Aspects of Project Planning - Assignment Example

WBS, OBS, CPA Assignment Project 3 (Overseas Holiday) Executive Summary Project 3 (Overseas Holiday) has been chosen as the assignment topic. This report analyses WBS, CPA in the context of this project, and deals briefly with OBS. Introduction Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS) and Critical Path Analysis (CPA) are important aspects of project planning. Network Development The activity durations were reviewed with three respondents, their individual opinions recorded, and the arithmetic average of the durations taken (see Table-1). The duration for obtaining passport was changed on the basis of Home Office (Identity and Passport Service), UK information. Table-1 Activity Description Suggested Duration (in days) Respondent #1 Respondent #2 Respondent #3 Modified Duration (in days) Rounded off to the nearest integer Calculate costs 1 1 2 2 2 Buy luggage 1 2 2 1 2 Apply for leave from work 1 7 2 3 3 Pack 2 2 3 1 2 Obtain visas 5 5 5 5 5 Book accommodation 1 2 3 3 2 Visit travel agent to obtain brochures, fares, etc 1 Not applicable 2 1 1 Buy tickets 1 1 2 1 1 Buy special clothes 3 3 3 3 3 Study brochures 5 7 5 3 5 Book car hire 1 2 2 1 2 Plan itinerary 10 8 10 7 9 Obtain bank loan 1 Not applicable 3 5 3 Obtain passport 15 - - - 45 The sequence of activities is presented in Table-2. Table-2 Activity Description Predecessor Successor Calculate costs Plan itinerary Obtain bank loan Buy luggage Plan itinerary Pack Apply for leave from work Plan itinerary Finish Pack Buy luggage, Buy special clothes Finish Obtain visas Obtain passport Finish Book accommodation Plan itinerary Finish Visit travel agent to obtain brochures, fares, etc Start Study brochures Buy tickets Plan itinerary Finish Buy special clothes Plan itinerary Pack Study brochures Visit travel agent Plan itinerary Book car hire Plan itinerary Finish Plan itinerary Study brochures Buy luggage, Buy special clothes, Calculate costs, Apply for leave, Book accommodation, Buy tickets, Book car hire Obtain bank loan Calculate costs Finish Obtain passport Start Obtain visas The network diagram created on the basis of the above information is depicted in Appendix-I. Critical Activities As per the network diagram, the project duration is 50 days. Accordingly, the project needs to start on November 30, 2008 at 4p.m. Critical activities are those, which when delayed will affect the overall project duration, and therefore determine the shortest time required to complete the project. All other activities are non-critical. The critical activities for this project are “Obtaining passport” and “Obtaining visas”. Though the project manager should primarily focus on the critical activities, she should also monitor activities with low slack as these have the potential of becoming critical. The manager would benchmark the planned time with other similar projects completed. In case historical data is not available, the project manager would evaluate the probabilities associated with each activity duration to arrive at the “Most Likely”, “Optimistic”, and “Pessimistic” project durations. WBS The WBS for the project is given in Table-3. Table -3 WBS No Activity Description 1.0 Obtain passport 1.1 Obtain application form 1.2 Print photographs 1.3 Fill up application form 1.4 Submit application form 1.5 Interview 1.6 Courier passport 1.7 Receive passport 2.0 Obtain visas 2.1 Obtain application form 2.2 Print photographs 2.3 Fill up application form 2.4 Submit application form 2.5 Interview 2.6 Courier passport 2.7 Receive stamped passport 3.0 Visit travel agent to obtain brochures, fares, etc 3.1 Study brochures 3.2 Study destinations 4.0 Plan itinerary 4.1 Plan locations to be visited 4.2 Plan duration of stay at each location 4.3 Plan mode of transport 5.0 Calculate costs 5.1 Car hire cost 5.2 Air travel cost 5.3 Hotel costs 5.4 Boarding costs 5.5 Other costs 5.5.1 Shopping costs 5.5.2 Activity cost 5.5.3 Miscellaneous costs 6.0 Obtain bank loan 6.1 Compare terms of banks 6.1.1 Loan rates 6.1.2 Other terms 6.1.3 Documentation 6.2 Obtain application form 6.3 Fill up application form 6.4 Loan approval 6.5 Loan disbursement 7.0 Apply for leave from work 7.1 Discuss with boss 7.2 Apply for leave 7.3 Delegate work during absence 7.3 Leave approval 8.0 Book accommodation 8.1 Compare hotel rates 8.2 Book hotel 9.0 Buy tickets 9.1 Compare air ticket rates 9.2 Buy air ticket 10.0 Book car hire 10.1 Compare car hire rates 10.2 Book car hire 11.0 Buy luggage 11.1 Visit shops 11.2 Compare luggage features 11.3 Compare luggage costs 11.4 Buy luggage 12.0 Buy special clothes 12.1 Research cloth requirement 12.2 Buy clothes 13.0 Pack The advantage of network is that the interdependencies between various activities are captured effectively. CPA allows the project manager to focus on the critical activities and allocate resources efficiently, and helps deciding which activities to “crash”. Its disadvantage is that it is complex, and unlike other planning tools like Gantt chart is not easily interpreted by everybody. A work package is a subset of a project that can be assigned to a specific party for execution (Work Package 2009). Such work packages are identified as sub-levels of the WBS. For example, Colin can entrust the Level 1 activity of obtaining bank loan to a family member, who can execute this work package a separate sub-project. Comments and Conclusion WBS, OBS, CPA is used to break down complex projects into simple manageable components, develop execution plans, and manage resources. The information is prepared for all major stakeholders of the project. However, the different stakeholders use different parts of the overall project plan. The analysis is important as it allows the project manager to plan, monitor and control the project. It also forms as an important Management Information System (MIS) tool for the senior management. The analysis also allows estimation and allocation of scarce resources. Bibliography Home Office Identity and Passport Service, 2008, [Online] Available at: http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/fees.asp Work Package, 2009, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_package Appendix-I Read More