Management of Projects and Project Planning - Assignment Example

Management of Projects Introduction: Project planning is an intentional approach, which is helpful for attaining the goals of any organization. Whileundertaking a project, it is very important to take into consideration certain aspects like time and costs. In addition to this, the risk and quality are also playing an important role in this regard. Nowadays, communication is treated as an intellectual discipline, and the departments of communication vary from organization to organization in accordance with the nature and scope of the relevant fields of operation. Due to the intervention of recent technologies, there is overall development taking place in the industrial world. However, in every enterprise proper project management is a key factor that determines the success or failure of venture. Certain factors are highly based on the project work such as: 1. The budgeted cost should be more than the actual cost of the project. 2. There should be a well defined time frame for conducting the stipulated project work. 3. There should be a thorough verification and evaluation of the areas of difficulties. Even though these factors are very crucial for conducting the project work, then also, there are a lot of limitations inherited in the area of project and research. These may be broadly defined as: 1. Failure to make a complete plan about the project work. 2. Lack of proper co-ordination. 3. Other technical problems. It is very essential to take into consideration the SMART objectives, which are relevant to the proposed project. These can be identified as four characteristics: Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Relevant. Among these the most relevant concepts are Specific and Achievable. Because the objectives of the project should be specific and these should be achievable within the time limit it is crucial in determining whether a project can be concluded successfully. Other than this, for undertaking the project work, SWOT Analysis is also very essential. “Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan”. (Project Management. 2007). Task 1 1) Network Diagram: Dummy activity Dummy activity Dummy activity 2) Timing of activities and the total float Activity Duration (Days) Earliest Starting Time (E) Earliest Finish Time (E+D) Latest Finish Time (L) Latest Starting Time (L-D) Total Float (L-D)-E A 10 0 10 10 0 0 B 5 10 15 15 10 0 C 1 15 16 16 15 0 D 2 16 18 18 16 0 E 3 18 21 21 18 0 F 2 21 23 23 21 0 G 2 23 25 25 23 0 H 15 25 40 40 25 0 I 7 40 47 47 40 0 J 2 47 49 49 47 0 K 2 16 18 44 42 26 L 2 18 20 46 44 26 M 2 20 22 48 46 26 N 5 10 15 59 54 44 O 5 49 54 54 49 0 P 5 54 59 59 54 0 Q 3 10 13 40 37 27 R 1 13 14 41 40 27 S 4 14 18 45 41 27 T 2 18 20 47 45 27 U 2 20 22 49 47 27 V 1 22 23 49 48 26 W 10 49 59 59 49 0 For undertaking the project work of IT field, it is very important to take into account significance the importance of network diagram. Not only this, but also the timing of activities is also a matter of priority. The basic and fundamental managerial functions play a pivotal role in analyzing and evaluating the task of relevant projects in a systematic manner. “TOTAL FLOAT is the spare time available when all preceding activities occur at the earliest possible times and all succeeding activities occur at the latest possible times. Total Float = Latest Start - Earliest Start Activities with zero Total float are on the Critical Path FREE FLOAT is the spare time available when all preceding activities occur at the earliest possible times and all succeeding activities occur at the earliest possible times. When an activity has zero Total float, Free float will also be zero.” (Tabulation and Analysis of Activities. 2003). 3) The project duration and the critical path The duration of the whole project is 59 days. It is the earliest date with which the whole project can be completed. Critical Path: A B C D E F G H I J O P W 4) Suppose the work starts on the 1st of January 2008, with 5 working days a week (Monday to Friday), total duration of the project is 59 days. So the earliest possible date to complete the project is on 21st March 2008. 5) a) If the developing print advertising layouts with the agency are delayed by 10 days, the new duration of the activity ‘S’ will be 14 days. But it will not affect the duration of the project and the project will be complete within 59 days. It is because the activity ‘S’ does not lie on the critical path. Only the activity lying on the critical path can cause a delay in the duration of the whole project. b) When the build component by the IT Company completes 3 days before schedule it will affect the duration of the whole project. Now the new duration of the activity ‘H’ will reduce to 12 days. The activity ‘H’ is lying on the critical path. So the whole duration of the project is reduced by 3 days and the new duration will be 56 days. c) If backing up of Atlas’s website denoted by activity ‘K’ is delayed by 5 days it will not affect the duration of the project since that activity is not in the critical path. So the duration of the project remains the same at 59 days. Benefits of Network Diagram- Network Diagram is reflecting a number of benefits to its users. Due to the relevant implementation of network diagram concept, it becomes possible to share work, and to solve the problems in a speedy manner. Similarly, it is also possible to avoid various errors to a certain extent. Due to network diagram, a number of benefits are being provided to its users. Similarly, the concept of network diagram is very essential for maintaining a proper plan about the entire project. Apart from this, it is possible to share the work in an easy manner. TASK-2 In this particular project work, the 2012 Olympic Games in London are likely to present significant challenges to the transport system in the City. Project planning is a continuous process. While undertaking the project planning and feasibility project report, it is quite important to give stress for both internal and external factors of a business and its prevailing environment as a whole. Internal factors are- 1. Scope of the project. 2. Project location of the proposed plan. 3. Organizational goal. 4. Management approach. 5. Availability of manpower resources. External factors are- 1. Industry stability. 2. State of technology. 3. Industrial competitors. 4. Government regulations. 5. Public and market needs. The 2012 Olympics scheduled to be conducted in London puts pressure on the government to pump funds for infrastructure development. Though much of the development has been taken place in the recent past the crowd expected to be arrived for witnessing the event means that a much better infrastructure is required. Transportation is the foremost area to be focused in the process. The railways and tramways are the busiest and commonly used mode of transport. At the time of the event these are expected to become busier. Therefore more development should be done in these areas. Major focus lines for transport enhancement Investment in the rail transport can be focused on the following areas: 1) introduction of new rail tracks 2) introduction of new services in the present schedule Introduction of new rail tracks require more investment. This can be introduced either as an underground way or as a normal way. The underground passage has shown very less accidents when compared to the normal mode. But the expenses for introducing new tracks in the underground system are more when compared to the normal way. There for investment in the normal way is preferably better. The new railway lines and services must connect not only the major cities but also the small towns. This will attract the people who are from the small towns too. The railway lines must also be in close connection with other transportation mode so that the passengers would feel at ease to shift from one mode to another. Introduction of new services in the present schedule requires less investment when compared to the first method. This involves filling the gap between any two services. The change has to be carried on with necessary planning as the introduction of new services requires a time change in the whole schedule. This change must not affect the normal passengers. Tramway is another feasible and most reliable source of transportation. Compared to the road and rail transport this consumes less space. Although London has a very good network of tramways to it would not be sufficient to carry the crowd that is expected to witness the event. Tramway is very economical and also this makes the in-city transportation very easier. As a result the people are expected to adopt this mode for transportation. At the time of evaluating the project plan, Cost- Benefit analysis is playing a key role. Accuracy of the out come of this analysis is based on how accurately the cost and benefit have been estimated. Business plan is a more substantial and detailed document providing guidance for fulfilling the objectives of the concern. Feasibility of a project is ascertained in terms of economic and technical factors. Technical feasibility refers to the ability of the process to take advantage of the current state of the technology in following the further improvement of the organization as a whole. In addition to this, the financial viability is also playing an important role in this concept. “The spending for the project deliverables are always in terms of costs, irrespective of the nature of the product such as research costs, labour costs, overhead cost etc. Therefore it would be ideal to label all the necessary expenditure incurred during the project implementation, which deserves to be treated as cost. The production cost depends on availability of the information about the required resources, manpower, work programme, type of technology, available resources, and distribution costs, skills of the labour.” (What are the features and qualities to be considered while preparing the project feasibility report? Proposed cost structure. 2007). Financial feasibility is mainly essential for improving the over all development of the projected finance. Project viability is also significant in this regard. Feasibility analysis of a project is very essential for undertaking the future oriented programmes. Financial feasibility helps to determine the overall cost structure, and on the basis of which both actual and projected figures is identifiable. In relation to the financial viability of a project, it is also necessary to evaluate NPV (Net Present Value, Pay back period etc. While undertaking the financial analysis and viability of a project, certain factors are taken in to consideration like financial viability and adequate implementation of the project. In addition to this, for making an evaluation about the adequate/ finest capital structure, the feasibility plays a crucial role. “capital structure optimization and financial viability analysis that reflects the characteristics of project financing, incorporates simulation and financial engineering techniques, and aims for win–win results for both public and private sectors. This quantitative methodology defines the capital structure of a privatized project in four dimensions, examines different project participants’ perspectives of the capital structure, optimizes the capital structure, and evaluates the project’s financial viability when it is under construction risk, bankruptcy risk and various economic risks, and is subject to other constraints imposed by different project participants.” (Zhang, 2005). Rather than this, it is important to give stress for the process of the project, its life cycle or duration etc. The infrastructure facility is having a key role, while undertaking an Olympic games; likely it is one of the major aspects of the project’s viability. In order to undertake the project work, the project manager have to play a key role for making the determination about the location where the Olympic s will going to be set up, the overall budget, and other relevant aspects required for the project work. Not only this, the project manager should also be a good leader, and then only it is possible for maintaining proper incorporation as well as co-ordination among the members related to the relevant project. “The role of the Project Manager in the context of a major sporting event is very broad and encompasses much more than the traditional time and cost management responsibility. It is about understanding how the event will be operated, identifying and tracking the linkages between the many and disparate streams of planning, balancing the needs of constituent groups, tracking progress across functional areas and across multiple, linked venues within a total organizational framework.” (Sloman 2003). Then also, there are lots of risks associated with a project work, and it is necessary to solve out to a certain extend. Therefore, while undertaking the project work of any category, it is important to maintain a proper planning about the overall structure of the project. Moreover, the work being carried on in a systematic manner, an appropriate plan is essential. Works cited Project Management. (2007). Free management Library. [online]. Last accessed 8 October 2007 at: http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm SLOMAN, Jim (2003). Project Management and Cost. Project Managers. Architecture and international Sporting Events- Future Planning and Development Joint Conference. [online]. International Olympic Committee. Last accessed 8 October 2007 at: http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_645.pdf Tabulation and Analysis of Activities. (2003). PERT/CPM for Project Scheduling & Management. [online]. Intervention. Last accessed 8 October 2007 at: http://www.interventions.org/pertcpm.html What are the features and qualities to be considered while preparing the project feasibility report? Proposed cost structure. (2007). [online]. MANAGEMENT-HUB.COM. Last accessed 8 October 2007 at: http://www.management-hub.com/project-feasibility-report.html ZHANG, Xueqing (2005). Financial Viability Analysis and Capital Structure Optimization in Privatized Public Infrastructure Projects. [online]. ACSE Publications. Last accessed 8 October 2007 at: http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?0522616 Read More