Managing Projects 1

MANAGING PROJECTS

Name:

Course:

Professor:

Institution:

City and state:

Date:

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1. Draw the network diagram (use activity on the node)

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2. Explain how you determined the timing of activities and the total float.

From the diagram above, the ES or earliest start time is zero for activity A. Therefore, ES

equals the EF or earliest finish time of the predecessor. An example can be from the diagram

above as ES of C activity is EF of activity B i.e. 9 days. Earliest finish time is computed

when the duration of any activity is added to the earliest start time. The equation will be:

Earliest finish time = Earliest start time + Duration

For example, the above equation can be used for calculating EFT for activity C.

EFT of C = 9 days + 10 days

It is important to note that any activity with the longest duration is specified as the critical

activity (Baker 2001). From the activities of SamMax Ltd, activity C has the longest duration

i.e. 10 days as compared to other activities which have 9, 8 and 6 days of activities D, E and

F, accordingly.

The latest start time is computed by adding float to latest start time of the critical activity

(Anon 2007). The equation for this scenario is:

Latest start time = Latest start time or EST of the critical activity + total float

The equation can be used for activity D where LST of critical activity C is 9 days plus total

float of activity D i.e. 1 day. The addition results in 10 days.

The latest finish time can be calculated as the addition of duration to latest start time of

activity and the equation can be written as under:

Latest finish time = Latest start time + Duration

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The above equation can be used in calculating the LFT of activity E i.e. EFT of E is 11 days

and the duration is 8 days. Therefore, LFT for this activity is 19 days.

The total float is calculated by deducting EST or earliest start time and duration from latest

finish time (Furman 2011). The example can be taken for activity F where latest finish time is

19 days, earliest start time is 9 days and duration is 6 days. The total float can be calculated

as:

Total float for activity F = 19 days – 9 days – 6 days = 4 days (Field & Keller 2006)

3. Explain how you determined the project duration and the critical path.

To calculate project duration, there is a need to understand critical path first. A critical path is

one that has a series of activities that are dependable to each other and give the longest

possible time for project completion (Green 2007). Such activities are also known as critical

activities. These are the series of activities, which have zero total float (Leon 2010). In this

particular scenario, the critical path within the activities is as under:

ABCGHJKMNOPQR

The project duration is calculated by adding the duration of all the above activities. Total

project duration is as under:

Total project duration in days = 4 + 5 + 10 + 4 +1 + 10 + 6 + 2 + 6 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 1

= 60

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4. If the project starts on the Monday 20 January 2014, what is the earliest date it

can be completed using a 5-day working week? Assume no other holidays

(explain how you calculated the figure)

If the project starts on 20 January 2014, then the project would complete on 11 April

2014. There are 5 working days in a week and hence the project completion date is

determined as 11 April 2014 as the total project duration is 60 days. The number of days is

calculated by counting the number of days from Monday to Friday i.e. 5 working days a

week.

5. If the following happened what would be the effect on the duration of the whole

project? Explain the reasons.

a. Activity P is delayed 1 day.

It is important to note that activity P is a critical activity and if it is delayed by 1 day then the

project duration will extend by 1 day from 60 to 61 days. All three activities P, Q and R are

critical activities and have no float.

b. Activity N is completed 1 day early

Again, activity N is a critical activity. If it is completed 1 day earlier then the project duration

will be 59 days instead of 60 days since activities, N, O, P, Q and R, are critical activities and

have no float.

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c. Activity I is delayed 2 days

Activity I is not a critical activity and has a total float of six days. Therefore, if 2 days or even

more than that delay it, there will be no effect on the project duration.

6. Explain the limitations of Network diagrams.

From the network diagram above, it can be concluded that SamMax Ltd has a large

project. The network diagram reveals the relationship between several activities along with

the sequence (Holland and Holland Enterprises Ltd. 2011). The activity’s timing is also

mentioned. Therefore, the network diagram can be well used for providing a better planning

for such projects that have better efficiencies. Through network diagram, we can easily

understand as to which activities can be used and completed effectively. The network

diagram also helps in allocating time, labour and resources through detailed information in

the network diagram (Garel 2013). This will help the company in gaining more profits

accordingly.

More than that, network diagrams logically represent activities that reflect the timely

sequence of actions in a project. It also helps stakeholders to review the project and make

certain decisions. Apart from that, network diagrams are also helpful in scheduling activities

properly. It also helps in reducing the uncertainty in the projects by breaking the projects in to

smaller phases (Baker et al. 2003). Therefore, on the final note it can be said that network

diagrams provide a better scope as to which activities can be effectively used and completed.

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TASK TWO: REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The report is about the project management of Joshua Ltd. It is an SME company,

which specializes in the design and supply of baby/children’s clothing from 0-6 years old.

They supply small and large retail outlets with quality competitively priced products. They

supply small and large retail outlets with quality competitively priced products. Being a

project manager, I will be responsible for managing a one off special project. This project is

concerned with the opening of a building, which they recently acquired (40,000 square

meters). This new building will allow the company to respond to increasing customer

demands for their products. Initially, the staffing structure at the new building will mirror the

existing structure at the existing site.

FEASIBILITY REPORT

There is a need to explain project life cycle in order to make sure that the company

Joshua Ltd achieves its goals. The project life cycle explains us the project from its beginning

till its end which also includes various activities and stages in it (Assudani 2008). It also

examines as to how the activities in a particular project are correlated. The details that are

included in the project life cycle in any specific business project change in accordance with

the customer requirements. It has mainly four phases namely concept and initiation phase,

development phase, and commission and completion phase. The analysis of these phases

is as under:

Concept and Initiation Phase

The phase necessitates the preliminary evaluation. The concept of the project is

explored and evaluated. This phase also includes the complete preparation of all

documentation necessary to initiate the project (Prabhakar 2008). There is a dire need to

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gather data and identify the need. It is evident from the information mentioned in the task that

the customer demands are increasing which means that the competition will also increase by

the opening of new building by Joshua Ltd. I have the information regarding the building

size, surrounding environment and other related financial information (that is an assumption

for the preparation of report). There is a need to determine the potential lacking of this project

(Braglia & Frosolini 2014). The project would definitely need many materials for building

purpose, labour and furniture. It is also a foremost aspect to determine the need of objective

of opening this new building which is the business strategy of Joshua Ltd. After all such

aspects of the project, the investors for this project would be considered. They are also known

as shareholders. Therefore, as a project manager, I am responsible for identifying the

stakeholders for the company, as they are the important part of any project (Anon 2007).

Here, it is assumed that Joshua Ltd is the only one investing in the project itself.

Design and Development Phase

This phase would discuss the design of the related product or service along with the

development of schedules and plans for project implementation (Whelton 2004). As a project

manager, I think that there is a need to appoint key team members, which creates a need to set

up a detailed sector like appropriate labour distribution which will require effective

managerial skills. The baseline plan for the project is also included in this phase. The baseline

plan summarizes the detailed description of the product or service along with the project

budget and scheduling of activities in the project.

In this important phase, the company Joshua Ltd would need to identify and manage

the resources that are required to assist the production process like supplies, materials etc.

The company Joshua Ltd would also establish the breakdown structure for the project work.

The budget manager would make a relevant budget for the project that would include total

project duration, the cash budget, resource requirement and identification of problems like

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lack of adequate funds etc. The budget for each activity is also prepared in the project, which

can also be said as the costs estimation of different projects.

The work breakdown as discussed already is the linkage between the scope of work

and critical path of several activities. It helps to establish a list of workable activities. It

should be noted that when the work breakdown structure works, the costs related to several

activities are grouped for several purposes like financial and planning purposes (Teller &

Kock 2013).

Every project has certain risks. The risk management plays a pivotal role in the

success of any project. The managers can only control such risks effectively. This will further

enhance the performance of company in successfully establishing the project. For estimating

the potential risk of the project, I would recommend that it would be necessary to observe its

effect on time, cost and most importantly on the scope of project. The risks are often faced

due to lack of appropriate resources, lack of management support, an inexperienced project

manager, and poor estimation of costs for the development of project.

Joshua Ltd would face some potential developmental risks, as there may be shortage

of work force because it has only 21 employees. More importantly, the customer demands are

also increasing and the project would just start where there is no confirmation of responding

to the customer needs completely at the very beginning. There can be mechanical failure and

market risk. Joshua Ltd can simply cope up with the risks it faces by avoiding the risk,

alleviating the risk, or just accepting the risk. Nevertheless, most importantly, the company

Joshua Ltd should provide a good training to the staff to either eliminate the risks or compete

with the risks effectively so that it does not put an adverse effect on the performance of

Joshua Ltd. It should be noted that transferring the risk involves the specialist skills of a

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subcontractor in this area of work. However, if there is low potential risk then the best way is

to accept the risk as the only way out.

Implementation

This phase includes the implementation of the project. The activities of the project are

assigned their respective responsibilities. This phase is particularly important. Being a project

manager, it would be necessary to be good at monitoring and managing so that work related

problems could be solved easily and effectively. I need to target five different aspects that are

communicating with the team members, motivating them, monitoring the project effectively,

having leadership skills, and ability to resolve problems.

The communication should be effective and the project manager is strictly responsible

for the failure of project’s development. Good communication skills would help the project

manager to provide the right information to the right person at an appropriate time. Therefore,

my communication with the director needs a thorough understanding of the project and hence

it would require a proper reporting to the basic regulators of this project. It is recommended

to communicate effectively with the staff to attain first-hand information about the project

through which every singly and minute detail of the project can be gathered. This would help

me in understanding the latest status of the project. The communication with the customers is

also essential and plays an important role in the successful development of the project. By

communicating with the customer, Joshua Ltd can gather the feedback from them. This

would enable the company to avoid any shortcomings in the later future. More than that, it

would create a better understanding of company and its business status. Therefore,

communication is necessary for the entire success of the company (Martinsuo 2013).

Motivation, on the other hand, creates an encouragement in someone to do some task.

If there is a discouragement in the team regarding their respective tasks, then I would be

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responsible for encouraging them as a team leader to reach the desired goal. Most project

managers support their teams for their own benefit like earning good income or commission

etc. for claiming to be the mentor of the leader as well. However, doing so would not create a

potential stability in the manager to encourage the team accordingly. Therefore, it is also

necessary to inspire them spiritually.

There is also a control system, which necessitates the need to evaluate the baseline

plan to accommodate any changes in it. This will further ensure that the baseline plan reflects

the project status accordingly. Hence, this will also ensure that the control is being

implemented so that the objectives are being met respectively. This would then assist the

whole project i.e. better understanding of the project situation and within it established

budget. Therefore, to summarize this part, the control process includes control related to risk,

control on performance report, quality control management, control on scheduling, and

internal control etc.

It is important to note that it is not possible to achieve the results of the project

development in accordance with the requirements. There might be unexpected events, which

would require the project team to deviate from the original requirements. This is a potential

source of conflict, particularly if an external customer has ordered the project result. In such

cases, the customer can appeal to the agreements that were made during the definition phase.

Hence, the requirements cannot be modified after the initiation phase ends. The same rule is

applied to design and development phase when the design phase has been completed.

Completion Phase

In this phase, the project is considered complete, as it is also evident from the title. I

will hand over the report to the directors, as the final assessment of report is yet to be

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prepared. It would be my responsibility of the manager to make the result of the report. In

addition, I would release the team members along with the resources.

Conclusion

The report clearly explains the project management of the company Joshua Ltd. This

report is prepared to feasibly describe Joshua’s goals and ensure that the project is completed

on time and within the defined budget. The new building would create several opportunities

for the company generating more profits in the near future.

Project management gives us the required application of knowledge, tools and

techniques to help meet the project requirement for its completion and it is also necessary to

consider five aspects of a successful project which are quality, time, scope, cost and risks

associated with the project.

As a project manager, it is my responsibility to avoid any unforeseen problematic

situations and organize such activities, which are controllable to avoid any further bottlenecks

of the project.

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Assudani, R 2008, uoregon. [Online] Available at: http://ebiz.uoregon.edu/poms2008/FullPapers/008-0269.pdf [Accessed 17 December 2013].

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Leon, DGPd 2010, Project Controls Online. [Online] Available at: http://www.projectcontrolsonline.com/portals/0/primvera-com-au/GPM_and_Forensic_Total_Float.pdf [Accessed 17 December 2013].

Martinsuo, M 2013, Project portfolio management in practice and in context. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.794-803.

Prabhakar, GP 2008, CCSENET. [Online] Available at: ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/download/1290/1253 [Accessed 17 December 2013].

Teller, J & Kock, A 2013, An empirical investigation on how portfolio risk management influences project portfolio success. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.817-29.

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Whelton, MG 2004, Learn Construction. [Online] Available at: http://www.leanconstruction.org/media/docs/WheltonMichaelPhD2004.pdf [Accessed 17 December 2013].