19 Product Development. Consider the simplified set of activities in Table 17 for the development of a consumer product from initiation through the market test phase.

a. Draw the AOA network for this project.

b. Calculate total slacks and free slacks, and interpret their meaning.

TABLE 17 Immediate Time estimate Activity Symbol predecessors (weeks)
Investigate demand A – 3 Develop pricing strategy B – 1 Design product C – 5 Conduct promotional cost analysis D A 1 Manufacture prototype models E C 6 Perform product cost analysis F E 1 Perform final pricing analysis G B,D, F 2 Conduct market test H G 8

c. Determine the critical path, and interpret its meaning.

d. Construct a Gantt chart, and mark the latest start times for each activity.