How to Draw AOA Network Diagram in Excel: 5 Methods

Method 1 – Entering Activities, Predecessors, and Schedule Times of Project

Divide the entire project into multiple activities such as A, B, C,
Determine the activities that need precursor activities.
Enter all the activities and schedule times, maintaining the activity flow.

⧭ Notes: For simpler representation, we don’t include any time frame or actual days in the segment labels. Users can enter time periods mentioned in the project schedule to further modify the diagram.

Method 2 – Maintaining a Fixed Segment to Depict Activities and Schedule Times

Go to Insert.
Choose single or multiple Shapes (i.e., Dodecagon and Line) types.

Modify the shapes to a desired design to form a segment like in the picture below.

Method 3 – Inserting Segment Labels

After forming the inserted shapes into segments, users need to insert schedule timelines within them. As we have 6 different activities to complete the project, each segment needs to be the same size and format. The segment labels are

Early Starting (ES)
Duration (D)
Early Finishing (EF)
Late Starting (LS)
Float Time (F)
Late Finishing (LF)

Method 4 – Drawing AOA Network Diagram Layout in Excel

As soon as users finalize their segment form and label assignment, they can select any of the diagram layouts depending on their needs. The diagram layout symbolizes the essence of the entire project. The network diagram layout must be able to visualize the consecutive activities to finish the project successfully.

Method 5 – Creating an AOA Network Diagram Maintaining Its Layout

The AOA network diagram layout or a project network diagram has 2 distinctive parts, Project Activities, and the Network Diagram.

Insert suitable Shapes to indicate the network flow among activities. Go to Insert > Shapes (Illustrations) > Line Arrow to choose the desired shapes.

Modify the shapes using the Shape Format tab to look like the below image.

Furnish the AOA Network Diagram. In the end, the diagram may look like the below image.

Activity on Arrow (AOA) vs. Activity on Node (AON)

Activity on Arrow (AOA) Network Diagram

In AoA network diagrams, displaying start-to-finish relationships is not that important. Arrows represent the period of a project from start to finish events. Activities on arrows display complicated relations and dependencies.

Activity on Node (AON) Network Diagram

In AON network diagrams, the activities are depicted on nodes. The interlink arrows illustrate activity flow and dependencies among activities. The nodes can be anything in shape or form. An AON diagram depicts the predecessor relationships.