FACULTY: Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences
DEPARTMENT: Engineering and Mathematics MODULE TITLE: Project and
Quality Management MODULE LEADER: Dong Zhang
TIME ALLOWED: 2 hours (plus 10
minutes reading time)
SOLUTIONS
Section A
1.
Consider a project with the information in Table 1.
Table 1
The project is
budgeted with a fixed daily labour cost of £500 per day. There is no materials
cost. For each activity there is an overhead of £500.
a).
Construct the project network diagram using
Activity-on- Node methodology, showing ESTs, LSTs, and total floats for each of the activity under normal
time. Identify the project duration and the critical path under normal time.
3
marks for correct logic (positons of the nodes), 1 mark for including 'Start'
and Finish', 2 marks for presentation (finish-to-start, arrow etc.)
The project
duration is 10 days (2 marks), the critical path is B-C (1 mark)
a).
Develop a full crashing schedule table for the
project. Clearly show the action, the
step cost, and the critical path after each
crash.
(12 marks)
1 marks for C-1,
3 marks for B-1, 4 marks each for C-2, E-1 and C-3, F-1.
a).
Identify the overall project cost when the project
is fully crashed.
(4 marks)
S: The labour cost = £500 X 6 = £3000
(1 mark) The overheads = £500 x 6 = £3000 (1
mark)
The crash cost =
£1000+£1500+£1600+£1800 = £5900 (1 mark)
Sp
the overall project cost = £3000+£3000+£5900 = £11900 (1 mark)
b).
A performance review 2 days after the project
started finds that activity A has been completed on time; activity B has also
been completed, ahead of schedule; activities C, D and E are about to start. Calculate the probability that
activity C being completed within the normal project duration.
*See next
page for the z-table.
(5 marks)
S: The normal project duration (as
determined in part a).) is 10 days. 2 days have passed so there are 8 days
available to complete activity C within the
normal project duration.(1 mark)
σcp
= √1/9 = 1/3 (1 mark)
z = (specified time - expected
time)/ σcp = (8-7)/(1/3) = 3 (2 marks) find P(8) from the table
where z = 3: P(Z=3) = 0.9987 (1 mark))
c).
Based on the progress found in the performance review, calculate the Schedule
Performance Index using the percentage rule.
(6 marks)
S: Two activities have been completed
so the overheads = £500 x 2 = £1000
(1 mark)
According
to the budget, PV = £500 x 2 = £1000 + £1000 = £2000 (2 marks)
The
Earned value is the value of work completed. The work of 3 days worth have been
completed so EV = £500 x 3 = £1500 + £1000 = £2500 (2 marks)
SPI
= EV/PV = £2500/£2000 = 1.25 (1 mark)
d).
It is estimated that all activities in the project
will benefit from a learning rate of 0.894427. Using the normal time in Table 1 as the starting point, calculate at
which repetition the normal time of the project will be reduced by 2 days.
(5 marks)
S: n =
log(0.894427)/log(2) = -0.160964 (1 mark)
The target is 10 - 2 = 8 days (1 mark)
Taking the
numbers to the function Yx = K∙Xn gives 8 = 10X-0.160964.
Solving this gives X = 4 (2 marks)
Total
(4
marks)
Areas under the standardised normal curve for z ≥ 0
Note on grading for Section B:
The student is
expected to consider the questions as titles for a mini discussion- based
essay. In general, this is the standard expected for each grade:
80% +
This answer
demonstrates a broad knowledge and understanding of the subject area. It is
clearly set out and uses a logical approach to answering the question. The
standard of work is excellent. It should exceed the requirements of the
question. It demonstrates detailed understanding of course material and its
application to practical examples. It should also provide information which
indicates that the student has researched the subject and obtained a level of
knowledge more detailed than would be achieved using lecture notes. This is an
excellent answer.
70% - 79%
This shows a
clear understanding of the subject and an understanding of the practical issues
when implementing the theory. The standard of work is very good. This answer is
clearly set out and uses a logical approach to answering the question. It is
likely that the work should show limited evidence of knowledge which surpasses
that taught in lectures. The arguments should be developed logically and
supported with examples. However this is a less detailed answer than a 70% +
answer. It could provide some evidence of gaps in knowledge and areas of
misunderstanding. This is a very good answer.
60% - 69%
This answer is a
relatively brief analysis of the subject area. There are likely to be some
areas of misunderstanding and to be several gaps in the information provided.
The discussion is less logical and links between the different areas of the
subject are not clear. It demonstrates a basic level of understanding and the
ability to apply some of the information to practical situations. However it
should demonstrate enough understanding to indicate that the student, with some
support, could practically apply the theory in a working environment. The
student must demonstrate a reasonable but not extensive knowledge of the
subject area and implementation issues. There is little, if any, evidence of knowledge
gained from study of material which was not provided in lecture notes. This is
an average - good answer.
50% - 59%
This is a very
limited discussion which displays some understanding of the subject. It is
unlikely to provide clear and structured discussion and shows a very basic
understanding of the subject area. However it does show a level of
understanding of the subject, which would suggest, that with significant
support, the student could apply the theory. It demonstrates a basic knowledge of
the subject. There is unlikely to be evidence of knowledge from study of
material which was not provided in lecture notes. The answer is reasonably well
presented. However there are several gaps in knowledge and areas of
misunderstanding. This satisfies the learning outcome but is generally below
average.
40% - 49%
This answer fails
to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the subject area. It achieves few if any
of the objectives of the discussion. There is little, if any, evidence of the
ability to apply theory to a practical scenario. The majority of the answer
demonstrates
significant areas of misunderstanding and gaps in knowledge. There is some
understanding. The information provided is not supported by detailed logical
argument. This is a low quality answer and does not satisfy the passing
criteria.
Less than 40%
This answer
completely fails to achieve the objectives of the question and demonstrates
minimal understanding of the subject area. It is an extremely low quality
answer.
Solutions
to individual questions now follow. Section B
2.
Critically evaluate the importance for organisations
to develop coherence in managing and delivering projects.
S: Coherence
occurs where there is consistency between all the layers of the strategy
process, shown in the figure below. It is worth pursuing as it means that all
projects are working to the same strategy, and it is possible for individuals
to then see how what they do contributes in some way to achieving that strategy.
Better
answers will explore the impact of lack of coherence of project strategies,
which may result in weak links between projects, lack of coordination,
inevitable resource conflicts. The focus for each project therfore is to
'minimise the negative potential' of projects rather than seeking performance
improvement.
|
(30
marks)
3.
Discuss whether it is possible or not to eliminate
risks through careful project planning.
S: It
is not possible to eliminate risk from a project regardless of planning. The
role of risk management is to identify and analyse potential risks associated
with a project. Once risks have been identified, preventative action or
contingency plans
may
be established to reduce the impact of the risk on the success of the project.
While this presents a way to help control the effects of risk, it does not
eliminate risk from the project management equation.
Better answers
will argue that though risk can not be eliminated, it is important to approach
risk in a systematic way. The prioritisation of risks planning makes the
process manageable, and when done properly, will prevent a situation of
overkill. The careful planning does not ensure that all risks will be
identified or that the right contingencies will be created. All the same, the
benefits of taking part in risk management far outweigh the danger of not
preparing for potential problems.
(30 marks)
4.
Discuss why it is difficult to implement a perfect
project control system.
S: Control is the measurement of
progress towards desired outcomes, assimilation of the information, and
application of corrective action where needed to keep the project on‐track.The difficulty in implementing
a perfect control system requires firt the understanding of the meaning of
'perfect'. Idealy a perfect control system should be able to detect any
variations to important characteristoics of a project in a timely mananer and
allow the project manager the opportunity to instigate correction actions to
bring the project back on track. It should not only provide feedback but also feedforward.
All these should then come at a cost not greater than the project benefit.
Better
answers will explore the issues in social connotation in the context of control
being a paradox and seemed as a negative idea. There is also an issue of how
control could be used to capture and respond to positive deviation to the plan.
(30 marks)
5.
Evaluate the role of project review in the process
of continuous improvement for organisations.
S: The
simple answer is that reviews look for opportunities for process improvement, at particular aspects of how
projects are managed. This contributes to the learning by doing process and
enables organisations to think about project maturity and longer-tern
reflection.
Better
answers will discuss the importance of projects for organisations in the
strategic context - as quoted in the text "project management can be
regarded as an essential menas of turning strategic objectives into
organisational ventures".
(30 marks)
END
S: See
table below for full schedule
0 comments:
Post a Comment