Project Development Phase - Jonijanti Ltd, Tibob and Tibob Ltd - Essay Example

? REPORT Project Management Total word count: 2800 Keywords: Project Management Table of Contents Task Jonijanti Ltd 3 Task 2 - Tibob and Tibob Ltd 7 Project Background 7 Phase 1 – Project Conceptual Planning 8 Phase 2 – Project Planning (Project Development Phase) 8 Phase 3 – Implementation and Control 10 Phase 4- Evaluation of the Project 11 Project Manager Skills and competences 11 Conclusion 11 References and used Bibliography 13 Appendix 1 AON Network Diagram 15 Appendix 2 GANTT Chart 16 Task 1 - Jonijanti Ltd Total word count: 600 without the calculations 1. The network diagram The Network Diagram for the project activities of the company Jonijanti Ltd is provided in Figure 1/Appendix 1. The provided network is an Activity On Node network (AON) – precedence network (Field and Keller 2007, p.198). 2. Project timing The timing of the project has been determined by calculating the values of the Earliest Time of Start Event (ETS) and Earliest Time of Finish Event (ETF), the Latest Time of Start Event (LTS) and Latest Time of Finish Event (LTF) and the Total Float of each project activity. As recommended by literature (Field and Keller 2007, p.198), the forward pass mode has been used for calculating the ETS for each of the activities. The mode is based on the assumption that all previous activities have been finalised. The following equation has been used in calculating its values: ETSj = max (ETSi + Ti – i - when an activity is linked to j on an arc from i to j). The values of ETS for each of the activities are provided in a Table 1. Early Finish Time (EFT) is calculated by adding the duration time of each activity to its ETS. The Late Start Time (LTS) is calculated through the use of backward pass mode. It is based on the assumption that the latest time the last event can occur is equal to the last event ETS. The following equation has been used in calculating its values: LTSi = MIN (LTSj - Ti -j is an activity linked to i on the path from i to j). The values of LTS for each of the activities are provided in a Table 1. Float The total float in the scheduling provides information on the accepted event delay that will not result in total delay of the whole project (Field and Keller 2007, PMI 2008). It is the difference between the LTS and ETS of each project activity, i.e. Fi = LTSi–ETSi 3. The project duration and the critical path. The minimum required time for the completion of the project is 80 days. A final step in designing the network is the identification of the critical path. A critical path is made out of the critical activities of the project. An activity is assessed as critical when if delayed, will cause a delay of the whole project duration by an equal amount of time (Field and Keller 2007:183, PMI 2008). For a critical activity: The ETS and the LTS of the activity must be equal at the each node; The Float must be equal to 0; Table 1. Task Name Duration Pred. Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish Float Critical path A 4 - 0 4 0 4 0 yes B 4 A 4 8 4 8 0 yes C 2 A 4 6 14 16 10 no D 6 A 4 10 10 16 6 no E 5 A 4 9 11 16 7 no F 8 B 8 16 8 16 0 yes G 10 C,D,E,F 16 26 16 26 0 yes H 7 G 26 33 26 33 0 yes I 6 H 33 39 33 39 0 yes J 5 H 33 38 34 39 1 no K 7 I,J 39 46 39 46 0 yes L 14 K 46 60 46 60 0 yes M 8 L 60 68 60 68 0 yes N 2 M 68 70 68 70 0 yes O 2 N 70 72 76 78 6 no P 8 N 70 78 70 78 0 yes Q 2 O,P 78 80 78 80 0 yes 1. Different Project Scenarios If the project starts on Monday 21st, May, 2011, what is the earliest date it can be completed using a 5 day working week? For calculating the schedule and the earliest date the project can be completed, the project management tool - Gant chart is used, presented in Appendix 2. The calculation is as follows: the total duration project of the (80) is divided with 5 (working days in the week) = 16 weeks. The earliest date is for completion of the project is Friday, September 2nd, 2011. If the following happened what would be the effect on the duration of the whole project? Explain the reasons. a. A two day delay in activity E. A two day delay in performing activity E will not cause a delay in total project duration, because the activity is not on the critical path of the project, and the delay is less than its current float of 7 days. b. A one day delay in Activity Q. A one day delay in activity Q will delay total project duration for one day, because the activity is on the critical path of the project. c. A one day delay during activity C . A one day delay in performing activity C will not harm the project as the activity D is not on the critical path of the project, and it has a current float of 10 days. 5. The purpose of network diagrams According to Field and Keller (2007:185), a network diagram shows the dependencies between the project activities developed for the purpose of providing a visual understanding of the project timing and ensuring control mechanisms over its execution. According to literature (Field and Keler 2007, Gardiner 2005, PMI 2008), project practitioners use two types of network diagrams in project planning: Activity on Arrow Diagrams (AOA) and Activity on Node (AON) diagrams. Field and Keller (2007:197-202) argue that Activity on Node Diagrams (AON) is a better tool compared to the AOA because, the AON present the required information in detail on the Node, offer an opportunity for presenting all relationships between the activities other than normal start to finish activity and when there is a possible delay offer and easier presentation of its consequences. According to PMBOK guide (PMI 2008) AON is a particularly significant tool as it provided the possibility for PM practitioners to identify and calculate the critical activities and visualise the critical path method. Task 2 - Tibob and Tibob Ltd Total word count: 1600 without References and Bibliography Project Background Tibob and Tibob ltd are a company specialising in the installation of water quality chemical control systems. They specifically design and sell amperometric and redox chemical controllers. These controllers are considered essential items of plant in the management of United Kingdom swimming pools. Traditionally, they have sold their equipment to local authorities, commercial clubs, schools, and holiday parks. Tibob and Tibob ltd have recently acquired a new base and have built a custom design studio within this base. The base is approximately 1,500 sq metres in size. The existing staff will transfer from the old, to the new base. In addition, a new head of design will be employed to operate the new laboratory. The organisation of the office movement to a new location is a one-time event, with a beginning and an end, comprised of many depended activities, with limited budget and resources, and thus constituting a project (Field and Keller 2007 pp:2-5). The initial project report is prepared with an aim of assessing all significant management issues, related to the planning and implementation of the project within the agreed schedule and budget. As recommended, by the literature (PMI 2008, Field and Keller 2007, White and Fortune 2002) all critical management activities are grouped according to the generic project life cycle phases: 1. Project Conceptual Planning, Initiation Phase 2. Project Development Phase, resulting in two specific deliverables: a. Project Team b. Project Plan i. Project Schedule; ii. Project Costs – Budget; iii. Project Quality and Risk Plan; iv. Project Reporting and Communications Plan. 3. Project Implementation Phase; and 4. Project Evaluation and Review. Phase 1 – Project Conceptual Planning The first phase of the project development begins with an identification of the project requirements. (Field and Keller 2007). In the process it is important that the key project deliverables and the key project constraints are identified and set. This would include for example setting the date of the move, Confirming the allocation of the resources (finances and time of the employees), availability of contractors (the moving agency) and similar. These activities result in a project proposal, which aim is to provide a common understanding on the scope of the project (Gardiner 2005). In the particular case of the relocation project of Tibob and Tibob ltd, this phase is within the project report. Phase 2 – Project Planning (Project Development Phase) Planning is the second phase of the project life cycle, it is the longest phase requiring manager’s attention and covers the creation of a project team and a detailed project plan (OGC 2005, PMI 2008) . “The development of the project management plan is the process of documenting the actions necessary to define, prepare, integrate and coordinate all subsidiary plans.” (PMBOK 2008, p.78). It defines how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed. According to Field and Keller (2007), the project plan purpose is to communicate the intentions of the project to various publics. Project stakeholders are made by the management, the client (internal or external), the internal team, finance providers, contractors and similar. The planning phase begins with the identification of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). WBS is the most popular project management tool which decomposes the project into deliverables, i.e. work packages. Each package is later divided into corresponding project activities which results in a detailed project plan. Apart from its significance for the project plan the WBS is a scope control management tool because it provides the scope baseline for the project (PMI 2008, Lewis 2007, White and Fortune 2002). As discussed in Task 1, WBS can be product or process based. The recommended WBS for this project is product based according to the industry standards (Gardiner 2005) (Figure 1). Having in mind the scope of the event, company resources are small and most of the work will require a selection, contracting and coordination of contractors and/or temporarily engaged labour. At present Tibob and Tibob ltd have one base in the North East of England, and employ one manager, three assistant managers, two administrative officers, two designers and eight sales staff. Having in mind the scope of the project, the project team will be made out of all current company employees. Their level of involvement though will vary. It is highly desirable that the project team structure is task based. It is a usual project hierarchy, found under the term team/task leaders in the literature (EIU 2005, PMI 2008). The two administrative officers will be assigned as Task leaders. One administrative officer will be responsible for the packaging in the premises, while the other for finding, and buying the additional furniture. The Project manager will take over the responsibility for the coordination of the activities with the contracted agencies (moving, furniture producers, insurance agency, utility companies and similar) . The proposed structure is The next step in the analysis is identification of the activities, their dependencies and estimation of their timings. It results in a developed Project Network and Schedule. All team members participate in the preparation of the plan. It assists the project manager and the team in identifying the critical path of the project. A Gantt and PERT chart for the project activities are provided in Appendix 1and 2. The more contemporary methodologies as are PMBOK (PMI 2008) and PRINCE2 (OCG 2005) recommend the use of the GANTT chart in a situation when the beginning or the end date of the project is known. GANTT charts are the more intuitive way of representing scheduling information compared to the networks. The ANTT chart of the project activities is provided in Appendix 2. The activities are arranged from top to bottom, time is plotted to scale from left to right, activity bars begin at their earliest start time and critical activities are highlighted (PMI 2008). Once the schedule is made, the Project manager estimates the Project resources and budget. Phase 3 – Implementation and Control The implementation and the control is the longest phase of the project life cycle. The main activities of the Project manager in this phase cover the need to secure the required resources for implementation of the project, coordination of the implementation, monitoring and control and reporting on the project progress. In the process, the Project manager controls the (PMI, 2008, Office of Government Commerce 2005): 1. Baseline Activity vs. Actual Activity - Having a plan is ultimately of little value unless it is effectively implemented. The monitoring is placed on the performance and on the results. The identification and the monitoring of the milestones is one of the most essential control mechanisms of results that are at disposal to the Project manager. The most important milestones-output that need to be controlled at this phase include: Milestone 1:Finalise the accommodation on the site; Milestone 2: Contract a Transportation/moving Agency Milestone 3: Pack the office; Milestone 4: Transport the items; Milestone 5: Furnish the new premises 2. The project budget and control over the cost is another essential project tool used to control the performance of projects according to initially allocated costs and resources. During this stage, standard project methodology (PMI 2008, OGC 2005) recommends the use of the following project control mechanisms: 1. Project monitoring mechanisms – monitoring of the millstones, deadlines and/or budget(Field and Keller 2007); 2. Project change control mechanism – in place to handle change requests that could jeopardise the on-time delivery of the project. 3. Project reporting and communication mechanism – in place to facilitate communication and information flow (PMI 2008, OGC 2005). At this stage of the project life cycle, the project manager manages the relationships with three groups of stakeholders (Field and Keller 2007, Gardiner 2005, White and Fortune 2002) : 1. The contractors and performers; 2. The Project Team; and 3. The Company. The relationship with the contractors is a risk transfer activity Turner (2009)., because the identified risks, involving the transportation of the equipment and the files is transferred, passed onto the contracted company and the Insurance Agency. The mechanism of the transfer is the contract, which according to Fielf and Keller (2007) should include a clear requirements and agreed expectations of performance and financial controls to guarantee on-time and within budget realisation of subcontracted activities. These activities will ensure a successful relocation of the company. Phase 4- Evaluation of the Project The evaluation of the project consists of activities directed towards project closure. Documentation is finalised, while the team disengaged. In this case a formal evaluation of the contractors can provide irreplaceable information in the process of further project selection of contractors, saving time and costs and avoiding problems with unaccountable companies in the future. Project Manager Skills and competences The required skills and competencies of the Project manager for successful implementation of the project comprise of good knowledge and experience in project methodologies and the project management tools described in the preceding sections, and an assertive and political leadership style (Mersino 2007, Olsson and Magnussen 2007) due to the existence of a short period of intense activities and many shareholders – the actual moving day. Conclusion In conclusion, developing a project plan for Tibob and Tibob, based on the application of the principles of the standard project methodologies ensures a successful implementation of project objectives. A clear scope and product based WBS with a clear identification of all activities, accompanied with project control and reporting mechanisms will guide the implementation of the plan. An adequate project evaluation will ensure that the objectives have been met within the set deadlines and allocated resources. References and used Bibliography Economist Intelligence Unit EIU (2005) Chapter 16: Life cycle: Client projects and consulting teams. [e-book]. pp:195-205. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. [Accessed 17.12.2010]. Field,M. and Keller L. (2007). Project Management. London:Thompson Learning. Gardiner, P. (2005). Project management: A strategic planning approach. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling 10ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Lewis, J. (2007). Chapter 5: Using the Work Breakdown Structure to Plan a Project. (pp. 56-68). In American Management Association International. Meredith J.R. and Mantel S.J. Jr. (2010) Project management. 4th ed. New York:John Wiley&Sons. Mersino, A. ,2007. Emotional Intellegence for Project Managers: The People Skills You Need to Achieve Outstanding Results. New York, NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Olsson N and Magnussen O.(2007) Flexibility at Different Stages in the Life Cycle of Projects: An Empirical Illustration of the "Freedom to Maneuver". Project Management Journal [serial online].38(4):25-32. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. [Accessed 17.12.2010]. Office of Government Commerce (2005). Managing Successful projects with PRINCE 2. TSO & Blackwell. Project Management Institute PMI. (2008). A guide to the Project management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) 4ed. Atlanta: PMI. Thomas, M. et.al. (2008). Developing an effective project: Planning and team building combined. Project Management Journal, 39(4), pp.105-113. Turner, J.R.,2009. The handbook of project-based management: leading strategic change in organizations 3rd. US:McGraw-Hill Professional. White, D. and Fortune, J. (2002). Current practice in project management - an empirical study, International Journal of Project Management, 20(1) 1-11. Appendix 1 AON Network Diagram Appendix 2 GANTT Chart Read More