Assignment 3-Project Management problem set

Complete Objective Questions 6, 7, and 8 at the end of chapter 4 in the textbook.
Use Microsoft Excel for all computations. Ensure that the Excel file includes the associated cell computations. This

information is needed in order to receive full credit on these problems.
Each problem is to be placed into separate worksheets and all problems are to be placed into one file. For example, the

single Excel file should contain one worksheet named 6, another worksheet named 7, and another worksheet named 8.
If you are familiar with Microsoft Project, you can use it to complete the scheduling portions of any of the problems. If

so, any Microsoft Project files should be provided along with your Excel file.
Each problem is to be placed into separate worksheets and all problems are to be placed into one file. For example, the

single Excel file should contain one worksheet named 6, another worksheet named 7, another named 8.
Textbook link: Read chapter 4.
http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/mcgraw-hill/2013/operations-and-supply-chain-management_ebook_14e.php

Prepare your responses in Excel with each problem on a separate tab and show work for each problem step by step. Write a

written explanation. INCLUDE THE formulas in calculations ( each number calculated within excel should have formula in it

on the fx(formula bar)). ALSO WRITE IN WORDS HOW YOU GOT THE ANSWER BY SHOWING YOUR WORK
1. Place all answers, both numerical and written, in a single excel spreadsheet.
2. Place each problem into a separate tab or sheet in an Excel file.
3. Place labels on spreadsheet inputs and outputs, and use the yellow highlighter on the top menu bar to highlight your

final answer.
4. If the question incorporates graphs, you must replicate the graph on your spreadsheet file.
5. Do not submit Word files or multiple files for a single assignment.

DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE A WRITTEN DESCRIPTION ON HOW YOU GOT THE ANSWER. STEP BY STEP FOR EACH EXCEL SHEET!!

You will need to access chapter 4

Once you open the link, CICK ON THE GLOBE (ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT UNDER DOWNLOAD OPTIONS) ITS CALLED WEB VIEWER, CLICK ON

PROCEED AND LOG IN WITH THE INFORMATION GIVEN BELOW.

Username: OAdegunwa
Password: gcuOA0226
or you can use this login and password
username: GSingh1
password: Simarjit88
these log in actually work. You should have no problem accessing the information
Lecture Notes
THIS IS JUST A LECTURE NOTES TO GUIDE YOU ON WRITING THE ANSWERS

Introduction
Project management involves the various management activities of planning, directing, and controlling resources, such as

people, equipment, and material, to meet the technical, cost, and time constraints of a project. A project is a series of

related jobs usually directed toward some major output that requires a significant period of time to perform.( Jacobs and

Chase, 2009) Business managers and professionals educated and trained in project management are a valuable addition to

companies involved in project/process addition, improvement, and evaluation. As a result, this lecture focuses on the

various components and types of project management.
About Project Management
A project is a set of activities that have a defined start point and a defined end state. Projects can be categorized on

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two dimensions: complexity and uncertainty. Projects with high uncertainty are difficult to define and plan, whereas

those with high complexity are difficult to control. Successful project management depends on the project having clearly

defined goals, competent project management, the support of top management, competent team members, sufficient resources

available, adequate channels of communications, sufficient control mechanisms, timely responsiveness to clients’ needs,

and positive continuity among project staff.
Stages in Project Management
The following are the stages in project management:
• Defining the project helps to identify clear goals and objectives for the project.
• Project planning exposes the requirements for the project, including cost, resources, and duration.
• Project control consists of monitoring how the project is progressing in terms of schedule and cost adherence.
Estimating Task Durations using the PERT Technique
The PERT (Program Evaluation and Review) technique is a type of project risk assessment with specific focus on the

project schedule. This technique allows for the ability to determine the probability that a project will finish on a

particular date. For each activity, three duration estimates are made: optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. This

information is used to compute a weighted average activity time, often referred to as an expected time. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 − Computing Weighted Average Activity Time (Jacobs et al, 2009, p. 70)
The expected time is used as the duration for each activity when developing the project schedule.
Developing a Project Schedule
In order to ensure that operations deliver required products and services to meet the performance objectives of speed,

dependability, quality, and cost, project management principles must be applied. Perhaps the most important element of

project management is the project plan. The project schedule, or network, is a tool used for planning, scheduling, and

monitoring project progress. Project networks minimize surprises by getting the schedule for developing a product or

service out early and allowing corrective feedback. The network is developed from the information collected from the work

breakdown structure and is a graphic flow chart of the innovation project job plan. The network depicts the project

activities that must be completed, including the logical sequences; the interdependencies of the activities to be

completed; in most cases, the times for the activities to start and finish; and the longest path or paths through the

network, referred to as the critical path (Gray and Larson, 2006). The basic rules for developing project networks can be

summarized as follows:
Networks flow typically from left to right.
• An activity cannot begin until all preceding connected activities have been completed (this is referred to as a finish

to start relationship).
• Arrows on networks indicate precedence and flow. Arrows can cross over each other.
• Each activity should have a unique identification number.
• An activity identification number must be larger than that of any activities that precede it.
• A single project start node or end node can be used to indicate start or finish where there are multiple starts or

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multiple finish points, respectively.
The critical path method (CPM) is a widely used technique for scheduling projects. It displays the sequential

relationships among activities and determines when each activity must be completed.
To determine the critical path for the activity-on-node approach, there are basically two steps: performing a forward

pass and performing a backward pass (note: this information supersedes the process described in the text).
Forward Pass − Determining the earliest times. For each activity, the forward pass answers two questions:
• How soon can the activity start? Early Start (ES) = Maximum Early Finish (EF) of all Predecessors
• How soon can the activity finish? EF = ES + Activity Duration.
The forward pass starts with the first project activity and traces each path forward through the network to the last

project activity. The forward pass requires the following:
• The ES of the first activity in the project network equals the project start date.
• An activity’s EF = ES of the current activity plus Activity Duration.
The ES of an activity is the Maximum (EF) of all Predecessors. Thus if an activity has multiple predecessors, the one

with the largest EF is used to compute the ES of the current activity.
Backward Pass − Determining the latest times. For each activity, the backward pass answers two questions:
• How late can the activity start? Late Start (LS) equals Late Finish (LF) minus Activity Duration.
• LF equals Minimum LS of all Successors.
The backward pass starts with the last project activity and traces each path backward through the network to the first

project activity. The backward pass requires the following:
• The LF of the last activity in the project network equals the EF of the last activity in the project network.
• An activity’s LF equals Minimum LS of all Successors. Thus if an activity has multiple successors, the one with the

smallest LS is used to compute the LF of the current activity.
• An activity’s LS equals LF of the current activity – Activity Duration.
The critical activities are those on the critical path for which the duration is longest throughout the project network

and for which the total slack of each critical activity equals zero. The total slack for a given activity can be computed

by LS minus ES or LF minus EF. A delay in any critical path activity (i.e., an increase in activity duration) will result

in a corresponding delay in the project end date. Thus, if a critical path activity is delayed by three days, the project

end date will slip by three days. Therefore, project managers devote most of their attention on managing a project’s

critical path activities.
Gantt bar charts can be used to display the scheduling information for projects. Bar charts are popular because they

present an easy-to-understand, clear picture on a time-scaled horizon, as compared to network diagrams. They are used

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during planning, resource scheduling, and status reporting. The project activities are displayed on the vertical axis

with time across the horizontal axis. The output provided by a Gantt chart can be displayed on the walls of project

offices as it provides a clear overview of the project. Microsoft Project is a common project scheduling software

application that provides the ability to display project activities in Gantt chart format.
Calculating Probability of Project Completion using the PERT Technique
Three duration estimates−optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely−were used to compute a weighted average activity time,

or expected time. Project managers can also use this information determine the variability of a total project duration.

Once the project’s critical path has been determined, project managers can compute its total variability in order to

ascertain the chance of completing the project by the project’s expected end date.
The variance for each critical path activity must be computed first, using the following formula V= [(b-a)/6]2 where V =

variance; b = pessimistic activity duration; and a = optimistic activity duration.
Once all the variances are computed, they are added together to derive a total variance for the critical path. However,

the critical number is the standard deviation, computed as the square root of the variance. It represents the degree of

variation in the critical path’s actual duration from its expected duration.
We are now ready to determine the statistical probability of completing a project on a given date. As discussed in Jacobs

et al, 2009 (pp. 70-72), the equation below can be used to compute the Z value found in statistical tables which, in

turn, tells the probability of completing the project in the time specified. Z equals(D minus Te) / (Standard Deviation)

where Z equals number of standard deviations from the mean; D equals Desired Completion Time for the project; Te equals

Expected Completion Time for the project; and Standard Deviation equals Standard Deviation of the Critical Path, the

square root of the variance equation described above.
The probability is found by matching the computed Z value with the associated probability shown in Appendix E in Jacobs

et al. (2009).
For further study, refer to the example on pages 70-72 of Jacobs et al. (2009).
Conclusion
Appreciating the contribution of project management as an operations decision area to the achievement of operations

performance objectives is important. Understanding and applying project management principles in operations enables fast

time-to-market of products and services, quality product and services, and the minimization of cost as a result of

disciplined process management.
References
Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B., and Aquilano, N., (2009). Operations and supply management with Student DVD-Rom (12th ed.).

New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gray, C., and Larson, E. (2006). Project management: The managerial process (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

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