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Project Management
Issued October 2010
Copyright Dr. Rovel Shackleford
Project Management
Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page ii
Table of Contents Page
Introduction
Module Overview ............................................................viii
Module Objectives ..........................................................viii
Module Timetable ............................................................ ix
Classic Organisational Forms................................................ 5
Functional or Decentralised Structure............................... 7
Matrix Structure................................................................. 9
Taskforce Structure......................................................... 11
Committee Task Force Structure .................................... 13
Project Plans.......................................................................... 14
Phases of Project Management...................................... 15
Project Definition............................................................. 16
Work Breakdown Structure ............................................. 17
Matching Resources and Activities ................................. 18
Using a Skill Inventory..................................................... 19
The Human Resource Matrix .......................................... 19
Basic Networks...................................................................... 20
Human Resource Interface ............................................. 21
Product/Service Interface................................................ 22
Change Responsibility Interface ..................................... 22
Management Interface .................................................... 22
Customer Interface ......................................................... 23
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Information Interface....................................................... 23
Material ........................................................................... 23
Network Graph................................................................ 23
Activity Lists .................................................................... 23
Critical Path..................................................................... 25
Forward Backward Planning ................................................ 27
Early-Late……………………………………………………..29
Pert Networks ........................................................................ 31
Estimates or Forecasts ................................................... 32
Underlying Assumptions ................................................. 33
Techniques ..................................................................... 34
Activity Time and Critical Path ........................................ 36
Variance.......................................................................... 36
Updating a Network ........................................................ 39
Analysing Baselines........................................................ 39
GANTT Charts........................................................................ 42
Creating GANTTS........................................................... 43
Validating the Schedule Baseline ................................... 44
Milestones....................................................................... 44
Human Resource Baseline ................................................... 45
Manpower Loading Chart................................................ 47
Updating a Chart............................................................. 49
Trade-Offs....................................................................... 50
Negotiating The Performance Contract .......................... 50
Time Commitments......................................................... 50
Reporting Formats and Schedules ................................. 50
Issues Management........................................................ 51
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Project Responsibilities................................................... 51
Compliance ..................................................................... 51
Equipment Resources..................................................... 52
Contingency and Risk ..................................................... 52
Development and Monitoring Cost ...................................... 53
Cost Evaluation............................................................... 54
One Time Development Costs........................................ 54
Intangible Benefits .......................................................... 55
Cost Spreadsheet ........................................................... 56
Cost Line/Bar Graph ....................................................... 57
Managing Projects With Multiple Baselines........................ 58
Control Prerequisites ...................................................... 59
Change In Scope ............................................................ 61
MOST……............................................................................... 63
Creating a MOST Diagram.............................................. 64
Troubleshooting Potential Issues........................................ 66
Variance Analysis ........................................................... 69
Multi-Project Planning and Control.................................. 70
Glossary……………………………………………………………..72
Bibliography and Further Reading………………………….....77
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Module Overview
This module will equip participants with the skills necessary to plan andmanage a project and or be an effective project team member.
Module Objectives
1. To explain the need for project management.
2. To explain the comprehensive nature of project management.
3. To describe the steps involved in project planning and management.
4. To identify the appropriate project management tools and theirapplication.
5. To identify how the planning information is applied to various resourcerequirements.
6. To use qualitative and quantitative approaches to project managementapproach given set of varying parameters.
7. To identify and manage variations to scope and resources.
8. To troubleshoot a project effectively.
9. To effectively monitor projects and initiate appropriate interventions tomaintain the project integrity.
10.To understand how and why project management may fail.
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Module Timetable: 3-Day Workshop
Day 1
Time Topic Subject
9:00 am Welcome and introduction
9:30 am 1 What is Project Management?
10:00 am Morning Coffee
10: 15 am 2 Organisational Structures/Planning
11:15 am 3 Outline of the Tools
12:30 pm Lunch
1: 15 pm 4 PERT Diagrams
3:15 pm Afternoon Tea
3:30 pm 4 Gantt Charts
4.30 pm Finish
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Day 2
Time Topic Subject
9:00 am 4 Exercises Using Gantt & PERT Tools
9:45 am 5 Planning Costs
10:15 am Morning Coffee
10:30 am 5 Project Control Strategies
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm 5 Troubleshooting
3:15 pm Afternoon Tea
3:30 pm 6 Case Studies
4.30 pm Finish
Day 3
Time Topic Subject
9:00 am 4 Negotiating For Resources
9:45 am 5 Resolving Differences
10:15 am Morning Coffee
10:30 am 5 Project Completion
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm 5 Case Study Exercises
3:15 pm Afternoon Tea
3:30 pm 6 Summary
4.30 pm Finish
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Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 1
Classic OrganisationalForms
Classic Organisational Forms ................................................... 5
Functional or Decentralised Structure .............................. 7
Matrix Structure ................................................................ 9
Taskforce Structure ........................................................ 11
Committee Task Force Structure.................................... 13
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PROJECT MANAGEGMENT
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES
Before we look at the classic forms of project management organisational
structures, let’s examine the following questions to consider a suitable
structure for your project:
What precent of the project is expected to be complete in the
near future (one to three years)?
What is the technical competence of the functional managers
who will be most closely involved in the project?
How well documented are similar projects that have been
done in the past? Can this historical information be relied on
as an accurate database?
Who will be responsible for the success or failure of the
project, the functional manager or the project manager?
How much input will the functional groups have in deciding
project priorities, completion dates, design concepts, and
methodologies?
Will the organisation support formal training programs (with
commitments of time and money) to develop strong project
leaders?
How interested is the organisation in enforcing standards of
design, definition, specification, and documentation for
projects?
How tolerant is the organisation of line executives who bend
policies and standard practices? In other words, does
creativity and initiative take a back seat to strict obedience?
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Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 3
Does long-range planning have a high priority coupled with a
strong commitment to stick to it? Furthermore, are strategic
plans filtered down to project leaders so that they can
formulate objectives with organisation goals in mind?
Are organisation goals set with strong emphases on making
deadlines, staying within cost estimate, and/or producing a
product/service that exactly meets specifications?
The answers to questions will determine which of the following
organisational structures is appropriate for your project:
Centralised.
A team of individuals, with each member an expert in one
speciality, cooperates in projects that serve other areas of the
organisation, such as the procurement team, the legal team, the
data processing team, the strategic planning team, or the
research and development department.
Functional or Decentralised.
A special project leader reports to one division of the
organisation and does project work only for that area of
responsibility.
Matrix.
A project coordinator, who handles administrative concerns
such as scheduling, supports a project analyst. These can
include any number of requests, from different functional
areas, for specific, job-related requirement.
Task Force.
Representatives from functional areas make full-time
commitments to produce an end product/service that is
specifically requested by top management.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these classic forms of organisation and
detail their advantages and disadvantages.
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THE CLASSIC ORGANISATIONAL FORMS
Centralised Structure
The organisational chart of a centralised structure is a pyramid that place
the centralised project group on the same level as other line functions. In
other words, a project structure can sometimes be, for all intents and
purposes, an actual department in the organisation. The senior manager
of projects in his or her department is on the same level as other
operational senior managers. In some cases, the project area may
assume a lower level in the hierarchy. Examples of a centralised project
structure might be the procurement, engineering, strategic planning, or
data processing departments. Within the centralised structure (or
department) itself, project personnel report up through the hierarchical
tree (junior to intermediate to senior to leader to manager, and so forth) to
a single person who is responsible for the total departmental or divisional
effort.
Within this structure, it is possible to organise by type of work (planning,
feasibility, specification, design, development, or implementation), by
functional area (accounting, production, procurement or engineering), or
in some cases, by categories (maintenance and development). Of
course, some combination of these can also work effectively.
The key to the centralised alternative is that one person oversees
planning, controlling, managing, and progress reporting for all project
work.
The advantages of the centralised alternative are:
Standards exist through the project life cycle. These are
equally enforced for the entire work effort.
Project personnel are treated equally in all areas of personnel
administration, including performance appraisals, salary
increases, promotions, and training.
Organisation policies, rules, and regulations are applied in
like manner to all project work efforts.
Developing skilled individuals in specialised technical areas
and availing their knowledge to all is easier.
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Project personnel are kept better informed of project
progress.
When the project group has only one boss, adjusted
management priorities are accommodated more quickly.
All project control and status reporting to upper management
(or the client) is in one predetermined format.
Should a project fall behind schedule, it may be possible to
“pack” a team or group in order to get it back on track.
All members of the project team derive a higher sense of
cooperative loyalty by associating closely with similar
personnel. This is particularly true if career paths are clearly
defined. In other words, in this structure, the career path
ladder is often predefined.
The disadvantages of the centralised alternative are:
Standards and documentation may result in an abundance of
red tape.
It may be difficult to recruit leaders that have the technical
skills to train and guide and the administrative ability to follow
organisation policies and develop corporate loyalties.
Organisational independence may encourage project team
members to depart from proven administrative practices.
There is a high risk that the client might feel that the project
team is unresponsive to his or her needs - for example, if the
client resets priorities frequently, there may not be enough
manpower available to keep to the original schedule.
Total project costs may become over inflated because
specialists are in a state of waiting between assignments or
are on call for the next “hot potato”.
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Functional or Decentralised Structure
In this alternative project expertise and human resources are self-
contained within each functional area. Project personnel are, therefore,
on permanent assignment within the organisational units where their skills
and services are needed. In this type of structure, there is little doubt that
the functional manager assumes total authority for defining requirements,
scheduling work, setting project priorities, providing facilities, acquiring
and managing all resources, adhering to organisation policies, committing
to the completion dates, coordinating conversion and implementation, and
conducting a post installation review.
The advantages of the functional organisation alternative are:
Functional managers tend to take a broader look at the total
goal rather than restrict themselves to a specialised end
product/service/service.
There is greater likelihood that fewer changes and
adjustments will be required in the end
product/service/service because bugs are ironed out early.
Project personnel develop a strong sense of loyalty to their
functional area; they are highly responsive to assigned tasks.
Since the functional areas are accountable for their own
project work, the final result is completely of their own
making; they must accept and live with it, regardless of its
success or failure.
Project personnel become extremely knowledgeable of the
objective, flow, purposes, terminology, and operation of the
functional department/division. This enables them to reduce
learning time on successive assignments, challenge
specifications intelligently, complete projects more quickly,
contribute more to the definition and specifications phase,
and provide more practical product/services.
Issue situations are flushed out quickly and receive faster and
closer attention from functional managers.
Project personnel can concentrate on project work without
being bogged down with administrative details.
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The disadvantages of the functional organisation alternative are:
It is difficult to recruit project personnel with broad-based
organisation backgrounds.
Because organisation policies and administrative practices
may not be enforced uniformly, and adjustment period, while
project personnel move between functional departments or
divisions, might be necessary.
Career paths may be ill defined; individual growth and
development can easily be stifled.
It is very likely that project control and status reporting to
upper management will not be standardised between projects
from different functional areas, thus making it difficult for top
management to monitor progress.
Project cost accounting to upper management may be
unclear. (Project costs in this structure can be “swept under
the rug” - that is, costs can be assigned to other accounts.)
Highly specialised skills may not be available when needed.
For example, not every department in the organisation can
afford its own telecommunications expert.
Excessive costs might result from having to develop the
same specialised training and knowledge in each functional
area.
Common standards for project work are difficult to define and
almost impossible to enforce uniformly.
Matrix Structure
The matrix organisational structure is a combination of the two preceding
structures. In this structure, however, project personnel have a dual
reporting responsibility.
In the matrix system, project personnel report to their technical leader (the
project coordinator) for the following types of activities:
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Administrative details (vacations, training, performance review,
and so on), refining tasks and assignments, technical guidance,
planning and budgets, and standardising functional support and
assistance.
Other responsibilities require the functional manager to define
requirements, make feasibility and economic evaluations, and change
priorities, if necessary, assign and allocate work, and determine ultimate
success or failure in meeting their goals.
The team is comprised of personnel from the functional areas rather than
from a centralised area. The specific distribution of the responsibilities
described above may be based on the needs and objectives of any given
enterprise. However, the point here is that the project personnel can have
two bosses: one for the productive effort, another for the administrative.
The advantages of the matrix structure are:
In most cases, it is the least costly form of organisation for a
major project.
Project personnel can devote themselves to the complex issues
of the project and to coordinating its various tasks without being
distracted by details of execution.
The leadership and management prerogatives of top functional
managers are retained in the execution of project tasks.
Scarce expertise can be applied flexibly and efficiently to a
number of different projects.
Matrix project management is an attractive arrangement for
highly skilled professional people who want to work on a new and
challenging project but are reluctant to leave their organisational
home for one in which their professional skills and attitudes might
not be properly respected.
Changes in project manpower requirements are accommodated
more easily; thus a project can phase down from peak level more
efficiently.
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The entire management team unites to achieve project
objectives. Strong feelings of responsibility, interest, concern,
and pride are usually present.
General management may more readily perceive and resolve
conflicts between project requirements and organisational
policies.
The disadvantages of the matrix alternative are:
More effort and time are required to define and communicate
a set of policies that ensures successful matrix project
operations.
In general, for an organisation that is unaccustomed to
project management approaches, particularly matrix
management, the issues encountered in the initial phases
may be damaging or indeed fatal to the project.
Biases of functional division heads may subtly work against
the priorities desired by general management.
In fast-moving and fast-changing projects, the matrix
organisational approach may be ill suited to the quick reaction
times that are often necessary to meet project objectives.
Project personnel may have difficulty determining which boss
to consult regarding specific types of issues.
Conflicts of authority between project managers and
functional managers may become critical enough to damage
the project.
Task Force Structure
In the task force alternative project personnel are recruited from various
areas of the organisation. Though they are committed on a full-time
basis, the task force is expected to be of limited duration and has specific
completion dates. Upon completing the project, the group disbands and
members return to the organisational units from whence they came (or
perhaps, go on to new areas of responsibility).
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The task force leader has total control and authority for overseeing
scheduling, management, quality control, and completion of the project.
This leader may be someone selected from either the functional or project
management levels. The single criterion for selecting the project
manager may be his or her objectivity in solving issues. Committee
approaches have been applied to managing task forces. These have
their advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed later.
The advantages of the task force alternative are:
The team can generally be assembled very rapidly.
The team can react very quickly to changing project
conditions or possible shifts in direction or priorities.
Esprit de corps is usually high because of the unique status
of the effort. Members of the task force often enjoy high
visibility and feel “special” since they have been hand picked
for an important organisation effort.
Although individuals are selected for the special skills and
knowledge they can contribute, they have ample opportunity
to work closely with other specialists. This broadens their
knowledge and increases their value for future assignments.
From the organisation standpoint, there is at least an ethical
commitment on the part of the members to see the project
through to a successful completion. This may help reduce
turnover and retraining.
All costs are carefully defined and reported.
Standards that are enforced throughout the project lead to a
uniformly documented final product/service.
Generally, top management is kept very well informed of the
status and progress of the task force.
The disadvantages of the task force alternative are:
Functional organisations may resent a special group
encroaching on their territories.
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Controlling the many activities and responsibilities of a very
large project may prove cumbersome and unwieldy.
Team members might be frightened by this temporary
assignment - that is, they may be concerned about its impact
on their careers.
Status reports to upper management may be formatted
differently than reports on other organisation projects. This
can make comparisons difficult.
Because of time pressures, the task force may waive
documentation and standards.
Urgency may cause overloading of the task force (with
personnel and other resources). this could result in cost
overruns if expenses aren’t closely watched.
Pressures to meet deadlines, plus crises and issues, may
mean little development of new state-of-the-art techniques.
Committee Task Force Structure
Committee task forces are formed when project personnel do not have
100 percent of their time to dedicate to any one assignment. Therefore,
on a committee task force, the project personnel are supposed to spend,
say, 60 percent of their time on their normal duties and 40 percent on task
force assignments. As we all know, the ration becomes 100-40.
Although task force time presumably is always budgeted in, day-to-day
pressures often countermand the plan. So where does the extra time
come from? From lunch hours missed, late nights worked, and weekend
catch-up. Other issues encountered with committee task forces are:
arranging for committee members to meet all at once so that joint
decisions can be made, and prodding completed assignments from
functional representatives who are burdened with other work.
Committee approaches have been attempted in managing task forces,
but they have not always been very successful. Making one executive
responsible is the key to efficient supervision of the committee task force.
However, a review committee that monitors progress, facilitates policy
decisions, provides resources, and so forth may be a very helpful tool.
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Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 12
Nevertheless, supervising the day-to-day management of the task force
must be the responsibility of one person.
PROJECT PLANS
Project Plans........................................................................... 14
Phases of Project Management ..................................... 15
Project Definition ............................................................ 16
Work Breakdown Structure............................................. 17
Matching Resources and Activities................................. 18
Using a Skill Inventory .................................................... 19
The Human Resource Matrix.......................................... 19
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Phases of Project Management
The project management process has three phases: the planning phase,
the scheduling phase, and the controlling phase. If you had to determine
how much effort should go into each phase, what would you decide? On
the continuum below, put an X nearest the percent of your time and effort
that you feel should go into the planning phase.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Surprisingly, there is no “correct” response to this issue. It can be said
that the planning phase should be emphasised strongly. If the plan is no
good, there will be nothing worth controlling. And the time and effort
usually will not be available during the controlling phase to correct plans
that have gone astray; you’ll be too embroiled in getting the job done.
Many people want to know when a project’s complexity demands formal
tools and techniques. They want cut off points that determine when this
level of complexity is reached. The management of your organisation
should set these cut off points. If management has not set criteria as
guidelines, then you must use the appropriate project management tools
at your disposal. It’s probable that you already use many of these project
management techniques, even for the smallest project.
Let’s discuss the project-planning phase in detail. In this phase you’ll
develop the plan baseline, schedule baseline, human resources baseline,
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Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 14
and cost baseline. Throughout this course, the term baseline will be
synonymous with the term plan.
In the next few Modules, we’ll discuss each of the above activities. We’ll
examine the techniques that are used to develop each of these baselines
as well as the graphic tools that are used to document them. We’ll then
relate these same tools to monitoring and controlling the project.
Your first step as project leader will be to develop a task baseline, which
will be the foundation for all other project plans. The baseline includes the
project definition, or the specification of the end product/service, and the
work breakdown structure, or the checklist of the activities necessary to
complete the project.
Let’s now consider how to create a professional project definition and
work breakdown structure.
Project Definition
The job of the project leader is to ensure that the end
product/service/service meets the specifications determined by
management or the client. Therefore, the project leader must first define
those specifications and clarify project objectives - that is, translate them
in quantifiable terms. In other words, before you do something, make
sure you know exactly what the client wants.
In determining quantifiable terms, it is most important to agree on what
measures will be used to gauge the project’s success or failure. Above
all, try to avoid subjective judgements. The more agreed-upon-criteria for
measurement that you can establish up front, the better.
The accepted approach is to state cost, time, and quality in specific
terms.
There are many objectives used in defining an end product/service’s
relation to some projects. Think about some of the issues you might face
in preparing a good definition. Some of the issues that a project leader
might confront in developing a good project definition are:
Setting project goals that is agreeable to all parties
concerned.
Leaving enough space to accommodate changing priorities.
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Having enough time to define the objective well.
Adequately quantifying objectives.
Dealing with clients who only see the “tip of the iceberg”.
Documenting and reviewing objectives well enough.
Coordinating efforts of the client and project personnel.
A good project definition is really a contract. As such, it can be formal or
informal. This contract is very important. It will be referenced several
times during the evolution of the project:
At the onset, forcing participants to establish the boundaries
of the project team.
During the project, identifying the changes of scope that fall
outside the boundaries, thus requiring renegotiation of the
contract.
At the project’s conclusion, helping the project leader to
perform an objective post implementation review of the end
product/service.
The creation of a good project definition should follow these guidelines:
Concentrating on the end product/service/service
(output/outcome) only, not on benefits or cost evaluations.
These come later.
Realising that only the tip of the iceberg may be showing. It is
your job as project leader to get beneath it.
Understanding that this document is not static; it is dynamic
and it will change.
Wherever possible, converting objectives into quantifiable
terms.
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Work Breakdown Structure
Once a sufficient project objective is developed, the project leader can
move on to producing a work breakdown structure of the activities to be
performed. A work breakdown structure is nothing more than a checklist
of the work that must be accomplished to meet the objectives set in the
project definition. However, this checklist is not put together in a helter-
skelter fashion.
The work breakdown structure is prepared with a very structured
approach; general work is broken down into smaller, more specialised
work.
The work breakdown structure first splinters the project into work
assignments. These work assignments, or major phases, are then
broken down into the next level of detail, tasks. These tasks may be
broken down into sub-tasks, and so forth. All the parties that are involved
in the project generate the work breakdown structure. The benefits of a
work breakdown structure are:
It provides a checklist that prevents omitted tasks. Don’t be
naive enough to think that something won’t be forgotten.
With this checklist, you have a better chance of isolating all of
the planned efforts.
It requires commitment from project personnel. Those who
contribute to the project are involved from the onset.
As a project leader, you will be in control of developing a
basic plan for all of the work required and for all of the areas
involved. The work breakdown structure enables you to
monitor all of the work in progress.
Matching Resources and Activities
The task lists developed through your work breakdown structure are the
foundation of your project planning. Before we go further, however, we
need to discuss some of the tools that are used to help the project leader
assign appropriate personnel to each task. Some managers make
personnel assignments as soon as the work breakdown structure is
created; others wait until task relationships have been drafted; and still
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Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 17
others wait until after the network has been drawn and analysed. The
skills inventory and the human resources matrix are useful tools that
facilitate specific personnel assignments.
Using a Skills Inventory
Every project requires a variety of skills that need to be matched to the
appropriate tasks. It is relatively easy to make these assignments in the
beginning. As the project progresses, it may be necessary to split
assignments, add people to existing assignments, or trade assignments.
To do this appropriately, the project manager needs something that lists
all the skills that are resident on the project team. This is a skills
inventory. The skills inventory can be set up in a number of ways; we
recommend the following:
1. Set up a matrix form, placing skills along the x axis team member
names along the y. Note that skills may be in degrees of
competency; for example, programmer 1, 2 or 3.
2. At the intersections where a team member has the matching skill,
place an X.
3. If the project requires skills that are not on the project team, the
project manager will note those skills on the skills inventory,
leaving them blank or filling them in with a consultant or
contractor, etc.
The Human Resources Matrix and Getting
Commitment
Once the tasks are enumerated, consider who on the project team is
most qualified to perform each task. As in the skills inventory, develop a
matrix that lists tasks along the left and names or job titles along the top.
Tasks are assigned either uniquely to one person each or in some
combination where one person has prime responsibility for its completion
and another person (or persons) has support responsibility. Indicate the
person having prime responsibility with a P and those having support
responsibility with an S. (Remember, each task requires at least one P
but only one P, while several team members may be assigned an S.)
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BASIC NETWORKS
Basic Networks ....................................................................... 20
Human Resource Interface............................................. 21
Product/Service Interface ............................................... 22
Change Responsibility Interface..................................... 22
Management Interface.................................................... 22
Customer Interface......................................................... 23
Information Interface ...................................................... 23
Material........................................................................... 23
Network Graph ............................................................... 23
Activity Lists.................................................................... 23
Critical Path .................................................................... 25
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Basic Networks
Networks involve more of an investment of time and money than many
people are willing to make. A clerical department or a complex computer
program often supports large projects. As you will see, this kind of
support isn’t always essential to the project’s success. For most projects
it’s possible to develop your own network manually; this will serve the
purpose quite well. Even if you do have computer support, and your
network can be computer generated, you still need to understand the
basics of the network construction so that you can properly analyse the
work with various network formats.
Human Resources Interfaces
Human resources interfaces concern the personnel who contribute to the
project. These interfaces consist of the following:
RESULT OF ACTION
Often, one activity cannot start until another is complete. For example, an
end product/service/service cannot be implemented until all testing is
finished.
COMMON UNIT OF RESOURCE
One person can do only so much work at a time. Today, some
organisations assign no more than three activities to each person at one
time. You might consider even this workload excessive. However, the
point here is that one person can tackle only so many assignments at the
same time and perform them well.
DRAIN ON ORGANISATION RESOURCES
If many tasks draw on the same resource pool, they become, to a certain
extent, interdependent. For example, the drafting department can
respond only to a limited number of projects at once, and even then they
have to set priorities.
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Product/service Interfaces
Human resources are not the only interdependencies to consider when
determining the relationships between the work breakdown structure
activities. You also need to allow for the effects of the following
product/service interfaces:
PERFORMANCE INTERFACES
Subassemblies and components have to be tested before they are
integrated into the final product/service. For example, if you are
establishing a teleprocessing network, the receiving station, the sending
station, and the telecommunications linkage all have to be installed and
operating before the network can be integrated.
PHYSICAL INTERFACES
These reduce the above consideration to the level of a single
subassembly or component. For example, if you are constructing a
telephone, the receiver, base and connecting wires all have to be
operating before the phone can be assembled.
You also should consider how project interfaces affect the
interdependence of activities. Some types of interfaces follow:
CHANGES RESPONSIBILITY INTERFACES
Oftentimes, major project responsibilities are transferred from one project
team to another. For example, after a prototype is completed and
approved, it usually becomes the responsibility of the production
department.
MANAGEMENT INTERFACES
As a result of periodic review meetings, the project’s trajectory can be
altered.
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CUSTOMER INTERFACES
Meetings with customers can also affect project progress. For example,
the client might not approve a request for more funds.
INFORMATION INTERFACES
For example, statistical analyses may be necessary before the design
stage can be complete. Of course, this information has to be
disseminated to the proper sources. However, the person responsible for
disseminating the information may not consider it a top priority.
Therefore, a time delay may result.
MATERIAL INTERFACES
The project cannot progress until the proper equipment and/or materials
is/are available.
Network Graphs
The network graph is a tool that illustrates the interfaces and
interdependencies of related activities. However, you cannot graph these
relationships until you have analysed them thoroughly. To do so, you
must (among other things) consider interface logic.
Simply put, you are attempting to demonstrate how each activity relates to
others in the project. Some activities must occur in sequence. For
example, you must make sure that the power source is compatible with
your equipment before you install and test it. Other activities can occur
simultaneously. You can prepare an implementation checklist while you
are still in the development stage.
Activity Lists
Isolate the first activities. Look down the immediate predecessor
column and find every activity that does not have an immediate
predecessor (indicated by a hyphen).
Plot first activities on the network. Draw one “start” node is the
vertical centre of the far left-hand side of a blank sheet of paper.
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(The network branches to the right top and bottom). From the
start node, “burst” solid activity arrows for every starting activity
(activities that have no predecessor).
Format the network in such a way as to show interdependencies.
In other words, indicate those activities that must be done
sequentially and those that must be done simultaneously.
Don’t worry about time estimates or drawing the network to scale.
Concentrate on the interrelationships.
Continue building the chain. Take each activity (or combination
of activities) that is now diagrammed on the network and search
for it in the immediate predecessor column of the activity list.
When you find it, expand the network accordingly. Let the
immediate predecessor column drive the interpretation on to the
network. You are developing a series of chains; each activity that
appears on the network is merely a link in that chain. Once the
link is attached to the chain, the immediate predecessor column
tells us which link or links must be attached next.
Draw one end nose to signify the end of the project. Make sure
there is only one start point/node and one end point/node.
Don’t allow any node to “dangle”. Every node must connect to an
activity and therefore to an end point. In other words, every
activity must be integrated into the framework.
Use a dummy arrow (a broken arrow line) to tie a dangling node
back into the network. Make sure the direction of the dummy
arrow correctly portrays the dependencies of the activities.
(Dummy arrows will be discussed in more detail later).
Remember that the network is a communication took; it must be
understandable to all who use it.
Critical Path
As you consider your plan, you can develop the actual task effort, or
manpower estimates. To develop manpower estimates, or the actual
amount of effort needed to complete this project, start at the lowest level
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in the work breakdown structure and work forward. This will give you a
total project estimate.
Each time estimate, referred to here as te, or activity time estimate, is
added up along each path that has been developed on the network. The
same activity time may be added up along each path that has been
developed on the network. The same activity times may be added more
than once because it may appear on more than one path. The longest
path is the longest time estimate and thus determines the target
completion date for the project.
Now take your activity work sheet. For simplicity’s sake, take your time
estimates from your activity work sheet and write them under the
appropriate activity arrows on your network. Now, develop your critical
path and time estimate for the project. Also, since you have just isolated
the critical path, mark it with a bold line.
This network indicates a project duration time estimate, TE, of 8.5 months.
The bold line shows the critical path.
Identifying the critical path can serve two purposes:
1. At the beginning of the project, top management may request
shorter deadlines than you have developed. To shorten
deadlines, you can tighten up the critical path by transferring
resources from the “slack” paths. Of course, the expertise you
are shifting from the slack paths must be compatible with the
“gap” in the critical path. And removing a resource from a slack
path will mean you’ll need more time to complete the slack path
activity. But the proper amount of transferred effort should
shorten the critical path - the goal you’re attempting to achieve.
(Be careful here - do not convert a slack path into a critical path).
2. If something slips on the critical path during the project then you’ll
know that the project will not meet its deadline unless you shorten
some activities later in the sequence. Again, reallocating
resources from a slack path to the critical path can do this.
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Forward and Backward Planning
Forward Backward Planning 27
Early-Late………………………………29
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Forward Backward Planning
In forward planning you take all the activities, determine their
interrelationships, and interpret them on a network. Then you develop
manpower estimates (to be extrapolates into elapsed time estimates).
These, in turn, are plotted on the network and used to create the critical
path, or the time target for the project in a forward planning mode. Once
this has been accomplished, you can determine what kind of slack, if any,
there is in the project.
Using the calculation
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Due Date – te = Slack
You can analyse what type of slack your time estimate allows as
compared to the due date required by management. For example, if
management said that you could have 1 year to complete the project we
just analysed as taking 8.5 months, what slack would your project have?
12 months - 8.5 months = +3.5 months
In this project you have positive slack, or extra time, not only on the non
critical paths but on the critical path as well.
What if management asked if you would accept 8.5 months as the target
date? What type of slack would you then have?
8.5 months - 8.5 months = 0 months
Zero slack would completely commit you to the critical path.
Finally, consider a more realistic possibility. Suppose that your
management has asked for the project to be completed in 6 months. Use
the project slack calculation to determine what type of slack you would
now have to contend with.
6.0 months - 8.5 months = -2.5 months
Not such a pretty picture. Negative slack forces you to use the critical
path in a backward planning mode. In other words, you must shorten the
critical path by reworking the sequence of the activities or by reallocating
resources from the slack paths to the critical path.
Early Start-Early Finish and Late Start - Late
Finish
Early start - early finish dates are developed by starting at the beginning
of the network and working forward. The early start-early finish times are
written above the activity arrow in brackets (Note: from this point on,
event numbers will reflect events in the customer index system).
Assume that the start day is 0. This is the earliest time that you could
start activity A. If activity A takes 1 months, then the earliest that activity
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could be completed would be 1 month from the start of the project. In this
case, activity B will have an early start if activity A can be completed in 1
month.
Therefore, activity B has an early start of 1 month. And since activity B
takes at least 2.5 months, the earliest time that activity B can be finished
is 1 month plus 2.5 months, which is 3.5 months from day 0. Keep in
mind that the critical path’s early finish always takes precedence over the
other paths.
Starting at the completion time estimate and working backward develop
late start-late finishes. The late start-late finishes are written below the
activity arrow in brackets.
The late finish for each of the final activities in the completion target time
is, 8.5 months. Therefore, the latest that each activity could be started is
the late finish minus the duration. For example, activity F has a late finish
of 8.5 months because that is the te of the project. Activity F has a late
start of 7 months, which was derived by subtracting the duration of the
activity (1.5 months) from the late finish (8.5 months). If you move
backward on the path, the late finish of the preceding activity, C, is the
late start of activity F, or 7 months. And the late start for activity, C, is the
late start of activity F, or 7 months. And the late start of activity C is 7
months minus the duration of activity C, which is 2 months. This means
that activity C will have a late start of 5 months. Remember, at any
crossroads, or when the paths converge, the critical path’s late start takes
precedence over the other path. It is the latest path going forward (early
start-early finish). It is the earliest path going backward (late start-late
finish).
Remember, when two or more paths converge, the critical path takes
precedence. Now that you have developed these numbers, let’s look at
how you will use them.
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PERT NETWORKS
Pert Networks ......................................................................... 31
Estimates or Forecasts................................................... 32
Underlying Assumptions................................................. 33
Techniques..................................................................... 34
Activity Time and Critical Path ........................................ 36
Variance ......................................................................... 36
Updating a Network ........................................................ 39
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Analysing Baselines ....................................................... 39
Estimates or Forecasts?
Whether you use estimates or forecasts to determine activity or project
duration depends on the kind of projects you will be responsible for.
Estimates are guesses - educated guesses, to be sure, but guesses
nevertheless. We estimate given little history or proven experience to go
by.
Forecasts, on the other hand, are predictions. We forecast as the result
of careful data analysis using extensive experience and valid data.
An estimate is a perfectly reasonable thing to be doing if your project is in
one of the following categories:
Never been done before by anyone.
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Never been done before in your organisation.
Never been done on this scale.
Completion date is not critical.
If your project is not in one of these categories, then it might be more
reasonable for you, your client, your management, and your team to work
with forecasts. However, in order to forecast, you need to analyse
available pertinent data.
If you do not have an estimating guidebook (such as that used in
construction or auto repair), you must consider each activity individually
and determine what will have an impact on its completion both the actual
effort to be expended by a resource and the calendar time.
A good base can be established by using prior project history, provided
you tracked the deliverable and who performed the work (with what
experience and support) for what effort over what period of time. If there
are other variables that may have an impact, they should be tracked in
order to have good data.
Only experienced project managers should forecast as forecasts can
quickly become set in concrete. Estimates, on the other hand, are
approximations. They are “best guesses”, probabilities, or “gut feelings”,
and therefore are offered as guidelines as best as they are highly subject
to change.
Underlying Assumptions of Time Estimates
Never assume that a special mix of labour and equipment will be
available use only the level most common to similar projects. Also, use
straight time estimates only unless overtime is a normal, daily practice.
Each activity time’s estimate must be discrete; that is, it should not be
influenced or adjusted because of some expected outcome in a previous
or succeeding activity. (Furthermore, “acts of God” are not included in
time estimates).
Since estimates are guesses of ”likely” task duration, they have a 51
percent chance of being right. Therefore, an unpadded estimate has
approximately a 50-50 chance of achievement. The calculation of
standard deviation and variance (explained later in this Module) are two
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ways that PERT attempts to come up with more accurate but not overly
inflated estimates.
Estimating and Forecasting Techniques
Projects are as varied as people, and each type of project - whether it is
constructing a building, implementing a computer system, introducing a
new product/service, or building a road, lends itself to specific methods of
task estimating or forecasting. Four of these methods are described
here.
Experience Method
Develop an outline of the existing requirements. This outline should
represent the functional capabilities of the system or product/service.
After collecting data from similar previous projects, select basic relevant
data to develop the estimates by using the following steps:
1. Compare the project to previous similar projects.
2. Divide the project into units, and compare each unit with previous
similar units.
3. Schedule work and estimate resources by month. Pay particular
attention to resource loadings. In order to utilise available
personnel effectively, staff size should not fluctuate greatly from
month to month. Also, staff size cannot increase more than 30
percent per year and maintain effective managerial control over
the development of the project without significant waste of
resources.
4. Develop standards that can be applied to the work.
Quantitative Method
This is a mathematical formula that produces resource estimates base on
attributes of the finished product/service. For example, lines of code
multiplied by average cost per line gives a relative indication of computer
programming costs, assuming that every line of code costs approximately
the same. This method is not as accurate as the experience method
because the system complexity or methodology is generally ignored.
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Constraint Method
In this method the resource constraints and duration are fixed at project
conception; then the specifications are adjusted to fit reality. In practice,
the experience and quantitative methods will always deliver a complete
project, though it may be late and cost more than expected. If used
faithfully, the constraint method will always be on time, but the
product/service may be less than was originally desired.
As a general rule, this technique should not be used. The project
manager must be aware that less than what was desired will actually be
delivered. However, if the specifications are truly flexible, this method
may be appropriate. This method is used more often than it should be.
Units of Work Method
The project is divided into small units, and each unit is independently
estimated. This differs from the experience method since the increased
complexity due to interaction between different units is ignored. It is not a
recommended method, but is mentioned because of its prevalent usage.
The only direct correlation between effort estimates and calendar time is
that calendar time for an activity cannot be less than the single largest
effort by one resource. For example, if person A estimates one week of
effort and person B estimates two weeks of effort, the least amount of
calendar time for that activity is two weeks.
PERT Networks
The PERT approach uses three time estimates rather than the one time
estimate developed for the basic network. These three time estimates
are: the most optimistic time (that is, if everything goes perfectly), the
most likely time (probably the one you developed for the basic network),
and the most pessimistic time (that is, if everything that could possibly go
wrong did). These three estimates are to, tm, and tp, respectively.
The three time estimates are used in a number of calculations to
determine such statistics as the time estimate for each activity (te), the
critical path and time estimate for the entire project te, the factor of
uncertainty for each activity (s2), the path of most uncertainty (Vt), and the
contingency factor.
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We will discuss how each of these statistics is calculated in later sections
of this Module. However, it must be said here that PERT, which uses
three time estimates, is a more conservative approach and builds in some
contingency factors as a result of the mere relationship of the three times.
The three time estimates (to, tm, and tp) are written underneath the
activity arrows. The time estimate for each activity (te) is calculated by
using the following equation:
to + 4 tm + tp
te =6
Activity Time and Critical Path
The above equation is an industry-standard calculation for estimating
activity times based on the assumption that the optimistic time and the
pessimistic time have an equal chance of occurring. However, in this
instance, the most likely time is weighted by a factor of 4. (The divisor of
6 is the averaging factor for the 6 weighting’s in the numerator). Some
organisations work with weighting factors that they have found, in the light
of experience, to work best for them. However, almost everyone in the
industry uses this basis equation.
You’ll develop a critical path for PERT in the same way that you did for the
basic network. Once you have ascertained the activity time estimates,
add up the te’s along every path. This will tell you which path is the
longest. The longest path will be the critical path and the total estimates
elapsed time that it will take to complete the project. This path should be
designated te. The activities along this path will be the critical path
activities. The arrows representing the critical path activities should be
drawn with bold lines. These bold arrows will clearly indicate the critical
path’s direction.
Variance
For each set of time estimates, the variance, or uncertainty factor, should
be calculated. Generally, the larger the gap between the most optimistic
time and the most pessimistic time, the less certain the estimate, and
therefore, the higher the variance.
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You would use the following equation to precisely calculate how certain
each estimate is:
tp - to2
s2 = 6
In this equation the variance is designated S, or sigma.
Activities of Most Uncertainty and Path of Most Uncertainty
In your project you should closely examine all of the variances and re-
evaluate the larger ones with the person who made the estimates.
Keep in mind that there are no bad or good variances; you are only
considering how each variance factor relates to the others. Now you’re
probably thinking that you don’t need to make a complex calculation to tell
you that if the optimistic time was .5 months, the most likely time was 1
month, and the most pessimistic time was 10 months, then you definitely
would have uncertain estimates. (These particular estimates may be
accurate. Perhaps the person supplying the estimates knows something
that you don’t. For example, these estimates could be a construction
activity in the North Country that, if not completed in 1 month, would have
to be postponed until after the wet season weather subsides. Therefore,
the project might take 10 months to complete). However, when your
project has hundreds of activities, it’s not as easy. A computer could
analyse all the variances for you and single out activities that you, as
project leader, might want to question.
Once you have determined the validity of the estimates, you’ll have
another “management by exception” routine for tracking the project. But
be careful the more uncertain activities should be tracked cautiously to be
sure that they do not tend toward the more pessimistic estimate. When
developing your schedules, you should work in ample float time around
the uncertain activities.
Another warning: Watch out for project personnel who consistently
provide highly certain estimates. If someone knows the formula, they can
take their most likely estimate and skew out the optimistic and pessimistic
time in order to make all their estimates meet a reasonable certainty
factor.
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No real project will fall in line correctly. Therefore, you might ask these
people need to rework their numbers, maybe with a little more honesty the
second time around.
You’ll determine the path of most uncertainty in the same way that you
determined the critical path. Add up all the uncertainty factors along each
path. The path with the highest variance is the path of most uncertainty.
No matter what direction the path of most uncertainty takes, it will provide
you with another management by exception path to monitor. These
activities will become another focal point during the controlling process.
You may become concerned that you have not worked enough “fudge”, or
what is professionally called a contingency factor, into your project
estimates. To remedy this issue, many project leaders take a scientific
approach, for example, doubling their te time estimate or multiplying it by
2.5.
A more conservative approach to determining workable estimates
involves using the standard deviation calculation. First assume that the
three time estimates will follow the normal (bell) curve, with the optimistic
and pessimistic estimates at each end and the most likely falling at the
midpoint of the curve.
According to probability theory, there is a 50-50 chance of exactly hitting
the most likely estimate. If we calculate standard deviation, the chances
of hitting anywhere within one standard deviation from the midpoint are 68
percent.
For example, let’s say our estimates are:
3 weeks - optimistic
9 weeks - pessimistic
6 weeks - most likely
There is a 50 percent change that we will complete the task in 6 weeks. If
we calculate standard deviation as
tp - to
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ST =6
we get 9 - 3 = 6/6 = 1, a standard deviation of 1 week. Since
standard deviation is applied on both sides of the midpoint, we can say
that there is a chance of finishing between 5 and 7 weeks. If we extend
our estimate to include 2 standard deviations, we increase our chances to
95 percent, and there is a 99 percent chance - or virtual assurance - of
finishing within 3 standard deviations. Out chances look like this:
50 percent 6 weeks
68 percent 5-7 weeks
95 percent 4-8 weeks
99 percent 3-9 weeks
Each activity on the path of most uncertainty has a corresponding
deviation. The standard deviations are added up to arrive at a standard
deviation for the project, which in this case is 2.66 months.
Accordingly, we have a 68 percent chance of finishing within one
standard deviation (12.94 months), a 95 percent chance of finishing
within 2 standard deviations (15.63 months), and a 99 percent chance of
finishing within 3 standard deviations (18.26 months) of the current time
estimate.
In order to assure ourselves of a 99.9 percent chance of coming in on
target, we should add three standard deviations, or 7.98 months, to our
time estimates of 10.28 months, or present a time estimate of 18.26
months to management.
Updating a Network
Many project managers feel that developing a network isn’t worth the time
and effort if it can’t be used to control and monitor the project. If the
entire sequence of the project is altered, then the network will have to be
re-drawn. However, if you are revising dates or trying to show when an
activity is actually complete, there are certain conventions that will allow
you to do so without having to complete redraw the network.
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Analysing Baselines
A network used as a status should be uncluttered and readily
comprehensible. Separate segments of the project will been isolated.
Furthermore, the simplistic “flag” technique will clearly indicate completed
activities as well as revised completion dates for upcoming activities.
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GANTT CHARTS
GANTT Charts ........................................................................ 42
Creating GANTTS .......................................................... 43
Validating the Schedule Baseline ................................... 44
Milestones ...................................................................... 44
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GANTT Charts
Networks can be translated onto calendar charts and be used for
monitoring and controlling the project. However, another format is more
frequently used for monitoring and controlling. This is called the Gantt
chart, or the bar chart or schedule chart.
In this Module we’ll look at this approach in more detail. Gantt charts look
very different from network charts, and you need to be familiar with how
they are created. We will examine how many different formats and
notation systems there are, what a Gantt chart can tell you, and how it
can help to control complex work efforts.
Creating Gantt Charts
Using the Gantt chart method, plot the start and end times of all activities
on a calendar chart. Then analyse when an activity is to begin, how long
it will last, and when it will be complete. Finally, graph how each
succeeding activity relates to its immediate predecessor.
If the network was broken down to the lowest possible level of detail, the
Gantt chart could be drawn directly from it.
Gantt charts are plotted on a matrix; the duration (days, weeks, or
months) lies along the horizontal axis, the activities along the vertical
axis. The start and end may be indicated by an X, or the start with a and
the end by a . The Gantt chart can also incorporate milestones, or
mandatory completion dates. These are usually indicated by a.
In many cases you’ll be able to translate the network directly onto a Gantt
calendar chart. However, in some instances, the network will be
incomplete for this purpose because networks don’t allow for all possible
overlapping situations. In fact, networks commonly assume that
preceding activities are 100 percent complete before succeeding activities
can begin. The Gantt chart, however, is not restricted in this way. In a
sense, it is more refined because it allows for overlapping start times.
Because of this limitation of networks, it might be necessary to perform
one more analysis before translating activities onto a schedule chart - that
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is, you might have to determine percentage of overlap. Remember, the
time estimate that has the latest start always takes precedence.
Validating the Schedule Baseline
To avoid erroneous estimates, it’s wise to create an individual Gantt chart
for each person or area of responsibility. After creating each chart, you
should validate it.
The individual Gantt chart only indicates where issues may exist; it does
not identify or solve them. It is your job to return to your work sheet and
make sure that your analysis was correct in the first place, and then, if
your analysis was correct, to talk to the person responsible to determine
if, in fact, the input was accurate.
You can also validate a Gantt chart by using a consolidated program
chart. The consolidated program chart graphs every project activity to the
lowest level of detail, in chronological order. This allows you to check for
sequence errors, overloading, under loading, and gaps.
Milestones
A more simplified method to schedule charts is to show only the milestone
dates. A milestone is a marker of a major event a significant point in
development. Every completion date for the project won’t be a milestone.
Milestones should be specific dates, or mandatory delivery dates. For
example, milestones could be equipment deliveries, material deliveries,
review meetings, approval checkpoints, and so on. Before milestones
can be met, a series of smaller markers must be passed. These might be
“metre lines” or “centimetre pebbles”, depending upon the overall size of
your project. The important point is to have a series of small deliverable’s
that will result in a milestone.
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HUMAN RESOURCES BASELINE
Human Resource Baseline ..................................................... 45
Manpower Loading Chart ............................................... 47
Updating a Chart ............................................................ 49
Trade-Offs ...................................................................... 50
Negotiating The Performance Contract .......................... 50
Time Commitments ........................................................ 50
Reporting Formats and Schedules ................................. 50
Issues Management ....................................................... 51
Project Responsibilities .................................................. 51
Compliance..................................................................... 51
Equipment Resources .................................................... 52
Contingency and Risk..................................................... 52
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What the Project Manager Manages
On a project team of three or four people, you will probably be well
acquainted with each person’s skills and expertise. We have already
discussed assigning resources to tasks. With a limited project team, this
is quite easy to do. However, on a project with a larger team (and
probably a larger and more complex objective), it might be more difficult
to recall each person’s skills in your head. In addition, some team
members may have skills that are not being used in their present
assignments but that might be applicable to the project. Refer to your
skills inventory. There are at least two places where this inventory will be
useful: during planning to resolve overloading issues, and later (during the
progress of the project) to respond to slippage in task completions. On a
large project, you will probably be referring to the skills inventory
throughout the project control phase.
The next most controllable factor - on several levels - for the project
manager is time. How many hours per day will a resource work? When
is the task scheduled? Is there float (time) for the task? Must a task wait
for its predecessor to be completely finished, or could it start after x
amount of progress?
Time can be made to work for you by looking at each task - the
relationship of one task to its predecessor - to determine if a task’s
predecessor must be 100 percent complete in order to begin. In order to
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utilise a partial dependency, it is imperative that there be a specific
completion criterion to mark the time when the succeeding task may
begin. Generally, duration is not an acceptable measure. Duration might
be acceptable for a task that could start three days after the cement had
been poured (allowing the cement to dry), but it is unacceptable for a
task, such as research or program coding, where time alone does not
guarantee progress. In order to manage, the project manager needs
specific deliverable’s at specific stages of completion, and as we know,
deliverable’s must be objective and measurable.
All of the foregoing options are feasible only if the resources are available.
Float can be used to adjust start and end times when resources may not
be available at the earliest start date. However, just because a task has
float does not mean it is reasonable to change its dates. Float is a
function of the dependency analysis; availability of the resource may be
dependent on the organisational structure and its priorities, as well as on
the project plans.
Manpower Loading Chart
Determining Full-Time Equivalents
As we have already discussed, much of project management is human
resources management. Before the resources can be properly managed,
the number of full-time equivalents, where we need them, and when they
will be required in the project’s life must be determined. It is also
important that the project manager determines how resources will be
allocated over the duration of a project and verifies that these resources
are being allocated correctly. In other words, a project manager must
determine if the project staff is building up and phasing out of the project
at a reasonable rate while ensuring that no team members are
overloaded at any given time. During this phase of resources allocation,
we will rely heavily on the human resources matrix. However, we will use
on that includes manpower estimates for each person. In addition to
individual manpower estimates, this chart also includes three extra
columns:
Total manpower estimate for each task
Elapsed time estimate for each task
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Individual manpower allocation for each task
After we validate each person’s commitment (we want to be certain that
no one has committed more than 100 percent of their time in any given
time period), we will calculate these columns to get a picture of the total
project commitment.
Creating A Manpower Loading Chart
The human resources matrix is merely a work sheet. From this analysis
of who will be responsible for what, you can develop a graphic
presentation called the manpower-loading chart. Comparing the human
resources matrix, which indicates human resources allocation, with the
Gantt chart, which specifies scheduling of assignments, creates this
chart. This comparison will give you an idea of who will be working on the
project at any time. The number of people who will be working on the
project is plotted, on a month-by-month basis, by drawing a bold line
along the manpower limits.
In some projects the entire project team may not be totally committed to
one particular assignment. Therefore, the manpower-loading chart may
indicate that only 1.5 persons are committed, since certain persons may
have dedicated only part of their time to this assignment.
After individual manpower loading charts have been developed to cover
all areas of responsibility, a consolidated manpower-loading chart should
be developed for the entire project
Now take your own human resources matrix work sheet and compare it
with your own Gantt chart.
On the blank manpower-loading plot the number of people who will be
working on the project on a month-by-month basis. (In a real situation,
this operation would be quite difficult to perform at such a high level of
detail).
Updating A Chart
You can update a manpower-loading chart by shading in manpower as it
is used. However, the chart must be updated in such a way that the
unused manpower is still visible. Each area of responsibility updates its
own manpower-loading chart at the project leader’s request. Upon
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receipt of this chart, the project leader will update the consolidated
manpower-loading chart. The manpower-loading chart can be an
excellent tool for tracing human resources and for reporting the project’s
status to upper management.
Here are some possible solutions to the kinds of issues posed in
manpower-loading:
If you are using more manpower than you actually planned for,
the issue may be that the plan was wrong in the first place and
that additional manpower had to be called in to maintain the
schedule. Some solutions to this issue are:
1. Own up to management that more manpower may be
required to keep on schedule, and then obtain authorisation
to alter the human resources plan.
2. Secure a postponement of the completion date so that you
can stay within the original manpower plan.
If less manpower is being used than was estimated, the issue
may be that the plan contained excess fat or that planned-for
manpower has not been available. Some solutions to this issue
are:
1. Rework the plan to trim the excess fat.
2. Determine why planned-for staff has not been available, and
rectify the situation.
If you are using precisely the manpower that was planned for, you
do have an issue. It’s almost impossible to use the exact amount
of planned-for manpower. It may be that someone is just not
telling the truth. You should speak immediately to those who are
supplying the data.
If sometimes more - sometimes less manpower is being used,
you are probably on track. Be sure that these variations do not
adversely affect anyone’s schedule.
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Trade-Offs
Once you have exhausted all planning alternatives, you should consider
changes to the baselines. This will mean you must negotiate for
additional resources or overtime, more time, and/or a decrease in project
scope/specifications. At this point, however, you know exactly how many
resources you’ll require, how much more time, or which specifications will
not be met.
Negotiating The Performance Contract
The project manager requires an informal contract from each team
member for his or her performance in the project. The manager needs a
clear commitment from the team, and the team needs clear objectives
and reasonable requires from the project manager. These needs fall into
the following categories: time commitments, reporting formats and
schedules, issue isolation and resolution, project responsibility, ensuring
compliance, and identifying equipment resources.
Time Commitments
The project manager has to commit to the following time requirements:
Allow enough time for each team member to properly investigate,
estimate, and execute each task.
Reporting Formats and Schedules
Before any project work begins, identify what reporting formats are
required and how they will be used. Determine - with the team - what the
reporting schedule will be (once-a-week reports, monthly team meetings).
Also determine who will be responsible for consolidating information into
reports, for example, supporting personnel report to the task leader, the
task leader reports to the project manager, and so on.
Issue Isolation and Resolution
Determine which issues need the project manager’s attention and which
should go to the functional manager. Then set up a procedure for solving
the issue:
What is the issue?
What is it not?
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Does it look like any previous issues?
What is needed to resolve it?
How does the resolution get implemented?
Project Responsibilities
It is the project manager’s responsibility to clearly define task
assignments, including specific deliverable’s, and assign primary and
supporting personnel. Communication and coordination requirements
must be clearly defined:
Who will disseminate information?
Who will handle change?
Who will handle enquires?
Who will negotiate with functional managers for resources, time,
and so forth?
The project manager and the team members will continue to define the
performance contract as they develop more detail on the project.
Remember, it is useless to define a task if no one takes responsibility for
it. The human resources matrix is an important mechanism for
graphically depicting that responsibility.
Ensuring Compliance
In all designated areas of responsibility, an actual commitment of
personnel should be made. A promise to accomplish an assignment is
always nice to hear, but this promise is worthless if the staff isn’t available
to perform the work. Each commitment, therefore, should spell out
exactly who will be performing what duties and when. Supporting
personnel must spell out their commitments as well. These commitments
will be modified as the project is planned to greater detail.
Identifying Equipment Resources
Equipment resources need to be identified and scheduled along with the
human resources. For example, if a particular piece of equipment will be
necessary for testing, it is better to start negotiating early. Waiting may
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put you and the project in a very precarious position if you need the
equipment at the same time it is being used for year-end closing.
Contingency Plans and Risk Analysis
If your project is resources constrained - that is, you have a limited
number of resources that may be applied to this project then you are now
in a position to evaluate the usage of those resources. You do not have
the option of additional resources, although overtime may still be
considered. Therefore, you have only two choices regarding trade-offs:
more time or less scope. Before making a recommendation to
management, be sure you have considered all possible methods for
smoothing resource workloads to complete the current scope.
In addition to the risk factors already identified and considered, determine
if any of the following exists: A resource may be lost to another project
due to a break in assignments; a resource is scheduled through a
vacation or holidays; all paths are critical; or testing has been scheduled
during fiscal/calendar/end-of-year festivities.
DEVELOPING AND MONITORING THE
COST BASELINE
Development and Monitoring Cost.......................................... 53
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Cost Evaluation .............................................................. 54
One Time Development Costs ....................................... 54
Intangible Benefits .......................................................... 55
Cost Spreadsheet........................................................... 56
Cost Line/Bar Graph....................................................... 57
The Cost Evaluation
Two categories of costs are analysed at this time: recurring costs/savings
and one-time development costs. Recurring costs/savings affect the
annual operating expenses of the organisation after the end
product/service is completed. In fact, they will affect bottom-line profit and
loss statements for months and years after the project is finished. One-
time development costs, or initial outlays, allow the project to evolve to its
conclusion. In other words, they make up the project’s budget.
In many cost evaluations, a third category - intangible benefits - becomes
very important. Intangibles are items that cannot be measured in dollars
(customer goodwill, for example). Don’t discount these intangible items.
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They can have quite an influence on whether or not management allows
the projects to proceed.
One-Time Development Costs
One-time development costs include those expenditures that make up the
budget of the project. They include such items as labour, temporary
space, supplies, training (pre-project and prior to installation), travel and
expenses, conversion or one-time tooling costs, equipment (purchase or
lease), contracted services, and research (new technology). These items
should be considered very carefully. Labour is usually the most
substantial project cost and the most difficult to determine.
One way to calculate the labour cost factor is to use the human resources
matrix. First, you should develop manpower estimates with the person
responsible from each area. Then take the work breakdown structure
and assign time estimates to each task.
The manpower estimates should be the actual time to be spent on the
work, not the elapsed calendar time or task duration. And use a
consistent measure of time - hours, days, or months. Start at the lowest
level of detail and work up to the summary level.
With the base manpower figure, you can multiply the charge-out rate for
any job category to determine the base labour cost. In many industries
this base labour factor may be weighted with:
An economic factor, which indicates proposed raises and
increased fringe benefits.
Overhead, which includes the salaries of supervisory and
support staff within each department.
Operational burden, or maintenance of the plant, which
includes pro-rating figures for utilities, space and so forth.
Intangible Benefits
Intangibles are those items that cannot be measured in dollars. Although
they are important to the project’s progress, they do not really lead
themselves to quantification. They can be, for example, better service,
improved image, better competitive position, reduced risk, increased
customer service, and improved growth potential. Many more items could
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be added to this list, and in fact, a monetary value could be affixed to
almost any of these intangible benefits. Just use a little creative
accounting. Increased customer service could be quantified by the
following reasoning: Fewer complaints mean less adjustment time, and
therefore, manpower might be reduced.
Some project managers see the intangible section of their cost evaluation
proposal as issue/opportunity identification. In other words, finding a
solution for each small issue presents an opportunity for additional
unrelated benefits.
Cost Spreadsheet
A cost spreadsheet is merely a sheet on which the project leader
analyses how the project’s budget will be spent. At the beginning of the
project, the cost spreadsheet forces the project leader to spread each of
the categories of one-time development costs over the project’s entire life
span.
The spreadsheet will then be translated into visual form as a line graph or
a bar graph. These graphs will better communicate the information to
members of the project team and to top management.
During work in progress, the spreadsheet becomes the work sheet on
which actual expenses and times are entered. These figures will be
translated onto line or bar graphs later on.
Creating a Cost Spreadsheet
Cost categories are written along the vertical axis of the matrix. These
categories may be such items as labour, equipment, supplies, and
training. Number along the horizontal axis designates months. Under
each month should appear the planned figure, p, which you are
developing now. As the project evolves, the actual figures, a, will be filled
in either following a schedule or as you require them. Budget figures are
spread across the months. Notice that the figures are for period to date -
in other words, cumulative as of that month. This permits an area of
responsibility that has exceeded its budget in one month to stabilise itself
for the next month. Totals are accumulated from all the categories for
each month. The total of the last month will be budget for the entire
project.
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Validating a Cost Spreadsheet
A cost spreadsheet is validated by making sure that:
Every figure is the same or larger than that for the previous
month in that category. This ensures that figures are
cumulative and for period to date.
Once a figure is entered, it is carried through subsequent
months even if no additional expense is incurred in that
category. Again, this procedure ensures that figures are
cumulative and for period to date.
The budget is reasonable. For example, if the entire budget
for any one category is spent in the first month, were the
estimates reasonable?
The math is correct.
Cost Line/Bar Graph
The accumulated figures from each month of all the cost spreadsheet
categories should then be plotted onto a line graph chart. Use the
guidelines:
Use the vertical axis for costs.
Use the horizontal axis for duration, designated in months.
Write the total cost of the project ($) appropriate horizontal
line.
Divide that total cost by the number of lines between 0 and
the total cost.
Using these increments proceed from the 0 up to the total
cost of the project.
Place a dot at the end of each month that represents the
period-to-date cost of the project to that point.
Connect all the dots.
The chart that you just created should represent the budget for the entire
project. However, you should not only create an individual chart for each
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area of responsibility, you should also consider a chart for each category -
if you think it will help you control the cost factors of your project.
MANAGING THE PROJECT WITH
MULTIPLE BASELINES
Managing Projects With Multiple Baselines ............................ 58
Control Prerequisites ...................................................... 59
Change In Scope............................................................ 61
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Control Prerequisites
There are several prerequisites to controlling a project.
First, the status report format must be flexible and easy to update. After
the project is under way, there won’t be time to rewrite, retype, proofread,
and correct your status documents. So, during the monitoring and
controlling phase, you’ll need a graphic format on which you can indicate
work in progress with an extended line or a solid box. Your approach, in
short, should be as easy as possible.
Second, you should realise that you’ll need status reports for many
different audiences: one for the project team (a detailed picture), one for
you and the operation managers (a consolidated picture of the entire
project), and one for management (a graphic overview). If you are not
going to use a computer, make each “tailored” format a variation on a
basic form. For example, adapt the Gantt chart approach for each
audience. If you have computer support, you can probably develop as
many varied formats as you have audiences. In general, provide more
detail and provide it frequently for the lower levels. For the higher levels
(upper management), a less detailed and less frequent (usually a graphic
presentation) approach will do.
Third, you should predefine checkpoints. This means that you should
designate milestone dates for approvals, review meetings, capital
expenditure orders, and so forth. These milestones should be set at the
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beginning so that participants can plan to accomplish each activity or
attend each meeting.
Fourth, there should be a commitment to project management. As
project leader you should make the first commitment. If you don’t believe
in project management, how can you expect other members of the project
team to be enthusiastic and disciplined about it? And beware: When the
going gets rough, you’ll tend to ignore the controlling process. Don’t let
the charts gather dust in your drawer. This is the most important time to
be sure that these reports are accurate and can be used to help make
decisions.
Fifth, management should also make a commitment to project
management methods. If management does not support your project
management approach, you’ll have to convince it to do so. This might
mean that you have some extra paperwork ahead of you.
As management perceives the control that this approach gives you, it will
certainly be swayed in your behalf.
Sixth, don’t forget costs. Review the cost baseline periodically. Don’t
wait for a post evaluation audit to reveal that you are substantially over
your budget. No one likes those kinds of surprises. Remember that your
baselines were valid only at the time they were approved. Even changes
that are occurring at this very moment can make these baselines
inaccurate. Therefore, baseline plans should not be set in concrete.
Baselines are flexible and volatile tools - their main purpose is to warn you
when you are off track and give you an opportunity to get back.
The monitoring and controlling phase occurs during the lower loop of the
project management cycle. Once progress reports have been created,
they should be reviewed for variances.
Before choosing the correct status-reporting document, you should
answer the following questions:
Are the reports to be used merely for communication? If so,
it isn’t necessary to make them particularly flexible for
updating and re-planning.
Are the reports to form the basis for progress reporting
meetings? If so, organise them either by area of
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responsibility or by due date so they will be easily translated
into a workable agenda.
Are the reports to be action tools that will be revised as
required? If so, the reports must be in graphic form and as
flexible as possible.
Your choice for a status reporting document will then depend on the:
Audience to whom these reports will be distributed.
Purpose for which they are intended (as discussed above).
Image you are trying to portray. In other words, how
sophisticated do you want to appear? The more
sophisticated, the more mathematical the approach.
Difficulty of updating the document. If you have very few
other assignments outside of managing this project, then you
can spare the time to update detailed reports. But if you are
managing multiple projects or are also supposed to contribute
to the technical side of completing the end product/service,
updating the status reports should be as easy as possible.
Element(s) you want to focus on (schedule, dollars,
specifications, human resources, exception reporting, and so
on).
Change in Scope
One very important topic that concerns all planning is changes in the
scope of the project. Try as we may, it is impossible to work any project
through to completion without intermittent changes that must be
incorporated into the plan and the workload. Changes occur for any
number of reasons, including:
Unearthing the Iceberg: As work proceeds, more is
learned, and the requirements shift and expand.
Mistakes: People make errors, which can be unintentional
and uncontrollable.
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State-of-the-Art Changes: These are either perpetuated by
the force of the project itself (asking a vendor to create
needed technology) or by finding out that there is something
else on the market that would satisfy the design more
efficiently.
Players on Wheels: Team members may be transferred or
promoted (unintelligible).
Creeping Commitments: Changes in design scope can
occur as either the design team or the client has a better
idea.
External Forces: Government/legal requirements changes,
changes in competitive marketplace, and “acts of God” can
alter the scope of a project.
These changes are inevitable and will have to be tracked.
An effect change control procedure might incorporate:
1. A change control law for all changes, whether or not they are
approved or have an impact on the schedule.
2. Change control forms that provide for approval.
3. One person designated as the approving authority for changes.
(Generally, this should be someone from the client area).
Before leaving the subject of changes in scope, consider a few
suggestions. Every new baseline change should not necessitate updating
and redistributing new status reports unless the changes are major.
Moreover, don’t leave your changes of scope undocumented. This
documentation may become an important factor during the post
evaluation review. Changes to the original scope may be the reason why
the project was not completed on schedule or overran its planned budget.
Don’t overreact to changes in scope. Be sure you know your facts and
study all the alternatives thoroughly. Remember that there is a
substantial delay between the time you implement a change and when it
takes effect. Be patient. Wait for results. But don’t wait too long. Things
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will not miraculously straighten themselves out. You are the one in
control.
MOST (Management Operations
System Technique)
MOST……. ............................................................................. 63
Creating a MOST Diagram ............................................. 64
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MOST
MOST is a graphic illustration that presents time, costs, and human
resources on one document. In many cases a PERT network is
translated into a MOST diagram. MOST, contrary to Gantt, is built from
the right (completion date) toward the left (start date) by using a bar chart
technique. MOST has one time estimate instead of three and can
illustrate both critical and slack paths.
Creating a MOST diagram
You’ll construct a MOST diagram as follows:
Prepare a work breakdown structure for the project and
assign time estimates. If the relationships of the activities are
complex, you might construct a PERT network before you
continue.
Draw a bar, closed with flags at right angles (as in the
exhibits), to note start and finished points.
If several tasks are to be shown in one activity, draw a flag
ending at the upper line of the bar.
Write the time estimate above the bar, to the right of the start
flag.
Using these standards, plot the bar on a calendar chart.
Work from completion to start date (right to left).
To indicate slack - that is, indicating an activity that could start
earlier but must start later than the flagged start time - use a
dotted (dummy) arrow before the bar, plus a solid arrow at
the end of the first task, to show the required
interdependency with the second task (as in Exhibit 9-11).
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Identify the person or areas of responsibility by writing their
initials in parentheses under the activity name.
As it relates to human resources manpower loading, MOST is constructed
by:
Soliciting input from everyone involved;
Considering the actual manpower for the project; and
Indicating the manpower above each bar in parentheses. (If no
chargeable manpower is required, place a 0 in parentheses
above the bar).
If you use this approach, MOST can verify the availability of the staff who
have been assigned to the project. Revising the schedule to fit available
manpower is called manpower leveling, or manpower smoothing.
As it relates to cost, MOST is best prepared at lower levels of the work
breakdown structure. It may be influenced by the length of each job,
number of personnel (and their expertise), man hours available per week,
equipment, supplies, forms, overhead rates, and indirect charges. The
cost factor is calculated by adding up all the expenses for each activity in
each time period. The cost factor is then written above the bar, in the box
to the right of the flag. It may also be spread out, by month, over the bar.
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Troubleshooting Potential Issues
Troubleshooting Potential Issues............................................ 66
Variance Analysis ........................................................... 69
Multi-Project Planning and Control ................................. 70
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Troubleshooting
On the following pages are exercises to sharpen you analytical skills as a
project leader. Exhibited is a copy of the original plan.
What is wrong with the project in the Exhibits as of the seventh month?
What do you recommend as solutions?
Remember, status reporting indicates only potential issues; that is, it
merely shows symptoms. You must decide the solutions.
In the Exhibit the schedule seems right on target. However, human
resources are used in excess and the project is substantially over budget.
If we had looked at the schedule by itself, we would have not seen the
complete picture. The truth is that the excess personnel are causing the
project to go over budget.
The situation in the Exhibit indicates that the plan was probably faulty
from the beginning. The correct number of staff wasn’t planned for, or the
expertise of the present staff was overestimated. In any case, the end of
the seventh month is too late to be discovering this issue. It should have
been taken care of at the end of the second or third month.
In the Exhibit the schedule is slipping more and more each month, yet the
human resources and costs are staying within budget. It seems that
deadlines are slipping because the correct human resources weren’t
allocated. Again, the plan should have been reworked.
In the Exhibit the original schedule and revisions have been consistently
behind. The project is also under budget. It looks as if the promised
staffing didn’t materialise. If this is true, this graph will prove to
management why the project is so dramatically behind schedule.
In the Exhibit the schedule is substantially behind; the staff is over utilised
and budget is dramatically over plan. Some would say that this is a
typical project. Not true! A farsighted project manager would have
completely reworked the plan early in the project; these issues could have
been avoided.
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In the Exhibit the schedule is on target. Budget is a little under. Human
resources are brought into the project and mustered out as required.
Although projects occasionally run this smoothly, a schedule as accurate
as this is enough to make anyone nervous.
In general, once you see an issue, you should:
1. Follow the audit trails and isolate the true cause of the issue.
2. Determine the issue’s overall impact.
3. Decide on corrective action.
4. Implement corrective action.
5. Follow up to see that it works.
Remember don’t overreact. But don’t wait too long to decide what
solution you’re going to implement. And once you have implemented a
course of action, give it an opportunity to work.
Again, as you consider potential solutions:
Determine if the plan was valid in the first place. If not,
rework it.
Decide if there have been so many changes that the original
plan is no longer valid. If so, stop and rework the project
definition.
The last resort is to trade off additional manpower, additional
money, delayed schedule, a cut down version of the end
product/service, or a phasing in of commitments over a long
period of time.
Each baseline (cost, schedule, human resources) has now been
developed, validated, and interpreted onto a graphic format. Let’s now
look at why unifying these baselines on one format is better than
presenting them singly.
The Exhibit is an example of a Gantt chart illustrating planned versus
actual progress as of the end of the seventh month. This project seems
in good shape.
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Now take a look at the other two pieces of the puzzle - the manpower-
loading chart and the cost line graph. This project is over utilising its
human resources and is substantially over budget.
Be warned! Using just one of these pieces will usually not give you the
full picture. One element by itself will give you a distorted picture at best
and may lull you into a false sense of optimism or make you overreact to
a issue without first understanding its cause. You should review all
baselines (cost, schedule, and human resources) and then backtrack the
issue to the area of responsibility where it is rooted.
Variance Analysis
The cost variance measures the combined cost of human resources,
equipment, services, and materials. These are often called labour,
material, other direct charges, and overhead. The schedule variance is
the measurement of work produced in a given calendar period. The cost
variance measures deviations from the budget, but it does not measure
the difference between work scheduled and work performed. The
schedule variance compares planned performance to actual
performance, but it does not measure cost. The manager needs a format
that includes both schedule and cost variances.
The most common project control approach uses three significant
elements in determining variance:
The Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) - the amount
we planned to spend on work we planned to accomplish up to
the point where we took the measurement.
The Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) - the amount
we planned to spend for the amount of work we have
accomplished up to this point.
The Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) - the amount
we have actually spent on the work we have accomplished up
to this point.
Variances are calculated as follows:
Cost Variance = BCWP ACWP
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Schedule Variance = BCWP BCWS
ACWP
Estimate at Completion (EAC) = x Total Budget
BCWP
As data are collected for reporting purposes, the project manager needs
to spot trends as soon as possible. For that reason EAC calculations
should be done frequently on both budget and schedule figures. In order
to see both budget and schedule status, we need to perform calculations
on both dollars and hours.
Variances are translated as follows: If cost variance is positive, reflect an
over budget condition; if negative, reflect an under budget condition. If
schedule variance is positive, reflect more work completed than planned;
if negative, reflect less work completed than planned.
Multi-project Planning and Controlling
Multi-project planning and controlling is one of a manager’s first concerns
because he or she may be handling many projects at a time. Juggling
several projects simultaneously invariably leads to conflicting demands for
human resources. Questions such as the following should be considered:
Are more personnel needed to get all the projects completed
according to plan?
If more personnel aren’t available, how can the available
personnel be allocated intelligently?
Is adequate documentation available to help set (or modify)
project priorities?
Every one of the techniques that we have discussed could easily be
applied to multiple projects. For example, several projects are presented
on a network format. Analysing issues and determining solutions in this
manner is often the only way to track a project that has hundreds of tasks.
This can mean updating all tasks while monitoring only those that are
considered exceptions, or it can mean concentrating on the critical path,
the uncertainty path(s), milestone dates, tasks with high risks, tasks with
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no float time, tasks that have gone beyond their late start or late finish
dates, areas over or under utilising human resources, and/or cost
categories significantly over or under budget.
Another way to examine how time has been allocated is exemplified by
the consolidated Budget and or Gantt. The MOST chart could be another
alternative because it:
Allows available manpower to be compared with required manpower.
Compares actual against budgeted costs.
Determines the re-allocation of resources and manpower before the
schedule slips and/or funds exceed budget.
Compels you to answer the following questions:
1. What available resources can be utilised in one project?
2. What available resources can be shared?
3. What manpower and resources can be leveled without
jeopardising the schedule?
GLOSSARY
ACTIVITY A grouping of related tasks within a phase.
Project Management
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ACTIVITY LIST Work sheet on which the interrelationships of
tasks are analysed.
BAR CHART Similar to the Gantt chart except bar symbols are
used instead of carets connected by lines.
BREAK-EVEN
ANALYSIS The relationship of the one-time development
costs to the recurring savings. In other words,
the number of months that must elapse before
the organisation’s initial outlay is “paid off.”
CENTRALISED
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE A team of individuals, specialising in managing
projects, banded together to serve the rest of the
organisation.
COST LINE GRAPH A translation of the data on the cost spreadsheet
onto a graph.
COST SPREADSHEET Work sheet on which categories of costs are
spread, period to date, by month. The
spreadsheet sets up the plan but also allows for
“actual” data.
CRITICAL PATH The longest path on any network. A
“management by exception” tool used to track a
project.
DUMMY ARROW A graphic technique, used in diagramming
networks, that indicates relationships between
activities.
FLOAT TIME The allocation of slack depicted on a calendar
chart. Calculated by subtracting early finish from
late finish.
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FUNCTIONAL
ORGANISATION
STRUCTURE `A special project leader reporting to one division
of the organisation does work only for that area
of responsibility.
GANTT CHARTGraph depicting the relationships of activities that appear
on the calendar (also shows interfaces).
HUMAN RESOURCES
MATRIX Chart that states which individual or area of
responsibility should perform which activity. The
matrix lists job responsibilities along the
horizontal axis and activities along the vertical
axis.
MANPOWER
LOADING CHART A translation of the human resources matrix onto
a schedule chart.
MATRIX
ORGANISATIONAL
STRUCTURE A project analyst is supported by a project
coordinator, who handles such administrative
concerns as scheduling. Any number of
representatives, from different functional areas,
request specific job-related requirements.
MILESTONE Completion of a project, phase, activity, or task.
MOST Managing Operations System Technique is an
approach to basic bar schedule charts that
includes human resources and costs.
NETWORK Graphic tool to help the project leader consider
relationships of activities.
ONE-TIME
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DEVELOPMENT
COSTS Initial outlay for the project. This is the figure that
will be tracked as the project evolves.
PERT NETWORKS Program Evaluation Review Technique is
developed in the same way as a network
diagram but three time estimates are considered:
optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic.
PHASE Largest logical grouping of related tasks within a
project.
PLAN Sequenced set of tasks aimed at producing a
desired result.
PLANNET Schedule chart combining the Gantt technique
with the PERT method of graphically depicting
interrelationships. Also allows for computation of
slack.
POLICY A broad guideline established by top
management. Policies have long lives and
require constant reinterpretation as to how they
apply to specific projects.
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT A set of principles, methods, and techniques for
effective planning and control.
PROJECT MANAGER Person responsible for planning, directing, and
controlling the project team’s efforts through the
completion of the project. The project manager
is accountable for accomplishing objectives
within budget and making sure they are
acceptable to the client.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE Quantified translation of project’s goals.
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RECURRING
COSTS/SAVINGS Will affect the annual operating expenses of the
organisation after the end product/service is
complete.
SLACK Extra time available for an activity at either
beginning or end.
TASK Smallest measurable unit of work resulting in a
predefined output.
TASK DURATION Number of calendar days scheduled for a person
to perform a task. Factors that must be
considered in determining task duration are time
for education, vacation, illness, and so forth.
TASK EFFORT Actual time planned for a person to perform a
task. Factors that must be considered in
determining the task effort are: experience of the
person who will perform the task, complexity of
the task, and so on.
TASK FORCE Representatives from functional areas dedicated
full time to providing an end product/service
specifically requested by top management.
UNCERTAINTY
OR VARIANCE PERT calculation determining activities of
greatest risk, calculated as follows:
tp - to2
O2 = O2 =uncertainty
WORK BREAKDOWN
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STRUCTURE (WBS) Dissection of a project into various levels - for
example, phases, activities, and tasks.
Developed on a checklist.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - Further Reading
BERGEN, S.A. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: An Introduction To Issues In
Industrial Research and Development.
BLELEND AND KING. PROJECT MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK.
DAVIS, EDWARD W., ED. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Techniques,
Applications and Managerial Issues.
EINSIEDEL, ALBERT A., JR. IMPROVING PROJECT MANAGER: A
Self-Instructional Manager
GILBREATH, ROBERT D. WINNING AT PROJECT MANAGER: What
Works, What Fails and Why.
Project Management
Dr Rovel Shackleford 14/07/11 Page 73
GOODMAN, LOUIS J., AND RALPH N. LOVE, EDS. PROJECT
PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT: An Integrated Approach.
GRAHAM, ROBERT J. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Combining
Technical and Behavioral Approaches for Effective Implementation.
HARRISON, F.L. ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
KERZNER, HAROLD. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A Systems Approach
to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling .
LOCK, DENNIS. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
LUDWIG, ERNEST E. APPLIED PROJECT ENGINEERING AND
MANAGEMENT FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES.
MORRIS, W.G., AND GEORGE H. HOUGH. THE ANATOMY OF
MAJOR PROJECTS: A study of the Reality of Project Management.
THUMANN, ALBERT. PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR ENGINEERING
AND CONSTRUCTION.
VRIETHOFF, W., AND C. VISSER, EDS. PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN
PROGRESS: Tools and Strategies for the Nineties.
MARION HAYNES Project Management Crisp
MARTIN, TATE Project Management Goal/QPC