Project
Management
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reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education
17-1
You should be able to:
LO 17.1
LO 17.2
Describe the project life cycle
Discuss the behavioral aspects of projects in terms of project
personnel and the project manager
LO 17.3 Explain the nature and importance of a work breakdown structure
in project management
LO 17.4 Name the six key decisions in project management
LO 17.5 Give a general description of PERT/CPM techniques
LO 17.6 Construct simple network diagrams
LO 17.7 Analyze networks with deterministic times
LO 17.8 Analyze networks with probabilistic times
LO 17.9 Describe activity ‘crashing’ and solve typical problems
LO 17.10 Discuss the advantages of using PERT and potential sources
of error
LO 17.11 Discuss the key steps in risk management
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consent of McGraw-Hill Education
17-2
Projects
Unique, one-time operations designed to accomplish a
specific set of objectives in a limited time frame
Examples:
The Olympic Games
Producing a movie
Software development
Product development
ERP implementation
LO 17.1
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17-3
Projects go through a series of stages – a life cycle
Projects bring together people with a diversity of
knowledge and skills, most of whom remain associated
with the project for less than its full life
Organizational structure affects how projects are
managed
LO 17.1
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17-4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing
LO 17.1
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17-5
The project manager is ultimately responsible for the
success or failure of the project
The project manager must effectively manage:
The work
The human resources
Communications
Quality
Time
Costs
LO 17.2
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17-6
Quality
Performance Objectives
LO 17.2
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
17-7
Behavioral problems can be created or exacerbated by
Decentralized decision making
Stress of achieving project milestones on time and within budget
Surprises
The team must be able to function as a unit
Interpersonal and coping skills are very important
Conflict resolution and negotiation can be an important part of a
project manager’s job
LO 17.2
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17-8
Many problems can be avoided or mitigated by:
Effective team selection
Leadership
Motivation
Maintaining an environment of
Integrity
Trust
Professionalism
Being supportive of team efforts
LO 17.2
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17-9
Project champion
A person who promotes and supports a project
Usually resides within the organization
Facilitate the work of the project by ‘talking up’ the project to
other managers who might be asked to share resources with
the project team as well as employees who might be asked to
work on parts of the project
The project champion can be critical to the success of a
project
LO 17.2
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17-10
WBS
A hierarchical listing of what must be done during a
project
Establishes a logical framework for identifying the required
activities for the project
1.
2.
3.
LO 17.3
Identify the major elements of the project
Identify the major supporting activities for each of the
major elements
Break down each major supporting activity into a list of the
activities that will be needed to accomplish it
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17-11
LO 17.3
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17-12
Project success depends upon making key
managerial decisions over a sequence of steps:
Deciding which projects to implement
Selecting the project manager
Selecting the project team
Planning and designing the project
Managing and controlling project resources
Deciding if and when a project should be terminated
LO 17.4
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17-13
PERT (program evaluation and review technique) and
CPM (critical path method) are two techniques used
to manage large-scale projects
By using PERT or CPM Managers can obtain:
1.
2.
3.
4.
LO 17.5
A graphical display of project activities
An estimate of how long the project will take
An indication of which activities are most critical to timely project
completion
An indication of how long any activity can be delayed without
delaying the project
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17-14
Network diagram
Diagram of project activities that shows sequential relationships by
use of arrows and nodes
Activity on arrow (AOA)
Network diagram convention in which arrows designate
activities
Activity on node (AON)
Network convention in which nodes designate activities
Activities
Project steps that consume resources and/or time
Events
The starting and finishing of activities
LO 17.6
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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
17-15
LO 17.6
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17-16
Deterministic
Time estimates that are fairly certain
Probabilistic
Time estimates that allow for variation
LO 17.7
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17-17
Finding ES and EF involves a forward pass through
the network diagram
Early start (ES)
The earliest time an activity can start
Assumes all preceding activities start as early as possible
For nodes with one entering arrow
ES = EF of the entering arrow
For activities leaving nodes with multiple entering arrows
ES = the largest of the largest entering EF
Early finish (EF)
The earliest time an activity can finish
EF = ES + t
LO 17.7
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17-18
Finding LS and LF involves a backward pass through
the network diagram
Late Start (LS)
The latest time the activity can start and not delay the project
The latest starting time for each activity is equal to its latest finishing time
minus its expected duration:
LS = LF - t
Late Finish (LF)
The latest time the activity can finish and not delay the project
For nodes with one leaving arrow, LF for nodes entering that node equals the
LS of the leaving arrow
For nodes with multiple leaving arrows, LF for arrows entering node equals
the smallest of the leaving arrows
LO 17.7
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17-19
Slack can be computed one of two ways:
Slack = LS – ES
Slack = LF – EF
Critical path
The critical path is indicated by the activities with zero
slack
LO 17.7
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17-20
Knowledge of slack times provides managers with
information for planning allocation of scarce
resources
Control efforts will be directed toward those activities that might be
most susceptible to delaying the project
Activity slack times are based on the assumption that all of the
activities on the same path will be started as early as possible and
not exceed their expected time
If two activities are on the same path and have the same slack, this
will be the total slack available to both
LO 17.7
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17-21
The beta distribution is generally used to describe the
inherent variability in time estimates
The probabilistic approach involves three time
estimates:
Optimistic time, (to)
The length of time required under optimal conditions
Pessimistic time, (tp)
The length of time required under the worst conditions
Most likely time, (tm)
The most probable length of time required
LO 17.8
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17-22
LO 17.8
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17-23
The expected time, te ,for an activity is a weighted
average of the three time estimates:
te =
to + 4t m + t p
6
The expected duration of a path is equal to the sum of
the expected times of the activities on that path:
Path mean = of expected times of activities on the path
LO 17.8
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17-24
The standard deviation of each activity’s time is estimated
as one-sixth of the difference between the pessimistic and
optimistic time estimates. The variance is the square of the
standard deviation:
(t p − to )
=
6
2
2
Standard deviation of the expected time for the path
path =
LO 17.8
(Variances of activities
on path )
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17-25
Knowledge of expected path times and their standard
deviations enables managers to compute probabilistic
estimates about project completion such as:
The probability that the project will be completed by a
certain time
The probability that the project will take longer than its
expected completion time
LO 17.8
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17-26
Calculating path probabilities involves the use of the normal
distribution
Although path activities are represented by the beta distribution, the
path distribution can be represented by a normal distribution
LO 17.8
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17-27
z=
LO 17.8
Specified time - Path mean
Path standard deviation
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17-28
A project is not complete until all project activities are complete
It is risky to only consider the critical path when assessing the
probability of completing a project within a specified time
To determine the probability of completing the project within a particular
time frame
Calculate the probability that each path in the project will be completed
within the specified time
Multiply these probabilities
The result is the probability that the project will be completed
within the specified time
LO 17.8
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17-29
Independence
Assumption that path duration times are independent
of each other
Requires that
1.
2.
Activity times are independent
Each activity is on only one path
The assumption of independence is usually considered to be
met if only a few activities in a large project are on multiple
paths
LO 17.8
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17-30
When activity times cannot be assumed to be
independent, simulation is often used
Repeated sampling is used
Many passes are made through the project network
In each pass, a random value for each activity time is selected
based on the activity time’s probability distribution
After each pass, the project’s duration is determined
After a large number of passes, there are enough data points to
prepare a frequency distribution of the project duration
Probabilistic estimates of completion times are made based on
this frequency distribution
LO 17.8
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17-31
Activity time estimates are made for some given level
of resources
It may be possible to reduce the duration of a project
by injecting additional resources
Motivations:
To avoid late penalties
Monetary incentives
Free resources for use on other projects
LO 17.9
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17-32
Crashing
Shortening activity durations
Typically, involves the use of additional funds to support additional
personnel or more efficient equipment, and the relaxing of some work
specifications
The project duration may be shortened by increasing direct
expenses, thereby realizing savings in indirect project costs
LO 17.9
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17-33
To make decisions concerning crashing requires
information about:
1.
Regular time and crash time estimates for each activity
2.
Regular cost and crash cost estimates for each activity
3.
A list of activities that are on the critical path
Critical path activities are potential candidates for crashing
Crashing non-critical path activities would not have an impact
on overall project duration
LO 17.9
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17-34
General procedure:
1.
Crash the project one period at a time
2.
Crash the least expensive activity that is on the critical path
3.
When there are multiple critical paths, find the sum of crashing
the least expensive activity on each critical path
LO 17.9
If two or more critical paths share common activities, compare
the least expensive cost of crashing a common activity shared
by critical paths with the sum for the separate critical paths
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17-35
LO 17.9
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
17-36
Among the most useful features of PERT:
1. It forces the manager to organize and quantify available
information and to identify where additional
information is needed
2. It provides the a graphic display of the project and its
major activities
3. It identifies
a. Activities that should be closely watched
b. Activities that have slack time
LO 17.10
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17-37
Potential sources of error:
1.
The project network may be incomplete
2. Precedence relationships may not be correctly expressed
3. Time estimates may be inaccurate
4. There may be a tendency to focus on critical path activities to the
exclusion of other important project activities
5. Major risk events may not be on the critical path
LO 17.10
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17-38
Risks are an inherent part of project management
Risks relate to occurrence of events that have undesirable
consequences such as
Delays
Increased costs
Inability to meet technical specifications
LO 17.11
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17-39
Good risk management involves
Identifying as many risks as possible
Analyzing and assessing those risks
Working to minimize the probability of their occurrence
Establishing contingency plans and budgets for dealing
with any that do occur
LO 17.11
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17-40
MGT530
Critical Thinking Writing Rubric - Module 12
Exceeds
Expectation
Content, Research, and Analysis
25-30 Points
Requirements
Includes all of the
required
components, as
specified in the
assignment.
37-45 Points
Content
Demonstrates
substantial and
extensive
knowledge of the
materials, with no
errors or major
omissions.
37-45 Points
Analysis
Provides strong
thought, insight,
and analysis of
concepts and
applications.
13-15 Points
Sources
Sources go above
and beyond
required criteria
and are well
chosen to provide
effective
substance and
perspectives on
the issue under
examination.
Meets Expectation
Below Expectation
19-24 Points
Includes most of
the required
components, as
specified in the
assignment.
28-36 Points
Demonstrates
adequate
knowledge of the
materials; may
include some
minor errors or
omissions.
28-36 Points
Provides adequate
thought, insight,
and analysis of
concepts and
applications.
10-12 Points
Sources meet
required criteria
and are adequately
chosen to provide
substance and
perspectives on the
issue under
examination.
13-18 Points
Includes some of
the required
components, as
specified in the
assignment.
19-27 Points
Demonstrates fair
knowledge of the
materials and/or
includes some
major errors or
omissions.
19-27 Points
Provides poor
though, insight,
and analysis of
concepts and
applications.
7-9 Points
Sources meet
required criteria
but are poorly
chosen to provide
substance and
perspectives on the
issue under
examination.
Limited Evidence
7-12 Points
Includes few of the
required
components, as
specified in the
assignment.
6-18 Points
Fails to
demonstrate
knowledge of the
materials and/or
includes many
major errors or
omissions.
10-18 Points
Provides little or no
thought, insight,
and analysis of
concepts and
applications.
4-6 Points
Source selection
and integration of
knowledge from
the course is
clearly deficient.
MGT530
Critical Thinking Writing Rubric - Module 12
Mechanics and Writing
Demonstrates
college-level
proficiency in
organization,
grammar and
style.
5 Points
Project is clearly
organized, well
written, and in
proper format as
outlined in the
assignment. Strong
sentence and
paragraph
structure, contains
no errors in
grammar, spelling,
APA style, or APA
citations and
references.
Total points possible = 140
4 Points
Project is fairly well
organized and
written and is in
proper format as
outlined in the
assignment.
Reasonably good
sentence and
paragraph
structure, may
include a few
minor errors in
grammar, spelling,
APA style, or APA
citations and
references.
3 Points
Project is poorly
organized and
written and may
not follow proper
format as outlined
in the assignment.
Inconsistent to
inadequate
sentence and
paragraph
development,
and/or includes
numerous or major
errors in grammar,
spelling, APA style,
or APA citations
and references.
1-2 Points
Project is not
organized or well
written and is not
in proper format as
outlined in the
assignment. Poor
quality work;
unacceptable in
terms of grammar,
spelling, APA style,
and APA citations
and references.
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