The document discusses the key elements of project management - time, cost, and scope - which are collectively known as the "project triangle". It explains that changes to one side of the triangle inevitably impact the other two sides. Quality is at the center of the triangle and is affected by any changes made. The different types of task dependencies - finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and start-to-finish - are also summarized.
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Assignment 1 Identify elements of concern (e.g. resources.docxsherni1
Assignment 1:
Identify elements of concern (e.g. resources, time, cost, quality, scope, accessibility to interviewees,
generation a questionnaire, distributing the questionnaire, sample size, ability to analyze/verify the
results…) of your project and suggest what you intend to do about them.
PS: My Project about: Relationship between Money and Time with Virtualization Technology.
Minimum number of words 500, referencing with Harvard style and the number of references not less than
three Academic Articles or books.
Please, make sure that there is no Plagiarism
Assignment 2:
Create a Monthly/Weekly/Daily log. Analyze it according to the importance of the activities listed. Suggest
ways to reduce time on the unimportant activities in favor of the more important ones.
Minimum number of words 500, referencing with Harvard style and the number of references not less than
three Academic Articles or books.
Please, make sure that there is no Plagiarism
Introduction
All projects consume resources, including time and money, in order to deliver a
product of a particular scope and quality. There is thus always a tension between
the extent of resource input and the extend of product output. Additionally, there
is also tension between project management activities and project development
activities.
Dawson (2009: 4.1) provides a graphical presentation of this:
Project Management
Project Management concerns the planning and conduct of the project by
controlling and checking project progress, monitoring milestones and
deliverables, and managing risk.
The effort involved in project management should account for not more than 10%
of the overall effort but it will not be evenly distributed, as most of it is expended
towards the start of the project. A project can be conceived as product
2
development that is concerned with achieving the aims and objectives of the
project by producing the deliverables in accordance with the project plan, while
optimizing scope and quality of the deliverables relative to the resources
available.
Project Stages
From a project management perspective, projects proceed in five stages:
1. Definition - Deciding on a project; making a project proposal
2. Planning - Detailed planning of the project
3. Initiation - Organizing work (in particular, group work); literature survey
4. Control - Monitoring the progress of the project
5. Closure -Delivering/deploying result of the project; preparing final presentation;
writing up reports
Project Definition
Aims and objectives
It is important to decide and define a clear specification of what the project is to
achieve and adhere to it. Wavering between different aims might be disastrous to
the conduct of the project. Aims are broad statements of intent that identify the
proje ...
SCM435 – Project Management MICROSOFT PROJECT ASSIGNMENT.docxbagotjesusa
SCM435 – Project Management
MICROSOFT PROJECT ASSIGNMENT (COMBINED)
THE PALMERS GOLF COURSE PROJECT
Project background
Palmers Golf Course is a two-year-old signature golf course based in Auckland, NZ. 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 Mon, January 4th 2016
and must be completed by Thu, May 19th 2016.
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.
Note: There is a lot of information included to provide context for what you will do in this assignment.
Please read carefully, and thoroughly to ensure the directions are followed. Also, to make it more clear, the
steps that you will perform in Microsoft Project are all written in the Courier New font.
Setting the Project Start Date
Click on the Project Tab in the Ribbon, and then go to Project
Information. Set the project start date to Mon, January 4th 2016. 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 the Project Tab, 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, then in Project Information, choose Advanced Properties,
then Summary tab and in the Title box type PALMERS 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
.
MBA 6941, Managing Project Teams 1 Course Learning Outco.docxalfredacavx97
MBA 6941, Managing Project Teams 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Analyze the behavioral characteristics of individual project team members.
2.1 Outline the elements of a project schedule and how these elements can be affected by the
behavioral characteristics of project team members.
2.2 Describe key processes of project schedule management in relation to each project team
member and his or her behavioral characteristics.
6. Discuss conflict management and negotiation strategies.
6.1 Describe the implications of the precedence diagram method regarding managing team tasks
and avoiding conflicts.
6.2 Describe the role of the critical path regarding task assignments and the negotiation of resource
allocation within the project team.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 13: Time
Unit Lesson
One of the primary duties of the project manager is to make sure that the project can be completed on time with
the approved schedule while managing other project constraints including the amount of time each team member
has to spend on his or her part of the project. In addition, it is important for a project manager to understand the
behavioral characteristics of each project member in order to assign each individual the tasks that are best suited
for him or her to complete. One of the best ways to do this is to simply talk to people within your organization. Get
to know them and what their capabilities are. Also, speak to others who work with them or have worked with them
in the past, including immediate supervisors. These are the people who will know the strengths and weaknesses
of those you are considering to work with you. You cannot successfully manage a project schedule without a
clear understanding of the project resources and activities.
It is important to know that time is the only “triple constraint” typically owned by the project manager. The
output of time management is an element of keen interest in communications to senior management and
other stakeholders. The project schedule starts with the decomposition of the scope, which is performed by
the team. The project schedule according to the Project Management Institute [PMI] (2013) is one of the
primary sources of team conflicts.
In order to reduce the possibility of these conflicts, some key considerations to keep in mind regarding time
management include the following:
Because time estimates are more accurate if they are based on smaller sizes, estimates should be
based on work breakdown structure (WBS) or how much time they believe a specific portion of the
project should take.
Estimates should be provided by the person that has experience doing the work and not by the
project manager.
Consider historical information such as activities duration estimation, resource estimation, and other
factors from previous and similar projects as they can help with estima.
Project TimeIST4055Chapter 6Now that you have the Sc.docxbriancrawford30935
Project Time
IST4055
Chapter 6
Now that you have the Scope and Work Breakdown Structures done, we address the other 2 aspects of the triple constraint – time and money.
Focus here is looking at the entire project, sequence the steps, and then cost them.
1
Importance of Project Schedules
Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one of their biggest challenges
Average time overrun from 1995 CHAOS report was 222%; improved to 84% in 2004 study; 74% in 2012 study; down to 51% in 2016
Time is the most precarious element of the triple constraint:
Time has the least amount of flexibility; it passes no matter what!
Scope and cost can be adjusted; time goes on regardless of what you do or don’t do.
Traditionally IT project managers have underestimated the amount of time needed to complete the tasks – they are overly confident in their abilities to get the job done and sometimes are too simplistic in their approach. You must be realistic in the time constraint. Note also that it might take you 10 hours, but you also may be working on other projects or doing daily operations too…..so time is how long and over what period of time – 10 hours spread over 60 hours.
Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on projects, especially during the second half of projects. So where are we now with time overruns?
2
Attitudes toward deadlines
Cultures have different attitudes about time
Individual Work Styles and Cultural Differences Cause Schedule Conflicts
3
One dimension Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator focuses on peoples’ attitudes toward structure and deadlines
Some people prefer schedules and deadlines while others do not
Difference cultures and countries have different attitudes about schedules/time
3
Time Robbers
Task rework
Calls, texts, e-mail
Land mail
Incomplete work
Lack of needed authority
Inefficient change procedures
Waiting on people
Day-to-day administration
Too many levels of review
Casual office conversations
Poorly run meetings
Micromanagement
Those activities that at first seem to be short and unobtrusive but when they are all added together can completely fill an entire work day
It is important to realize that some time increments can lead to major time wasters. This slide covers some time robbers that occur in your everyday work life.
In addition to the ones listed on the slide you can add
Poorly motivated or educated customers
Vague goals and objectives
Poor time management
Ill defined project scope
Company politics
Working on under-funded projects
4
Project Time Management
Activity Definition
Activity Sequencing
Project Time Management describes the processes and methods required to create and manage appropriate schedules to complete the project:
Activity Definition – identifies the lowest level of work on the WBS, “work packages”, that needs to be performed to create the finished product deliverable; An activity or task is an element of work normally found on the work breakdown structure (WBS) tha.
Part II: Planning Time: Determining When and How MuchMuzo Bacan
Project assignments always have deadlines. So even though we’re not sure what our new project is supposed to accomplish, we want to know when it has to be finished.
Learn Microsoft office project in respect to creating project file, Project calendar, status date, start date, Bar chart. Adding Milestone, constrain. Tracking of project. Adding resources. Managing resources (Resource Leveling, Resource Smoothing).
How to change working days and time in MS Project?SHAZEBALIKHAN1
The article gives a detailed solution to set up the project calendar. Go through the article and you will be confident to set a date and time in MS Project. You will also get to know about the task usage and eight methods that are used in MS Project.
CSCI 714 Software Project Planning and EstimationLec.docxmydrynan
*
CSCI 714: Software Project Planning and Estimation
Lecture 4B: Work Breakdown Structure
Gursimran Singh Walia
North Dakota State University
[email protected]
*
The Work Breakdown StructureA work breakdown structure (WBS) is an outcome-oriented analysis of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the projectIt is a foundation document in project management because it provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, and changes
Approaches to Developing WBSsUsing guidelines: Some organizations, like the DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSsThe analogy approach: It often helps to review WBSs of similar projectsThe top-down approach: Start with the largest items of the project and keep breaking them downThe bottoms-up approach: Start with the detailed tasks and roll them up
Basic Principles for Creating WBSs*
1. A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS.
3. A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though many people may be working on it.
4. The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed; it should serve the project team first and other purposes only if practical.
5. Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in.
6. Each WBS item must be documented to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and not included in that item.
7. The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement. *Cleland, David I. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 1994
Good WBS Design PrinciplesThe 100% RuleThe WBS defines 100% of the work of the projectAnything that isn’t defined in the WBS is outside the scope of the project.The work content on any item is the sum of what is included under that work itemUpper Levels are Planned outcomes (deliverables), not planned actionsEnds of WBS include the activities needed to create the project deliverablesMutually-exclusive elementsWork should only appear in one place in the WBSWBS must be consistent with the way the project will be performed and controlledMust be easy to update
WBS RolePartition the major project deliverables into smaller components to improve the accuracy of cost estimatesProvide a mechanism for collecting actual costsProvide a mechanism for performance measurement and control
Why create a WBS?Cost EstimatingCost BudgetingResource PlanningRisk Management PlanningActivity Definition
SchedulingScheduling forces:Quantification of discrete effortPlacement of tasks in proper relationshipTwo most common scheduling methodologiesBar Charts (aka Gantt Charts)Critical Path Method (CPM) using Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
Bar / Gantt Charts Defined:Analyze and specify the basic approach in executionSegment into reasonable number of activitiesEstimate the time required.
2007 MS Project Training Instructors Manual (sample)
1. Project Triangle
If time, money, or what your project accomplished were unlimited, you wouldn't need to do project
management. Unfortunately, most projects have a specific time limit, budget (budget: The estimated
cost of a project that you establish in Project with your baseline plan.), and scope.
It is this combination of elements (time, money, and scope) that we refer to as the project triangle.
(These competing elements are sometimes referred to as the triple constraints of a project.)
Understanding the project triangle will allow you to make better choices when you need to make
tradeoffs.
If you adjust any one side of the triangle, the other two sides are affected.
For example, if you decide to adjust the project plan (plan: A schedule of task start and finish dates
and resource and cost data. A baseline plan is the original plan that you save and use to monitor
progress. An interim plan is a set of dates you save during the project to compare to other interim
plans.) to:
* Bring in the scheduled finish date (finish date: The date that a task is scheduled to be completed.
This date is based on the task's start date, duration, calendars, predecessor dates, task
dependencies, and constraints.), you might end up with increased costs (cost: The total scheduled
cost for a task, resource, or assignment, or for an entire project. This is sometimes referred to as the
current cost. In Project, baseline costs are usually referred to as "budget.") and a decreased scope.
* Meet the project budget, the result might be a longer schedule and a decreased scope.
* Increase scope, your project might take more time and cost more money in the form of
resources (resources: The people, equipment, and material that are used to complete tasks in a
project.), such as workers.
Changes to your plan can affect the triangle in various ways, depending on your specific
circumstances and the nature of your project. For example, in some instances, shortening your
schedule might increase costs. In other instances, it might actually decrease costs.
In terms of the project triangle, resources are considered a cost item. So as you adjust resources to
accommodate more or less work or to reflect their availability, your costs go up or down
correspondingly. These costs are based on resource pay rates (pay rate: Resource cost per hour.
Project includes two types of pay rates: standard rates and overtime rates.).
2. What does quality have to do with the project triangle?
Quality is at the center of the project triangle. Quality affects every side of the triangle, and any
changes you make to any side of the triangle are likely to affect quality. Quality is not a factor of the
triangle; it is a result of what you do with time, money, and scope
2
3. Building a Project Plan
Project schedules a project from the information you enter about the following:
Tasks
The individual work items, called Tasks, required to complete the project.
• Task: An activity that has a beginning and an end. Project plans are made up of
tasks.
Resources
If necessary, the resources needed to complete those tasks.
• Resources: The people, equipment, and material that are used to complete tasks in a
project.
If anything about your project changes after you create your schedule, you can update the tasks or
resources and Project adjusts the schedule for you.
For each Task, you might enter one or all of the following:
Durations : The total span of active working time that is required to complete a task. This is
generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the
project and resource calendar.)
Task dependencies : A relationship between two linked tasks; linked by a dependency
between their finish and start dates. There are four kinds of task dependencies: Finish-to-
start[FS], Start-to-start [SS], Finish-to-finish [FF], and Start-to-finish [SF].)
Constraints : A restriction set on the start or finish date of a task. You can specify that a
task must start on or finish no later than a particular date. Constraints can be flexible [not
tied to a specific date] or inflexible [tied to a specific date].)
Calendars
Working times entered in calendars
Working time: Hours designated in a resource or project calendar during which work can
occur.
Calendar: The scheduling mechanism that determines working time for resources and
tasks.
3
4. Project Start and Finish Dates
By default, Microsoft Project schedules tasks to begin on the project's start date and calculates the
project's finish date.
• Task Start date: The date when a task is scheduled to begin. This date is based on
the duration, calendars, and constraints of predecessor and successor tasks. A task's
start date is also based on its own calendars and constraints.
• Task Finish date: The date that a task is scheduled to be completed. This date is
based on the task's start date, duration, calendars, predecessor dates, task
dependencies, and constraints for each task.
The Project Start Date is typically defined using the Project Information block in MS Project.
The Project Finish Date is calculated based on Durations, Dependencies, Constraints and Calendars.
With this information Project calculates the Project Finish Date based on the finish date of the last
task in the Project.
When you create a new project, you first enter the project's start date. When you schedule a project
from the start date, all tasks start at the project start date unless you specify otherwise.
With no task dependencies or constraints applied, the project's duration is the same as the duration
of the longest task. In other words, the project finish date is the same as the longest task's finish
date.
Most projects should be scheduled from a start date. However, scheduling from the finish date can
be useful for determining when a project must start if it must finish on a specific date. You can
change various task and resource information to see what effect it has on the project's start date
and determine the optimum project start date.
To specify whether you're scheduling from the start or finish date, and to specify what that date is,
click Project Information on the Project menu.
Note: You must schedule a project from a start date or from a finish date; you cannot schedule from
both start and finish dates. You pick which date you want to use (normally a start date), and Project
schedules the other date (normally a finish date) for you based on the information you enter into the
project plan.
4
5. Predecessors & Successors
A predecessor is a task whose start or finish date determines the start or finish date of its
successor task.
A successor is a task whose start or finish date is driven by its predecessor task.
Each task in a Project Plan should have a predecessor task, a task before, except for the first task in
your project.
Likewise, each task should have a successor task, a following task, except for the last task in your
project
plan.
That way, no task gets forgotten and therefore, not finished, and you can show the impact of
slipping dates more effectively in your project.
In this example:
Task 1 is the Predecessor to Task 2
Task 2 is the Predecessor to Task 3
Task 3 is the Successor to Task 2
Task 2 is the Successor to Task 1
Tasks should be linked at the level where the work occurs from subtask to subtask, even between
phases. The last subtask of a phase should be linked to the first subtask of the next phase.
5
6. Task Dependencies (Relationship Types)
Task dependencies:
A relationship between two linked tasks; linked by a dependency between their finish and start
dates.
There are four types of relationships between tasks:
Finish-to-Start [FS] This is the default link between tasks and what you get when you
press the Link Tasks button on the Standard toolbar. This is sometimes called a “stair step”
or “waterfall” plan when tasks are linked using this relationship type. Tasks happen in serial
fashion, one after the other. Task 1 finishes and then Task 2 begins.
Start-to-Start [SS] Tasks begin at the same time. Tasks are linked in a parallel fashion,
happening at the
same time. Task 1 and Task 2 begin at the same time.
Finish-to-Finish [FF] Tasks end at the same time. Again tasks are parallel, happening at
the same
time. Task 1 and Task 2 finish at the same time.
Start-to-Finish [SF] Tasks are not listed in chronological order, or tasks from one category
of your project plan affect tasks in another category. For example, once the Legal
Department has finished researching logos, then the logo choice can be approved by the
Marketing Department. Tasks are happening in a serial fashion; Task 1 starts after Task 2
finishes. This relationship is rarely used.
6