Government agencies are now placing greater and greater emphasis on network systems (PERT/CPM). Widely varying industries have begun to use these systems to plan, schedule and control their projects and save time and money. This book deals with the implementation problems involved with these systems, and explores their basic nature and relation to the total management framework.

Network-Based Management Systems is a comprehensive guide to network-based management information and control systems, including what they are, how they work, how they are put into practice, what they cost, and what are some of the problems and pitfalls associated with them. It is a basic text in both the fundamentals and implementation of such systems. Numerous case histories, based on experience in government and industrial projects, and profuse illustrations serve to convey a full understanding of the concepts, benefits, potentials, problems, and limitations of these powerful information systems.

The treatment is thorough, not simply introductory, and avoids academic abstractions and "jargon." It takes network planning out of the realm of specialized application and gives the reader a broader perspective as to its place in the total management framework.

Contents
Introduction 1
PART I NETWORK PLANNING: WHAT IT IS-HOW IT WORKS 7
Chapter 1 Fundamentals of the Technique 9
2 Systematic Planning for Network Systems 23
3 Preparing the Network Plan 46
4 Time Estimates 76
5 Network Analysis and Scheduling 91
6 Cost and Manpower 119
7 Design and Operation of a Model System 137
PART II IMPLEMENTING THE SYSTEM 159
8 Organizing for the Integrated System 161
9 The Role of the Computer 173
10 The Cost versus the Value of the
Network-Based System 190
11 Indoctrination and Training 201
12 Multiproject Integration 214
PART III CASE STUDIES 233
13 Applications of Network Planning 235
14 Commercial and Industrial Case Studies 269
15 Application to Multiple-Unit Construction 310
16 Decision Trees for Decision-Making 330
PART IV PITFALLS AND POTENTIALS 369
17 Problems and Pitfalls 371
18 Simulation and Gaming 388
19 Relating the Time/Cost/Manpower System to
the Management Function 408
20 Outlook for the Network-Based System 422

APPENDICES 432 Appendix A Glossary of Terms 433
B Precedence Diagramming-An Alternative Method
Of Network Construction 441
C An Analytical Study of the PERT Assumptions 447
D Suggested Course Outline 465
E Selected Bibliography 466
F DOD and NASA Guide-PERT Cost Output Reports 471

Index 595