Characteristics of Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)
PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique. PERT is a project management tool that provides a graphical representation of projects timeline. It is a method to calculate and estimate the time required to complete a task within deadlines. The major objective of PERT is to decrease the cost and time needed to complete a project.
PERT, or Program Evaluation Review Technique, was developed by the United States Navy for the Polaris submarine missile program in the 1950s. PERT charts allow the tasks in a particular project to be analyzed, with particular attention to the time required to complete each task, and the minimum time required to finish the entire project.
- PERT uses event oriented Network.
- Estimate of time for activities is not so accurate and definite.
- It is used mostly in research and development projects, particularly projects of nonrepetitive nature.
- The probabilistic model concept is used.
- PERT is basically a tool for planning.
- In PERT, it is assumed that cost varies directly with time. Attention is therefore given to minimize the time so that minimum cost results. Thus in PERT, time is the controlling factor.
