The Kindergarten Project - Case Study Example

Final Report Name: Tutor: Course: Date: 1. Costed Time Reduction Strategy The kindergarten playground project is scheduled to take 32 days with a cost of $3000. This project is confronted with the idea of reducing the scheduled completion time. To meet the deadline, more labor will have to be assigned to most of the project activities in the way of assigning more resources like equipment and materials as well as overtime (ICPMA, 2002). It is worth noting that reducing the overall duration requires additional resources and labor. The decision to reduce the Kindergarten playground project is based on the analysis obtained from time and cost trade-offs. Time of one of the critical activities is reduced lower than its normal assigned duration. The objective here is to reduce project duration while minimizing project costs as a result of crashing and avoiding penalties of not finishing the project in time (Kerzner, 2004). The part appearing in red is the critical path (Thieraus et al, 2009). The Gantt chart will be elaborated further below; Figure 1: Network diagram of Kindergarten Playground project The slack time and crashing costs are based on the table below; Activity Description Predecessor Duration (days) Resource A Procuring building materials - 4 Drew B Leveling the Playground - 6 Jack C Erecting play toys and structures A 4 Samson D Fencing A 6 Henry E Planting Trees and Grass B,D 8 Drew F Inspection for safety C 6 Susan G Open day for Kids at the play ground E 10 Jack H Play ground opened for kids G,F 4 Drew The analysis of early times shows the playground project takes 32 days. The crash time will depend on the slack and normal cost of each activity. Critical path A-D-E-G-H Activity Duration (days) Slack Crash Normal cost($) Crash cost ($) A 4 0 1 900 1100 B 6 2 1 500 700 C 4 2 1 450 600 D 3 0 3 350 570 E 8 0 2 400 550 F 6 4 2 150 300 G 10 0 2 100 180 H 4 0 1 120 210 For instance, costs are saved when fencing activity is crashed from 6 days to 3 days. Total crash time is 6-3=3 days. Total crash cost will be crash-normal cost (570-350=$220). Crash cost per day: Total crash cost ($220)/ Total crash time (3) =$73.3 per day. As shown in the graph, when the project duration is crashed from 32 days to 25 days (20% less than the required completion time) the direct project costs go up but the indirect costs are reduced in the long run and should not exceed $3000. 2. Quality Management System The Kindergarten project is evaluated on the basis of meeting certain standards desired of any playground. The project should be finished within the schedule and that all the employees, methods and materials were used. The tools and materials used were those advised earlier and that nothing was left for re-work. To ensure quality of all project activities, tasks were made to flow in a certain path using the Gantt chart and network diagram. One deliverable was completed at the time like delivering playground items before erecting them on the playground. The project manager checked and inspected all the delivered items to ensure that they met the standards and quantity. The outcomes were also checked and inspected based on presentation, safety, attractiveness, purpose and satisfaction. The project quality assessment is presented below; ID Item Quality standards 1 Tools Correct tools used, standard measures advised for each tool e.g. mallet, saws, and hammer. Tools are reliable and comfortable to work with while sharp parts are secured, filed and greased at all times. 2 Materials Correct materials used as procured. The quality of metal sheets and wooden planks are enhanced. For instance, wood type advised is Podo while metal should range from Aluminum foils to stainless steel. Nails should range from 1” to 3” for various joineries 3 Labor Employee hired based on skills and experience of construction work. All employees report and leave work at required times. Each individual is assigned responsibility to be accomplished in schedule. Every employee remunerated according to the terms agreed. 4 Processes All the schedule costs and work processes are completed with 95% effectiveness and efficiency. Teamwork enhanced and practiced at all times. The methods used should be simple and flowing. 5 Outcomes The project should be attractive, purposed and fit for use by Kindergarten children aged two to five years. The magnitude of injury should be reduced to less than 2%. Children should find ease of use and interaction will all the play items at the ground. Trees, grass and fences are attractive and well situated. 3. Team Superior Performance The project will maximize on superior team performance so as to achieve its objectives and goals in appropriate time. The following will be the critical steps taken by the project manager in ensuring superior team performance (Hillson & Webster, 2004). Improve team performance to speed project completion: The common methods of speeding up project completion will be reducing the risk elements that frustrate the project work. Using scheduling techniques like Gantt charts and PERT techniques will focus the project to higher levels of success. The MS Project software will be used to generate project time, schedule and costing reports as well as resources utility. Use of turbo brainstorming to open communication channels: Communication between all the stakeholders especially sponsors, Kindergarten management, employees and the Kids will be done at suitable times using all the open channels of communication convenient for every stakeholder. Brainstorming will ensure that all the bottlenecks, strengths and weaknesses are brought to the fore. Share knowledge: Any useful information or threat to the project is discussed through consultations and focus groups. The school management will be able to provide information on the outdoor activities of the kids while the project manager can provide knowledge on the latest technology on play toys and procedures used in building them. Reduce disconnects: All the barriers existing between employees, suppliers, school management and sponsors must be lowered to ensure project success. Harmonious relationships are advised (Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, 2011). Speed decision making: The project team should be able to come to conclusion and informed decisions regarding methods, materials, compensation, re-work and processes. This allows for speedier completion of the project. Building trust: All employees should learn to trust the project manager as well as themselves. Trust makes the work to flow since all the personnel are entrusted with non-supervised responsibilities. Expediting the brainstorming phase of team formation: Brainstorming is essential in ensuring that elements of the project are brought out. Challenges and successes are discussed with checks and balances placed to ensure control of the project are within the hands of the manager (Mulcahy, 2003). Building commitment: All the employees should be committed to working as a team and allowing for discrete goals to be achieved. All the efforts and energies must be directed to completing the project in the desired way. Learning how to encourage initiative: If any employees has a better idea or principle of doing work, the manager should listen and accommodate such view. This can be discussed and evaluated for relevance and suitability. Empower novice team members: In case there are team members appearing in such responsibilities for the first time, they should be encouraged and given the necessary support to perform and feel part of the team (PMBOK® Guide, 2005). Challenging teams with stretch goals: Teams should always be directed towards outstanding outcomes and milestones. Achievement of all the deliverables is pertinent Developing creative solutions: Ensuring that each time an activity is done, the results are much better than those observed from previous projects with better orientation to innovativeness and creativity. Resolve conflicts constructively: Any differences on the types of tools, materials, processes, and labor compensation should be resolved amicably and with the desire to objectively provide a quality and desirable outcomes. 4. Monitoring and Evaluation System The project will be monitored and evaluated for cost, schedule and time needed for completion. The presentation will be in the form of a table where the cost will be compared with baseline costs as the project is in progress (Charvat, 2005). Similar case will apply to time and schedule. Monitoring will be elaborated as shown in the table below; Item Control Procedure Time The baseline duration is earlier determined. All the project activities are assigned time depending on the amount of work. Any drift in time shows that the activity may have began late or finished late (Palmer, 2009). The occurrence of slacks means that such points can allow for crashing or fast tracking of the project Using the fast racking and resource leveling platforms to ensure time and cost trade-offs do not alter the constraints of the project by a wider margin. Allowing for change management in time adjustments using Gantt charts Cost The baseline costs just like time are controlled to ensure that the cost of every activity is within the plan. Any drift in cost will be corrected with crashing which reduces overall project costs. Measurements are based on percentages of cost of work progress (Mooz & Cotterman, 2007). Cost-time tradeoffs can be recorded in a graph showing the proportion of costs of work in progress as compared to the baseline costs. Quality The specification of the various items must be checked with those ordered using a checklist. The skills and experiences of employees should also meet the stipulated requirements. All the tools used must fit the job describe. The processes and methods of doing work must conform with costs and time (Wysocki & McGary, 2005). Use of checklist, questionnaires and interview schedules to record baselines and work progress while checking for any discrepancy Resources and Responsibilities All the available resources are kept and utilized well. Care should be taken against pilferage, impropriety and wastage of resources. The job description of each employee should meet the standards of work and no one is overburdened or assigned lighter roles (Project Management Institute, 2000). Using checklists and questionnaires to determine the activities of employees. The project manager to observe the performance of procedures, tools, materials and systems as a measure of success. 5. Closure Conditions and Form The project can only be termed as complete when it has met all the basic conditions and form from the view of all the stakeholders. Before the project is closed all the work in progress should have attained 100% status in completion. The inspection and testing stages should confirm that the materials, tools, labor and procedures were maximized and that all the deliverable and milestones were achieved (Chapman, 1997). The Kindergarten project should display fit and suitability for use by the children between two and five years. The closure conditions will also be presented in the table below; ID Description Conditions Tool 1 Project Activities The project at the time of closure should show completion where all the required activities in the Gantt chart. The activities must have fulfilled quality and quantity needs (Mathis, 2009). The logical set of activities was observed and that each activity covered the assigned cost, time and schedule. Reports and Audits 2 Processes All the methods of doing work reflect innovativeness, design, creativity and sequence. The processes were understood by all the employees and were meant to meet the described procedures. The processes such as joinery, welding, leveling, fencing, finishing and laying were done in the time, cost and schedule with a proper mix of labor and skills. Audits 3 Outcomes The ultimate outcomes will be the playground with all the play materials for kids aged two and five. The rationale of determining closure conditions for the outcomes will be safety for kids, satisfaction and attraction to the children. The project must appeal and be convenient to use (Milosevic, 2001). Reports and Inspection schedules 6. Obstacles to Success The project obstacles will be the risks incurred before, during and after the project. The risks specified here are those that are likely to affect project progress since the risks likely to come after the project are included into the project and handled as conditions that must be met (Carly, 2004). The table below will be used as a management plan to mitigate and have a long-term plan for potential risks. Risk Impact Frequency of occurrence Early mitigation measures Ownership Long-term measures Delay in delivery of construction materials High Low Provide a list of requirements in time Sue Enlist the services of procurement consultants Changes in time schedule Medium Medium Crash the project to about 25 days Jackson Adjust the schedule to allow for a one week delay Injuries caused by carpentry tools High Medium Provide first aid kits for employees Drew Provide protective tools to the users 7. Recommendations The kindergarten project will require use of project planning tools especially Gantt chart and network diagrams to ensure completion of the project within the required duration of 32 days. The control system requires a progress monitoring of quality, cost and time in ensuring that all the constraints are within the requirements (Archer & Ghasemzadeh, 1999). The feasibility study done must show that the project will be suitable for the tow and five year old kids and that all the risk, communication, human resource, planning tools, procurement and scheduling processes are in place. The project stakeholders must be briefed before and during project progress on issues relating to costs, time and suitability of the project. The project will have change management structures on best teams and schedules (Lientz & Rea, 2001). The project will be crashed or fast tracked if it does not meet the stipulated time. This means that the project time will be reduced to about 25 days from the 32 days while costs should be go beyond $3000. References Archer N. P., & Ghasemzadeh F, (1999). An Integrated Framework for Project Portfolio Selection. International Journal of Project Management, 17, 4 (1999) 207-216. Carly, L. (2004). Project Management Primer.. Bureau of Reclamation, p. 2. Chapman, J R. (1997). Project control management. New York, Xavier Press. Charvat, J. (2005). Project Management Methodologies: Selecting, Implementing, and Supporting Methodologies and Processes for Projects, , John Wiley & Sons Hillson, D. & Webster R. M. (2004). Understanding and Managing Risk Attitude. Murrey Press. ICPMA, (2002). Response to Standards Australia on: Draft Standard for Project Performance Measurement. V5.6, International Council for Project Management Advancement. Lientz, B.P & Rea, K.P. (2001). Breakthrough Technology Project Management. San Diego: Academic Press. Kerzner, H. (2004). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, Eighth Edition, John Wiley & Sons. Mathis, M. (2009). Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls. Milosevic, D. Z. (2001). Project Management ToolBox: Tools and Techniques for the Practicing Project Manager. Mooz, H. PMP, & Cotterman, H. (2007). Visualizing Project Management: A Model for Business and Technical Success, Second Edition, Kevin Forsberg, Ph.D, John Wiley & Sons Mulcahy, R. (2003). Risk Management: Tricks of the Trade for Project Managers. Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, (2011). A working tool for project managers. Journal of project management. John Wiley and Sons. Palmer, J. (2009). Change management in practice: Why does change fail? PMBOK® Guide, (2005). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Project Management Institute, 3rd Edition. 2004, p. 16. Project Management Institute, (2000). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Second Edition. (PMBOK Guide): Project Management Institute. (2005). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: Project Management Institute, (2007). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, A (PMBOK Guide), Third Edition, Thieraus, R J et al. (2009). Project scheduling: PERT/CPM. Project management handbook. Yale: Blackwell publishers. Wysocki, R. K. & McGary, R. (2005). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme 3rd Edition. Read More