Project Management PM0011

Assignment Set- 1 Q.1 Explain the following a. Rolling wave planning b. Decomposition
c.

Precedence diagramming method

d. Dependency determination Ans: Rolling wave planning:

The requirements were vague. I couldnt possible plan for the entire project. However, at least some degree of planning was required to get the project started. So, I used the Rolling Wave Planning technique to plan as far as the requirements were clear enough. Fundamentals of Rolling Wave Planning Rolling Wave Planning is a technique that enables you to plan for a project as it unfolds. Therefore, Rolling Wave Planning requires you to plan iteratively. The planning technique is very similar to those used in SCRUM or other Agile Methodologies. Essentially, when you use Rolling Wave Planning, plan until you have visibility, implement, and then re-plan. For example, suppose you expect to complete the project in eight months, but only have clarity for the first three months. Then, you would plan only for these three months. As the project progresses and you gain more clarity, you would then plan for the remaining months. The Rolling Wave Planning technique uses progressive elaboration, which is the act of elaborating the work packages in greater detail as the project unfolds. Rolling Wave Planning does not exempt you from creating a list of milestones and assumptions for the entire project. As a matter of fact, it is necessary to provide key milestones and assumptions as it will help stakeholders see why you are using Rolling Wave Planning and what to expect as the project progresses. Usage of Rolling Wave Planning in Project Management Rolling Wave Planning is used when you just dont have enough clarity to plan in detail the entire project. This lack of clarity could come from various factors, such as emerging requirements. Rolling Wave Planning is particularly useful in projects with high uncertainty. Therefore, you must use the Risk Management best practices. For example, in product development it is common practice to prototype before going into the actual product development. Therefore, in such an environment you would use Rolling Wave Planning to plan the prototype and then make a decision to proceed to implementation. Post the Prototype phase, you would plan once again. Benefits of Rolling Wave Planning This iterative approach to planning is commonly found in SCRUM and other Agile Project Management Methodologies. Similar to Agile, Rolling Wave Planning: Encourages adaptability Encourages planning Is great for R&D, High-Tech, Invention projects

Is good for projects with changing scope

Decomposition:
Defining Decomposition While it sounds like something you dont want to happen when planning a project, decomposition can be a useful tool when managing projects. Decomposition is a technique used in project management that breaks down the workload and tasks before the creation of the work breakdown structure. This important step can save time in the long run. Overview of the Decomposition Process Roughly, there are six steps involved with the decomposition process. Once you have determined the project objectives, you will need to gather the information involving the projects deliverables and the tasks that have already been determined. Knowing what needs to be produced as the end products and knowing the important milestones will help guide the project to keep it on course. Once deliverable and task information has been gathered, decomposition takes a top-down approach to determining tasks and subtasks. The project manager will break down the biggest items (deliverables, milestones, major tasks) into the smallest tasks. This process can occur in the work breakdown structure format, or it can be completed as a mind map and structured later. The idea is to move from the most general aspects of the project to the most specific and detailed tasks in the project. For example, if you are writing a technical manual, you would break it down into its smallest components chapters. Each chapter could be broken down into research, outline, draft, revision, print-ready copy. Once the project has been broken down into the smallest tasks, then work packages can be created. A work package is a collection of related action items that can be assigned to a resource as a sub-set of the whole of work that must be created. Double-check that the project has been sufficiently decomposed into the smallest parts possible. Finally, the project manager will organize the work packages into the work breakdown structure. Each package can be assigned a specific code. Once the work breakdown structure creation is completed, then the work packages are assigned to resources.

Precedence diagramming method:

Before creating a project schedule, you need to identify and understand the dependencies between project activities. Incorrectly identifying these dependencies typically causes projects to come in late. One of the benefits of PDM is that it helps in understanding project dependencies visually. Introduction to PDM PDM is a visual representation technique that depicts the activities involved in a project. Precedence Diagrams are also known as Project Network Diagrams. In this article, both terms are used interchangeably. PDM helps you to: Communicate: The visual representation make it easier for you to communicate the flow of project execution or the project activity flow. Identify missing activities: When an activity is not identified, itll never be done. By visually representing the activities, there is a greater chance for your team to identify missing activities. Identify dependencies: Each activity is dependent on some other activity. When a dependency is not identified, the project will be delayed until such a time that identification occurs. For example, if there is a critical component that is being produced by a third-party vendor, the final product is dependent on the vendor. So, even if you complete all other activities, the project will not be complete until the vendor supplies the critical component. Identify critical activities: Certain activities have a greater impact on project schedule than others. By using PDMs, you can determine the activities critical to the project schedule. This is known as theCritical Path Method (CPM). Create a project schedule: The final goal of PDM is to create a practical and robust project schedule. Types of Dependencies There are four types of dependencies that you need to be aware of before creating a Precedence Diagram. Finish-Start: In this dependency, an activity cannot start before a previous activity has ended. For example, you cannot cook a stew before gathering all the ingredients. Therefore, the activity Gather Ingredients needs to finish, before the activity Cook Stew can begin. This is the most commonly used dependency. Start-Start: In this dependency, there is a defined relationship between the start of activities. Finish-Finish: In this dependency, there is a defined relationship between the end dates of activities. Start-Finish: In this dependency, there is a defined relationship between the start of one activity and the end date of a successor activity. This dependency is rarely used. Precedence Diagram Notation The image displays a simple Precedence Diagram

Events: The Start and End oval shapes signify events. An event is a point in time having no duration, which is also known as a milestone. A Precedence Diagram will always have a Start and an End event. Activity: There are four activities (Activity 1, 2, 3, and 4), each activity is represented by a node. Dependencies: Each node (Activities and Events) is connected by using unidirectional arrows. This signifies the relationship between activities. The relationship between activities can either be predecessor or successor. For example in the image, Activity 1 has no dependency, Activities 2 and 3 are dependent on Activity 1, while Activity 4 is dependent on Activities 2 and 3.

Note: Since the activities are represented by the node, Precedence Diagrams are also called activity-on-the-node diagrams. A Network Diagram will always have the Start and End events. They may also have other events called milestones. For example, kill-points are milestones. In a Network Diagram, the start of an activity must be linked to the end of another activity.

Dependency determination:
In a project network, a dependency is a link amongst a project's terminal elements. There are four kinds of dependencies with respect to ordering terminal elements (in order of decreasing frequency of use): 1. Finish to start (FS) A FS B = B can't start before A is finished

(Foundations dug) FS (Concrete poured) A FF B = B can't finish before A is finished 2. Finish to finish (FF)

(Last chapter written) FF (Entire book written) A SS B = B can't start before A starts 3. Start to start (SS).

(Project work started) SS (Project management activities started) A SF B = B can't finish before A starts 4. Start to finish (SF)

 (New shift started) SF (Previous shift finished)

Finish-to-start is considered a "natural dependency" whereas all the others are constraints imposed by the scheduler to reflect resource constraints or preferential dependencies. SF is rarely used, and should generally be avoided. There are three kinds of dependencies with respect to the reason for the existence of dependency: 1. 2. 3. Causal (logical) It is impossible to edit a text before it is written It is illogical to pour concrete before you dig the foundations Resource constraints It is logically possible to paint four walls in a room simultaneously but Discretionary (preferential) I want to paint the living room before painting the dining room, although I

there is only one painter

could do it the other way round, too Early critical path-derived schedules often reflected only on causal (logical) or discretionary (preferential) dependencies because the assumption was that resources would be available or could be made available. Since at least the mid1980s, competent project managers and schedulers have recognized that schedules must be based on resource availability. The critical chain method necessitates taking into account resource constraint-derived dependencies as well. In addition, these dependencies can be modified by leads, and lags. For example: When building two walls from a novel design, one might start the second wall 2 days after the first so that the second team can learn from the first. This is an example of a lag in a Start-Start relationship. It may also be useful to specify lead time when tasks are performed in parallel in a Finish-Finish relationship. For example: The work for 'Document A' should finish 5 days before the work for 'Document B' so that the reviewers have time to read each individually. Although Document A and Document B may take different times to write, they will be planned to finish 5 days apart.

Q.2

State and describe process of estimating resource & duration for

the activity Ans: As we know that for every step we take has a time frame and every move needs
some resources and both these parameters need to be consider before each

action. Thus even though the activity is identified and sequenced, we get only partial schedule, to get further clarity on the schedule. It is very important to understand the resource requirement and time required to complete each activity. The importance of the two parameters can be understood from the fact, that project management has two separate processes for finding the two requirements. The two processes are: Determining resource requirement for each activity. Calculating the time required for each activity.

Determining resource requirement for each activity:

There are various resources used on a project. Some of which are people, machinery, money. And for each activity, to be accomplished we have a particular resource requirement. The reason for calculating this requirement is that there is a cost factor attached to each resource and to execute the project successfully, it is very important that we are aware of the cost components. The information or input to this process may be similar or different form of the previous processes. The basic inputs to this process are: List of activity Activity Characteristics Resource Colander Enterprise Environmental Factor Organizational Asset

To outcomes of this process are: Activity Resources Requirement Resource Breakdown Structure Project Document Updated

Calculating time requirement for each activity: Once we have the calculated the resources requirement based on their availability, we can get idea about the time it would take to complete the activity. In this process we use outcomes from previous processes and organizational documents to calculate the time taken or each activity. The major inputs required for this process are: List of activities Activity Characteristics Activity Resource Requirement. Resource Colander Scope Statement Enterprise Environmental Factor Organizational Asset

The major outcomes of this process are: Activity Duration Estimate Project Document Updated

Q.3

Describe the basic elements of a project plan.

Ans: Project Plan Elements:

Although the process of creating the project plan may differ from organization to organization, the basic elements of the project plan remains the same. The basic elements of the project plan are:

Project Requirement: The project plan list the basic requirement if the project and the objective of undertaking the project. General Approach: In this section the both the managerial and the technical approaches for the project is listed. It describes the project guidelines. This part of the plan describes the various approaches which need to be followed all through the project. These approaches may include the decision documents, the instructional designing approach etc. List of Stakeholders: Stakeholders can impact a project both positively or negatively. Thus it is very important to identify all the project stakeholders at the starting of the project. Project plan should contain the list of stakeholders and their relation to the project and the mode of communication to be followed for managing the same. Contractual Aspects: This important section describe the reporting requirement, customer related information, list of resources supplied by client, liaison agreement, project review and abortion process, list of deliverables and project specification, schedules. Resources: The section lists the resources required for the project, their availability, their cost. Risk: The risk management plan of the project plan talks about the various risks identified in the project. The alternative choices, mitigation and contingency plans. Steps to monitor and control the risks. Quality: Every project should be evaluated against standard and by methods established at the project inception. This section describes these quality standards.

Q.4

Complete the below mentioned chart Activity A B C D E

: Varian ce

Pessim Most optimi ist likely st PERT 20 12 10 30 25 18 105 80 56 200 145 85 145 112 89

Ans: In the given problem PERT and variance need to be calculated:

The formula for calculating the PERT is PERT = (te) = (to +4tm + tp)/6

The formula for calculating the Variance is Variance = (tv) = (tp - to)2 /6 Where to = Optimistic or activity duration in best scenario. tm = Most likely or activity duration resource availability and dependencies are as assumed. tp = Pessimistic or activity duration in worst scenario. The solution of the given problem is as below: Pessimis t 20 30 105 200 145 Most likely 12 25 80 145 112

Activity A B C D E

optimist 10 18 56 85 89

PERT 13 24.67 80.17 144.17 113.67

Variance 1.67 2 8.17 19.17 9.34

Q.5

Describe inputs and outputs for the following processes a. Determining resource requirement for each activity b. Calculating time requirement for each activity.

Ans: Determining resource requirement for each activity:

There are various resources used on a project. Some of which are people, machinery, money. And for each activity, to be accomplished we have a particular resource requirement. The reason for calculating this requirement is that there is a cost factor attached to each resource and to execute the project successfully, it is very important that we are aware of the cost components. The information or input to this process may be similar or different form of the previous processes. The basic inputs to this process are: List of activity Activity Characteristics Resource Colander Enterprise Environmental Factor Organizational Asset

To outcomes of this process are: Activity Resources Requirement Resource Breakdown Structure Project Document Updated

Calculating time requirement for each activity: Once we have the calculated the resources requirement based on their

availability, we can get idea about the time it would take to complete the activity. In this process we use outcomes from previous processes and organizational documents to calculate the time taken or each activity. The major inputs required for this process are: List of activities Activity Characteristics Activity Resource Requirement. Resource Colander Scope Statement Enterprise Environmental Factor Organizational Asset

The major outcomes of this process are: Activity Duration Estimate Project Document Updated

Q.6 Describing the most important components of a project planning tool. Ans:
One of the critical factors for project success is having a well-developed project plan. This article provides a 10-step approach to creating the project plan, not only showing how it provides a roadmap for project managers to follow, but also exploring why it is the project manager's premier communications and control tool throughout the project. Step 1: Explain the project plan to key stakeholders and discuss its key components. One of the most misunderstood terms in project management, the project plan is a set of living documents that can be expected to change over the life of the project. Like a roadmap, it provides the direction for the project. And like the traveler, the project manager needs to set the course for the project, which in project management terms means creating the project plan. Just as a driver may encounter road construction or new routes to the final destination, the project manager may need to correct the project course as well. A common misconception is that the plan equates to the project timeline, which is only one of the many components of the plan. The project plan is the major work product from the entire planning process, so it contains all the planning documents for the project. Typically many of the project's key stakeholders, that is those affected by both the project and the project's end result, do not fully understand the nature of the project plan. Since one of the most important and difficult aspects of project management is getting commitment and buying, the first step is to explain the planning process and the project plan to all key stakeholders. It is essential for them to understand the importance of this set of documents and to be familiar with its content, since they will be asked to review and approve the documents that pertain to them.

Components of the Project Plan Include: Baselines. Baselines are sometimes called performance measures, because the performance of the entire project is measured against them. They are the project's three approved starting points and include the scope, schedule, and cost baselines. These provide the 'stakes in the ground.' That is, they are used to determine whether or not the project is on track, during the execution of the project. Baseline management plans. These plans include documentation on how variances to the baselines will be handled throughout the project. Each project baseline will need to be reviewed and managed. A result of this process may include the need to do additional planning, with the possibility that the baseline(s) will change. Project management plans document what the project team will do when variances to the baselines occur, including what process will be followed, who will be notified, how the changes will be funded, etc. Other work products from the planning process. These include a risk management plan, a quality plan, a procurement plan, a staffing plan, and a communications plan. Step 2: Define roles and responsibilities. Not all key stakeholders will review all documents, so it is necessary to determine who on the project needs to approve which parts of the plan. Some of the key players are: Project sponsor, who owns and funds the entire project. Sponsors need to review and approve all aspects of the plan. Designated business experts, who will define their requirements for the end product. They need to help develop the scope baseline and approve the documents relating to scope. They will be quite interested in the timeline as well. Project manager, who creates, executes, and controls the project plan. Since project managers build the plan, they do not need to approve it. Project team, who build the end product. The team needs to participate in the development of many aspects of the plan, such as identifying risks, quality, and design issues, but the team does not usually approve it. End users, who use the end product. They too, need to participate in the development of the plan, and review the plan, but rarely do they actually need to sign off. Others, such as auditors, quality and risk analysts, procurement specialists, and so on may also participate on the project. They may need to approve the parts that pertain to them, such as the Quality or Procurement plan.

Step 3: Hold a kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting is an effective way to bring stakeholders together to discuss the project. It is an effective way to initiate the planning process. It can be used to start building trust among the team members and ensure that everyone's ideas are taken into account. Kickoff meetings also demonstrate commitment from the sponsor for the project. Here are some of the topics that might be included in a kickoff meeting: Business vision and strategy (from sponsor) Project vision (from sponsor) Roles and responsibilities

Team building Team commitments How team makes decisions Ground rules How large the group should be and whether sub-groups are necessary

Step 4: Develop a Scope Statement. The Scope Statement is arguably the most important document in the project plan. It's the foundation for the rest of the project. It describes the project and is used to get common agreement among the stakeholders about the scope. The Scope Statement clearly describes what the outcome of the project will be. It is the basis for getting the buy-in and agreement from the sponsor and other stakeholders and decreases the chances of miscommunication. This document will most likely grow and change with the life of the project. The Scope Statement should include: Business need and business problem Project objectives, stating what will occur within the project to solve the business problem Benefits of completing the project, as well as the project justification Project scope, stated as which deliverables will be included and excluded from the project. Key milestones, the approach, and other components as dictated by the size and nature of the project.

It can be treated like a contract between the project manager and sponsor, one that can only be changed with sponsor approval. Step 5: Develop scope baseline. Once the deliverables are confirmed in the Scope Statement, they need to be developed into a work breakdown structure (WBS), which is a decomposition of all the deliverables in the project. This deliverable WBS forms the scope baseline and has these elements: Identifies all the deliverables produced on the project, and therefore, identifies all the work to be done. Takes large deliverables and breaks them into a hierarchy of smaller deliverables. That is, each deliverable starts at a high level and is broken into subsequently lower and lower levels of detail. The lowest level is called a "work package" and can be numbered to correspond to activities and tasks.

The WBS is often thought of as a task breakdown, but activities and tasks are a separate breakdown, identified in the next step. Step 6: Develop the schedule and cost baselines. Here are the steps involved in developing the schedule and cost baselines. 1. Identify activities and tasks needed to produce each of the work packages, creating a WBS of tasks. 2. Identify resources for each task, if known.

3. Estimate how long it will take to complete each task. 4. Estimate cost of each task, using an average hourly rate for each resource. 5. Consider resource constraints, or how much time each resource can realistically devoted to this project. 6. Determine which tasks are dependent on other tasks, and develop critical path. 7. Develop schedule, which is a calendarization of all the tasks and estimates. It shows by chosen time period (week, month, quarter, or year) which resource is doing which tasks, how much time they are expected to spend on each task, and when each task is scheduled to begin and end. 8. Develop the cost baseline, which is a time-phased budget, or cost by time period. This process is not a one-time effort. Throughout the project you will most likely be adding to repeating some or all of these steps. Step 7: Create baseline management plans. Once the scope, schedule, and cost baselines have been established, you can create the steps the team will take to manage variances to these plans. All these management plans usually include a review and approval process for modifying the baselines. Different approval levels are usually needed for different types of changes. In addition, not all new requests will result in changes to the scope, schedule, or budget, but a process is needed to study all new requests to determine their impact to the project. Step 8: Develop the staffing plan. The staffing plan is a chart that shows the time periods, usually month, quarter, year, that each resource will come onto and leave the project. It is similar to other project management charts, like a Gantt chart, but does not show tasks, estimates, begin and end dates, or the critical path. It shows only the time period and resource and the length of time that resource is expected to remain on the project. Step 9: Analyze project quality and risks. Project Quality: Project quality consists of ensuring that the end product not only meets the customer specifications, but is one that the sponsor and key business experts actually want to use. The emphasis on project quality is on preventing errors, rather than inspecting the product at the end of the project and then eliminating errors. Project quality also recognizes that quality is a management responsibility and needs to be performed throughout the project. Creating the Quality Plan involves setting the standards, acceptance criteria, and metrics that will be used throughout the project. The plan, then, becomes the foundation for all the quality reviews and inspections performed during the project and is used throughout project execution. Project Risks: A risk is an event that may or may not happen, but could have a significant effect on the outcome of a project, if it were to occur. For example,

there may be a 50% chance of a significant change in sponsorship in the next few months. Analyzing risks includes making a determination of both the probability that a specific event may occur and if it does, assessing its impact. The quantification of both the probability and impact will lead to determining which are the highest risks that need attention. Risk management includes not just assessing the risk, but developing risk management plans to understand and communicate how the team will respond to the high-risk events. Step 10: Communicate! One important aspect of the project plan is the Communications Plan. This document states such things as: Who on the project wants which reports, how often, in what format, and using what media. How issues will be escalated and when. Where project information will be stored and who can access it.

For complex projects, a formal communications matrix is a tool that can help determine some of the above criteria. It helps document the project team's agreed-on method for communicating various aspects of the project, such as routine status, problem resolution, decisions, etc. Once the project plan is complete, it is important not just to communicate the importance of the project plan to the sponsor, but also to communicate its contents once it's created. This communication should include such things as: Review and approval of the project plan. Process for changing the contents of the plan. Next stepsexecuting and controlling the project plan and key stakeholder roles/responsibilities in the upcoming phases.