outline for long term coordination and planning of a project
 Recognizes critical activities
 Easy to plan, schedule and control project
 It improves productivity
 Manages the resource needed
Disadvantages of CPM
 For beginners its difficult to understand
 Software too expensive
 Sometimes, to structure CPM is too time-consuming
 It cannot control and form the schedule of a person involved in the project
 Allocation of resources cannot be monitored properly
CPM Example

How to Make a PERT Chart?

To prepare a PERT Chart, the following steps need to be followed.
 Recognize particular projects and milestones.
 Decide the precise sequence of the project.
 Create a network diagram.
 Determine the time needed for each project activity.
 Manage the critical path.
 Update the PERT chart as the project progresses.
CPM in Project Management
The Critical Path Method in project management is a step-by-step technique used in the planning
process that explains the critical and non-critical activities of a project. CPM goals are to check time-
bound issues and process that causes blockage in the project. The CPM is preferably applicable to
projects that involve various activities that are associated with a complex method. Once CPM is applied,
it will help you keep your projects on track.
 Helps you recognize the action that needs to be performed on time so that the whole project is
completed on time.
 Indicates which responsibilities can be delayed and for how long without affecting the overall
project plan.
 Determines the least amount of time it will take to accomplish the project.
 Tells you the newest and latest time each activity can start on in order to manage the schedule.
The term of each action is listed above each joint in the diagram. For an individual path, insert the
duration of each node to ascertain the total duration. The critical path is the one that has the longest
duration.