PROJECT MANAGEMENT

M Sc PROJECT MANAGEMENT

 

Assignment 2-Project Planning

 

Submission date 3^rd May 2020, midnight

 

You must adhere strictly to the limit on the pages specified for each question. Writing beyond the specified limit will be ignored.

 

Marks will be awarded based on the following criteria:

• Your understanding of the main themes of the lectures.
• Evidence that you have read additional material and refer (using references) to the contributions from relevant authors in the field.
• Clear structure and presentation of the MS-Project outputs and their analysis.

Report Submission

·         You should submit on the Blackboard, No extension is given

·         Report should be submitted in .doc or .docx format, no pdf, .xls or other format is not accepted.

·         File name of the submission should include student’s first and last name

·         All output from MS Project should be exported to your assignment document. No Excel or Project files are accepted.

 

 

The Assignment is worth 50% of the module.

 

PART 1                                                       (Max marks 25% of the total marks)

 

A Teesside PLC has won a contract to work on a major Project to start on 1^st October 2019. As a Project Manager you need to develop and analyse the planning schedule for this project using MS-Project. Your project team has identified major activities of the project, their dependency and resources needed to run each activity (see Appendix 1).

 

Appendix 1 provides information about the project, which includes project logic (activity links and their relationship – finish to start (FS), start to start (SS), and start to finish (SF)), activity durations, resource allocation and work breakdown structure (WBS).

 

You have been asked to perform the following planning and scheduling processes using Microsoft Project 2012 or later version.

 

A: CPM & WBS (Max marks 10% of the total marks)

 

1.      Draw a Gantt-Chart and CPM network for the project. Calculate early start (ES), early finish (EF), late start (LS), late finish (LF) and total float (TF) based on As Soon as Possible (ASAP) method and identify critical path.

 

2.      Draw WBS for the project (must include Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4) and discuss the importance of WBS as a Project Management tool. (250 words)

 

3.      Explain why identification of the critical path is important? Also comment on the changes to the Critical Path, if the project is developed using As Late as Possible (ALAP) method. (250 words)

 

 

                                                                                                                    

B: Resource Planning (Max marks 10% of the total marks)

 

1.      Produce and draw smoothed resource histograms for the skilled labour resources used in the project. Critically assess the output identifying the maximum units of each resource required for this project. (250 words)

 

2.      Carry-out resource levelling for Unskilled resource only (do not use automatic resource levelling) and discuss how activities might be delayed beyond LST to cater for the limits on Unskilled resources as a result of levelling. Consider resource pool for unskilled resources as 7 units per day. (250 words)

 

3.      Explain and discuss the process of resource levelling. (250 words)

                                                                                                                    

 

C: Cost Analysis (Max marks 5% of the total marks)                                   

 

1.      Calculate the cost of each activity in the project (level 3). Consider the standard cost of a skilled labour as £10/hr, unskilled labour as £5/hr and equipment as £25/hr.

 

2.      Produce cumulative cost-time curve for the project.

 

Note:

• Start the project on 1^st October 2020.
• Use default UK working calendar (i.e. Saturdays and Sundays are non-working days, 8 working hours in a day, bank holidays should be considered as non-working days)
• Use resource unit as decimal.
• Use fixed duration and set unit as days.
• Clearly identify each part of the answers to the questions.
• Use header and footer to clearly indicate what the chart or graph is showing.

 

PART 2                                                          (Max marks 25% of the total marks)

 

4D Planning

 

1.      Use Synchro Pro software and link the Building Project planning data with the given 3D CAD Building Model. Use both Assignment2.1.xml and Assignment2.2.xml with Assignment2.dxf. You will have two different models to review.  Identify issues and conflicts with the proposed plans and changes. You should provide the pictures of the visualisation on your assignment. Briefly discuss the linking procedure carried out. (250 words).

 

2.      Define 4D planning. Discuss the purpose and benefits of 4D systems as a Project Management tool in an Engineering industry (500 words)  

Appendix 1                            Details of activities, relationships & resources for the Project

 

Level 1	Work Packages (Level 2)	Activity Description (Level 3)	(Level 4)	Immediate Predecessors	Type of Relationship	Lag (Days)		Duration (Days)	Equipment/day (numbers)	Skilled Worker / day (numbers)	Unskilled Worker / day (numbers)
						+	-
P R O J E C T X Project Start date 01/10/2020             P R O J E C T X Project Start date 01/10/2020	Project Start	-	-	-	FS	-	-	0	-	-	-
	Activity A	A1	-	Project Start	FS	-	-	10	3	2	3
		A2	-	A1	FS	-	-	9	2	2	3
		A3	-	A2	FS	-	3	23	1	1	4
		A4	A4a	A3	FS	-	8	13	1	2	2
			A4b	A4a	FS	1	-	7	3	3	3
		A5	A5a	A4b	FS	-	-	24	1	3	3
			A5b	A5a	FS	-	1	5	1	2	2
		A6	A6a	A5b	FS	-	-	15	2	3	3
			A6b	A6a	FS	5	-	6	2	3	3
		A7	A7a	A6b	FS	-	-	20	2	3	3
			A7b	A7a	FS	3	-	17	2	1	1
	Activity B                             Activity B	B1	B1a	B1b	FS	6	-	17	4	1	1
			B1b	A7b	FS	-	-	11	2	1	1
			B1c	B4a	FS	-	-	23	2	-	2
				B4b	FS	-	-
		B2	B2a	B2b	FS	-	-	28	3	2	2
				B1a	FS	-	4
			B2b	B1b	FS	-	-	21	1	1	2
			B2c	B1c	FS	-	-	16	3	-	3
		B3	B3a	B3b	FS	-	-	12	3	4	1
				B2a	FS	2	-
			B3b	B2b	FS	-	-	13	3	3	3
			B3c	B2c	FS	2	-	19	3	-	3
		B4	B4a	B4b	FS	-	-	37	3	3	3
				B3a	FS	-	-
			B4b	B3b	FS	-	-	12	3	3	3
			B4c	B3c	FS	-	-	15	3	-	3
	Project Completion	-	-	B4c	FS	6		0	-	-	-

 

 

Learning Outcome

 

Knowledge & Understanding

- Systematically acquire a comprehensive and critical understanding of project management principles, project models and planning.

-  Interpret knowledge of current planning practice and demonstrate originality in the knowledge together within visualisation understanding of how planning techniques are used to interpret the engineering projects.


Cognitive & Intellectual Skills

- Evaluate commercial risks through understanding of the basis of planning risk including multi constraint techniques.

- Integrate and synthesise the theory and practice to resolve the planning conflicts in engineering projects.

- Make logical and argued conclusions on 4D visualisation and project costs.


Practical & Professional Skills

- Synthesise complex customer and user needs and ensure fitness for purpose by demonstrating technical calculation skills on engineering project cost, logical visualisation and propose collective suggestion.

 

 

 

Feedback Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies

Assessment Feedback Sheet

 

STUDENT
ID		Name
MODULE
Code		Leader
Title
ASSESSMENT
Title				Weighting

 

HIGH QUALITY INDICATORS	GRADE/CLASSIFICATION					POOR QUALITY INDICATORS
	A Excellent 1st	B Very Good 2i	C Good 2ii	D Satisfactory 3rd	F Fail

 

Structure: Clearly structured report with appropriate use of tables, graphs, diagrams and subsections.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Poorly structured report with inappropriate or missing tables, graphs, diagrams.
Literature Review: Comprehensive review of literature relevant to study with a detailed knowledge of subject area demonstrated.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Little or no evidence of literature review, may be irrelevant to the study and limited knowledge of subject area demonstrated.
Methodology: Correct justification of methodology demonstrating an understanding of values and limitations of the method.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Poor justification of methodology with no understanding of values and limitations of the method.
Technical Design: Detailed design combined with appropriate technical analysis.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Limited detail in design and an inappropriate technical analysis.
Discussion/Conclusions: Clear discussion of findings with logical conclusions based on evidence and a competent critical analysis.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Discussion of findings is poor or missing, conclusions are not supported by the evidence and no critical analysis.
Presentation: Excellent layout, conforms to all technical specifications with clear expression of ideas and appropriately presented.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	Poor layout, does not conform to technical specifications with no clear expression of ideas and inappropriately presented.

A = 100-70%, B = 69-60%, C = 59-50%, D = 49-40%, F = 39-0%

ENGLISH AND PRESENTATION (the following areas need care and attention)
Grammar	☐	Paragraphing	☐	Citation	☐
Spelling	☐	Figures and Tables	☐	References	☐

 

 

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