Mommy, I've Finished My Homework!: Tutorial 2

1. Describe in your own words the term 'project' and how a project differs from those associated with normal day to day (operational) activities within the company?

A project is a planned undertaking of related activities ts reach a specific objective that has a defined beginning and an end (finite lifetime).

A project has funding limits and which usually has a primary sponsor or customer.

A project also involves uncertainty because it is difficult to determine how long it will complete and how much it will cost. Compared to the normal day to day (operational) activities, a project is non routine (not repetitive), large and complex and takes time.

2. What is the difference between sequential and concurrent tasks?

When tasks must be completed one after another, they are called sequential tasks. For example, if task C is dependent on tasks A and B, then task C cannot start until tasks A and B are complete.

When tasks can be performed at the same time, they are called concurrent, or parallel, activities. If tasks A, B, and C are concurrent, they all can start at the same time.

3. At Riverside Financial, where you work as a project manager, you have been asked to conduct user training sessions during the implementation phase for a new information system. You must develop a specific schedule for the tasks listed below (the estimated task duration is shown in parentheses):

- First, you need to send an e-mail message to all department managers announcing the training sessions (1 day).

- After the e-mail message goes out, two tasks can begin at the same time: you can develop the training material (4 days).and confirm arrangements for the training facility you plan to use (11days).

- As soon as the training material is complete, you can work on two tasks at once: arrange to have copies of handout material printed (3 days) and develop a set of PowerPoint slides (4 days).

- When the PowerPoint slides are ready, you conduct a practice training session with the instructor who will assist you (l day).

- Finally, when the practice session is over, the handout material is ready, and the training facility is confirmed, you conduct the user training sessions (3 days).

Required:

Using PERT/CPM techniques, develop a chart that shows ES, EF, LS, and LF for

the project- Be sure to highlight the project's critical path.

Click picture to enlarge.

Critical path= A-C-G

4. A project X has been defined to contain the following list of activities along with

their required time for completion.

Your team is required to construct a PERT chart to identify the critical path for project X: Assume that your team is in its first week of the project and has discovered that each of the activity duration estimation is wrong. Activity B will take only two weeks to complete. Activities D and G. will each take three times longer than anticipated. All other activities will take twice as long to complete as previously estimated. In addition, a new activity, K, has been added. It will take one week to complete and its immediate predecessors are activities J and I.

Required:

a) Update the table on each of the activity duration based on the updated estimation and draw a PERT chart accordingly. Calculate and show the Earliest Start, Earliest Finish, Latest Start and Latest Finish for the activities.

Click pictures to enlarge

b) Identify the critical path from the PERT chart drawn.

A-B-D-G-I-J-K (63 weeks)

c) Why is it important to identify the critical path of a project in systems development?

Critical path is important for project manager to monitor the progress, if necessary,make prompt decision to keep the project on track. A critical path is a series of events and activities that must be completed on time. If any activity along the critical path falls behind schedule, the entire project schedule is delayed. A critical path connects the activities that have no slack time which is the amount of time by which an event can be late without delaying the project. Project managers always must know what the critical path is, so they can monitor progress and make prompt decisions, if necessary, to keep the project on track.

d) Define the term "slack time". What is the slack time for activity H?

Slack time for an event is the amount of time by which when an event can be late without delaying the whole project. Slack time for activity H = 58-50=8

5. At Lightfoot Industries, where you work as a system analyst, you have been asked to lead a Joint Application Development (JAD) session. You must develop a specific schedule for the task listed below (the estimated task duration is shown in parentheses):

- First, you need to contact the participants and explain their roles (l day).

- Then you must obtain approval from their deparment managers (5 days).

- After you obtain the approval, two tasks can begin at the same time: you can arrange the meeting room (a days) and prepare an agenda for the initial session (11 days).

- When the agenda is ready, you can start two more concurrent tasks: prepare the information packets (4 days) and create visual aids (8 days).

- When the meeting room is arranged and the information packets are ready, you can send out an e-mail to participants (l day).

- Finally, after the e-mail is sent to participants and the visual aids are ready, you can conduct the JAD sessions (5 days).

a) Develop a PERT/CPM chart that shows the Earliest Starr (ES), Earliest Finish (EF), Latest Start (LS), and Latest Finish (LF) time for the above mentioned project. Be sure to state the project's critical path.