What is the The Program (or Project) Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)?

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a network model that allows for randomness in activity completion times. PERT was developed in the late1950's for the U.S. Navy's Polaris project having thousands of contractors.

PERT is also known as the Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique. For those who wish to know what is PERT, it is a project management model which basically works towards analysis and representation of the tasks that are a part of any given project.

More specifically, PERT looks into analyzing the different tasks which are included in a project in order to estimate the time frames needed to complete each one. This in turn enables a project manager to determine the minimum time requirements for the entire project management life cycle to be completed.

It is a Project management technique that shows the time taken by each component of a project, and the total time required for its completion. PERT breaks down the project into events and activities, and lays down their proper sequence, relationships, and duration in the form of a network. Lines connecting the events are called paths, and the longest path resulting from connecting all events is called the critical path. The length (duration) of the critical path is the duration of the project, and any delay occurring along it delays the whole project. PERT is a scheduling tool, and does not help in finding the best or the shortest way to complete a project.