The Study of Two Cases Using the Project Evaluation and Review Technique - Term Paper Example

MANAGING PROJECT Introduction Project management is one of the first major activities a project manager needs to undertake once a project is approved. This activity plays a crucial role through out the project and it makes sense for project managers to arrive at realistic plan for a project to begin with. Hence this activity demands great attention from the project manager. It includes the following; deciding what needs to be done, estimating cost, ensuring there are suitable people to undertake the project , defining responsibilities , scheduling, and making arrangements for the work. This paper includes the study of two cases using the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or network diagram. In case 1, network diagram was shown using the activity node. Calculation of Earliest start time (EST) and Latest start time (LST) was done to be able to show the Slack or total float of the activity. Critical path was used to be able to complete the given task without budget constraint. The study will be able to show the importance of the said technique in managing a project. Cost estimation was presented using principles and other theory. Diagram and other tables were presented in the appendixes. At the later part of this paper the difficulties and risks in project management were discuss to further develop the needed project. The purpose of this study is to be able to show the importance of project managing in a company that needs to be developed and managed well. It also allows us student to be able to demonstrate the learning and competence in respect of management of resources generally but in particular elements of time, finance and human resources. In case 1 The Design and Print limited is a printing SME in the UK supplying design and printing services. The project manager is planning for a new project. To start a network diagram using the activity on the node was structure. We will be able to construct the diagram using the table below: Appendix 1 Activity (tasks) Duration (Days) Preceded by A Enquiries 1 - B Quotations 2 A C Order confirmation 2 B D Scheduling 1 C E Finance checks on customer 10 B F Purchasing 5 C,D G Design 4 C H Sizing 1 F,G I Colour 2 G J Film Production 2 I K Type-setting 2 J L Printing 3 H,K M Quality check 1 L N Packaging for Delivery 2 M O Delivery 5 E,N P Payment collections 10 O Appendix 2 F(5) A(1) B(2) C (2) D(1) H(1) L(3) M (1) N(2) E(10) G (4) I (2) J(2) K(2) P(10) In the network diagram shown in appendix 2, each node (circle) represents an activity and is labeled with the activity number and the associated completion time (shown in brackets after the activity number). The network diagram (appendix 1) assumes that activities not linked by precedence relationships can take place simultaneously. For example activity L is preceded by H,K therefore we can do L after H or K. (see diagram). It means that Printing can be done after sizing or type-setting. In the above diagram the activity start at Enquiries (A) , preceded by Quotation (B) you cannot proceed to B without finishing the first task (A). Finance checks on customer (E) and Order confirmation (C) can be done simultaneously since it is not linked by precedence relationship. After task (C) is completed 3 activities or task can be done at the same time since these three are all preceded by C, Purchasing (F), Scheduling (D) and Design (G). The task continues up to the last task the P. To be able to determine the total float, we must need to calculate for the earliest start time and latest start time. This allows scheduling of the work in such a manner that project duration is minimized. Some activities can be implemented simultaneously, and some activities can be delayed while efforts are concentrated on completing other activities which impose a time constraint on the completion of the project. To compute for earliest time let E1 start at 0 and the activity time is represented by T1: EA = 0 (assuming we start at time zero) EB = EA + TA = 0 + 1 = 1 EC = EB + TB = 1 + 2 = 3 ED = EC + TC = 3 + 2 = 5 EE = EB + TB = 1 + 2 = 3 EF = max [EC + TC, ED + TD] = 3 + 2 = 5, 5 + 1 = 6 EG = EC + TC = 3 + 2 = 5 EH = max [EF + TF, EG + TG] = 6 + 5 = 11, 5 + 4 = 9 EI = EG + TG = 5 + 4 = 9 EJ = EI + TI = 9 + 2 = 11 EK = EJ + TJ = 11 + 2 = 13 EL = max [EH + TH, EK + TK] = 11 + 1 = 12, 13 + 2 = 15 EM = EL + TL = 15 + 3 = 18 EN = EM + TM = 18 + 1 = 19 EO = max [EE + TE, EN + TN] = 3 + 10 = 13, 19 + 2 = 21 EP = EO + TO = 21 + 5 = 26 EQ = EP + TP = 26 + 10 = 36 Hence 36 (days) is the minimum time needed to complete all the activities and hence is the minimum overall project completion time. Since earliest start time as well as the minimum overall project completion the latest start time can be computed as follows: LQ = 36 LP = LQ - TP = 36 - 10 = 26 LO = min [LP - TE, LP - TN] = min [26 - 10 = 16, 26 - 2 = 24 LN = LP - TN = 26 - 2 = 24 LM = LN - TM = 24 - 1 = 23 LL = LM - TH = 23 - 1 = 22, LK = LL - TK = 22- 2 = 20 LJ = LK - TJ = 20 - 2 = 18 LI = LJ - TI = 18 - 2 = 16 LH = min [LI - TF, LI - TG] = min [ 16 - 5 = 11, 16 - 4 = 12] LG = LI - TG = 16- 4 = 12 LF = min [LG - TC, LG - TD] = min [12- 2 = 10, 12-1 = 11] LE = LI - TE = 16 - 10 = 6 LD = LE - TD = 6 - 1 = 5 LC = LD - TC = 5 - 2 = 3 LB = LC - TB = 3 - 2 = 1 LA = LB - TA = 1-1 = 0 Using the latest start times and the concept of float critical path can now be identify in the above network in the sense that if a critical activity takes longer than its estimated completion time the overall project completion time will increase. To complete the table and identify the critical path we must first calculate for the float or slack time. Float can be calculated as F = L - E which is the amount by which we can increase the time taken to complete activity without changing (increasing) the overall project completion time. Therefore we can form the table below . Duration (Days) Preceded by EST LST Slack or Float A 1 - 0 0 0 B 2 A 1 1 0 C 2 B 3 3 0 D 1 C 5 5 0 E 10 B 3 6 3 F 5 C,D 6 10 4 G 4 C 5 12 7 H 1 F,G 9 11 2 I 2 G 9 16 7 J 2 I 11 18 7 K 2 J 13 20 7 L 3 H,K 15 22 7 M 1 L 18 23 5 N 2 M 19 24 5 O 5 E,N 21 24 3 P 10 O 26 26 0 Any activity with a float of zero is critical. Hence the critical activities are A, B, C, D, and P. Therefore to complete the project it will takes us 36 days to complete it, so if the starting date of the project is July 1, 2006 the most probable date to finish it is on August 7, 2006. We have 7 weeks to complete the project in a 5 days working week. Problems may arise and may alter the target date of completion. One problem that has been mentioned in the case is that what if a 5 day delay in Finance Checks on the customer happens. First we determine if that activity belongs to the critical or non critical activity. Finance falls on activity F , it is non critical and will therefore not affect the float of the project completion time. Next thing that might happened, what if there is a 3 days ahead of completion in Payment Collection before schedule This activity falls in critical activity and will therefore affect the project completion time. It will increase the completion time. The last probable problem would be, a 2 day delay in purchasing. Activity F is a non critical activity and will affect the float of the project completion. The above Project Management model could be of help to the project manager in Case 2 assign to do a major project of developing a commercial supersonic airline and ensure that it is completed on time. The first thing to do is to choose a process model suited for the project. In this case the project manager can choose the PERT/ CPM just likes the procedure done in the above case. Identify all the activities that should be done and then estimating the time of possible completion. Periodically project managers should set aside some time to re-engineer part or all of the system. The extent of this work can vary considerably. In general, the objective of a re-engineering activity is to increase maintainability. Cost estimation could be the next activity. To estimate how much software engineering time will be required to do some work. Elapsed time is the difference between the time from the start date to the end date of a task or project. Development effort is the amount of labour used in person-months of person-days. To convert an estimate development effort to an amount of money. Building Soft ware engineering teams- this is a human process. Choosing an appropriate people for a team, and assigning roles and responsibilities to the team members, is therefore an important project management skill. Project managers should produce an egoless team. In such a team everybody is equal, and the team works together to achieve a common goal. Because of the egoless team decisions are made by consensus. This teams are suited to difficult projects such as this. The Structure of the subordinate in this team is to report to the manager and is responsible for performing the tasks delegated by the manager. Next thing a project manager should do is to make a Dummy Tasks. The said tasks is important it shows the dependency between 2 events where no activity is performed. Example 3,4 signify the compilation of separate modules. Create an event 5 to signify all modules compiled together. You can use broken lines to denote dummy tasks To start the Project Evaluation and Review (PERT) , identify amongst tasks. An example of Tasks with dependencies. To Start PERT, identify the dependencies amongst tasks. An example is the table of activity above. Task have its own preceded , you cannot start doing one activity without completing the first activity or you can do 2 activity at the same time if it doesn't have any preceded. Upon the completion of the table and the target activities an activity node will be done as seen in appendix 1. From here you can compute the following Easiest time start and Latest start time. From there we will be able to analyze the situation and identify the activity according to critical a non critical activity. It is important to identify the critical path to focus on that task and improved the task to avoid unnecessary delay of time. Deadline should be meet, it is important for the project manager to monitor whether past deadlines have slipped and whether future deadlines are going to slip. Estimating the duration, in this task don't just make - up numbers. Look at previous similar tasks from other projects and use those as guidelines. Try to identify factors such as difficulty, skill level; each weighing factor will help you make a better estimate. Factors to consider, difficulty of task, size of team, experience of team, number attitude and availability of end users, management commitment and other project in progress. There are techniques in estimating duration methodically. The Optimistic time wherein you estimate minimum amount of time required to do task. And the other is the Pessimistic time, it estimate the maximum amount of time required. After identifying the activity need to be done and computed all the necessary data it is now time to know whether you are a good leader. It is known to man that a good leader is a good follower ,careful analyze the weaknesses and strength of your subordinate for you to be able to identify who will be put in the team for this activity and so on. It doesn't matter how good the project is, if the one leading the project is not doing its job well. It is always a common knowledge that the outcome of every project depends on the leadership, quality of work and completion time. Difficulties and Risks in Project management: Accurately estimating costs is a constant challenge. It is very difficult to measure progress and meet deadlines. The following could be helpful: improve your cost estimation skills as to account for the kinds of problems that may occur. Develop a closer relationship with other members of the team. Be realistic in initial requirements gathering, and follow an interactive approach. Use earned value charts to monitor progress. It is difficult to deal with lack of human resources or technology needed to successfully run a project. When determining the requirement and the project plan, take into consideration the resources available. If you cannot find skilled people or suitable technology then you must limit the scope of your project. Communicating effectively in a large project is hard. Learn how to run effective meetings. Renew what information everybody should have, and make sure they have it. Make sure that project information is readily available. Use groupware technology to help people exchange the information they need to know. It is hard to obtain agreement and commitment from others. Difficulties and risks can be easily resolved if we have a good team and effective project plan. The project manager should focus not only to the plan but to its people and surrounding. Effective project plan can be successful if done accordingly and religiously. Word Count = 2500 References 1. OR notes by J.E Beasly, http://people.brunel.ac.uk 2. Project management.com, http:// www.projectmanagement.com Read More