Chapter 6-7 Flashcards
Activity
an element of the project that consumes time such as work or waiting (waiting for approval, contracts to be signed, parts or materials to arrive). It may or may not require resources.
Merge Activity
an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it (more than one dependency arrow flowing to it-aka it’s an important activity)
Parallel Activities
Activities that can occur at the same time
Path vs. Critical Path
Path- a sequence of connected, dependent activities
Critical Path- the path with the longest duration through the network, is something is delayed the project still requires the same time just has a different order
Burst Activity
this activity has one or more activity immediately following it (other activities can be done till after this one is completed)
Sensitivity
the likelihood the original critical paths will change once the project is initiated (non critical activities are labeled insensitive)
Laddering
working on anything that can be done at one time during the same time period to complete more activities faster. (this is also called concurrent engineering)
Free Slack or Float
Free Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any activities following it. OR free slack can be the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the early start date of following activities.
Lag
A Lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.
Finish to Start Relationship
There are situations in which the next activity in a sequence must be delayed even when the preceding activity is complete. For example when you’ve made a YouTube video for a sponsor even though the video is complete you have to wait for the sponsors approval before posting.
Start to Start Relationship
Activity Q cannot begin until 5 time units after activity P begins, therefore you assign a lag of five time units to activity Q.
Finish to Finish Relationship
The completion of one activity depends on the when another activity is done.
Start to Finish Relationship
this relationship represents situations in which the finish of an activity depends on the start of another activity
Hammock Activities
This type of activity derives its name because it spans over a segment of a project. Examples of hammock activities are Inspection Services, Consultants, or construction Management Services.
The Risk Management Process
- Risk Identification- analyze the project to identify sources of risk
- Risk Assessment- access the risks in terms of severity of impact, likelihood of occurring, and controllability
- Risk Response Development- develop a strategy to reduce possible damage, develop contingency plans
- Risk Response Control- implement risk strategy, monitor and adjust plan for new risks, change management
Risk Breakdown Structures
Organizations use risk breakdown structures (RBS) in conjunction with work breakdown structure (WBS) to help management teams identify and eventually analyze risks.
Risk Profile
a list of questions that address traditional areas of uncertainty on a project. These questions have been developed and refined from previous similar projects.
Scenario analysis
The easiest and most commonly used technique for analyzing risk. Team members assess the significance of each risk event in terms of probability and impact.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis or FMEA
extends the risk severity matrix by including ease of detection in the equation
impact * probability * detection = risk value
Two strategies for mitigating risk
- reduce the likelihood that the event will occur
2. reduce the impact the event would have on the project
Risk avoidance
changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or condition.
Risk Transfer
passes the risk onto another party, this transfer does not change the risk, and results in paying a premium for the exemption.
Contingency plan
an alternative plan that will be used if a possible foreseen risk event becomes a reality. A contingency plan represents actions that will reduce or mitigate the negative impact of the risk of event.
Types of Risks
- Technical
- Schedule
- Cost
- Funding
Positive Risk or Opportunity
an event that can have a positive impact on project objectives (unusually favourable weather can speed up a construction project)
Responses to Opportunities
Exploit- this task seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with an opportunity to ensure it happens.
Share- the strategy involves allocating some or all of the ownership of an opportunity to another party who is best able to capture the opportunity for the benefit of the project.
Enhance- the opposite of mitigation in that action is taken to increase the probability and/or the positive impact of an opportunity
Accept- accepting an opportunity is being willing to take advantage of it if it occurs, but not taking action to pursue it.
Budget Reserves
set up to cover identified risks, these reserves are those allocated to specific segments or deliverables of the project
Management Reserves
set up to cover unidentified risks and are allocated to risks associated with the total project
Risk Register
details all identified risks, including descriptions, category, and probability of occurring, impact, responses, contingency plans, owners and current status.
