Project Management MGT400 – Spring 2020
Final Week Assessment (20%, Chapter 9 & 14)
Start Date: 3 June 2020 – 8:00 pm
Due Date: 8 June 2020 – 23:59 pm
(Note: please upload your answer on Moodle using Weekly Assessment Submission Link)
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Student ID: | |
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Section:
Instructions:
- Answer all questions.
- Please answer the questions in your own words. We are looking for your understandingof the materials on the topics covered by the questions. If you use materials from the internet or other sources, please cite them properly.
- When answering each question, please organize your responses clearly into logical paragraphs with proper subheadings if required.
- Do a spell check and read your responses for any grammatical or syntactical mistakes before submitting the answers.
Please answer the following questions (100 points)
Q1. Based on the table given below, answer the questions. (30 points)
Show all calculation steps in the answers
| Maximum
Crash Time |
Direct Costs | |||||
| Activity | Slope
|
Normal | Crash | |||
| ID | Time | Cost ($) | Time | Cost ($) | ||
| A | 9 | 200 | 6 | 260 | ||
| B | 10 | 160 | 7 | 240 | ||
| C | 22 | 320 | 20 | 410 | ||
| D | 25 | 200 | 22 | 290 | ||
| E | 14 | 200 | 9 | 375 | ||
| F | 18 | 180 | 14 | 380 | ||
| G | 12 | 140 | 10 | 190 | ||
CPM is A D F G
- a) Calculate the Maximum Crash Time and Slope. (8 points)
Formula for crash time= maximum crash time= normal time-crash time
Slope= (crash cost-normal cost)/ (normal time-crash time)
Activity A:
Crash time =9-6= 3
Slope= Slope= ($260-$200)/ (9-6) =$20
Activity B:
Crash time 10-7=3
Slope= ($240-$160)/3= $26.67
Activity C:
Crash time=22-20=2
Slope= ($410-$320)=$45
Activity D:
Crash time= 25-22=3
Slope= ($290-$200)/3=$45
Activity E:
Crash time= 14-9=5
Slope= ($375-$200)/5=$35
Activity F:
Crash time=18-14=4
Slope= ($380-$180)/4=$50
Activity G
Crash time=12-10=2
Slope=($190-$140)/2=$25
- b) Crash the project (reduce the duration) by 8 weeks. (10 points)
CPM= ADFG
Activity A=>3*$20=$60
Activity D=>3*$45=$135
Activity F=>4*$50= $200
Activity G=>2*$25= $50
Total reducing cost is $445(total of ADFG)
- c) What is the total cost of the project before and after crashing? (4 points) Briefly explain all the costs included in the calculation. (2 points)
Total cost of project before crashing= $1,400
Total cost after crashing is $1400+$445=$1,845 (the cost of the project in normal time plus the crash time cost)
- d) Calculate and interpret the maximumcrashing time for the overall project. (Hint: Analyze for how many weeks you can perform project crashing.) (6 points)
initial direct cost =$1400
activity A changed,
time = A-D-G-F=61
total direct cost = $1460
activity D changed
TIME= A-D-G-F=61
total cost=$1595
activity F changed,
Time =A-D-F-G=60
total direct cost= $1795
activity G changed,
TIME= A-D-F-G=62
total direct cost= $1845
I can perform the project crashing for 62 weeks at a cost of $1845
Q2. In the image below, it is shown the Project Cost – Duration Graph. (9 points) Describe in detail the three costs presented in the graph. Explain what are the ‘Optimum cost-time point’ and ‘Low-cost plan duration point’. (3 points) Which point is considered when crashing the project? Explain why. (3 points)
Optimum cost-time point- it is the starting point of a project in which the lowest cost is established for any particular time.
Low- cost plan duration- it is a point in which the project can be crashed by application of the cheapest crash cost for every unit time using a critical path element.
The point that is considered while crashing a project is the low-cost duration point because it allows for the project’s critical activities to be crashed up to their maximum limits to achieve maximum results at minimum cost.
Fig 1. Project Cost–Duration Graph
Q3. Explain all the types of Project Closure. (10 points) Provide an example for each of them. (5 points)
Normal closure- is when the project gets completed as initially planned, and the client is satisfied and accepts the project.
Premature closure- it happens when the project does not achieve the initial objectives by failure on their part, or it was not given enough time and resources to accomplish and is therefore terminated.
Perpetual project- this is a project that does not seem to end and is always faced by frequent delays and problems, it becomes frustrating for the project team, and it is therefore closed down.
Failed project- when a client faces a problem such for example, runs out funds, the project cannot continue, and it is therefore called off, and the project fails.
Changed priority- this happens when the client changes their mind about the project they were carrying out, especially if they get something better than the project. When this happens, the project has to be closed down to allow the client to focus on the new priority.
Q4. What is retrospective? (5 points) Why is so important in terms of project management? (5 points) Explain briefly the steps. (10 points)
A retrospective simply means looking back. In a project, it happens when the project team holds an analysis after the completion of each project cycle (Coursework, n.d). It is important in the management of a project because it gives the management team with an opportunity to analyze and evaluate what worked and did not for the project cycle so they can identify areas that need to be fixed.
The steps include; pre-survey, summarization of the survey and sending it to the project team before the next retrospective meeting, holding a meeting and discussion of significant issues, finalization of significant issues that need to be resolved, identification of key issues and finally identification of corrective actions to be employed in the next project cycle.
Q5. Discuss the performance evaluation process conducted during the project closure stage. Provide some facts and examples to support your discussion (20 points)
Before the product is released to the client, evaluating its performance is important, and it helps the project members to assess how well they performed and where they did not perform as expected. It is not a fault-finding exercise but rather an exercise to help improve what went wrong and what can have been learned in the project and can be transferred to the next project.
The process of evaluation can be a functional organization in which the area project manager asks the opinion of the project manager on the performance of individuals on a project. It can be a balanced matrix in which the project manager, in association with the area manager, evaluates the performance of individuals jointly. In a project organization, the project manager has the responsibility of evaluating individual performance. A multi-rater appraisal can be used in which feedback on the performance of project members is gotten from people outside the project whose work is affected by the project.
Reference
Coursework (n.d). Project Management