In the previous problem, all of Tom’s activities have fixed durations. Now assume they have PERT distributions with the parameters listed in the file P15_35.xlsx. a. Use @RISK to simulate this...

In the previous problem, all of Tom’s activities have fixed durations. Now assume they have PERT distributions with the parameters listed in the file P15_35.xlsx.

a. Use @RISK to simulate this project. What is the mean length of time required to complete the project? What is the probability that it will be completed within 20 days? What is the probability that it will require more than 23 days to complete?

b. Are there activities that are always (or almost always) critical? Are there activities that are never (or almost never) critical? For each other activity, what is the probability that it is critical?

c. For any activities that are never (or almost never) critical, we might expect that the durations of these activities are not highly correlated with the total project time. Use @RISK’s sensitivity analysis, with the correlation option, to see whether this is the case. What correlations between the inputs and the output do you find? Can you explain why they turn out as they do?