Importance of Project Management - Essay Example

Project Management Question A: There are certain aspects to be considered in terms of whether the development should be made in house or brought from outside, and also in terms of the risks involved and the profits that may accumulate whether there would be technical support for the project and also factors like future liability and cost implications need to be considered. The projects which offered the best cost benefit ratio could be considered. Question 1 B: The process of monitoring project costs could be done through constant calculation of costs and their implications on projects. The cost information that would be necessary would be in terms of the length of the project, the total costs of the project, the efforts of the staff that is Person: Days Ratio. The cost information could be obtained from the use of the standards and measurements sections. We can ensure that costs are in line with the estimates by making frequent comparisons with the actual costs with the estimates. The aspects of standard costing could also be established with respects to costs, recoveries and efficiency studies. Question 1C: The choice for selection of project manager is being considered, In this connection, it is necessary to appoint a person with IT background, since it is nowadays, a crucial aspect of project management, and IT is very much necessary for application in industry situations. Moreover, it is also seen that effective business solutions, especially in the areas of Project Management, is inextricably linked with IT, Question 1D: The Baseline metrics could be seen in terms of Development productivity, unit costs and lapsed time/unit. .In terms of development productivity, it measures one unit of effort could result in how many products. The unit costs could measure the amount of cost needed to produce one unit of product. The lapsed time per unit would be in terms of the time taken to produce one unit. Question 1E: It is seen that FP has average of 364.167 whereas has average of 342.33. Therefore, FP is better since it has higher average. Question 2: A: The activity on arrow is a simple and easily understandable diagram which is also amenable to corrections. Even a non-technical person could follow these diagrams and understand the path of the network. It is also seen that the major achievements are easily marked and even in cases where there are multiple relationships between processes, the AoA diagrammatic representation is easier to understand. Activity on arrow (PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE AND CRITICAL PATH METHOD, 2006). On the other hand, the Arrow on Network is a better representation of complex relationships and activities. This is also very compatible to computer software, Activity on node It is seen where there are dummy activities it is preferable to use Activity on Arrow systems. The activity on node could be used for complex activities which may require software programs. Question 2 B: A dummy activity is one which is representative of a dependency but which has no time allotment, that means it could be carried simultaneously with another activity and therefore has 0 duration. C →○→H D---›○→F The dotted lines above from D to H represent the dummy activity. These activities are created, whenever needed, to portray the logic of the relationship that exists between activities. A dummy activity is depicted as a dotted arrow and represents an activity which takes no time and uses no resources. It is needed when a logical relationship between activities cannot otherwise be represented correctly.” (Anderson and Hales). Question 2 C and 2 D: Not attempted Question 3 (A): Question: 3A The expected tasks and stages involved in the tendering process, right up to the exchange of contracts could be seen as follows: Calling for tenders through public information systems Ratification of tenders and identification of key suppliers Negotiating price and technical bids with selected suppliers Finalising bids Selection of hardware and software requirements Detailing of core and principle requirements and informing suppliers Quality assurance for software and hardware Quality assurances for support systems Training personnel Development and Testing equipments and processes Inspection and approval by top management Approval of Board of directors and ratification of the contracts Signing contract with suppliers. It is necessary to establish weightage while ranking suppliers since it is linked with costs and efficiencies. Moreover, the lower the weightage given, it is seen that the higher the risks also occur. Through weightage, especially dynamic ones, it is possible to identify which suppliers are best suited to serve the organisation. Alternatives also fall into place, if one supplier fails to deliver critical components to the plant. The factors that come into play are in terms of quality of supplier performances, lead time, pricing, after sales services and financial viability of the suppliers. (Reduce Procurement Spend through Increased Visibility and Dynamic Supplier Ranking, 2004). From the point of view of the shareholders, it is seen that cost-effective and responsible suppliers add value to the shareholdings in terms of higher profits and returns on investments. Question 3 (B): A Z score mathematically calculates the estimated probability of the particular project being completed within different dates. The formulae for Z score is = No. of days/weeks proposed – Estimated length of projects / standard deviation of project. In order to consider how it might be used in the process of estimating a proposed project, it is necessary to take illustration. When a project has a forecasted length of 16 weeks and its standard deviation is 0.913. We shall estimate its probability of being completed in 15 weeks as = 15-16/.913 = -1.0952.Matched on the Z Chart, it would be 0.0228 or 2% probability When a project has forecasted length of 18 weeks and its standard deviation is 0.913. We shall estimate its probability of being completed in 15 weeks as 18-16/.913 = 2.190. Matched on the Z Chart, it would be 0.9861 or 98% Question: 3C: The Prince 2 was developed by the project managers assigned by the UK Government and is an acronym for Projects in controlled environments. (PRINCE 2) There are 8 processes which are as follows: Start-up→ initiation→directing a project→controlling a stage→ managing productive delivery, →managing stage boundaries →closing a project →planning. The main strengths of this system has been that it is Government sponsored and it has a pragmatic approach to project management and has demonstrated abilities of effective project management. (Case Study). The later project management tools and techniques, DSDM, for instance, is mainly used in the conexy of software, and both DSDM and Prince2, for instance, are concerned about development and incremental “The detail of exactly what the requirements are and how they will be reflected in the solution are allowed to evolve over time to create the product agreed in outline at the outset.” (Craddock, 2008).   Works Cited PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE AND CRITICAL PATH METHOD. Thomson Gale. 2006. 8 Mar. 2008. . Anderson, Earl B., and Hales, R. Stanton. Critical Path Method Applied to Research Project Planning: Fire Economics Evaluation System (FEES). United State Department of Agriculture. Aug. 1986. 8 Mar. 2008. . Reduce Procurement Spend Through Increased Visibility and Dynamic Supplier Ranking. SAS Spend analysis. 2004. 8 Mar. 2008. . Case Study: Prince 2 and PMI/PRIBOK. A combined approach at Getronics. 8 Mar. 2008. . Craddock, Andrew. DSDM and Scrum: FAQs - The Similarities, Differences and Potential Inter-Operability Issues. DSDM Consortium. 2008. 8 Mar. 2008. . Read More