Running head APPLE1APPLE 13Financial Analysis of .docx

Running head: APPLE1
APPLE 13
Financial Analysis of Apple
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Introduction
The death of Steve Jobs in 2012 put Apple in a spotlight even
more than the technology company is used to being. Job was the
brain and the spine of Apple; few companies are built so
centrally around one person. With his passing, it makes sense
that investors and other stakeholders are concerned about
Apple’s business performance under new leadership. CEO Tim
Cook, handpicked by Jobs as his replacement, has worked hard
to stabilize the company and reassure investors that Apple will
continue to be the same profit-generating monster it was under
the leadership of Steve Jobs. Words and anecdotes are often
enough to soothe the feelings of employees and some investors,
but more forward thinking stakeholders will want quantitative

evidence that Apple continues to be a strong company. This
paper will provide a quantitative financial analysis of Apple
comparing 2013 to 2012; in addition, the paper will discuss 2
corrective options Apple could take in order to generate a
greater profit.
Horizontal Analysis
One of the best ways to evaluate a company objectively is to
perform a horizontal analysis. This allows the analyst to
compare the performance of a company in the immediate
moment with another moment in time. Doing so allows for a
comparison of trends; for example, if the total revenue of a
company has decreased sharply over the past 3 years it is clear
that there is a problem and something needs to be done. A
cornerstone of any horizontal analysis is the total revenue
earned by the company. In 2013, Apple earned 170 billion
dollars compared to 155 billion dollars in 2012. (NASDAQ,
2014) This represents an increase of 9.68% from 2012-2013. In
an age where technology companies are notoriously vulnerable
to massive swings in revenue, a steady 9.68% growth in revenue
is a positive thing for investors, employees, and creditors to see
the company earning.
There are many other elements that go into a horizontal
analysis. For the purposes of brevity, they will be included in a
chart form shown below.
Apple Horizontal Analysis
Figure
2012
2013
% Change
Cost of Goods Sold

87.92 B
107.24B
21.97
Gross Income
68.06B
63.63B
-6.96
R&D
3.38B
4.48B
29.59
Other SG&A
10.04B
10.83B
7.87
Pretax Income
55.76B
50.16B
-10.04
Net Income
41.73B
37.04B
-11.24
Source: NASDAQ
Strengths and Weaknesses
There are a number of strengths and weaknesses that were
identified using the horizontal analysis of Apple. The apparent
strength is that, the company has dedicated an increasing
percentage of its budget space to research and development of

new products. This is very important given that one of the main
criticisms of the company following the death of Steve Jobs was
that Apple would be unable to come up with new and innovative
products that Jobs would churn out on a yearly basis.
(Lashinsky, 2012) Whether or not Apple is able to do so
remains a question that no one can answer; however, the fact
that the company has recognized its weakness and has dedicated
a R&D budget that is 29 percent higher than in 2012
demonstrates that Apple is willing to invest heavily in the
process necessary to create new products.
Unfortunately for Apple, the horizontal analysis indicates that
there are plenty of weaknesses to focus on. One area that is
particularly disturbing is the cost of goods sold. Between 2012
and 2013 the cost of goods sold increased from 87.92 billion
dollars to 107.24 billion dollars. On the surface, this might
make sense; after all, Apple sold more products in 2013
compared to 2012, so the total cost of selling those products
must go up. However, it is important to look at the percentage
change and compare it to the total revenue. In 2012, Apple had
total revenues of 155 billion dollars, with the cost of goods sold
being 87.92. This means that the cost of goods sold was 56% of
the total revenue in 2012. In 2013, the cost of goods sold
reached 62% of the total revenue generated by Apple. A mean
that, as a percentage, Apple’s cost of goods sold increased 6%
from 2012-2013, which makes the increase of the revenue at
9.68% look much more unimpressive.
A second weakness that is apparent after evaluating the
horizontal analysis for Apple is the net income of the company.
The net income for Apple declined 11.24% from 2012 to 2013, a
sign that not everything is right for Apple. A decreasing net
income is indicative of a wide range of issues with a company,
and it is clear that Apple has faced numerous challenges. Some
of the challenges that have resulted in Apple seeing a decline in
its net income include stiff competition from challengers like
Google, the inability for Apple products to work on different
operating systems, new product defects, tax increases, and rapid

technology change that quickly makes Apple products obsolete
(even to its own products, at times). The decline in net profit is
a major warning sign for Apple that changes need to be made in
order to help the company continue its path of growth.
APPLE INC. INCOME STATEMENT 2013
In Millions of USD (except for per share items)
13 weeks ending 2014-03-29
Revenue
45,646.00
57,594.00
37,472.00
35,323.00
43,603.00
Other Revenue, Total
-
-
-
-
-
Total Revenue
45,646.00
57,594.00
37,472.00
35,323.00
43,603.00
Cost of Revenue, Total
27,699.00
35,748.00
23,601.00
22,299.00
27,254.00
Gross Profit

17,947.00
21,846.00
13,871.00
13,024.00
16,349.00
Selling/General/Admin. Expenses, Total
2,932.00
3,053.00
2,673.00
2,645.00
2,672.00
Research & Development
1,422.00
1,330.00
1,168.00
1,178.00
1,119.00
Depreciation/Amortization
-
-
-
-
-
Interest Expense(Income) - Net Operating
-
-
-
-
-
Unusual Expense (Income)
-
-
-
-
-
Other Operating Expenses, Total

-
-
-
-
-
Total Operating Expense
32,053.00
40,131.00
27,442.00
26,122.00
31,045.00
Operating Income
13,593.00
17,463.00
10,030.00
9,201.00
12,558.00
Interest Income(Expense), Net Non-Operating
-
-
-
-
-
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets
-
-
-
-
-
Other, Net
-92.00
-97.00
-194.00
-98.00
-73.00
Income Before Tax

13,818.00
17,709.00
10,143.00
9,435.00
12,905.00
Income After Tax
10,223.00
13,072.00
7,512.00
6,900.00
9,547.00
Minority Interest
-
-
-
-
-
Equity In Affiliates
-
-
-
-
-
Net Income Before Extra. Items
10,223.00
13,072.00
7,512.00
6,900.00
9,547.00
Accounting Change
-
-
-
-
-
Discontinued Operations

-
-
-
-
-
Extraordinary Item
-
-
-
-
-
Net Income
10,223.00
13,072.00
7,512.00
6,900.00
9,547.00
Preferred Dividends
-
-
-
-
-
Income Available to Common Excl. Extra Items
10,223.00
13,072.00
7,512.00
6,900.00
9,547.00
Income Available to Common Incl. Extra Items
10,223.00
13,072.00
7,512.00
6,900.00
9,547.00
Basic Weighted Average Shares

-
-
-
-
-
Basic EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items
-
-
-
-
-
Basic EPS Including Extraordinary Items
-
-
-
-
-
Dilution Adjustment
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
-
Diluted Weighted Average Shares
6,156.57
6,310.04
6,363.80
6,469.73
6,622.11
Diluted EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items
1.66
2.07
1.18
1.07
1.44
Diluted EPS Including Extraordinary Items

-
-
-
-
-
Dividends per Share - Common Stock Primary Issue
0.44
0.44
0.44
0.44
0.38
Gross Dividends - Common Stock
-
-
-
-
-
Net Income after Stock Based Comp. Expense
-
-
-
-
-
Basic EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense
-
-
-
-
-
Diluted EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense
-
-
-
-
-
Depreciation, Supplemental

-
-
-
-
-
Total Special Items
-
-
-
-
-
Normalized Income Before Taxes
-
-
-
-
-
Effect of Special Items on Income Taxes
-
-
-
-
-
Income Taxes Ex. Impact of Special Items
-
-
-
-
-
Normalized Income After Taxes
-
-
-
-
-
Normalized Income Avail to Common

-
-
-
-
-
Basic Normalized EPS
-
-
-
-
-
Diluted Normalized EPS
1.66
2.07
1.18
1.07
1.44
APPLE INC. BALANCE SHEET 2013
In Millions of USD (except for per share items)
As of 2014-03-29
As of 2013-12-28
As of 2013-09-28
As of 2013-06-29
As of 2013-03-30
Cash & Equivalents
8,001.00
14,077.00
14,259.00
11,248.00
12,053.00
Short Term Investments
22,401.00
26,634.00
26,287.00

31,358.00
27,084.00
Cash and Short Term Investments
41,350.00
40,711.00
40,546.00
42,606.00
39,137.00
Accounts Receivable - Trade, Net
9,700.00
14,200.00
13,102.00
8,839.00
7,084.00
Receivables - Other
-
-
-
-
-
Total Receivables, Net
15,820.00
25,198.00
20,641.00
13,453.00
13,336.00
Total Inventory
1,829.00
2,122.00
1,764.00
1,697.00
1,245.00
Prepaid Expenses
-
-
-

-
-
Other Current Assets, Total
11,542.00
12,316.00
10,335.00
10,463.00
9,619.00
Total Current Assets
70,541.00
80,347.00
73,286.00
68,219.00
63,337.00
Property/Plant/Equipment, Total - Gross
30,406.00
29,288.00
28,519.00
26,889.00
24,194.00
Accumulated Depreciation, Total
-15,286.00
-13,800.00
-11,922.00
-10,562.00
-9,168.00
Goodwill, Net
2,055.00
2,022.00
1,577.00
1,522.00
1,400.00
Intangibles, Net
3,928.00
4,105.00
4,179.00

4,353.00
4,136.00
Long Term Investments
109,239.00
118,131.00
106,215.00
104,014.00
105,550.00
Other Long Term Assets, Total
5,106.00
5,091.00
5,146.00
5,421.00
5,294.00
Total Assets
205,989.00
225,184.00
207,000.00
199,856.00
194,743.00
Accounts Payable
18,914.00
29,588.00
22,367.00
15,516.00
14,912.00
Accrued Expenses
6,606.00
5,423.00
4,782.00
4,875.00
4,575.00
Notes Payable/Short Term Debt
0.00
0.00
0.00

0.00
0.00
Current Port. of LT Debt/Capital Leases
-
-
-
-
-
Other Current liabilities, Total
17,688.00
18,758.00
16,509.00
15,928.00
16,021.00
Total Current Liabilities
43,208.00
53,769.00
43,658.00
36,319.00
35,508.00
Long Term Debt
16,962.00
16,961.00
16,960.00
16,958.00
-
Capital Lease Obligations
-
-
-
-
-
Total Long Term Debt
16,962.00
16,961.00
16,960.00

16,958.00
0.00
Total Debt
16,962.00
16,961.00
16,960.00
16,958.00
0.00
Deferred Income Tax
19,471.00
18,306.00
16,489.00
16,070.00
16,481.00
Minority Interest
-
-
-
-
-
Other Liabilities, Total
6,169.00
6,464.00
6,344.00
7,155.00
7,264.00
Total Liabilities
85,810.00
95,500.00
83,451.00
76,502.00
59,253.00
Redeemable Preferred Stock, Total
-
-
-

-
-
Preferred Stock - Non Redeemable, Net
-
-
-
-
-
Common Stock, Total
8,617.45
20,559.00
19,764.00
19,024.00
17,954.00
Additional Paid-In Capital
12,878.55
-
-
-
-
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)
98,934.00
109,431.00
104,256.00
104,564.00
116,572.00
Treasury Stock - Common
-
-
-
-
-
Other Equity, Total
-191.00
-172.00
-191.00

-413.00
516.00
Total Equity
120,179.00
129,684.00
123,549.00
123,354.00
135,490.00
Total Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity
205,989.00
225,184.00
207,000.00
199,856.00
194,743.00
Shares Outs - Common Stock Primary Issue
-
-
-
-
-
Total Common Shares Outstanding
6,032.09
6,247.00
6,294.37
6,359.09
6,580.66
("APPLE INC 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL),
2013).
Financial ratios for Apple Inc – march 2014 and 2013
Earnings per Share
5.98

5.68
Profit Margin, %
21.42
21.67
Return on Equity, %
30.36
29.98
Return on Assets, %
18.00
17.89
Price/Sales
2.79
3.22
Price/Earnings
15.21
11.82
Price/Book
4.73
3.46
Debt/Equity
0.14
0.14
Interest Coverage
0.00
0.00
Book Value, $
19.24
19.43
Dividend Payout, %
Strengths and Weaknesses of ratios calculation of stockholders
There are two main ways to look at these ratios, internally and
externally. The strengths of the ratios can be drawn from
looking at them with an external perspective. Apple

shareholders enjoyed earnings per share in 2013 of 5.68 per
share, which is much higher than many other technology
companies (and all companies in general). (Lashinsky, 2012)
This indicates that compared to other Fortune 500 companies,
Apple is still performing competitively. Similarly, return on
equity of 29.98 and return on assets of 17.89 are competitive,
and the kind of numbers that would make the average investor
strongly considers purchasing Apple. When evaluating a
company it is important not to lose focus on the bigger picture,
which can often be generated through comparison to other
companies. In this sense, Apple is still a very strong choice for
investors looking to purchase shares.
The second way to evaluate a company from the eye of a
stockholder is internally, or compared to past years. This makes
a certain degree of sense; each company is unique, which means
that there is a good argument to be made that the only way to
effectively see trends in that company is by comparing it to
itself. Through this lens, Apple did not perform well from 2012
to 2013. Each of the 3 ratios declined significantly. Earnings
per share, return on equity, and return on assets decreased
9.97%, 15.07%, and 24.51%, respectively. This across the board
reduction in these ratios is troubling for a company that is
attempting to reassure investors in the wake of the death of
Steve Jobs that Apple is as strong as it ever was. Of course,
these ratios fluctuate on a year by year basis, and taking any
single year by year comparison too seriously is likely folly.
However, Apple will not be able to escape comparisons (even
with an extremely small sample size) of the company before and
after Steve Jobs. These disappointing ratios show that, so far,
Apple has not lived up to the task.
Ratios/Metrics Relevant to Creditors
There are other ratios that will be especially relevant to Apple’s
creditors. Creditors are mainly concerned with how well Apple
will be able to pay its debts and keep operating in both the short
term and the long term. This compares differently to
shareholders, who are only really concerned about how much

money they can make off of Apple, either in the short term or
long term. After all, shareholders can always dump their stocks;
creditors are bound to Apple for the long haul. The ratios
provided below are some of the most common ones that
creditors are interested in.
Ratio/Metric
2012
2013
% Change
Working Capital (millions)
-240
-88
63
Current Ratio
1.58
1.78
12.66
Accounts Receivable
Turnover
9.14
13.67
49.56
Inventory Turnover
62.93
88.71
40.07
Times Interest Earned

17.5
15.28
12.96
Debt/Equity
0
0.14
14
Source: NASDAQ
From a creditor standpoint, Apple has much strength. The
current ratio of Apple was 1.58 in 2012 and 1.78 in 2013,
indicating that the company increased its ability to pay current
liabilities with the current assets over the two years. Even more
exciting, from the creditor standpoint, is the fact that they
current ratio increased from 2012-2013 by a percentage of
12.66. This means that Apple is paying off debts and acquiring
more assets in the years that were evaluated. So, current ratio of
Apple Inc. is identified as strength. Such a positive increase
indicates to a creditor that Apple should be in a strong fiscal
position to meet its obligations in the short and long term.
Working capital is identified as both a strength and weakness. It
represents strength since it increased from a -240 million figure
to -88 million, a percentage increase of 63%. It is a weakness
since the working capital is still in the negatives (something
that will be discussed in the next section), the fact that Apple
was able to bring it up 63% in one year is a very good sign for
creditors. Working capital represents the operating liquidity of
the company over a given period of time. The ability to increase
working capital by that many millions and that large of a
percentage shows that Apple is working hard to get bolster
fiscal measurements that might worry both creditors and
shareholders. This increase in working capital is caused by the
expansion of the firm by increase demand for its products.
Indeed, both accounts receivable and inventory turnover also
increased in the same period, which means that, from a creditor
standpoint, Apple as a company has a great deal of strength.

Account receivables turnover represent the ability of the firm to
issue credit and collect them timely from its customers.
Inventory turnover represent the number of times the stocks are
converted into sales within a given period of time. Debt to
equity ratio represents the company’s financial leverage. Apple
inc. 0 in 0.14 in 2012 and 2013 respectively indicating that its
degree of financial leverage increased by 14%. This forms one
of the weaknesses of the firm (Fisher, Anne 2008).
There are 2 main weaknesses that can be seen from analyzing
the ratios relevant to creditors. The first weakness, as
mentioned before, is the fact that Apple has a negative working
capital. This makes the company to reduce in financial
performance; a negative working capital is still a reason for
concern for any company. In the case of Apple, many of the
other financial measurements are strong, so the negative
working capital can safely be overlooked until other measures
indicate weakness. The second weakness observed in the
creditor ratios was the increase of the debt to equity ratio from
0 to 0.14. Generally speaking a debt to equity ratio of greater
than 2 is worrisome for a company, and Apple’s 0/14 falls far
below a 2. However, in 2012 Apple did have a debt to equity
ratio of 0. The increase in the debt that Apple has compared to
its assets is something that creditors should keep an eye on, but
should only worry about it if it continues to increase in
subsequent years. After all, many companies would be very
pleased with a 0.14 debt to equity ratio.
Business Opportunity: Launch New Product to Reduce Cost of
Goods Sold
Based on the horizontal analysis performed in the first section
of this report, there are several business opportunities that
would appear ripe for Apple. The first opportunity is the launch
of a new product, such as the Apple TV. (Lashinksy, 2012) The
cost of goods sold increased in 2013, which indicated that
Apple had to pay more and work harder to sell the same
products. The Apple TV should be able to sell itself and allow
for Apple to spend less money selling the goods which will

increase the profit of the company (while increasing revenue at
the same time). Reducing the percentage of cost of goods sold
to the amount of total revenue earned by the company should be
a major goal for Apple in 2014, and effectively launching a new
product like the Apple TV will help meet that goal. The
company will reduce the cost of goods sold by providing
warehouse and distribution services and also substituting lower
cost materials where it seems possible.
Corrective Action: Increase Research and Development
Launching the Apple TV is a short term solution to many of the
weaknesses noted in Apple in this analysis. Apple needs to
continue implementing new innovations and ideas to able to
gain a competitive advantage over the other competitors.
(Lashinksy, 2012) coming up with new ways of promoting the
product is very crucial and this will enable the firm the increase
customer loyalty and customer confidence in the product.
(Andrew Roberts, 2013). The company should work on its
weakness to ensure that it does not fail the operations and also
improve on its strength and make the financial performance to
be its main goal and objective.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a few chinks in Apple’s armor that can
be seen following the death of Steve Jobs. The increase of cost
of goods sold, the debt to equity ratio increase, and some other
metrics have Apple stakeholders getting a bit nervous. While
these are genuine causes for concern, Apple is still in a great
position to succeed. By effectively launching the Apple TV
while increasing the research and development budget, Apple
should be able to ease stakeholder concerns and continue to be
the unquestioned technology leader.

References
Andrew Roberts (2013). "Burberry Designer Bailey to Become
CEO as Ahrendts Goes to Apple". Bloomberg L.P
"APPLE INC 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL)
(2013). United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Fisher, Anne (2008). "America's Most Admired
Companies"Fortune157 (5): 65–67.
Stuart Elliot (2013). "Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable
Brand"The New York Times
Writankar, Mukherjee (2013). "Apple to enter smaller Indian
towns with iPhones and iPads"The Economic Times
Weygandt, J. J., Kieso, D. E., & Kell, W. G. (1996). Accounting
Principles (4th ed.). New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto,
Singapore: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 800.
Zachary M. Seward (2014). "The Steve Jobs email that outlined
Apple’s strategy a year before his death". Quartz

Project Management Assignment
1PURPOSE
1INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT PROJECT
3FORMAT OF THIS ASSIGNMENT
3USING MICROSOFT PROJECT IN PC COMPUTER
LABORATORY
3File SAVE and BACKUP requirements
4Starting Microsoft Project
4THE PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT
4Project background
4Setting the Project Start Date
5Setting default values
king Time
8Enter tasks in the schedule
10Durations and Milestones
11Designating tasks and sub-tasks
15Setting milestones
17Deliverable #1: Initial Gantt Chart
19Deliverable #2: Report
20Create a resource list
22Practical example of resource application
23Task constraints
lead times:
24Allocating resources to Palmers Golf Course Project
27Slack Time

28Budget
29Deliverable #3: Resource Management
30TRACKING PROGRESS
31Updating the project schedule
32Deliverable #4: Final Gantt Chat and Budget Report
32SUMMARY
32ASSESSMENT
33AssessmentPURPOSE
This assignment is designed to provide you with practical
experience in applying project management concepts.
Specifically, the objectives of this assignment are:
· To learn fundamental skills in the use of project management
software – in this case, Microsoft Project.
· To produce key elements of a project management plan,
including the adjustment of a project proposal to fit within a
schedule.
· To practice some professional communication skills as you
write a memorandum to the Project Manager to explain your
project plan and make recommendations for action.
You will follow this approach in completing this assignment:
· Learn to use the application. Use this assignment and the on-
line tutorial to learn how to use Microsoft Project.
· Apply what you learn from the tutorial to prepare a project
plan then adjust that project plan to meet the adjusted
requirements.
· Prepare a memo that describes your revised project proposal.
This will challenge your ability to explain and justify complex
program changes in a brief memo with specific

recommendations for action.
· Finally, submit your assignment by the due date.
Microsoft Project will help you plan, manage, consolidate and
communicate information about your projects efficiently, by
combining the critical path method of scheduling with a
graphical environment. It is used to construct Gantt charts,
PERT (Project Evaluation Review Technique) charts and
different types of both Task and Resource reports.
You are expected to work through this assignment in your own
time, using either the PC computing laboratories or your home
computer. If you have questions or problems with the Microsoft
Project software or in completing the assignment, you should
ask the tutor for assistance in the allocated lab times.
INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
At its core, project management is simply the planning,
organizing and managing of tasks and resources to accomplish a
defined objective, usually with constraints on time and cost.
Most projects, whether they are large and complex or small and
simple, can be planned by breaking the project into small, easily
manageable tasks, scheduling the tasks, and then tracking the
tasks as work progresses.
Project management helps you answer questions such as:
· What is to be done?
· Who will complete the task?
· When must it be done?
· How much will it cost?

· What happens if work isn’t completed on time?
Typically, project management involves three major activities:
•
Planning the project and creating a schedule
This includes defining the tasks and their duration, setting up
relationships between tasks, and, if you are tracking resource
usage, assigning resources. ALL later phases of the project are
based directly on the information you provide when you first
plan your project.
•
Managing changes
This is an ongoing process that begins once you create a
schedule and the project starts, and ends when the project is
complete. It includes tracking and adjusting your schedule to
reflect changes that occur as the project progresses.
•
Communicating project information
This is a very important process that involves communicating
project information to clients, project staff, and management.
Project management software is productivity software that will
assist you in each of these steps. Many professionals find it is
among the most productive tools in their skill set. Some
Information Systems professionals will find it essential to their
jobs while many others will use it only on an occasional basis.
INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT PROJECT
Project management software such as Microsoft Project helps
you achieve your project goal on time and on budget. Computer
software can significantly aid in project management as a tool
for recording, calculating, analysing, consolidating and
presenting project details. However, it is important to note that

the software cannot produce or even guarantee a successful
project plan, any more than a word processor can produce or
guarantee a successful novel.
Despite this, Microsoft Project assists you to develop a better
plan. It does so in the following ways:
(
MS Project requires you to specifically define the tasks in the
project, making you think more carefully about project details.
(
MS Project makes projections easier to calculate and more
reliable. Based on the data you enter, the software will calculate
a schedule that will show the various dates and the resources
required to perform specific tasks.
(
MS Project helps you detect inconsistencies and problems in the
plan. It will detect when resources are scheduled for more hours
than are available or when deadlines cannot be met.
(
MS Project helps you communicate the plan to others as you can
generate printed reports that make the "selling" of the plan to
upper-level management, who must approve the plan, an easier
task. Likewise, it is easier to communicate the plan to
supervisors and workers, which simplifies securing their
approval and co-operation.
(
MS Project helps you track progress and detect potential
difficulties once the project is underway. You can replace
projected dates for the scheduled tasks with actual dates, as
tasks are being performed. The software revises the schedule
and the new projection will provide you with advance warning

of potential delays (if any) so that you can take any required
corrective measures.
Project management involves more than just opening a blank
document and typing a list of tasks. There are "housekeeping"
chores to be done and choices to be made about how to calculate
the project schedule. However, Microsoft Project does not have
rigid requirements about the order in which you deal with these
preliminaries. You can begin by jotting down some ideas about
tasks that you think might be required, and you can later adjust
the scheduling calendar, enter the basic project information,
revise the calculation and display options, and define the
resources. In fact, you can execute all of the previous steps in
any order.
Finally, be aware that this assignment introduces you to the
basic principles of project management and MS Project, but the
assignment does not use the full capabilities of the software.
THE PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT
Project background
Palmers Golf Course is a two-year-old signature golf course
based in Auckland. Being unique, the number of memberships is
increasing and putting strain on the existing information system.
The current system is used only by Accounts Department to
process Accounts Payables and Receivables. With the steep
increase in the memberships, Bookings and Maintenance the
Human Resource department is getting overwhelmed with the
paper work. Therefore, there is a need to add these functions to
a new system.
You are the Project Leader for SoftSystems Ltd., which has
been contracted by Palmers Golf Course to undertake this
project. You need to advise how to develop the new system in a
tightly constrained time period. Specifically, you have been

advised that the project can start no earlier than 7th January
2008 and must be completed by 22ndt October 2008.
You report to Ms Smith, the Project Manager for SoftSystems
Ltd, who liaises with Palmers Golf Course. You will report your
progress and plans of the project to Ms Smith.
Setting the Project Start Date
Click on Project on the menu bar, and then go to Project
Information. Set the project start date to Mon, 7th January 2008.
Do NOT enter finish date. Click OK.
Setting default values
· Set Current Date
The computer's internal clock initially determines the date listed
in the Current Date text box.
To access the Current Date, click again on Project, then Project
Information.
The current date box appears. Changing this date box has
several implications:
•
The date determines the location of the dashed (current) date
line on the Gantt chart timeline.
•
The Current Date appears in the header of the Project Summary
standard report. You can also display the Current Date in
headers or footers on other reports.
•

You can use the Current Date to track the progress of the
project, specifically to record the progress of all tasks
scheduled to be in progress or finished as of the date in the
Current Date text box.
For this assignment, you will, initially, leave the Current Date
as defined by the computer clock, please check that it is correct.
Click OK, to close the Project Information box.
Click on File, Properties then Summary tab and in the Title box
typePALMERS GOLF COURSE. This names the project, which
will then appear on your printouts. You should also enter your
name (Author) and other optional data.
· Set the Calendar
The calendar in this assignment should match the New Zealand
calendar by the addition of non-working days. Setting a new
calendar can be done either (a) by modifying the standard
calendar or (b) by creating a new base calendar. You will do the
latter (b).
Microsoft Calendars
Microsoft Project can support a large number of projects
including large, complex projects, which are usually broken
down into sub-projects. Changing the working days on the
standard calendar affects all projects, with potentially
unanticipated consequences. Therefore, each project should
have its own base calendar.
•
Microsoft Project contains an internal standard calendar that
defines the default working and non-working days used for

scheduling tasks in your projects. It assumes five working days
per week, Monday - Friday, eight hours of work per day
(including an hour off for lunch). The default schedule is
8:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 5:00pm. No statutory
holidays are set in the original standard calendar.
•
The standard calendar forms the basis for the base calendar,
which applies to all resources in a project. It would recognise
special dates or circumstances that apply to a specific project.
In this assignment the base calendar will account for statutory
holidays.
•
The Base calendar is the basis for resource calendars, which
apply to specific resources (groups of people, material,
equipment, facilities required to complete a project). Each
resource has its own calendar, which is linked to a designated
base calendar (by default the standard calendar). A resource
calendar inherits all the elements of its base calendar. It can be
edited to record the days and hours when the availability of the
resource differs from the normal working times such as
holidays, differing hours of work on particular days, or
availability of special equipment.
Microsoft Project uses the base calendar and the resource
calendars to schedule the start dates for tasks. When Microsoft
Project schedules a task, it notes the earliest possible starting
date, based on when the predecessors to the task will be
completed. If resources are required, Microsoft Project consults
the resource calendars to find when they are available and the
task is scheduled to start on the next available working hour for
the assigned resources. If no resources are assigned, the
project's base calendar is used to schedule the start and finish of
the task.

In this assignment, a group of senior secondary students who
are undergoing work experience training will be made available
to assist you in this project. They will be available two
afternoons per week. The resource calendar for these students
would initially show them as having the same hours as the base
calendar but would be modified to increase the number of non-
working days and show afternoon working hours only.
· Set the Working Time
* * * Practice exercise starts here. At completion, Exit
WITHOUT saving * * *
Working Time specifies the hours of work on a working day. As
a practice exercise undertake the following steps so that, (a) you
know how to change working hours in a calendar and (b)
observe the protection that the software has in place to
safeguard against invalid entries.
1.
Select Tools then Change Working Time.
2.
Scroll to January 25th 2008 on the Standard Project Calendar.
3.
In the top From text box enter 09:00.
4.
In the top To text box enter 13:00.
5.
In the middle From text box enter 12:00.
6.

In the middle To text box enter 17:30.
7.
Click OK to see if these times are accepted. If not, why not?
8.
Re-enter the original hours (08:00; 12:00; 13:00; 17:00).
9.
Scroll to the 4th of July 2008. Select the From text box to
change the working hours. Note the box is grayed out; therefore
it is impossible to change the hours of work on a non-working
day.
10.
Exit the Change Working Time window by clicking the Cancel
button.
* * * Practice exercise ends here. At completion, Exit
Note:
•
The software checks all time entries for consistency. Each
successive time must be later in the day than the preceding time
text box.
•
You must use the top From and To text boxes first, only then
can you fill the bottom pair. You cannot leave the top work
period row blank.
•
You can restore default working hours by clicking on the
default button.

•
To change more than one day at a time, hold down the ctrl key
and click on non-contiguous days; or hold down the shift key
and click to select a block of days. Now your time entries will
affect all the selected days.
•
Use either the 24-hour clock, or the 12-hour clock using am and
pm suffixes to enter times. If you enter a time without using an
am or pm suffix, the computer uses the first instance of the time
following the Default Start Time. If that is 8:00 am then 3:30
without a suffix is assumed to be 3:30 in the afternoon and a pm
suffix is attached.
•
The separator between hours and minutes follows the American
standard of a colon ( : ), not a full stop.
•
A shortcut hint: on the hour, enter 10 for 10:00 am, and 5 pm
for 5:00 pm.
•
Noon is entered as 12:00 pm and midnight as 12:00 am.
•
To remove a work period delete both the From time and the To
time for the period.
· Set the Project Calendar
You will now create a calendar for this project by accounting
for the extra non-working times reflected by statutory holidays.
1. Go to Tools on the menu, then to Change Working Time.

2. Click the New button at the bottom.
3. The "Create New Base Calendar" box appears. Enter ‘Palmers
Calendar’ in the Name text box.
4. Choose the Create New Base Calendar button and click OK.
5. We will only change holidays, (non-working days) on this
calendar.
Scroll to Mon 28th January 2008 (Auckland Anniversary Day),
then click on the non-working time button. Repeat this process
for:
· Fri 21th March 2008 (Good Friday)
· Mon 24th March 2008 (Easter Monday)
· Fri 25th April 2008 (Anzac Day)
6. Check the calendar and ensure you have made no errors when
entering the non-working days. Click OK.
7. Choose Timescale from the Format menu and select the
Nonworking Time tab. Click on the Calendar pull down menu
and select Palmers Calendar. Click OK.
8. Within the Project Information box from the Project menu
select Palmers Calendar from the Calendar pull down menu.
Click OK. This assigns the Palmers Calendar as the base
calendar for this project.
Setting a Finish Date
The Project Information box (choose Project, Project

Information) can give you a global view of the whole project
and you can do "what if" type scenarios from this box. For
example, you could enter either a start date or a finish date in
the Project Information box to function as an anchor point for
scheduling the tasks in the project. If you enter the start date,
Microsoft Project schedules the first task in the project to begin
at that date and calculates the project's finish date based on that
starting date. If you enter the finish date, Microsoft Project
schedules the tasks at the end of the project first and works
backward. The final task is scheduled to end by the finish date;
the task that precedes the final task is scheduled to end in time
for the final task to begin, and so on. You cannot specify both a
start date and a finish date.
Most projects have a deadline. If you don't intend to assign
resources or you do not need Microsoft Project to help you
reconcile resource overloads, you can safely schedule the
project from a fixed finish date. Most projects also have limited
resources. If you want the program to help you adjust the
schedule to resolve resource overloads (levelling) you must
schedule the project from a fixed start date. This is the approach
you will adopt in the assignment.
Set the Gantt chart bar display
Click on the following in sequence to set the Gantt chart bar
display:
1. Format menu
2. GanttChartWizard
3. Next >
4. Select Critical Path then Next >

5. Select Resources and dates then Next >
6. Select Yes, please to show link line between dependent tasks
then Next >
7. Format It
8. Exit Wizard
What did this do? Now when tasks are added to the Gantt chart
the bars will be coloured red if they are on the critical path and
when duration and links are added to the project you will be
able to readily identify on the screen what tasks lie on the
critical path. When the project actually gets underway, you will
be using a different Gantt chart display to highlight any
variances between ‘planned’ and ‘actual’ activity on the tasks.
Enter tasks in the schedule
The first step in creating your schedule is to enter task headings
and tasks. With the Gantt chart on the screen, begin by typing a
list of tasks or events that need to be done in order to move the
project forward, preferably in the approximate order they will
happen. Tasks entered are assigned the default duration of one
day (1d). It is easy to delete and insert tasks and to relate tasks
so that each task will be scheduled appropriately.
1.
In the first field in the Task Name column typePALMERS
GOLF COURSE PROJECT
2.
Press Enter.
3.
In field #2 enter,Initial Study
4.
Continue entering these task headings, one in each Task Name

field:
Feasibility Study
Requirements Analysis
Requirements Specification
System Design
Coding & Testing
System Testing
Now is a good time to save your work using the Save As
command under the File menu, ensure you have selected the
appropriate drive (e.g., H:) in the drives box on the "Save As"
screen. In the File Name box, give this file an appropriate name
(e.g., Palmers_D1_EnterTasks).
Note:
· If you wish to make corrections you can use the white Entry
Bar. Make the corrections and press enter or click on the tick
button.
· To delete tasks, select the task and use the Delete key. If you
inadvertently delete a task immediately click the Undo button
on the toolbar.
· Here and below, do not be concerned about not understanding

what this means. This project information is about various
stages of systems development project, but it is not necessary
for you to understand systems development terminology to carry
out this assignment.
Select the Feasibility Study task. Then either use the Insert key
on the keyboard or choose New Task from the Insert menu. This
enters a blank line above the current task.
Repeat until there are three cells between "Initial Study" and
"Feasibility Study". In the three blank cells enter:
Study Existing System
Carry Out Interview(s)
Prepare Documentation
Continue by inserting the relevant number of blank lines below
each task heading and then enter in the following:
Under "Feasibility Study" enter:
Identify Problems
Understand and Analyse Problems
Estimate Project Cost
Assess Project Risk
Propose

Solution
Task Scheduling
Under "Requirements Analysis" enter:
Investigate Current Environment
Investigate and Define Requirements
Under "Requirements Specification" enter:
Prepare Specifications
Prepare Use Case Diagram
Prepare Data Dictionary
Prototyping
Under "System Design" enter:

Design New System
Design Test Plan
Under "Coding & Testing" enter:
Coding
Unit Testing
Integration Testing
Update Data Dictionary
Under "System Testing" enter:
Hardware & System Testing
Acceptance Testing
Prepare Documentation
Some of the Task Name information is not completely visible in
the field. To view the full field, place the cursor on top of the
vertical line to the right of “Task Name” in the dark grey title

area. Its shape will change to a thin vertical line with two
arrows. You may "drag" the line and view the enlarged Task
Name field.
As you progress with your work, you’ll need to regularly save
the project. In the File Name box, give this file an appropriate
name (e.g., Palmers_D1_EnterTasks).
Although there will be places in the assignment where it is
recommended that you save your data, you should use common
sense and save more regularly. Don’t forget to have a backup
file saved too.
Durations and Milestones
With your tasks entered, you are now ready to enter duration for
each task in the Duration field. Duration is an estimate of how
long it will take to complete each task. Enter durations by using
a number followed by a letter to indicate the unit of measure:
days (d), weeks (w), hours (h), and minutes (m). The default
duration is 1d.
Note: Here and below, do not be concerned about calculating
the duration yourself. For this project, we are giving you the
durations that should be used throughout the project.

A vital part of project management is to place "milestones" in
order to identify significant events in your schedule or to
measure the progress of your project. A milestone is created by
declaring it as a task of zero days duration. Microsoft Project
displays the milestone symbol on the Gantt chart at the start of
that day. To the right of the milestone symbol is the start date
for the task, such as:
· Set Milestones
You are to add milestones, which are the dates project
deliverables are due. To enter the first milestone:
1.
Insert a blank task line above Task 13 Requirements Analysis.
2.
Type "Deliverable to Project Manager".
Repeat this process one more time at the end of the project,
after “Prepare Documentation”.
· Set Durations

The durations shown in the Gantt chart on the next page are to
be entered in the Duration column.
1.
Select the Duration field for the first task.
2.
Type a number for the duration length followed by the duration
unit abbreviation.
3.
Press the enter button or the tick mark.
4.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 to enter durations for all the tasks in
your project.
Having completed all the duration entries plus adding the two
milestones, your Gantt chart should look similar to the chart
below with "PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT” as Task 1
and "Initial Study” as Task 2.
This Gantt chart shows it will take 10 working days (2 weeks,
there are 5 working days per week), as defined by the duration
of tasks 26 and 27, to complete the project (the red bars). By

definition, these are the critical paths and are shown in red on
your screen. However this assumes each task is independent and
running in parallel with each other, starting at the same time
and same date. Nothing could be further from the truth and it is
time to change the Gantt chart to reflect this.
Designating tasks and sub-tasks
To show the structure of the project, that is the hierarchical
nature of task headings and subtasks, the subtasks are indented
to the right of the task heading.
To do so, select the subtasks and click the Indent button (right
pointing arrow on the Formatting toolbar) or choose Outline
from the Project menu and then choose Indent.
Select tasks 3 - 5 and indent them.
Note that the Task Summary "Initial Study" has become bold,
its Gantt Bar has changed shape and colour and the length of the
bar is now the same as the longest duration of the subtasks.
Continue indenting the subtasks associated with:
Feasibility Study, Requirements Analysis, Requirements
Specification, System Design, Coding & Testing, System

Testing. To check on the structure, it is helpful to show all of
the subtasks by clicking on the + symbol on each Task
Summary, as shown below. On completion your chart should
look similar to that below.
Now it is necessary to make all the tasks part of the project. To
do so, indent all Task Summaries so that they become a sub-task
of PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT. Note how the
PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT Summary Bar now takes
on the duration of the longest Task Summary (10 days) as
shown below. Pay attention to [+] and [-] in front of the project
tasks.
Now is a good time to save your work using the Save As
command under the File menu. In the File Name box, give this
file an appropriate name (e.g., Palmers_D1_Indent).
Establishing Relationships between Tasks
The next step is to link the tasks in sequence and see how long
it will take to finish the project. When you link one task to
another, you establish a relationship between tasks and specify
a sequence of events.

When a task begins after the previous task finishes, this is a
finish-to-start relationship. The finish-to-start relationship is
the most common and is the default one in Microsoft Project.
A finish-to-finish relationship is one in which both tasks finish
at the same time.
A start-to-start relationship is one in which both tasks start at
the same time.
The least common relationship is a start-to-finish relationship in
which the completion of one task depends on the start of a later
task.
A task that must start or finish before another task is called a
predecessor task. A task that depends on the start or finish of a
preceding task is called a successor task.
As a general guideline, link sub-tasks to sub-tasks within a
group and then link Summary Tasks to other Summary Tasks.

The two buttons for creating links and breaking links are
represented by the two "chains" shown in the Standard toolbar.
To create a link:
1.
In the Gantt chart select the tasks you want to link in the correct
order i.e. predecessor before successor.
2.
Click the Link Tasks button on the toolbar, or choose Link
Tasks from the Edit menu.
To remove a task relationship:
1.
In the Gantt chart, select the tasks you want to unlink.
2.
Click the Unlink Tasks button on the toolbar (the "broken"
chain), or choose Unlink Tasks from the Edit menu.
To change the type of relationship (between two tasks):
1.

Select the second sub-task of already linked sub-tasks.
2.
Click the right button of the mouse to open a drop-down menu.
3.
Click on Task Information.
4.
Click on the Predecessors tab.
5.
Click on the Type field (for example, "Finish-to-Start (FS)").
6.
Click on the downward arrow above the information, this will
open a drop-down menu.
7.
Click on the new type of relationship (e.g., Finish-to-Finish).
8.
Click OK. Note how the bars for the task and its predecessor
now have the same finish date.

You will now create links on the PALMERS GOLF COURSE
PROJECT. Later you will be called upon to shorten the duration
of the project due to the consequence of either a completion
date requirement or the amount of resources used. Normally
there is a third consideration, the cost, but this is beyond the
scope of Deliverable #1.
Select tasks 3 - 5 inclusive and link these in a Finish-to-Start
relationship.
Note:
•
The bars are now red because they are currently the critical
path.
•
The duration of "Initial Study" is the sum of all linked subtasks
and equals 10 days (3 days + 2 days + 1 week [which is
equivalent to 5 working days]).
Complete linking the tasks by linking them in a Finish-to-Start

relationship:
Link tasks 7 - 13 inclusive
Tasks 9 and task 10 can go in parallel so they both finish at the
same time (a finish-to-finish relationship). Change the finish-to-
start relationship to finish-to-finish relationship as discussed
above.

In order to show the total duration of the project it is necessary
to link the Task Summaries. Select a Task summary; click on
hide subtasks button (a - (minus) symbol in the Formatting
toolbar) and all its subtasks will become hidden thus making the
next Task Summary become adjacent.
Repeat this process through the rest of the project so that only
the Task Summaries are displayed. Select all Task Summaries
then click Link (finish-to-start) button. This method summarizes
the project at the Task Summary level, which is useful for
reporting purposes. Click on the show all tasks button (+ +
button) to restore the full Gantt chart display.
Do NOT link the PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT Task to
the other Task Summaries.
Now you should analyse and format the chart to give an overall
view. Note that the duration of the project is now 110 days, all
tasks are on the critical path, and your Gantt chart is spread
over 6 or more pages. To get an overall view of the project,
select Zoom from the View menu, then Entire Project.
Looking further at the Gantt chart shows that the milestones
have shifted due to their relationship with their predecessor.
The duration of the whole project is "task-driven". To check the

global project information, view the Project Information box in
the Project menu. This will show you the project start date and
the project finish date as well as the name of the calendar in use
(Palmers Calendar). With a starting date of Mon 7th Jan 2008,
the project would conclude on Thu 12th June 2008. This finish
date is completely unsatisfactory as the project due date is Thu,
22nd May 2008. Click cancel.
Setting milestones
The final date will be set by the milestone at the end of the
project (Task 34).
To adjust the milestone, double click on the task to display
“Task Information”.
1. Then click on the “Advanced" tab.
2. In the “Constraint Type” change to "Must Finish On" by
using the pull down menu.
3. Then change Constraint Date to the required date of Thu 22nd
May 2008 for that milestone.
4. Click OK.

If the date is earlier than the one shown prior to changing, a
‘Planning Wizard’ screen will come up advising of the
difficulties being encountered with this deadline. For the
purposes of this assignment, the date is not negotiable,
therefore click on the last option, "Continue, A Must Finish On
Constraint will be set".Click Ok. Another screen will now come
up advising of a scheduling conflict. Select, "Continue. Allow
the scheduling conflict". Note how on the Gantt chart the time
folds back to the milestone. This means that the duration of the
project will have to be shortened. This will be addressed
shortly.
To meet an organizational deadline, the milestone at task 13
must set to Wed 13th February 2008.Note again there is a
problem with this milestone being achieved as shown by the
"fold back" in the Gantt chart.
Despite these changes, note that the total duration for the
project as shown on Task 1 remains the same at 110 days. What
has just happened? See column “Finish Date” (down two
columns from Duration column).
We still have MS Project scheduling the entire project on finish
date of Thu 12th June 2008 (showing 110 days). However, the

last milestone 34 “Deliverable to Project Manager” has to be
handed in on the Thu, 22nd May 2008 (the date specified by the
Project Manager, Ms Smith). From now on in the assignment
we are going to use the Thu, 22nd May 2008 date and milestone
as a critical path to bring the project in on time. This will
happen in Deliverable #3. For now you have finished
Deliverable #1 Initial Gantt Chart, however, keep going to get
the necessary paperwork to hand in.
· Formatting the Deliverable
The following formatting steps are required for the first
deliverable (such as inserting footers). Microsoft Project will
enter the project start and finish dates for you automatically.
To set footers:
1. Choose Page Setup from the File menu
2. On the Page tab, choose Landscape orientation.
3. Click on the Footer tab.
4. In the Alignment box, select Left tab and type Project Start

Date: then select Project Start Date from the General drop-down
menu below, then click on Add button.
5. Select Centre tab, delete the page number field and type your
name.
6. Select Right tab and type Project Finish Date: then select
Project Finish Date from the General drop-down menu below,
then click on Add button.
7. Click on OK to save these footer settings.
8. Check footer details using Print Preview.
To view the Gantt chart so that the whole project fits on one
page: View, then Zoom, then click on Entire project, then OK.
Click on Page Setup: select the Page tab: in Scaling, adjust to
80% normal size; go to View tab, tick "Fit timescale to end of
page"; click Print Preview button to check that the chart takes
one page and shows the columns listed for Deliverable #1. You
may need to continue adjusting the % of scale to get the best fit.
At this stage you have completed the creation of a schedule.
You have done a lot of work on this project and it would be a

very good idea to save your work. It also would be a good idea
to make a duplicate of this file at this time, (e.g., save as
Palmers_D1_Duplicate)
Deliverable #1: Initial Gantt Chart
Microsoft Project file: Palmers_Deliverable_1
The first Deliverable in this assignment is a copy of the one-
page Gantt chart with the columns Info (Indicators), Task
Name, and Duration. The footer includes the fields Start Date,
your name and Finish Date, as specified. All the tasks and
subtasks are listed with correct durations; no misspelled words;
milestones correct; and tasks linked. Be sure to print preview
to ensure you have one page and that the footer is formatted
correctly.
Deliverable #1: Initial Gantt
Chart………………………………………..……………………..
Deliverable 2: Report
This report is written as a memorandum (memo) to Palmers Golf
Course Project Manager and shall be completed after you have
carried out Deliverable #3. Hence, Deliverable #3 printouts
provide the supporting documentation for this memo. As you
undertake Deliverable #3, make notes of issues to discuss when
you write this memo. In Deliverable #3, you address the
problems of how to bring the project on time and within the

staffing budget. In this memo, you explain your actions and
make recommendations to the Project Manager.
Ms. Smith, the Project Manager, has been away from the office
for two weeks while you have been preparing the project
management documents. Now, just as Ms. Smith is returning,
you must attend an object-oriented programming course in
Wellington during the week that project decisions have to be
made. Your task is to explain your proposed project adjustments
with sufficient detail and clarity so that Ms. Smith can make
decisions without needing to consult with you. You will want to
include some attachments to this memo (Deliverable #3).
You may assume that Ms. Smith knows the scope of the project
including what tasks are required and the duration (i.e., the
state of the project at the first Deliverable). You must:
•
Confirm to her that the project is now scheduled to be
completed on time and with the available resources (e.g., briefly
explain the Gantt chart in Deliverable #3).
•
Explain the allocation of resources you made to bring the
project in on time. The staff resource graph in Deliverable #3

can help you explain crunch weeks when staff are fully
employed and slack times. Don't forget the students.
•
Anticipate questions Ms Smith might have and address them.
•
State clearly the actions that are required. Ms. Smith is a busy
person and wants her staff to conclude memos with specific
action items and recommendations.
Note: Remember the memo is to be written after Deliverable #3,
not Deliverable #4. Thus, don’t discuss issues that are raised in
Deliverable #4.
Furthermore, the organisational ethos is for memos to be limited
to 2 pages. Exceed this limit and you risk Ms. Smith's
displeasure as well as loss of marks on this assignment.
On the next page is a memorandum format that you MUST
follow. Why? Most organisations have adopted a specific format
for internal memoranda. If you follow the format, your
communications will be recognised as part of the organisation
and, initially, granted a certain degree of credibility with the
persons to whom the memo is sent. Deliverable #2 in this

assignment must follow this memo style. Of course, the memo
should include complete sentences, logical paragraphs,
verb/subject agreement, correctly spelled words and all the
other requirements for professional written communications.
· All margins should be 2.54 cm (1 inch) except for the top
margin of the first page, which should be 1.5 cm (second page =
2.54 cm). Since this is a memorandum, no header or footer is
required.
· The memo heading should be in a sans serif font such as
Helvetica (or Arial). The company name (SoftSystems Ltd) is in
all caps, bold, centered and 18 point. The division (Information
Systems in this case) should be mixed (title) case, bold,
centered and 14 point. Use the sample as a template; overlap it
with your memo to ensure that you meet the specifications.
· The address information (To, From, Date, Subject) should be
as shown below (block letters, bold font, etc.) in a serif font
such as Palatino (preferred) or Times, and font size 11. Address
the memorandum to Ms. Smith from you, and include the details
below. A line separates the address information from the body
of the message.
· The body of the message should be in Palatino (or Times) and

font size 11. Reflect the professional communication standards
that have been specified in the previous professional
communication assignments. This includes proper punctuation,
grammar, sentence structure, no misspelled words, etc. Include
a brief introduction (what is this memo about, why you are
writing rather than reporting in person), the project's status, an
explanation of your actions and a list of recommendations
and/or action items as a conclusion. Remember to be gracious,
polite and professional. This is written to your boss so you
know her well. Remember to thank people who have helped you
in bringing the project in on time.
SOFTSYSTEMS LTD
Information Systems Division
MEMORANDUM TO:
Ms.Smith – Project Manager
FROM:
[Add Your Name] – Project Designer
DATE:
[Add Date Submitted]
SUBJECT:

[Add Appropriate Subject]
_____________________________________________________
________________________
[Add Report Message]
Deliverable #2: Report
Write and print the memorandum, following the specifications
listed above. The memo must be formatted as detailed in the
assignment and in the sample memo above. Both content and
presentation will count in awarding marks.
Deliverable #2: Report
Deliverable 3: Resource Management
Adding Resources to the Project
People and equipment are the resources that do the work in your
project. With Microsoft Project, you can assign resources to
tasks and then use the software's tools and views to manage
these resources and the overall project more efficiently. It will
ensure you have sufficient people and equipment to meet your
schedule and create work schedules for resources.

Assign resources when your goal is to:
•
Track the amount of work done by the people and equipment
assigned to the tasks.
•
Ensure high accountability and understanding of the project –
responsibilities for the implementation of tasks are made clear
and the risk of tasks being overlooked is decreased.
•
Have greater flexibility in planning when and how long tasks
take to complete.
•
Monitor those resources that have too little or too much work
assigned.
•
Keep track of resource costs.
If you do not enter resource information, Microsoft Project
calculates your schedule using just task duration and task
relationship information (i.e., task-driven scheduling in the

Gantt chart you have created). This assumes unlimited resources
are available to complete the tasks, which is not a very realistic
view of project management.
Resource assignments affect the length of time it takes to
complete a task; this is called resource-driven scheduling.
Create a resource list
You need to create a resource list. While assigning resources,
this will save you time. The software assigns the amount of
work specified for a task to a resource. Scheduling depends on
the resource's work schedule, or resource calendar and other
task assignments. For example, if you assign a one-day task to a
resource and the resource works full-time, then the resource
will be scheduled to work on the task for the equivalent of a full
day, starting with the earliest available unscheduled time that
meets the task constraints. Once a resource is assigned to a task,
the resource name appears next to the task bar on the Gantt
chart.
In this project you will assume that your company staff will
consist of a Chief Programmer, a Senior Programmer, three
Programming-Analysts and a Programmer. Three secondary
school students are also able to work on Wednesday and
Thursday afternoons only, excluding any public holidays. They

will provide unskilled assistance but would benefit by getting
work experience training. They will have an unimaginative title,
Student. Also, Client will be used in some tasks.
If you haven’t already done so, Open
Palmers_Deliverable_1.mpp.
To create a Resource List:
1.
From the View menu, choose Resource Sheet.
2.
In the Resource Name column enter the title of the Staff
member.
3.
In the Max. Units column, enter the number of resource units
available for this resource (default is 100 % per each one unit).
For example to use 3 Programmer-Analysts you should key in
300%.
4. Click the right mouse button to bring up the Resource
Information dialogue box. Select Working time tab. Click the
list button for Base Calendar and choose Palmers Calendar,

which you created previously, then click OK.
5.
Repeat steps 2-4 for each of the staff titles, except the student.
6.
Repeat steps 2-3 for the three students.
7.
Due to the students working Wednesdays and Thursdays only, it
will be necessary to create a new calendar, let's call it the
"Students Calendar". To do so, follow instructions to create a
new calendar as described earlier in "Set the Project Calendar"
section (Page 8). The Students Calendar inherits the
characteristics of the Base Calendar. Ensure that you click on
"Make copy of Palmers Calendar" when you create it. Show
working hours are Wednesday and Thursday for a start time of
1:00pm and a finish time of 5:00pm. Monday, Tuesday and
Friday are to be made non-working days.
8. Repeat step 4 for student,choosing Students Calendar.
9. For each Staff, enter the standard $ rate as shown below.
Your Resource Sheet should look like this:

Return to the Gantt chart by choosing Gantt chart from the View
menu.
Assigning and removing a resource
In your Gantt chart, you now have a project of known duration,
even though it does not yet meet time constraints. It currently
assumes that one person is working full-time on the project; this
is the default value. This person is operating on the same
calendar as the project base calendar (e.g., the project is using
the Palmers Calendar, a resource using the Palmers Calendar is
the default). When you allocate one staff to a task, the duration
will not change. Should you allocate a resource using a different
calendar (i.e., a student) then the duration will change.
By assigning resources (people or equipment) to tasks, you can
make sure you have enough resources to accomplish the tasks in
your project. You can assign one resource, a part-time resource,
multiple resources, or multiple units of the same resource to a
task. The software displays the unit percentages next to the
resource name by the task bar on the Gantt chart.
You can also change the resource quantities allocated to a task.
In this case, for resource-driven tasks the task duration will
change when you change the number of units for the same

resource assigned to a task. This enables you to reduce the
amount of time required to complete a task to meet a deadline.
There are safeguards in the software to stop you from entering
more resources units than you have available – you will be
warned of over-allocation.
How to assign resources: There are several ways of assigning
resources. The method you will use is to employ the Resource
Pool just created. It will be helpful to use the Resource
Management toolbar that contains the Resource Assignment
button as well as other buttons related to working with
resources. Bring up this toolbar by entering through the View
menu and then Toolbars. Select Resource Management.
Select a task on the Gantt chart and then open the Assign
Resources box by clicking on the Assign Resources button. In
the Assign Resources box select a resource and click on the
Assign button. If more than one unit is needed, enter the
quantity in the Units field beside the resource name. Remember
that you are not restricted to integers.
Assigning a resource to several tasks: Select the tasks in the
Gantt chart (using the ctrl key to select the tasks that are not
adjacent), and then in the Assign Resources box select the
resource and then the Assign button.
Changing the number of resources used on a task: To decrease

or increase the number of resources allocated to a task, double
click on the task, which opens the Task Information box, then
on the Resources tab. Select the Units field and change the
figure.
Removing a resource assignment: Select the task on the Gantt
chart, click the Assign Resources button on the Toolbar. Select
the appropriate resource and click on the Remove button.
Practical example of resource application
You are going to do some "what -if" tests to see the impact of
resources on the duration of a task as well as changing some
durations. Start with a just-saved file (i.e., save your work
before beginning these tests).
On the Gantt chart, select Task 26, Coding. This task currently
has duration of 2 weeks. Likewise, on the Gantt chart note the
duration of the Task Summary Coding & Testing (24d) and also
the total project time for Palmers Golf Course Project (110d).
Double click on task 26 and from the Task Information box note
that the start and finish dates are Thu 23rd April 2008 and Wed
7th May 2008 respectively.

Allocate to this task the resource of one student (“OK” then
“continue and allow the scheduling conflict” if asked). Note
how the Gantt bar has now extended and also the Task Summary
and Palmers Golf Course Project duration times have increased.
Clicking on the Task to produce the Task Information shows the
finish date has changed as well.
Obviously this resource allocation is not good for the project
but it does demonstrate how the Resource Calendar created for
the students is automatically taken into account when those
resources are allocated to a task.
Re-enter the Resource Assignment box and increase the
Students assigned from one (100% units) to four (400% units).
You have now allocated more students than are available. To
see this graphically demonstrated, click on View, Resource
Graph. In the left-hand window, click on the right-arrow to
open the Students box. Note how the title is in red, which shows
there is an over-allocation. In the right window, drag the
horizontal scroll bar until the date of around 1stMay 2008 is
displayed. You will then see the student allocation in blue as
well as the over-allocation in red. A similar view is in Resource
Usage, under the View menu. Against Student you will see the
total work time (80 hours). Drag the cursor until you can see the

time allocations on 1st May 2008 and you will see, in red, 16
hours per day over 4 days.
As this is not a successful task allocation, firstly reduce the
number of students employed on the task to 1. Then remove the
students completely from the task by clicking on the Tools,
Assign Resources, click on Student then on the Remove button.
Check on the Gantt chart that the duration for Task 26 has been
restored to 2w.
Task constraints
One aspect of project management is determining lead and lag
times. Microsoft Project assumes all new tasks can start
immediately after the preceding task has finished. However, in
real projects some tasks can start while another is in progress
(lead time) and in other situations there may need to be some
time between the finish of one task and the start of the next (lag
time). Microsoft Project cannot do this for you; this is your
responsibility as Project Planner.
Lead and Lag Times in Projects

Lead time: The amount of overlap between the completion of
one task and the start of its successor. For example, you might
want to start moving furniture into some offices while carpet is
still being laid in other offices.
Lag time: The amount of delay between the completion of one
task and the start of its successor. For example, a lag time of
two days might be required between painting a room and laying
carpet.
These are the instructions to perform when changing the
relationships between the tasks with lag and lead times added.
Choose the correct successor task and then double click on that
task. Select the Predecessors tab, click on "Finish-to-Start
(FS)" in the Type field, click on the downward arrow above to
open the drop-down menu, select the type of relationship
required then click in the Lag field to the right if required and
enter the amount, then OK. For lead time, enter the number
prefaced with a minus sign.
· To change the relationship between the tasks with lag and lead
times:

(Use the instructions above to carry out the tasks below)
Firstly, double check that the following successor tasks have the
finish-to-start relationships:
•
Task 3 must precede task 4
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
To further expand your Project Management skills, set tasks 26
and 27 with a finish-to-finish relationship on a one-day lag.
Note how the “Coding & Testing” Task Summary has reduced
by nine days (from 24 to 15 days) as task 27 (ten days) now
runs in parallel with task 26, minus a one-day lag. Repeat this
process for tasks 19 and 20.
Also, set the relationship between task 3 and task 4 with a start-
to-start relationship.
Note: Tasks 3-13 should now be coloured blue and the duration
time for the project should be 94.5 days.
Now would be a good time to SAVE your file with these new
task constraints before allocating resources in the next step. In
the File Name box, name this file
(Palmers_D3_Lead_Lag_Times).

Allocating resources to Palmers Golf Course Project
Make a backup copy of your file BEFORE you start assigning
resources and rescheduling tasks to fix the over-scheduling
problem you currently have. As you perform multiple changes
of resource allocations, the software does not keep the original
duration and you may have to revert to the saved backup copy.
It is important to grasp the concepts of task allocation as this
procedure, if misunderstood, can lead to much confusion and
incorrect results. Microsoft Project does not know if a task
needs 1 employee or 10 employees to undertake the task. At this
stage we are going to decide how many staff it is going to take
to perform a task.
· Entering resources for each task
You can adjust each task one-by-one, but if you want to allocate
the same number of staff to a number of tasks, highlight the
tasks (use the ctrl key), then select Assign Resources from the
Tools menu and make the assignment.
Enter the following resources for the following tasks. Only
these resources must be entered. Go to Tools, Assign Resources,

to enter in the following resources, all at 100% (the window can
stay open to assign all the resources). While assigning the
resources, if the planning wizard window pops up – choose the
option Continue, Allow the schedule conflict.
Task 3
Programming Analyst, Chief Programmer
4 Client, Chief Programmer
5 Senior Programmer, Programming Analyst
7
Programming Analyst
8 Programming Analyst
9 Senior Programmer, Chief Programmer
10 Senior Programmer, Chief Programmer
12 Senior Programmer
16 Programming Analyst, Chief Programmer

18
Programmer, Senior Programmer
19 Student, Programmer
20 Student
21 Programmer
23
Programming Analyst, Senior Programmer
24 Programmer, Senior Programmer
26
Programmer, Programming Analyst
27 Programmer, Programming Analyst
28 Programming Analyst
29 Student, Senior Programmer

31
Senior Programmer, Programmer
32 Programmer, Client
The following figure shows Programming Analyst and Chief
Programmer being assigned to Task 3. If you assign your first
resource (Programming Analyst) to the task and later assign
second resource (Chief Programmer) then, the information box
for the corresponding task will show a warning information
suggesting you to ‘Click to set how the task is rescheduled as a
result of the assignment’. This would change the duration to
half as you have doubled your resources. To confirm select the
first of the 3 options.
But if you assign both resources simultaneously then the
duration wouldn’t get changed. To change the duration to half,
you need to first look at the work against each resource. From
the main menu, select Split under Window to see all the details
about the resources allocated to a task. You would notice that
work against each resource may still be the total work for that
task. Example for the task 3, each resource should work for 12

hours each (half of 8(hours)*3(days)=24 hours) and not 24
hours each (that would make the total work to be 48 hours). If
this is 24 hours, then you need to change this to 12 and then
duration would get halved.
It is necessary to note that the duration of tasks should have
changed when the allocation of two people were added to a task
above. Lets CHECK and see.
You will need:
1. a printout of Deliverable #1 with original durations.
2. a printout of the Gantt chart just performed with resource
allocations just added.
Notes about resource allocations
By comparing the printouts of Deliverable #1 and the Gantt
chart of resources just allocated, check the tasks with 1 resource
(person) allocated. You will find that the durations are the
same.
However, for the tasks with 2 (or more) resources (people)
allocated, the durations should have halved or changed. In fact,

it is better to see how what the s/w has done when you allocated
the resources. You may also like to insert a pre-defined column
called ‘Work’ in your Gantt Chart (see the figure below). Also,
from the main menu select Split under Window to see all the
details about the resources allocated to a task. For example, for
Task 3, we can see the resources (personnel) allocated and the
amount of person-hours they are working. Each resource is
shown to be working for 12 hours (half of the total work is
allocated to each resource) as total work is 3 days (8*3 = 24
hours).
CHECK the tasks that have 2 resources allocated have halved
under the duration column (such as 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 18,
23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32 and 33).
For task 19 – this would not be half as the students work only
half day (4 hours) for 2 days/week. Therefore, would take
longer to do the work.
Note: All your tasks should now be blue and the total duration
of the project should change to 94 days.
As you have made quite a lot of changes now would be a good
time to SAVE.

Budget Report
Before moving on lets have a look at the budget of the project
thus far. The budget shows a total cost of $38,280.00, check.
BEFORE you continue with your work, print the ‘Budget
Report’.
From View select Reports, then Costs, then Budget (you may
need to use Zoom 90% to fit onto one page). This is part 1 of
Deliverable #3 Resource Management.* * * Before attempting
the rest of Deliverable #3 below, READ THIS FIRST * * *
By the time you finish Deliverable #3 Resource Management,
you will need to achieve the following:
(1) An acceptable slack percentage (explained below), and
(2) An acceptable budget (explained below)
To do this, you need to:
· Change the unit percentages for some resources and,
· Always check that your durations are changing accordingly
It is strongly advised that you carefully read through the
remainder of Deliverable #3 Resource Management instructions
first before you come back to this point to perform what is
asked.

As discussed before you will need:
1. a printout of Deliverable #1 with correct durations
2. a printout of the Gantt chart with allocated resources
(people), as instructed
3. a calculator
· Entering and changing unit percentages
In order to obtain the acceptable budget (explained below) and
the acceptable slack time (explained below), we need to change
the unit percentages for resources. It is up to you to decide
which resource unit percentages need to change. Remember:
these changes may need to be discussed in Deliverable #2, the
report.
Notes about changes to the unit percentages
This is an example. When we change the unit percentages of the
resources for task 3 to the Chief Programmer working at 50%
instead of 100%, and the Programming Analysts working at

200% instead of 100%, this means that the duration of the task
will again change (see the top figure below). It will now take 3
days (instead of 1.5) as Chief Programmer is working only 4
hours a day and therefore would require 3 days to do 12 hours
of work. If we wish to reduce the task duration then we should
allocate less work to Chief Programmer. This would also enable
us to reduce the budget as Chief Programmer is more expensive
than Programming Analyst. For example, may change work to 4
hours for the Chief Programmer and 20 hours for the
Programming Analysts. This will reduce the task duration to
1.25 days (duration is now determined by the length of time
required by Programming Analysts to do 20 hours of work as
they take longer than the Chief Programmer as he takes only
one day) and will cost $1080 (see the bottom figure) instead of
$1320.
You are expected to produce an intelligent resource allocation.
For example, you should take into account that the Chief
Programmer has an overseeing role over several projects, plus
his/her pay is the highest; therefore the greater that person’s
involvement, the greater the cost. The Chief Programmer can
be involved from 10% up to 100%; you can try other unit
percentages, such as 50% - 80% for less involvement. Do not
set involvement percentage at 0% as this does not make any
sense. For all tasks, you must keep the resources (i.e. the people

involved) the same, however, you can change the unit
percentages, so the duration should change accordingly (as
discussed in the box above). The budget will also change.
Slack Time
For a project to be successful, it should finish a few days before
the actual due date (milestone). This gives the Project Manager
enough time to check if everything has been completed
correctly. This extra time is known as slack. You are required
to ensure that the industry norm of 15% slack time for each
milestone is observed (14%-16% slack will be accepted).
· Calculating Acceptable Slack Percentages
In the Gantt chart view, the total duration from task 2 to the
first milestone should be 26 days (the sum of the durations of
the bold tasks) and for the second milestone, from task 14 to
task 33, it should be 68 (+/- 0.1) days.
We are going to calculate the acceptable slack percentage using:
· the total number of days (26 days for milestone 1 and 68 days
for milestone 2), and
· the total slack (in the total slack column) for the task before

each milestone
To calculate the Slack Percentage for each milestone, take the
total slack (expressed in days) and divide it by the total
duration (also expressed in days). As we have already said, the
acceptable slack is around 15%, so we can work back to
calculate the slack time we need to meet this requirement. The
two calculations for the first and second milestones follow.
Next to the duration column in the Gantt chart, insert the Total
Slack column.
For the FIRST milestone:
In the Total slack column, take the first total slack number
before the first milestone (task 12). For this milestone, the aim
is to achieve a number that is around 4 days (or around 0.8
weeks). That is 4 days divided by 26 (total days) = 15.4% slack.
For the SECOND milestone:
Again, in the Total slack column, take the first total slack
number before the second milestone (task 33). For this
milestone, the aim is to achieve a number that is around 10 days
(or around 2 weeks). That is 10 days divided by 68 (total days)

= 14.7% slack.
Now that you know the total slack you are aiming for, it is your
turn to adjust the unit percentages for some resources to achieve
the required slack for each milestone. If slack is too low you
need to increase the work being done (increase the resource
units); if slack is too high you need to reduce the amount of
work being done (decrease the resource unit percentages).
Remember to check that no resources are over-allocated.
(View/Resource sheet).
Remember that you will need to explain to Ms Smith why you
made the changes you did, and……….
don’t forget the budget.
Budget
The Budget Report is from View, Reports, Costs, and then
Budget (you may need to use Zoom 90% to fit onto one page).
When you allocate resources, a cost will be calculated for each
task. For this project you have a budget of approximately
$33,520 (we will accept +/- $750). It is your responsibility to
change the level of use of these resources in order to save
money and to gain more profit. Explain variances that may

occur with your improved allocation of resources in your report
to Ms Smith.
If you are not getting the appropriate budget figure, look at the
Budget report. The Budget report sorts the tasks from most
expensive to the least expensive. Try reducing the resource
allocation for the most expensive tasks if the budget is high (or
vice versa if the budget is low). However, that may affect your
slack total, so you may have to increase the resource allocation
for the least expensive tasks to bring your total slack to the
industry norm of about 15%. Note that increasing/decreasing
percentages for tasks that have only one resource will have no
effect on the budget, but it will affect the duration. To affect the
budget you need to change the tasks that are allocated two
resources.
You need to pay special attention to senior staff allocation as
their associated costs can sometimes determine whether a
project is profitable, or even viable.
At the end you must NOT have any over-allocation of resources
(personnel and cost), and you must meet both milestones and
the project completion date of Thu, 22nd May 2008. You will
satisfy these requirements when the Gantt chart shows blue
lines between the milestones, the staff and student resource

graphs do not contain any over-allocation of resources (red
bars), and there is approximately 15% slack time within each
milestone. When this is done you have completed Deliverable
#3.
Save your work. File name Palmers_Deliverable_3
Warning
You will need to make sure that you work independently on this
reallocation. If you borrow ideas from a classmate you will find
it difficult to explain what you did and why, in the report to Ms.
Smith. Nearly identical resource allocations and memos will be
taken as evidence that students treated this as a group exercise,
and not independent work. The penalty for collaboration and
copying will be zero marks for all students involved.
Deliverable #3: Resource Management
Deliverable #3 in this assignment includes the following. Check
that all columns are extended to show all information.
1. A printout of the Budget Report AFTER resources were

allocated to the project and BEFORE resource unit percentages
were changed.
(View, Reports, Costs, Budget; you may need to use Zoom 90%
to fit into one page.)
2. A printout of the Gantt chart you have developed as a result
of your resource allocation to bring the project in on time, with
an acceptable slack time and an acceptable budget.
Show the columns as per Deliverable #1 plus the Work, Total
Slack column (1 or 2 pages for the whole project), showing the
schedule on time and ALL tasks with resource(s) added as well
as a proper footer. Use the same formatting instructions as for
Deliverable #1 (you may need to adjust the scaling to 70-55%).
3. A printout of the Budget Report at the end of Deliverable #3
AFTER changing the unit percentages.
4. A printout of the “Who Does What” Resource Report at the
end of Deliverable #3.
(Reports, Assignments, “Who Does What”.)
5. A printout of the Resource Sheet at the end of Deliverable
#3.
(From View, select Resource Sheet.)

6. A printout of Resource Usage.
(View, Resource Usage, and then zoom entire project.)
Deliverable
#3………………………………………………………………………
……………. 6 marks
The criteria listed for Deliverable #1 Gantt chart also apply
here. Specified changes in the project must be shown and each
task must show the staff and student resources allocated to the
task. Also ensure that you do NOT have an over allocation of
resources. Use the Landscape orientation for all printouts.
From the reports printed out in this Deliverable you are ready to
write up the report for Deliverable #2.
TRACKING PROGRESS
So far you have planned the project schedule but even with the
best-laid plans, your schedule will deviate from the original due
to unforeseen problems, sick leave, etc. By tracking tasks you
can see which tasks need extra attention so that you can make
adjustments to the project early, in order for it to run smoothly.
Tracking progress means updating and analysing the project
progress once the project has started, and to do this you take a
snapshot of what you planned. This is done by saving the
baseline. This baseline/tracking information is required for the

production of variance reports.
Saving a baseline: When tracking progress, you work with three
types of information:
1.
Baseline: This is your fixed model for how the project should
proceed. This is also known as planned information, which does
not change unless you specifically want to modify the baseline.
For example, in the original schedule, you may have planned to
do Task Scheduling (task 12) with duration of one day starting
on the12th of February 2008. This information is the task's
baseline data, as set when you saved the baseline, and is what
you originally planned to do.
2.
Current: This is a changing, working model for upcoming tasks
after the project is underway. The schedule might change as you
receive new information and make adjustments. For example,
you might discover that a problem has occurred with the
Rational Rose software you need to prepare the Use Case
Diagram and you cannot start until one week later. This revised
information is the task's current data.
3.

Actual: These are tasks already in progress or are finished. As
you enter actual dates for completed tasks, the start and finish
dates for the remaining scheduled tasks are updated. For
example, if “Task Scheduling" took two days instead of one, the
start and finish dates of all the subsequent tasks are updated to
reflect the longer duration.
Updating the schedule:
Updating your project is an ongoing process of modifying the
current schedule for upcoming tasks and entering actual
information for tasks which have started or finished. Because
previous tasks affect the start and finish dates of future tasks,
the software incorporates this information and recalculates the
schedule for future tasks. Your schedule will change but the
baseline stays unchanged. You enter actual information as tasks
happen.
To simplify this process, Microsoft Project has a Tracking
toolbar, which contains the commands you need to use to
change the progress status of one task, a number of selected
tasks, or the entire project. To display this toolbar: choose
View, Toolbars, Tracking. This procedure may have to be
repeated each time you enter Microsoft Project and want to view
the Tracking toolbar.

When the project is on target:
Assume all tasks scheduled to begin before the current day are
proceeding according to plan. To update the schedule to reflect
this progress:
1.
Click the Task Name column heading.
2.
On the Tracking toolbar, click the ‘Update As Scheduled’
button. The tasks are updated and progress bars appear as a
darker blue colour in the bars.
When you need to update specific tasks in the project:
For example, when two tasks have started and are now finished
on schedule, select both tasks, then click on the ‘Update As
Scheduled’ button. If a task started on time, but is running
ahead of schedule use the % Complete buttons on the Tracking
toolbar to specify how much of the task is complete for the
selected task.
When the project is not on target:
When tasks are not completed as scheduled, you will have to

enter their actual progress manually. You can select a single
task, multiple tasks or a group of tasks within a date range.
To make it easier for you to see progress, change the zoom
display. From View, Zoom, then specify ‘1 month’, for
example.
Updating the project schedule
As you have now finally finished the scheduling of the project,
you must now save the baseline. You do not want to overwrite
your deliverable 3 file, so first save your project as
Palmers_Deliverable_4.
Select Tracking, from the Tools menu, then Save Baseline and
OK. Finish by saving the file as you normally would.
In preparation for updating the project schedule process, the
type of Gantt chart you will use will be changed so that
progress on the tasks can be seen compared to the planned
progress (as set by saving the baseline).
Enter the GanttChartWizard menu (from the Format menu) but
change the type of chart to Baseline. Continue through the menu
and exit.

Note the vertical dashed line on the Gantt chart, which marks
the current date on the time scale.
Change the formatting of this line to make it different from
other vertical lines on the Gantt chart.
From the Format menu, choose Gridlines, then Current date.
Change Type to solid line and Color to red.
The scenario for Deliverable #4 is that the project started on
time and that to the current date, which you need to set to Sat
23rd Feb 2008, all tasks either have been completed or are on
time (i.e., all tasks from Mon 7th Jan 2008 ending on Thu, 22nd
May 2008are 100 % complete). To simulate the project now
being under way it is necessary to change the Current Date.
Change the ‘Current Date’ as displayed in the Project ( Project
Information window. Now update the schedule as described in
the box above (Hint: Zoom to 1 month for a more detailed view
of the Gantt chart).
Microsoft Project does not save the changes to display the
current date when you close the file. If you close and open the
file again, the date will default back to the computer date.
Therefore, you need to check that the current date as displayed

in the Project Information window is Sat 23rd Feb 2008 before
printing the Gantt chart.
Tasks to the left of the dateline are now complete. If this is
equal in length to the main bar, the task is 100% complete.
Tasks currently under way will show that they have been
completed up to the current date as shown by a different density
to the colour of the bar.
As the project has progressed, you were faced with staff who
were not assigned to a task either on the Palmers Golf Course
Project or any of the other projects being undertaken by
SoftSystems Ltd. Rather than give them meaningless tasks to
perform, they were able to undertake some preliminary work for
task 19, Prepare Use Case Diagram and task 33, Prepare
Documentation (it usually isn’t efficient to work in this manner,
but it is preferable to having staff idle). This has resulted in
both of these tasks being 25% complete at the current date of
Sat 23rd Feb 2008.
Use the tracking toolbar to update task 19 and task 33 to reflect
them being 25% complete.
Deliverable #4: Final Gantt Chat and Budget Report

The fourth Deliverable in this assignment is a copy of the final
Gantt chart you have developed with your final changes. The
following are required:
1.
A printout of your Gantt chart expanded out to a month (Zoom,
1 month) and incorporating all the changes (should be 2-3 pages
depending on the scaling). Ensure that the Task Name, Duration
and % complete columns are included. Change the timescale on
the Gantt chart to show ‘Month, year’ as MAJOR timescale
(i.e., January 2005) and ‘day, month initial’ as MINOR
timescale (i.e., 5 J for 5 January). Timescale can be changed
from Format, then Timescale. Print preview to confirm
formatting, contents and footer.
For convenience in marking, please cut and tape these pages
together. This is common business practice – do not expect your
future boss to be happy about trying to read three disconnected
pages or cut-and-tape these pages on your behalf.
2. A printout of the Budget Report.
Deliverable #4: Final Gantt Chat and Budget Report

Unless stated otherwise above, previous criteria for formatting
the Gantt chart and Budget Report apply. Do not forget to cut-
and-tape the Gantt chart together (if not, a penalty will apply
and marks will be deducted). Use the Landscape orientation for
all printouts.
SUMMARY
Congratulations! You now have basic skills necessary to use
Microsoft Project to plan and manage a project. As you may
have noticed while using the software, there are many aspects of
Microsoft Project that have not been explored. For example,
project planning with fixed costs and reports that can be
generated for the senior management by using filtering
techniques and pre-designed presentation templates.
These are outside the range of this assignment as the prime
focus was to give you practical insight into the use of a cost
effective, general-purpose tool for assisting in the fundamentals
of project management.
We hope you find the assignment useful and rewarding now and
in your future career.

� EMBED PBrush ��
� EMBED PBrush ��
Project Management Assignment
Page 1 of 33
Running head: APPLE
1
APPLE
10
Financial Analysis of Apple

University Name
Student Name
Course Number/Name
Professor Name
Date
Introduction
The death of Steve Jobs in 2012 put Apple in a spotlight even
more than the technology company is used to being. Job was the
brain and the spine of Apple; few companies are built so
centrally around one person. With his passing, it makes sense
that investors and other stakeholders are concerned about
Apple’s business performance under new leadership. CEO Tim
Cook, handpicked by Jobs as his replacement, has worked hard
to stabilize the company and reassure investors that Apple will
continue to be the same profit-generating monster it was under
the leadership of Steve Jobs. Words and anecdotes are often
enough to soothe the feelings of employees and some investors,
but more forward thinking stakeholders will want quantitative

evidence that Apple continues to be a strong company. This
paper will provide a quantitative financial analysis of Apple
comparing 2013 to 2012; in addition, the paper will discuss 2
corrective options Apple could take in order to generate a
greater profit.
Horizontal Analysis
One of the best ways to evaluate a company objectively is to
perform a horizontal analysis. This allows the analyst to
compare the performance of a company in the immediate
moment with another moment in time. Doing so allows for a
comparison of trends; for example, if the total revenue of a
company has decreased sharply over the past 3 years it is clear
that there is a problem and something needs to be done. A
cornerstone of any horizontal analysis is the total revenue
earned by the company. In 2013, Apple earned 170 billion
dollars compared to 155 billion dollars in 2012. (NASDAQ,
2014) This represents an increase of 9.68% from 2012-2013. In
an age where technology companies are notoriously vulnerable
to massive swings in revenue, a steady 9.68% growth in revenue
is a positive thing for investors, employees, and creditors to see
the company earning.
There are many other elements that go into a horizontal

Running head APPLE1APPLE 13Financial Analysis of .docx

Running head APPLE1APPLE 13Financial Analysis of .docx

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