Category: Project management

 

Project Management – Gantt Chart 

A. Draw a Gantt Chart using MSP
B. Find the Critical path and project duration in days
C. Given the each resource is assigned 100% to each task identity the resource constrains
D. Level the resource and determine the new project duration and critical path
E. Identify what alternative solutions can be used to shorten th project duration and not over
allocate the resources

1. Refer to exercise 9 in chapter 6, analyze the data provided in the diagram – SEE ATTACHED.

Using Microsoft Project, compute the project network diagram and proper timing to complete the project. Address all required information in the description presented in exercise 9.

In addition, respond to the following questions:

a. Determine which tasks are on the critical path. How long will it take to complete the project.

b. A task that is on the critical path for this project has increased by 7 days. Will the project end date be delayed? If so, by how much?

(Place your responses into a Microsoft Word file)

2. Complete Chapter 6, Exercise 18 – SEE ATTACHED.

Use Microsoft Project and create a project schedule based on the information provided in the problem.  Will the project be completed in 45 weeks?  In your Microsoft Project file, insert a text box in the Gantt bar area (go to FORMAT – DRAWING – TEXT BOX) and place your response in the text box.

Submit your Microsoft Word file and your two Microsoft Project files.

SEE ATTACHED ASSIGNMENT SCORING

 Project Management

Requirements 

This assignment is based on the Zanpac Financial Services Customer Care Centre case study (attached).

You have been appointed Project Manager for the Customer Care Centre project at Zanpac Financial

Services. The Director of Technology  (CTO) has asked you  to “do an initial  scoping of  the project”,

keeping in mind that the project should be finished by the end of August 2021.

As you are new to Zanpac Financial Services, you inquire as to what should be covered in an initial

scoping of  the project. This step in Zanpac’s project management methodology is called a “Project

Charter” and is used to lay out the basic parameters of the project for signoff by the Project Sponsor

and key members of the Executive Team. If the broad parameters of the project are accepted, then

the project may proceed to the project planning phase.

The project charter must contain the following sections:

1. Document purpose
2. Project Background
3. Project Goals / Objectives
4. Project Value Statement
5. Project Stakeholders (with position, name and contact details)
6. Project Success Criteria
7. Project Constraints
8. Project Scope (product‐oriented scope only)
9. Three level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
10. Recommendations and Approvals

The project charter must be written in the context of the project and use the assignment template. The project charter must include all ten sections detailed in the template.

All diagrams, figures and tables (if used) should be numbered, titled and explained the text. All lists

All material derived from other works (except the assignment case study) must be acknowledged. If

using material derived from other sources the report must have:

1. A bibliography/reference list of all works included in the research report. This should list the

books and articles, which have been quoted or used in the research report; they should be

arranged alphabetically by author’s surname with anonymous works listed first

2. The acknowledgement of all evidence and sources of information using the Harvard Referencing

System.

3. If diagrams and tables are used to explain the text they should be numbered, titled and, if copied

Project Management Course 

Develop an appropriate two-level WBS for a construction project. This requires you to develop the WBS and describe the activities / tasks / components within it. (40 points)

[The assignment should be 700 – 750 words, and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced), and attached as a WORD file.]

Sonic, Inc.

Sonic, Inc. is an organization with serious problems. Founded in 1963, it was once a leader in drug plastic manufacturing. However, due to increased competition in that sector, it slowly changed its focus over the years, and now specializes in the manufacture of medical devices, aerospace components, and electronics. It employs 3000 people in its three divisions, located in seven facilities throughout the United States.

The problems with the current organization are almost too many too mention. It seems to have no clear-cut goals, employee and management turnover are high, the workforce seems demoralized and reports low job satisfaction, and a lack of financial resources has resulted in substandard working conditions. The psychological contract between employees and management is very weak.

Employees have accused management of making ethical compromises. There is a lack of advancement opportunities, and employee training and opportunities for employee continuing education are almost non-existent. Employee teams are never used to solve organizational problems, inter-departmental conflict is high, and reports of customer dissatisfaction are numerous.

Value conflict is high at Sonic, and many employees report a high-stress working environment. Some employees seem withdrawn, and conflicts and arguments between employees and departments are frequent. There is a noticeable lack of diversity in the workforce, and employees say they are tired of the Theory X style of management used by organizational leaders. Employees report that personal need satisfaction is low, and some have laughed sarcastically when asked if various need levels on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are being met. “Are you kidding?” has been a common response to the question.

Employees at Sonic report feelings of negative inequity, feeling they are giving more in terms of time and effort than they are receiving in return. Very few employees report having job-related goals other than collecting a pay check. They complain about the organization’s inadequate performance management system, poor performance monitoring by management, and a general lack of feedback on their performance. Most report not having received a realistic job preview when they were hired.

Without question, the organizational climate at Sonic is poor, and a lack of trust permeates the company. Employees blame their low productivity on poor communication with management and other departments, and some report never having seen or heard of such a demoralizing organizational culture, or an organization with a strong resistance to change or lack of unity of command.

You have been hired by the new corporate chief executive officer to fix Sonic’s problems-not its marketing problems, although they are also quite severe, but rather its people problems.

Each week, you will face a set of specific challenges relating to Sonic. Your final paper will include your response to 12 of these issues. You will have turned in a minimum of 8 of the challenges for review by the instructor. The left-over challenges can wait until you submit your final project document in Week 7 or you could submit an extra one each week so that your final submission will benefit from the feedback.

you will submit the final project document to the final project document assignment.

It is your responsibility to compile the final project document. This requires summarizing the work that was submitted each week in paragraph format. Appropriate citations are necessary, but the document should not contain bullet lists, numerical lists, diagrams, visuals, or indented quotations (40 words or more). While it is appropriate to use citations as necessary, they should be used sparingly. The final project document should include a title page, table of contents, and a separate heading for each week’s work. The heading can simply be “Week One Summary” or “Week Five Analysis”, or a more creative heading if desired. The final document should not exceed 12 pages in length or about 3 pages each for each of the weekly sections. This may require eliminating certain parts of the weekly submissions. The final document needs to be paginated.

Your weekly submission should be two full pages in length (12-point font), with no bullet lists, numerical lists, diagrams, visuals, or indented quotations (40 words or more). The paper should be paginated, and not contain any definitions or explanations of the concepts being discussed. The concepts being discussed should be directly applied to Sonic, with Sonic’s name mentioned throughout the document-no less than every three or four sentences. It should include a title page, a heading for each topic addressed so as to clearly distinguish between topics, and a references page. The title page and references page do not count toward the two-page length. The title page should clearly mention the specific challenges being addressed.

The total project (everything mentioned here) is worth 400 points. There will be four question submission reviews (weeks 2,3,5 and 6), each worth 50 points (individual grades based on the quality of individual submission), and the final project document submitted worth 200 points.

Project Planning and Management Assignment 

Use MS Project for Gatt Charts and Network Diagrams where necessary

Assessment Details
A: Summative Assessment: Individual Reflective Report on Project (100%,
compulsory).
Based on the given project scenario, write a 5,000 words (including appendix and
references) project planning report addressing the following project tasks. Please note that
you may work in groups with your fellow students for discussions but the report has to be
completed individually.
Project Scenario: as the chief student representative in the Business Strategy class, you have
been given a total £5,000 budget from the Faculty of Business, Greenwich University to organise
an academic conference on the topic of ‘Towards sustainable business model innovation in 2020’.
All the students in your class are requested to work in groups to prepare the presentation slides
and to dress formally to present their ideas. Their audience include both the academics from the external universities and business experts from external industries who are invited by the Faculty
of Business. However, as the organiser, you and your project team must prepare a list of potential
audiences; once it is approved by the Faculty of Business, you need to prepare the invitation card
and send them out on behalf of the Faculty. A small scale of prize-giving ceremony is also needed
at the end of the competition.
In your project planning report, you are required to provide details of the following six tasks:
1. Prepare Project Scope Statement to state the project’s objectives, deliverables, technical
requirements and milestones.
2. Prepare Work Breakdown Structure (WBS, to include at least 10 activities) for the project.
3. Based on the work breakdown structure (WBS) above, create a Gantt Chart, a network
diagram and indicate the critical path by using MS Project software.
4. Explain who your stakeholders are and how would you manage them.
5. Discuss what your project risks might be and how would you manage them.
6. Explain how you would evaluate this project in terms of key project success factors.

Standard Project Plan for Building a House (Project Management)

Requirements:
1) Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) dictionary
2) Cost management
3) Time management
4) Network diagram with critical path
5) Resource breakdown structure
6) Risk register
7) Risk matrix

Definition of a project

A project is a set of definable tasks related to each other. The project has a beginning and end and a budget of money and resources. It should have a clear objective. For the project assignment you will expand the project concept to make a plan for the project. This document is the thing that tells me what your project is, why you are doing it and how you will manage it.

I should have enough information to see what you are doing, why you are doing it and what you need from me. You should assume that you are writing to your boss (me) and that I am the one that will authorize you with a budget and resources to do whatever you are trying to do. You may take the approach that I requested you to look into something since that is common in business and may feel more natural.

This document should be somewhere between 5 and 15 pages plus any appendices, as needed. A plausible outline might be something like this:

1. Introduction
   1. Your company information (I should know who you work for and your role as PM in it.)
   2. Problem
   3. Solution
   4. Justification
2. Scope of work (WBS)
3. Team (skillsets, personnel, subcontractors, etc…)
4. Risk evaluation
   1. Risk management steps (mitigation)
   2. Risk assignment steps
5. Budget
6. Schedule
7. Management plan
   1. Site management
   2. Process management (quality assurance)
   3. People management
   4. Communication management
8. Other important stuff

The actual appearance and outline will vary based on your project. You can ask me if you want some input on it. A construction project would need to include a site map so that you can show how the site would be organized. Wherever there is physical work to be done, an image showing the layout is probably needed.

The big part of this project is clear scope definition. This should be done in a WBS format. For construction and design, that is the CSI MasterFormat. It may be anything that is logical.

The risk evaluation is important because it helps determine the budget and schedule and the management plan – especially process management.

The budget should include the things necessary to make the project happen but I am not going to get hung up on the correct prices. If you are building a bicycle, I would expect to see tires on your budget but would not check sources to find the real price. Try to get as close as you can to make it as realistic as possible.

The schedule some have enough detail to tell each team member when they are doing certain tasks and how they relate to each other. Projects is probably the most effective way to communicate most schedule. A Gantt chart is probably the best way to portray it. There are exceptions to most rules. The # of items on the schedule may vary from about 15 to over 50 – it will depend on your project. You should show relationships and float on your schedule.

The management plan will likely be the longest part of your plan. It is the system that you will use to ensure that the scope is accomplished within budget, on time and per quality standards.

There is a tendency for some students to use flowery, descriptive language. This is not appropriate here. Stick with the facts and keep it short. A few bullet points is far better than a paragraph of prose prattle. The scope is best done in WBS (hierarchical format), the budget should be in a spreadsheet layout, the schedule a bar chart, and the management plan in lists, bullets, maps, diagrams, etc. Do not tell me that the cool waters of refreshing joy will trickle over my body if I enjoy the fruits of your delightful company’s time saving and provident offering. Just tell me what you want to accomplish and how you will do it.