Chapter 6 HW - Project Management In A Technological Environment PDF

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Project Management In A Technological Environment...

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4. Yes, a Gantt chart can be created from a network and a network can be created from a Gantt chart. They both visualize similar information, although a network more clearly visualizes what task MUST come before others. On the other hand, Gantt charts are used more as an overall project time frame visualization. They both have unique advantages.

5. The critical path is the path with the longest route. This means that is no slack in the path and that if one of the components were to be delayed or not completed on time, the entire project would need to be extended. Managers try to reduces the amount of task and variables along the critical path to try to avoid delays. It is critical to understand the critical path when setting deadlines and planning projects.

6. Total Slack Definition If total slack is a positive number, it indicates the amount of time that the task can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. If total slack is a negative number, it indicates the amount of time that must be saved so that the project finish date is not delayed.

Free Slack Definition

Free slack (or free float) refers to how much time a task can be delayed before a subsequent task — or the entire project itself — is likewise delayed. The term is used primarily in the Critical Path Method where a project's critical activities are plotted on a timeline.

Differences Between Total Slack & Free Slack Total Slack : Amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying project. Free Slack : Time an activity can be delayed without delaying start of any successor activity.

Total Slack = EF-ES Free Slack = LF-LS Total Slack : Limited amount of activities are scheduled Free Slack : Many activities are scheduled as it deals with successive/continuous operations. Total Slack : Managers cannot find the errors and its effects. Free Slack : Managers can immediately identify the errors caused and its effects. Total Slack : un- important activities become important Free Slack : un- important activities may not become important Total Slack : Managers will get flexibility for scheduling un-important activities Free Slack : There is no such activity which is not important Total Slack : Non- Critical activities are scheduled to happen ASAP Free Slack : There is no need for this as there is no involvement of “non-activity” activity Total Slack : Network analysis should be done before gantt chart is created Free Slack : There is no such need here Total Slack: Activities are mostly scheduled as per early times

Free Slack : Activities start as the previous work completes Total Slack : It doesn’t effect cost over run Free Slack : It effects cost over run

7. Early Start: ES is known as Early start. Early start can be defined as the earliest time that a project can start and in this form if all the prior activities have scheduled before and going according to the schedule only then there would be early start to the project even if one activity goes wrong then it disturbs the whole activity and schedule too.

Early Finish: EF is known as Early Finish. Early finish can be defined as the earliest time that a project can be finished. This can happen only if all the activities in the project scheduled properly and executed properly without any errors in the activities. In a project, the team head or the team manager should have an idea of the early start and early end dates so that they can have the flexibility to changes dates or activities without effecting the project.

Late Start: LS or Late start can be defined as the latest time of an activity can start. If a product is in its shortest way than its tradition path defined then it doesn’t affect the project even if the product starts late as it reaches at the same time and the project will continue as planned only if the prior activities doesn’t slip off from their path.

Late Finish: LF or Late finish is can be defined as the new finish time of the tasks to be performed in the project without delaying the project and it depends on the prior tasks that are scheduled

For example, in a project the early start and the early finish in a forward pass can be determined with a formula as EF=ES+duration, (Duration=time taken by the project). At the other end in a project we can even determine the late start and late finish of the activities with the formulae LS=LF-duration.

14. The critical path is the path with the least slack in the project. The slack doesn’t necessarily always have to be 0, it just has to be less than any other path in the network. Negative slack on the critical path occurs whenever the customer sets a due date earlier than the expected project duration. How large this negative slack is the amount of time by which the project duration must be reduced to meet the target date, and future calculations by the project manager must be done to assess the feasibility of speeding up activities in a project to finish the project on time.

15. In the development of a new (first of its kind) complex system, the design of a certain subsystem has large slack. Sufficient resources are available for either an early start or a late start. Discuss the pros and cons of early and late starts. Consider the risk of delaying the project,

the risk of changes in the design, management focus, cash flow, and any other factor that you can think of. Pros of an early start/Cons of a late start: There is much greater slack time available. Particularly if resources, cash, or any other external variable comes into play to delay an activity, an early start would give greater flexibility to still meet expected project completion. By starting certain activities soon and others later, the resource workload (+management load) can be smoothed.

Pros of a late start/Cons of an early start: The design of the project could change multiple times, causing activities that, if were already completed with an early start, would have to be redone. Whereas with a late start, there would be no time for the design to change again and the project would have to continue as is. This is effectively called the GICOP (Good Idea Cutoff Point) in today’s military, where we have to go with the best plan we have by a certain time. By having a late start time, you could potentially save many resources, time, and money spent on the project by not having to redo activities. Allows for more time to discover better options/ways to perform the activities. A quote by Abe Lincoln exemplifies this by him saying “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”; essentially saying that sometimes it is better to wait to perform activities and prepare for them in a comprehensive manner before executing activities.

21. Resource-constrained project mainly depends on the resources of the project like employees, availability of resource and sometimes the budget too.

In a time-constrained project the whole project depends on the time and in this type of projects it is expected to be completed by a particular date. In a resource-constrained project the resources should be used according to schedule and availability, it is safe to use the resource no more than the required. In a time-constrained project the resources and other activities can also be schedule only when the traditional path is delayed from the actual schedule. If any activity in a resource-constrained project is not performed according to the schedule, then the completion date can be changed. If any activity in a time-constrained is not performed according to the schedule, it impacts on the project flexibility and the tasks to be performed

Case 6.1

3 A-B-C-F-K-Q-R-S-T-V-W-Z-AA

5 Surveyors : A Engineering : A,B,C,E,F,J,K,L,M,N,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W.X,Y,Z Project Manager : A,B,W,X,Y,AA Construction : B,D,G,H,J,K,P,Q,R,S,T,W,X Contractors : B,F,H,U,V,W,X Manufacturer : L,M Transporter : N Work Load on Resources Surveyors = 2 months

Engineering = 49 months Construction = 30 months Manufacturer = 4 months Transporter = 1 month

References

http://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ Project_Management_for_Engineering,_Business,_and_Technology,_Fourth_Edition_,Butte...