Critical Path Analysis, the Scantel Project - Essay Example

Introduction To understand the project and to identify the tasks that contribute to the risks and delays a critical path analysis will be very useful. Any task involving more than a single operation can be analyzed into sets of component activities. Success or failure of the projects depends upon the ability of the management to schedule the activities. Information on likely activity durations, cost and necessary sequences are the key factors that are useful in Network analysis. By determining critical activities, clarifying responsibility and improving control, network analysis and critical path method are helpful to identify and eliminate bottlenecks in a project. Critical path analysis For the Scantel project the tabulation of the time required by various activities and the estimation of the critical path method is calculated and shown in Appendix - 1. From the table it is known that the most critical events are No. 1, 4, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15,34, 35, 36, 46, 47, 48, 40 and 50. The meaning of this is that, the completion of these activities are crucial for the completion of the project. If there is a delay in these activities, the entire project can get delayed. If these event numbers are interpreted from the Scantel event listing, (Appendix 21.3), it shows that the critical path activities lie mostly in the processes of a) Making the system components b) Developing the control logic c) All testing activities d) Performing the final tests The activities that are related to these activities are the start systems engineering, complete interface transient tests, complete compatibility testing. These activities can cause delay because this was the first time such system was being developed. It will be very critical because, Callister has to first decide the major parts of the system, their functions and how they are related to each other. After the architecture is decided the next issue is to decide whether the components should be developed in-house or to be bought and redesigned. Hence, the procurement of all the prototypes and overall simulation is going to be a potentially time delaying event. The next group of activities which are potentially time delaying are developing the control logic(event 11,12,14,15). It is felt by Callister as the most complex electronic design and software engineering task and has proven to be the most difficult to plan and estimate. The instrument Development team which was heavily consulted by the Scantel team for these activities, had very little experience of this type of work. Also in the Instrument development team, young software engineer had been recruited to handle this job for the Scantel project. But based on his expertise it was difficult to determine the completion times confidently. All testing activities which include events 34, 36, 47, 48 and 49 are all events that can cause potential time delays. These testing activities can cause potential time delays because it involves the coordination and analysis of all the subsystems. But it is healthy for the project to be on a tight schedule in this phase because it will be advantageous in the later stages of the project. The cost or time overrun in the early stages of the project might actually be a superior design effort which would reduce the time and money required for the entire effort. If early stages of the project looks expensive, it is possible that it could bring down the costs at the later stages of the project. Especially event 34 can be delayed because of possible delays in development of lens, development of chassis and body and development of the display system. In the network it is shown that the main tasks associated are separated into engineering, testing and rework phases. It seems that each phase is independent. But the potential threat of rework after the system and integration testing would be strongly dependent on the amount and quality of prior engineering. The testing events may cause time delay to the project because all the prior engineering works have to pass this stage and sometimes rework may be needed. Hence, event 34 is a bottleneck in the flow of events for the entire project. To make sure that event 34 goes smoothly, manufacturing the lens can be made by finding out alternative sources from outside and on the other hand, for the display system, Callister has to find out if there is any alternate from the inside sources. The main idea behind these suggestions is that, it is better to have more than one source for procurement of components. Instead of depending on just one source, it is always better to have an alternative to be used just in case. The other activity which may cause time delay may be the development of the lens. But this activity cannot cause any traffic for other activities because it is not a part of the critical path. The development of lens was particularly critical because the shape was complex and the degree of curvature not more than 0.0005 on the projected image would be permissible if the system was to perform to its intended specifications. Callister was heavily relying on the skills of the experts in the optics group at the Leicester group to produce the lens of the required high tolerance. It was believed that the optical technicians were craft oriented than science oriented. As the trial and error approach was adopted to produce the lens of the required specification it was difficult to estimate the time required. Though this activity is not a part of the critical path, if this activity is delayed then the testing activity (event 34) will be delayed which may cause delay of the subsequent activities. Another potential event of delay will be the design of the display system, because the display system has to be manufactured entirely out of the company and tested and calibrated and the team was not sure about the delivery time. The strategies to be adopted for the timely completion of this project will be to accelerate the activities which cause time delays. In appendix 21.6 it shows the activities that can be accelerated to overcome time delays. The first activity that can cause time delay is the development of simulation or the entire system. This can be overcome by the consultative process of various engineering teams in the organization. But Callister is of the opinion that more number of people know about the project, more is the danger of leak in information. Hence, it is a very difficult position for Callister and his team. Strategies for overcoming delays The first major bottleneck in this project as shown in the network diagram is the event no. 5, i.e., complete costing and purchasing tender planning. Because of the security concerns Callister plans to outsource majority of the components are purchased from outside specialist companies. This event can cause time delay because it includes external influences. But this activity can be accelerated by 2 weeks and can be completed in three weeks. The next step of control logic should be carefully analyzed to formulate a strategy. The weaknesses in this event are that lack of previous experience of the staff. To overcome this weakness Callister can search and find out of there is any expertise available from outside sources. The expertise available outside the company and the cost of development can be compared with the development cost from the Instrument Development division. Also analysis should be carried out whether only one software engineer is sufficient to handle such an important task. Hence, appraisal has to be done about the ideal number of software engineers needed. Also, from the case study it is evident that the control logic system is going to be more of a trial and error method. Hence, the completion times could not be estimated. This approach can be altered by addition of expertise to the team. Total dependence on one software engineer who had only limited experience cannot be counted for successful completion of the event. To avoid the threat of time delay in the completion of the project, the following strategies can be adopted: 1. Identification of the HR skills and sourcing expertise In each stage of development of the project and for each event, the type os skills needed shouldbe estimated. These skills may be from inside the prganisation or from outside sources. It should not matter. The most important thing is how are we going to source the skills. If it is economical and faster to get an expertise from inside the company, it is better to utilize the talent rather thinking about the chances of leakage of information about the new project. The experts from within the company can be carefully scrutinized and selected and made to sign a contract of confidentiality and a breach would lead to serious problems. If the expertise is to be procured from outside a closer scrutiny of the track record and cpabailites of the supplier should be done to ensure that expertise is useful for the completion of the project without delays. Sourcing from outside can be uncertain sometimes because of the influence of conditions beyond our control. Hence, it would be more advisable to source from inside. 2. Forming , norming and controlling teams After the identification of the expertise needed and the analysis of the sources, then proper delegation of authority, responsibility and accountability should be assigned. The teams formed for the development of various subsystems should have the authority and must be responsible for the results and accountable for the delays. Authority without responsibility makes people autocrats and responsibility without authority makes team members toothless and managers without accountability are reckless. Hence, a combination of these three factors is very essential with respect to the formation of effective teams. The success of the Scantel project does not solely depend on Callister but on a group of people who are empowered to make decisions. For the effective functioning of these teams, it is essential to provide proper support. The teams need a lot of economic, moral and technical support to achieve success. This support can be offered by having regular meetings/ conferences to discuss the problems faced by each team and how the teams can be mutually helpful. It is also very vital that Callister is a person with good leadership and interpersonal skills. The leadership skills of the project leader can be transmitted to other team players so that the achievement of the goal becomes a common target not Callister's target. The leadership skills can be very useful to provide the necessary support and coordination for the smooth functioning of each team. 3. Acceleration of activities Also there is another option of acceleration of activities. The cost of acceleration and the time that can be saved are provided in Appendix 21.6 of the case study. After a analysis and after the starting of the activities and if the project cannot be made into prototype within the particular period then it is better to think of using the event acceleration technique. But the acceleration effort includes cost. Hence, a correct estimation of the cost and benefit should be analyzed before deciding to accelerate the activities. If we assume that all the important activities are accelerated as given in the appendix 21.6, the cost of acceleration increases by $ 489,520(assumed that 1.6 x $ = 1 ).hence, there will be a 10.87% increase in the project cost. To decide whether this cost is essential the project managers have to weigh the costs of late delivery of prototype. The costs of accelerating the activities and not accelerating should be compared. Conclusion For the timely completion of the project, it is essential that first the human resources are motivated and empowered. Next the availability of other resources like, technology, infrastructure and finance. For a major project like this, the human resource is the first and foremost factor that decides the success or failure of the project. Hence, if Callister is able to form creatively motivated teams the Scantel project could be a landmark in the history of Vixen Instruments Limited for years to come. Appendix - 1 Estimation of Critical Path method EVENT NO. (Ti) (ESi) (LSi) (EFi) (Lfi) (Si) CRITICAL PATH MOST LIKELY COMPLETION TIME(m) OPTIMISTIC COMPLETION TIME(a) PESSIMISTIC COMPLETION TIME(b) 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 yes 0.00 0.00 0.00 2 2.17 2.00 8.00 4.17 10.17 6.00 no 2.00 1.00 4.00 3 1.17 1.00 8.00 2.17 9.17 7.00 no 1.00 1.00 2.00 4 7.50 8.00 8.00 15.50 15.50 0.00 yes 8.00 4.00 9.00 5 2.00 8.00 8.00 10.00 10.00 0.00 yes 2.00 1.00 3.00 6 5.33 15.00 19.00 20.33 24.33 4.00 no 5.00 4.00 8.00 7 5.50 15.00 20.00 20.50 25.50 5.00 no 5.00 5.00 8.00 8 5.83 16.00 16.00 21.83 21.83 0.00 yes 6.00 4.00 7.00 9 4.83 20.00 24.00 24.83 28.83 4.00 no 5.00 3.00 6.00 10 4.17 19.00 24.00 23.17 28.17 5.00 no 4.00 2.00 7.00 11 8.00 24.00 24.00 32.00 32.00 0.00 yes 8.00 7.00 9.00 12 0.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 0.00 yes 0.00 0.00 0.00 13 5.17 29.00 29.00 34.17 34.17 0.00 yes 5.00 5.00 6.00 14 2.17 31.00 31.00 33.17 33.17 0.00 yes 2.00 1.00 4.00 15 10.00 41.00 41.00 51.00 51.00 0.00 yes 10.00 9.00 11.00 16 6.17 16.00 29.00 22.17 35.17 13.00 no 6.00 5.00 8.00 17 10.00 20.00 29.00 30.00 39.00 9.00 no 10.00 8.00 12.00 18 11.50 11.00 27.00 22.50 38.50 16.00 no 11.00 10.00 15.00 19 11.17 11.00 27.00 22.17 38.17 16.00 no 11.00 9.00 14.00 20 0.00 20.00 29.00 20.00 29.00 9.00 no 0.00 0.00 0.00 21 0.00 11.00 27.00 11.00 27.00 16.00 no 0.00 0.00 0.00 22 1.33 21.00 32.00 22.33 33.33 11.00 no 1.00 1.00 3.00 23 2.00 20.00 29.00 22.00 31.00 9.00 no 2.00 1.00 3.00 24 5.00 25.00 36.00 30.00 41.00 11.00 no 5.00 3.00 7.00 25 2.33 23.00 35.00 25.33 37.33 12.00 no 2.00 1.00 5.00 26 4.00 25.00 36.00 29.00 40.00 11.00 no 4.00 3.00 5.00 27 6.67 27.00 36.00 33.67 42.67 9.00 no 7.00 3.00 9.00 28 6.17 29.00 41.00 35.17 47.17 12.00 no 6.00 5.00 8.00 29 0.00 27.00 38.00 27.00 38.00 11.00 no 0.00 0.00 0.00 30 5.17 30.00 41.00 35.17 46.17 11.00 no 5.00 4.00 7.00 31 5.17 32.00 41.00 37.17 46.17 9.00 no 5.00 4.00 7.00 32 7.83 18.00 39.00 25.83 46.83 21.00 no 8.00 2.00 13.00 33 2.17 20.00 41.00 22.17 43.17 21.00 no 2.00 1.00 4.00 34 0.00 41.00 41.00 41.00 41.00 0.00 yes 0.00 0.00 0.00 35 1.17 42.00 42.00 43.17 43.17 0.00 yes 1.00 1.00 2.00 36 1.17 43.00 43.00 44.17 44.17 0.00 yes 1.00 1.00 2.00 37 0.00 10.00 29.00 10.00 29.00 19.00 no 0.00 0.00 0.00 38 10.17 20.00 23.00 30.17 33.17 3.00 no 10.00 8.00 13.00 39 4.33 14.00 33.00 18.33 37.33 19.00 no 4.00 2.00 8.00 40 0.00 14.00 33.00 14.00 33.00 19.00 no 0.00 0.00 0.00 41 5.17 19.00 38.00 24.17 43.17 19.00 no 5.00 4.00 7.00 42 7.33 26.00 45.00 33.33 52.33 19.00 no 7.00 5.00 11.00 43 14.50 32.00 35.00 46.50 49.50 3.00 no 12.00 9.00 30.00 44 6.17 38.00 41.00 44.17 47.17 3.00 no 6.00 3.00 10.00 45 2.17 40.00 43.00 42.17 45.17 3.00 no 2.00 1.00 4.00 46 2.17 45.00 45.00 47.17 47.17 0.00 yes 2.00 1.00 4.00 47 7.17 52.00 52.00 59.17 59.17 0.00 yes 7.00 5.00 10.00 48 2.33 54.00 54.00 56.33 56.33 0.00 yes 2.00 2.00 4.00 49 2.50 56.00 56.00 58.50 58.50 0.00 yes 2.00 1.00 6.00 50 2.50 57.00 57.00 59.50 59.50 0.00 yes 1.00 1.00 10.00 References 1. 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