PERT Meaning
PERT is the term used in the context of finance with respect to project management, the full form of PERT is Project Evaluation and Review Technique. PERT helps the management in analysis of reasonable time or period it will take to finish a project, in order to understand this concept better let’s look at advantages and disadvantages of PERT –
Advantages of PERT
Fixing Milestones
The first and foremost advantage of PERT is that it helps the management in fixing milestones for each project so that management can have an idea whether the project is going according to their plan and if not than management can take corrective steps so that there is no delay in the project and it gets completed on scheduled time.
No scope for Ambiguity
Another benefit of project evaluation and review technique is that since the path of project and time by which the project is expected to be completed is known in advance it helps the various departments of the company to prepare and execute their work accordingly leaving no scope of any ambiguity in the minds of the workers and managers of the company.
Sharing of Responsibilities
Another benefit of project evaluation and review technique analysis is that it involves not only top management but also various other departments which lead to sharing of responsibilities across departments in the company thus making them accountable as well as committed towards the completion of the project according to PERT analysis.
Disadvantages of PERT
Subjective
The biggest disadvantage of PERT is that estimation of timeline for completion of the project is highly subjective as it is dependent on the opinion of the management and therefore it leads to management setting a too rigid target in term of cost and time as far as the project is concerned.
Quantity over Quality
Another limitation of project evaluation and review technique analysis is that it primarily focuses on time rather than the quality of work done in the project, hence with the help of project evaluation and review technique a company can complete the project on time but it does not guarantee that work will be of topmost quality. In simple words sometimes a company may sacrifice on the quality of work in order to complete the project according to project evaluation and review technique analysis.
Specialized Knowledge and Time Requirement
Another demerit of project evaluation and review technique is that it requires specialized knowledge and time in order to have good PERT analysis as they are very complex in nature and hence company have to spend both times as well as money in order to have a good and accurate project evaluation and review technique which few companies can afford thus limiting its use.
Conclusion about PERT
As one can see from the above that project evaluation and review technique analysis has advantages, as well as disadvantages and any company thinking of doing this analysis, should look above points and then decide whether to go for project evaluation and review technique analysis for their projects or not.