OM - GB335 - Chapter 3

Question 1

Project Management Activities

Answer 1

1. Planning
2. Scheduling
3. Controlling

Question 2

Project Planning

Answer 2

Establishing objectives
Defining project
Creating work breakdown structure
Determining resources
Forming Organization

Question 3

The Role of the Project Manager

Answer 3

HIGHLY VISIBLE
Responsible for making sure that:
1. all necessary activities are finished in order and on time
2. The project comes in within budget
3. The project meets quality goals
4. The people assigned to the project receive motivation, direction, and information

Question 4

Work breakdown Structure

Answer 4

Level

1. Project
2. Major tasks
3. Sub-tasks
4. Activities

Question 5

Project Scheduling

Answer 5

identifying precedence relationships
sequencing activities 
determining activity times and costs
estimating material and worker requirements
determining critical activities

Question 6

Purpose of project scheduling

Answer 6

1. shows the relationship of each activity to others and the whole project
2. identifies the precedence relationships among activities
3. Encourages the setting of realistic time and cost estimates for each activity
4. helps make better use of resources by identifying critical bottlenecks in the project

Question 7

Project Management Techniques

Answer 7

Gantt Chart
CPM (Critical Path Method)
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)

Question 8

6 Steps PERT & CPM

Answer 8

1. Define the project and prepare the work breakdown structure
2. Develope relationships among the activities
3. Draw the network connecting all of the activities
4. Assign time and/or cost estimates to each activity
5. Compute the longest time path through the network (this is called the critical path)
6. Use the network to help plan, schedule, monitor, and control the project

Question 9

8 questions PERT & CPM can answer

Answer 9

1. when will the entire project be completed?
2. What are the critical activities or task in the project?
3. which are the noncritical activities?
4. What is the probability the project will be completed by a specific date?
5. is the project on/behind/ahead of schedule?
6. is the money spent equal/less/more than the budget?
7. Are there enough resources available to finish the project on time?
8. if the project must be finished in a shorter time, what is the way to accomplish this at least cost?

Question 10

Determining the project schedule

Answer 10

Perform a Critical Path Analysis

• the critical path is the longest path through the network
• the critical path is the shortest time in which the project can be completed
• any delay in critical path activities delays the projects
• critical path activities have no slack time

Question 11

Variability in Activity Times

Answer 11

3 time estimates are required:
Optimistic time
Pessimistic time
Most likely time

Question 12

Project Crashing

Answer 12

shortening the duration of the project

Question 13

Advantages of PERT/CPM

Answer 13

1. useful when scheduling and controlling large projects
2. straightforward concept and not mathematically complex
3. graphical networks help highlight relationships among project activities
4. critical path and slack time analyses help pinpoint activities that need to be closely watched
5. project documentation and graphics point out who is responsible for various activities
6. applicable to a wide variety of projects
7. useful in monitoring not only schedules but costs as well

Question 14

Limitations of PERT/CPM

Answer 14

1. Project activities have to be clearly defined, independent, and stable in their relationships
2. Precedence relationships must be specified and networked together
3. Time estimates tend to be subjective and are subject to fudging by managers
4. there is an inherent danger of too much emphasis being placed on the critical path