In the introduction, Pagnoni defines project engineering as “the application of science to the development and analysis of project plans, and to the supervision of their realization.” Project plans describe the work (activities) that are to be performed to reach a goal, that is, the successful execution of the plan. To that end, the author avers that as an applied science, project engineering contains a number of methodologies and approaches to project planning. From her point of view, this multitude of approaches includes graphs in all of their variations, with an emphasis on the standard graphical techniques: PERT, GERT, CPM, and Petri nets. In seven chapters the author proceeds to build the underlying mathematical principles of graph theory and expounds the suitability of each graph to certain types of project activities and constraints: time, costs, activity durations, and distributions. She also presents graphic methods for analyzing plans unconstrained by time (or even certainty, as in the description of fuzzy attributes of certain tasks).
Chapter 1, “Survey of Methodologies,” contains an overview of existing graphical techniques. Chapter 2, “Planning with Temporal Constraints,” defines graphs and sets the tone of the remaining chapters by stating that “all techniques presented [in this book] are enriched graphs to which some sort of information has been added.” Chapter 3, “Disciplined Planning Top Down,” talks about the “additional information” to be used in the enrichment of graphs as a tool for project planning. Chapter 4 is entitled “Planning Under Periodic/Duration Constraints: Networking Techniques.” It gives the details of CPM (critical path method), PERT (program evaluation and review technique), and GERT (graphical evaluation and review technique). This chapter discusses the time, cost, and duration constraints of each activity in the project plan along with their implications for the graphical evaluation of plans. Chapter 5, “Clock-Independent Planning: Petri Nets,” introduces the mathematics and applications of Petri nets. Chapter 6, “Net Plan Executions,” contains more on Petri nets. Finally, chapter 7, “Choosing a Course of Action: Operational Decision Making,” introduces us to the world of ambiguity in our plans through a discussion of fuzzy attributes.
The purpose of this work is to provide a basic introduction to project engineering by offering “a unitary presentation of quite different planning methodologies.” The substance of the book, however, is consistently oriented to graphical representation of planned activities, and these graphical methodologies are not so different from each other. Rather than an introduction to project engineering, this book is a brief, unitary exposition of the varying attributes of graphical methods. The book does not make a single allusion to computer-oriented planning, which is included in the title.
Furthermore, the book is said to be directed to professionals and practitioners, or alternatively to students as a complementary text on systems engineering or operations research. The book misses its target for all of its intended audience. No exercises or questions are provided for the student to answer, and the mathematics involved is too sophisticated for most practitioners who are gharged with managing a project and are therefore seldom interested in the mathematical formulation of a Markov renewal process, for example.
The book could be more useful if it were a statement on the qualities and uses of graphs in promoting a thoughtful and methodical approach to project order and execution. The origins of PERT as an aid in project planning for the US government’s Polaris submarine program are well known. Less well known perhaps is that the Los Angeles Police Department used PERT techniques to plan its investigation into Senator Robert Kennedy’s assassination in Los Angeles 20 years ago.
While a book on graph theory as applied to project management might be somewhat interesting, the present emphasis on mathematics and the lack of examples and applications combine to make this an extremely dry book. Added to that, almost everything written on CPM and PERT is 20 years old (just check the reference section). Nothing of interest has been added. Aside from the references, which are somewhat aged, the “Suggested Reading” list is made up almost entirely of papers, and research and internal reports. The index is adequate, however.
Overall, I cannot recommend the book for various reasons. It presents no new material, it is too technical for most practitioners, no exercises are offered, and no applications are clearly drawn.
As an aside, my copy was bound into its cover upside down and backwards. I hope this happened only to my single review copy, as it does not speak well of the publisher’s care otherwise.
