Workshop 4 Flashcards
Define project management and plan
The output of the definition phase of a project
What is the content of the PMP
The specific content of the PMP will vary per industry sector and/or organisation. The t is typical for the PMP to expand upon the information in the project business case. The detailed planning process will provide confidence that time and cost targets in the project business case a realistic and that assumptions are well founded (or not).
Is is important that the PMP confirms and sets out the agreed success criteria for the project as it is this document that will be primarily used to measure whether the project has been successfully delivered or not.
The PMP also documents how the project will be delivered and managed. This might include listing what controls are in place for the project, for example stakeholder communication and/94 issue escalation processes.
Organisational or company level policies and strategies are also likely to heavily influence how the project will be managed. Relevant information may be u clouded directly in the PMP or referenced from it.
Whilst certain aspects of the planning process will follow each other in a sequence, it should be borne in mind that the process is essentially iterative: when developing a plan it is almost always necessary to review it and revise it in the light of further information gleaned.
The decision as to when this iteration stops and the plan is implemented is a key judgement to be made by the project manager and the project sponsor.
What are the core components of PMP
- project background and objectives
- scope
- deliverables
- acceptance criteria (when the customer accepts the criteria has been met)
- success criteria (when success has been met for everyone)
- project constraints
- risks and assumptions
- critical success factors (successes that must be met for the project to succeed
- schedule/time and resource/cost baselines
- baseline (what has been agreed with the customer)
What are the other components of the PMP
- project organisation structure
- management plans, policies or strategies:
- risk
- resource
- quality
- procurement
- communication
- health, safety and environment
- human resource
- control and monitoring arrangements
- project logistics issue
- project IS/IT requirements
- change and configuration management procedures
Who is the owner of the PMP
The PMP is owned by the project manager and so is responsible for;
- the creation of the PMP
- the accuracy in its content
- keeping the PMP up to date
The project manager is unlikely to have all the skills and knowledge to create the entire PMP and therefore the team members and other stakeholders may play a significant role in its creation in terms of providing information relating to such areas as:
- risk (especially those that are more technical
in nature)
- time and cost estimates
- criteria relating to the quality and acceptance
of the deliverables
- procurement
It is part of the sponsors role to approve the PMP
Describe the project life cycle and the PMP
Reviewed at the end of the definition stage.
The primary input for the creation of the PMP is the business case created in the concept phase.
The definition phase is devoted to the creation of the PMP. This phase is characterised by a dramatic increase in the amount of information being generated, processed, shared and stored and an increase in the number of people involved in the project. Careful consideration needs to be given to the people aspects of the project at this time and the creation of the project team.
Define scope management
The process whereby outputs, outcomes and benefits are identified, defined and controlled
What is scope management concerned with?
- requirements management
- solutions development
- benefits management
- business change management
- change control
- configuration management
What is a breakdown structure
A hierarchical structure by which project elements are broken down or decomposed
Explain the product and work breakdown structures
The PBS and/or WBS are two of the most commonly used tools that help to fully define the project scope. Both tools are a hierarchical depiction of the project
The PBS focuses on all the deliverables that the project will create ( the lowest level being a deliverable)
The WBS also includes the work required to create the deliverables and can be structured upon a functional, product of life cycle basis
Explain work package
A group of related activities are defined at the same level within a work breakdown structure
Work packages and activities are defined by the use of nouns and verbs to express the activity. The work package content, degree of formality and level of detail will depend on each organisations requirements
They are likely to be more formal
- when working in virtual teams
- when teams are les experiences
And, almost without exception
-when work is allocated to a contractor external to the organisation
How do you develop a PBS/WBS
Top down
- visualise the end result
- establish major high-level products or
elements of scope which go to make up that
end result - construct an open framework to allow for
Omissions - breakdown each major element to task level
- produce the task list
Bottom up
- visualise the end result
- use post-it notes and brainstorm as a group
detailed tasks and then build them into a
hierarchy - produce the task list
What are the benefits of using a PBS and/or WBS
-forms basis of effective planning
and control
-fosters common understanding
of scope within the team
-excellent communication vehicle, providing a
structure for clarifying misunderstanding as to
what is in and out of the project scope
-can be used to discuss trade-offs and
priorities
-useful for delegating work to parties internal
and external to the organisation
-numbers system can be used to help tack and control costs
What is an organisational breakdown structure?
The OBS depicts the resources required to undertake a project. These resources are typically grouped together to form functional or management groups.
The diagram also shows the hierarchy of roles and reporting lines and may be developed to also show communication channels. They are especially valuable when deciding how to delegate work amongst the project team.
What is the responsibility assignment matrix (ram chart)
A RAM chart is used to help define and display who is responsible for the work on the project on the project. The matrix has two aces:
- work elements -what
- key roles -who
The matrix is essentially a consolidation of the WBS and OBS. Basically it is a whole does what chart’
What is the responsibility assignment matrix
A diagram or chart showing assigned responsibilities for Elemis of work. It is created by combing the work breakdown structure with the organisational breakdown structure
What are the estimating methods?
Bottom up
Comparative
Parametric
Describe the bottom up estimating method
Detailed estimate is produced for each work package and then rolled-up throughout the work breakdown structure (WBS)
Describe the comparative estimating method
Assumes that the organisation has data from previous projects that can be used to produce a credible comparison for subsequent projects. In the absence of historical data, expert judgement may be used but with care.
Describe the parametric estimating method
Requires reliable historical data to produce reliable estimates. Typical attributes used to produce estimates will include lines of software code, cost/time per square meter etc.
This technique uses statistical modelling software to produce overall estimates for time and cost
What’s re the strengths and weaknesses of the bottom up estimating method
Strengths
Accurate but depends on the development of an accurate WBS
Weaknesses
Takes time, be aware that contingency may be rolled up
What are the strengths and weaknesses of comparative estimating methods
Strengths
Quick
Weaknesses
Relies on expert judgement and/or valid comparable source data; comparisons may be invaliD
What’s are the strengths and weakness of the parametric estimating method
Strength
Widely respected within certain industries. Can provide timely estimate with limited knowledge as long as source data is available. Can be used to verify estimates created by other methods
Weaknesses
Industry norms must be kept up to date for factors such as inflation. Required significant amount of historical data in order to define adequate norms
What is three point estimating
This methods accepts the uncertainty involved in estimating and considers three values for any activity:
An estimate in which optimistic (O), most likely (ML) and pessimistic (P) values are given
The three pint estimate is calculated according to the following equation
O + (4 x ML) + P
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These three values may be used by software programmes I.e Monte Carlo simulation, to calculate the criticality of any so MGM’s task and Leo the overall project risk.
They are also used in scheduling in what is known as the program evaluation and review technique (PERT).
Define schedule management
The process of developing, maintaining and communicating schedules for time and resource.
Explain the different types of schedule management
Time scheduling
- A collection of techniques used
to develop and present
schedules that show when work will be
performed.
- The first stage is to take the WBS task list
and sort the task into a logical sequence.
Alongside this, activity durations should be
estimated. Network planning then allows the
sequence of activities to be analysed to give
an overall project duration
Activity duration
- The length of time that it takes to complete
an activity
Network diagrams
- A model of activities and their dependencies
comprising nodes and links
- This technique is sometimes referred to as
the precedence diagramming method (PDM)
or Activity-on-Node (AoN)Networks. In it,
activities are represented by boxes with
dependencies show as logic connections
between the boxes.
Network Analysis
- A collective term for the different ways in which a network diagram may be analysed including, for example, critical path analysis, programme evaluation and review technique and critical chain.
What is the calculation for network analysis
The start and finish dates of activities in the project are calculated in two passes.
The forward pass calculates the early start and early finish dates from the first task forward
The backward pass calculated the late start and late finish dates of activities from the final task backwards
Forward pass
Early start + Duration = Early Finish
Backward pass
Late finish - Duration = Late start
When a successor task on the forward pass has two predecessors, the latest ‘EF’ must be chosen. When a predecessor task in the backward pass has two successors, the earlier ‘LS’ must be chosen.
To help you remember - highest number forwards; lowest number back (big steps forward, small steps back)
Once both passes are complete, it will be possible to calculate the float for any single activity.
Explain float in relation to network analysis
Float
A term used to describe the flexibility with which an activity may be rescheduled. There are various types of float, such as total float and free float.
Total float
Time by which an activity may be delayed or extended without affecting the overall duration of the project or violating a target finish date.
Finish to start -> total float = late finish - early finish
Start to start/finish to finish -> total float = late finish - early start - duration
Free float
The amount of time an activity can be delayed or extended without delaying the start of the next activity
Free float = early start of next task - early finish of current task
Explain the critical path
A sequence of activities through a network diagram from start to finish, the sum of whose durations determines the overall duration. There may be more than one such path.
Use of critical path
The critical path is very important in projects for a number of reasons:
- To concentrate attention on activities which,
if delayed will affect project duration
- Risks associated with critical activities with
key milestones which is useful when
reporting progress
- The critical path can be aligned with key
milestones which is useful when reporting
progress
- To identify ‘near of sub critical’ activities -
those with very little float may require similar
attention to critical activities
- To identify ‘bulk work’ activities - those with
large float
- To help identify where resources can be
switched between bulk and critical activities
to maintain progress
Explain a Gantt chart
A graphical representation of activity against time. Variations may include information such as ‘actual vs planned’, resource usage and dependencies
A Gantt chart is a simple form of bar chart that is typically used to display and communicate a product to schedule. It’s primary characteristics are:
- A timeline showing project calendar
- The bar length indicates duration
- Tasks are usually positioned at earliest start
and finish dates showing any float at the end
- It is shown with it without logic connections
- The critical path is identified, typically in red
- It is the most common representation of a
project schedule
- It can also show comparison of current plan
to original plan
- It can be generated using software tool
- It can be rolled up into summary take and can
show milestones
Describe milestones
A key event selected for its selected for its importance in the schedule
Milestones are often the first stage of schedule planning. It can make sense to plan at this level first before going into too much detail
Milestone characteristics include
- They define key events in the project
(typically completion of major deliverables,
intermediate products or results)
- They mark the key decision point in the
project
- They are frequently used to monitor
payments in to contractors and/or from
customers and are also used to trigger
management approval for funding the
forthcoming phase
- They can act as motivating factors for the
team and/or suppliers (reward and
recognition may be tied to successful
achievement).
- They are good for progress monitoring
- Milestones help avoid too much detail about
low level activities
Explain resource management
The acquisition and deployment of then internal and external resources required to deliver the project
The resource planning process may amend the schedule as developed during the schedule planning process
An optimal solution will be met by iteration but it is often necessary to make a preliminary assumption about the number of resources to be used for each activity prior to time based scheduling
- The challenge for the project manager is to
ensure that
- These resources are available at the
necessary time
- The required quantity of resources we
acquired
- Appropriate resources are requested
Describe the types of resources
- Consumable resource includes
items such as raw materials and
money. Once they are used up
they are no longer available and fresh
quantities are required. - Re-usable resources are items such as
people, plant machinery, facilities and
equipment. These are available for use
elsewhere once they have completed the
tasks assigned to them
The project manager will use appropriate estimating techniques to determine the necessary quantity of each of the above resources.
Managing theses resource will the involve:
- Allocating then to the appropriate take
- Aggregating them (typically shown on a
resource histogram)
- Optimising their use over the planned
duration of the project
- Producing a resource-loaded schedule
Explain the use of software tools of resource management
Many softwares scheduling packages will also offer facilities for managing resources. However, a note of caution if justified when we consider resource allocation.
Rescheduling resources is essentially an iterative process. When using planning software to reschedule resources, the software must assume various heuristics that may not be immediately understandable to the project team and can subsequently cause considerable confusion.
Many schedulers advise against relying on software for resource scheduling. On the other hand, as flawed as computer software may be, it is difficult to accomplish effective optimisation manually on larger projects that require the modelling of numerous resources.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of project management software applications.
Advantages
- Allow rapid scheduling to be
undertaken - Fast and effective reporting capability
- Ability to format and store data on different
ways - Ability to manage large numbers of activities
- Ability to plan, schedule and review large,
complex projects - Ease of resource scheduling - levelling and
smoothing - Data extraction to other applications formats
- Integration of project data with other
corporate data systems - Ability to consider different ‘what if’ situations
- Enterprise project planning and management
ability - Ability to store multiple copies of project
documentation for reference and audit
purpose
Disadvantages
- May require a specialist planner to use
effectively - Could provide inconsistent result, depending
on the application - Required investment in maintenance of the
software - annually or at least in a regular
basis - Not always cost effective to use - this
depends on the size and complexity of the
project - Can produce illogical results when software
alone is used to make decisions - Software can lead to less personal interaction
allowing problems to be missed or
misinterpreted - The software may not be suitable for all
project management methods and/or if an
iterative approach is adopted - Quality of the output depend on the quality of
the data input - Frustration due to inexperience and
unfamiliarity with the tool
Describe quality
The fitness for purpose of the degree of conformance of the outputs of a process or the process itself
Project managers should remember that ‘quality’ applies to the quality of the project management processes as well the outputs or deliverables that these processes create. Reviews and feedback on how the project is being run are an essential part of successful project management.
‘Fitness for purpose’ can be w very difficult concept to define and measure but the term mandates that the project team fully understand the project ‘need’ before objectives can be set and expectations can be met. Requirements management and quality management are very closely related disciplines.
The quality of the deliverables is typically expressed by agreeing specific acceptance criteria that quantify requirements, customer expectations and conditions for each deliverable, as well as the project as a whole. The satisfaction of these criteria will be tested during the quality control process.
What is the quality management system
Quality planning
Defining what standards are acceptable and then how these standards will be met
Quality assurance
Ensuring that your processes effectively create consistently acceptable products and that the processes are constantly reviewed and independently audited.
Quality control
Inspecting and measuring the deliverables to ensure that they conform to he agreed specification and meet stakeholders expectations
Continual improvement
Systematically identifying and implementing process improvements so that future projects benefits from past experience
Describe project quality planning
Quality planning required the project team to assess the information available to them at the start of the project and determine how they will recent defects and measures quality.
The preparation of a quality management plan will be used to manage quality.
The content of the project quality management plan will vary depending on that needs of the organisation and the project, but at a minimum is likely to consist of the following sections:
- Quality stands to be achieved
- Quality methods and procedures to be used
- Specific quality tools
- Records and reports that will be created
- Timing if reviews, audits and checks of the
project itself
- Specific roles and responsibilities relating to
quality
Explain quality assurance
Provides confidence to the host organisation that it’s project, programmes and portfolios are being Well managed
Quality assurance is the process of evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards. It is likely to be a corporate function
Explain quality control
Activities determine whether acceptance criteria have, or have not, been met
Quality control entails the measuring and inspection of deliverables to ensure that they conform to the agreed acceptance criteria
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - control charts
Control charts
Monitor, control and improve process performance over time by studying output variance and why it occurs. The process is said to be under control if the variation is random and within the agreed control limits. The use of tool is typically proactive in that is attempts to define process shifts and trends before the process starts to operate outside its accepted limits. If the measurement indicates performance outside the agreed limits then the process should be stopped in order to assign a suitable cause.
Note that control charts are often used in quality methods such as Six-stigma which are focused on the minimisation of variance and resultant defects that may be caused. Six-sigmas quality cycle will use a number quality tools to monitor and improve performance
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - Check sheets
Allow the team to systematically record and compile data and check performance against agreed criteria and/or historical information. The check sheet may also be used to collect data over time in order to quantify patterns and trends
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - cause and effect diagrams
Sometimes known as fish one or Ishikawa diagrams, these diagrams graphically document the possible causes of a single effect and cluster these into major areas cause and effect diagrams are heavily used in root cause analysis and may be used in conjunction with other techniques such as ‘5 whys’.
Sometimes these tools are criticised for even overly simplistic and do not go into enough detail to determine the true root cause. There may also be multiple causes as opposed to a single cause. Ultimately the tool is reliant on the experience of the people using it.
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - histograms
Graphically represent frequency distribution in bar form. They are very good for displaying large amounts of data that would be difficult to interpret in tabular form. The histogram is commonly used to analyse where the distribution is centred, how wide is the spread of data and what shape is the distribution
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality)
Also referred to as the 80:20 rule and names after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto: roughly. 80% of effect comes from 20% of causes. Graphically represented by special type of histogram whee different quality issues may be prioritised from high to low in terms of their frequency of occurrence. This allows the project team to focus on the aspects that cause the highest number of issues.
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - flowcharts
Dictate the individual steps, logical sequence and decision points within any process. Flowcharts help to identify unexpected complexity, problem areas and redundant steps. They are commonly used to help analyse and improve business processes. They can then be used to check whether a process is being followed correctly from start to finish
Explain ishikawa (7 basic tools and quality) - scatter diagrams
Scatter diagrams study and identify the possible correlation between two variables. The diagram provides a visual and statistical method of testing the strength of potential relationship. Although positive or negative correlation may be suggested, further analysis is typically required to prove there is an actual causal relationship.
Define continual improvement
Is the generic term used by organisations to describe how Information provided by quality assurance and quality control processes is used to drive improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.
This is more cost effective than reactively finding errors through quality control methods such as testing and inspection; no amount of inspection can change the quality of a product or service
What are the benefits of quality management
- Increased delivery credibility
leading to higher confidence for
management, customers,
legislative bodies etc. - Improved decision-making resulting from
better quality source data and information - More consistent approach to project activities
leading to less variation in the process
outputs - Significant reduction in errors detected by
the organisation and/or customer - Improved customer satisfaction
What are the 5 stages of PRAM
- Initiate
- Identify
- Assess
- Plan response
- Implement response
Outline the initiate stage of the PRAM process
The pothole of the initiate step is to determine how risk will be managed in the project. This may entail the creation of a risk management plan that documents this process.
The two main activities carried out are
- define project
-this involves ensuring that the team and
other relevant stakeholders have a firm
understanding of the projects objectifies,
scope and other relevant constraints
-without this understanding it is unlikely that
the risk management process can be
appropriately tailored to the projects
specific requirements
- focus risk management process
-the objectives of the risk management
process must now be documented to ensure
that it is correctly applied to this project.
Factors to consider include the size,
complexity and strategic significance of the
project.
-these factors will help determine the most
appropriate process for managing risk in
terms of the steps, tools, roles and reports
that should be adopted
Outline the Identify stage of the PRAM process
Assumptions and constraints analysis - Assumptions and constraints are documented to assess the probability that each factor will be met and the impact if they are not. Strength - Ensure stakeholders have a common understanding of each factor Weakness - May miss generic risks or constraints
Checklists
- Risks are identified against criteria derived
from previous projects
Strengths
- makes full use of experience to prevent
repetition of problems
Weaknesses
- Checklist is not exhaustive and may miss
project specific risk
Prompt lists
- Uses generic headings to stimulate thought
across a breadth of different areas
Strengths
- Ensures that team think laterally about
multiple areas that may impact the project
Weaknesses
- Again not exhaustive and does not go into
any length of detail in each topic area
Brainstorming
- Group session that attempts to engage
project stakeholders from each discipline and
utilise their experience
Strength
- Quick and generates multiple ideas and
participation
Weaknesses
- Can be biased by a limited number of the
participants and can also be difficult to
control
Interviews
- Structured discussion of project risks when it
may not be suitable to have a group meeting
Strengths
- May be more appropriate for sensitive issues
and allows for more in-depth discussion
Weaknesses
- Time-consuming and does not allow for
cross-fertilisation if ideas
Delphi technique
- Anonymous participation of experts in the
attempt to gain consensus regarding project
risks. May be repeated multiple times in order
to reach agreement
Strength
- Prevents participants from influencing each
other
Weaknesses
- Can be time-consuming and therefore prone
to participant drop-out
SWOT analysis
- Identification of the projects strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats,
taking into account internal and external
factors
Strengths
- Ensures a balances approach to the definition
of positive and negative risks
Weaknesses
- Had a tendency to over-simplify the situation
by classifying each factor into a category
where it may not strictly fit
Cause and effect diagram
- Diagrammatically identifies and clusters
individual risks and helps to provide structure
to the risk identification process
Strength
- very useful for helping to identify the root
cause of a possible risk
Weaknesses
- Not always useful for complex situations where many causes may be inter-related
Outline the Assess stage of the PRAM process
The assess step may inconvenience qualitative and/or quantitative risk analysis
Qualitative risk analysis
This approach involved qualitatively assessing the probability of each risk occurring and the possible impact on any of the projects objectives should it occur. It is useful if the organisation determines appropriate quantitative thresholds for the classification of each risk
Quantitative risk analysis
In some cases, if the project is critical to the business or large amounts of money are at stake, we might decide that a more formal, numerical treatment of project risk is required. Maybe a qualitative risk analysis has been carried out, but due to its complexity and the possible interaction of multiple risks, it is decided to carry out quantitative risk analysis if we use the process of quantitative risk analysis then we analysis numerically the probability of each prioritised risk and it’s consequence on project objectives, as well as the extent of overall project risk.
Explain plan responses
Risk response planning can be defined as the process of developing options and determining actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threatens to the projects objectives.
Effective risk response planning, leading to an overall improvement of the risk profile of the project is:
- Appropriate to the severity of the risk
- Cost effective
- Timely
- Realistic
- Agreed by all parties
- Owned by a responsible person
Risk responses will generally fall into one of four categories for each of threats or opportunities
Threats
Avoid - a response to a threat that eliminates
its probability or impact on the project
Transfer - a response to a threat that reduces
its probability, impact or both by
transferring the risk to a third party
Reduce - A response to a threat that reduces
its probability, impact or both by
transferring the risk to a third party
Accept - no action is taken
Opportunities
Exploit - A response to an opportunity that
maximises both it’s probability and
impact
Share - a response to an opportunity that
increases its probability, impact or both
by sharing the risk with a third party
Enhance - a response to an opportunity that
increases its probability, impact or both
Reject - no action is taken
How is the PMP managed in terms of the 5 w’s and 2 h’s
why - An expansion of the project’s background and needs as defined in the Business Case
What - Describes the scope of the project. Again derived from the Business Case, the PMP will also detail actual project deliverables and their associated acceptance criteria.
How - The ‘how’ determines the strategy for the project in terms of how it will be delivered, controlled and managed
How Much - The PMP will quantify the necessary budget for the project and how these costs will be managed.
Who - The necessary resources for the project are documented and we may also detail specific roles and responsibilities
When - Key milestone dates for the project are listed in addition to how these align with each life cycle phase
Where - Closely linked to the ‘Who’, the ‘Where’ indicates where resources may be located, which may in turn add further constraints to the project
Define Baseline
The reference levels against which a project, programme or portfolio is monitored and controlled.
Define Scope
The totality of the outputs, outcomes and benefits and the work required to produce them.
What does the Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) show
The CBS can show the individual costs assigned to work packages directly from the WBS. Alternatively a new structure may be formed that apportions and consolidates costs to pre-defined categories that help the organisation track and control costs.
What are the typical cost categories?
- Labour
- Consumables
- Overheads
- Contractors
- Expenses
Define Estimating
The use of a range of tools and techniques to produce estimates.
What are the types of estimates?
Type - Project Phase - Purpose - Accuracy - Comment
Proposal, Initial concept, appraise feasibility, +/- 50%, also known as a ballpark or ‘rough-order-of-magnitude’
Budgetary, Concept approval, Assess viability, +/- 20%, May be used in the approval of the Business Case
Sanction, Definition, Approve project, +/- 10%, baseline cost and duration for project allows ‘real-work’ to begin
Control, Development, Measure progress, +/- 5%, Used to delegate work and assess progress.
What are the estimating problems?
Optimism/pessimism: Human or psychological factors may introduce significant bias to the estimating process. Although the typical bias is for the estimate to be over-optimistic, cultural factors may also be a contributory factor.
Social/political pressure: Pressure from management, peers or even the client may influence the estimator into providing an ‘acceptable’ estimate. The project team is likely to feel the pain resulting from this practice later in the project.
Experience: This may take the form of lack of technical expertise and/or knowledge of estimating as a skill. Training, mentoring and practice should help to build this experience over time.
Unclear scope: It is very unlikely that any estimating process will provide an accurate estimate unless there is a clear understanding of the project requirements.
Source data: Where comparative and/or parametric estimating is being undertaken, the quality of the estimate is predominantly determines by the quality of the source data. If inflationary factors or incorrect assumptions are not validated then it is probable that the estimate will be flawed.
What are the logic dependencies for Network Diagrams
Finish-to-start - Predecessor activity must finish before the successor activity can start (most common relationship)
Start-Start - Predecessor activity must start before the successor activity can start
Finish - Finish - Predecessor activity must finish before the successor activity can finish
Start-Finish - Successor activity must start before the predecessor activity can finish
What is Resource-limited scheduling - Levelling
Levelling involves scheduling the activities such that a defined resource limit is not exceeded (no additional float)
This resource limit may be imposed by the priority of the project within the business or the availability of key skilled staff. Resources are subject to a fixed limit which will affect the sequence and/or the duration of activities. Levelling may ultimately delay the project to keep within the resource limits.
What is time-limited scheduling - Smoothing
Smoothing is used when the end date is fixed and resources are to be expended to meet that end date.
Duration is paramount but you still need to achieve best use of resources. It involves rearranging activities, such that any peaks and troughs of resource usage are smoothed out. This does not affect the overall duration.
What are some typical options for rearranging activities?
- Delay an activity within its float to a period when resources are available
- Stretch an activity to use resources at a lower rate
- Compress an activity to use resources at a lower rate
- Alter the profile of resource usage across the duration of the activity
- Split an activity so that the resulting smaller activities can make use of pockets of resource availability
- Alter the logic of the network to allow activities to star t earlier
- Recruit more resource
- Provide training to develop multi-skilled resource
- Employ alternative (less labour intensive) working methods
- Work overtime
Resource-loaded schedule (S-Curve)
The final stage in the resource management process is to total each of the day’s individual requirements to form a summative estimate of resource requirements. This allows the project manager to create and expenditure profile for the project by calculating the cumulative resources against the daily rate for each resource:
- Multiple resource loadings by cost rates for that resource
- Add costs of raw materials, sub-contract support, sundries etc. and when these will be incurred
- Generate time-phased cost curve for the project.
What is statistical sampling?
Statistical or acceptance sampling is heavily used in high-volume manufacturing where it is not cost effective to test 100% of the outputs. The sample may check process inputs and/or outputs. The acceptance quality level is the highest number of defective components that may be contained in any one batch as considered acceptable to the customer.
Note that the customer is accepting the risk that any one batch may contain untested defective items. The supplier is taking the risk that a batch considered as being unacceptable may still contain good parts. The quality engineers will determine suitable sample sizes and these must be agreed by the customer.
What is Inspection
Inspection is the examination of a deliverable to determine whether it conforms to the agreed specification or standard. Inspections may also be known as peer reviews, audits and walkthroughs amongst other terms.
Where safety and/or finance are involved, it is common for the inspection to be carried out by an independent party - this concept is typically known as “segregation of duties”.
What is the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver the expected results
Do: Implement the processes (normally on a smaller scale first to check the likely impact)
Check: measure the results of the new process against the expected results
Act: Analyse the difference and propose improvement actions as required.
The PDCA cycle may be used to help guide the implementation of quality methods and tools or might even form the overall structure of business improvement initiatives.
What is Lean
Lean is a quality improvement approach that started in the Japanese car industry. The principles have now been adopted world-wide and are not just restricted to manufacturing. The overriding principle in Lean is to focus on adding value and removing waste, specifically the following “eight wastes”
- Transport
- Excess inventory
- Motion
- Rework
- Excess processing
- Peoples potential
- Over production
- Wasting time
A lean organisation can be recognised by:
- Single items or small batches of work keep flowing or moving, synchronised to delivery requirements
- Low levels of raw materials and finished undelivered goods
- “Right first time” and defect prevention measures in place
- People working in self-managed, flexible teams to deliver a clear and complete output
- Active involvement of everyone in the improvement process
How can the cost of quality be broken down into?
Conformance:
- Prevention - costs associated with the definition and implementation of agreed quality management methods and procedures
- Appraisal - costs of inspection and testing to ensure conformance to specification
Non-Conformance
- Internal failure - issues identified by the project team which may result in rework or scrap
- External failure - issues that are detected by the customer. These may include liabilities and warranty work and ultimately, loss of future business and reputation.
What is the Monte Carlo Analysis
Traditional critical path analysis uses a single point estimate for each activity in a network. In reality, it is unrealistic to this that our estimating is so accurate that out published schedule can be based on single point estimates.
PERT analysis uses three point estimates: optimistic, most likely and pessimistic. It then calculates a mean duration that is used in a critical path calculation. Whilst this gives an idea of the possible range of project completion dates, it is statistically crude.
In practice, any one of the tasks in the table above could take anything between its optimistic and pessimistic durations. This is where Monte Carlo analysis can be applied.
Define Contingency
Resource set aside for responding to identified risks.
What is the ‘implement responses’ step
Ensures that risk response actions have been undertaken and have achieved the desired outcome. Risk owners should be held accountable for the outcome for each assigned risk. Risk events should be continuously monitored and stakeholders updated on their new status as required.
What are the Hard and Soft benefits of Risk Management
Hard Benefits are likely to be more tangible and easier to quantify - for example, better decision making through appropriate quantification and communication of contingency, more appropriate contracts etc.
Soft benefits may revolve around the people side of risk management and the development of a more mature organisational approach to risk management.
Define Risk context
Describes the institutional and individual environment, attitudes and behaviours that affect the way risk arises and the way it should be managed.
Describe the Risk Averse Project Manager
This person is a risk avoider, is conservative in their decisions and actions, will be most strongly influenced by the “worst case scenario” and will plan for minimising the negative impact of risk.
Kerzner also uses the term “Utility” which is defined as “the amount of pleasure a project manager will receive from a payoff having taken a risk”.
In the case of the Risk Averse project manager, as the amount at stake increases, they would be more concerned about the risk and would be less likely to take the risk. This approach is sometimes called “MAXIMIN” as the highest importance is places on the minimum payoff situation
Describe the Risk Seeking Project Manager
This person is a risk lover, an opportunist, will “go for broke” and will be most strongly influenced by the best case scenario.
In the case of the Risk seeking project manager, as the amount at stake increases, they would be more likely to take the risk. This approach is sometimes called “MAXIMAX” as the highest importance is placed on the maximum payoff situation.
The Risk Neutral Project Manager
This person will exhibit a variable and measured response to the situation and will consider the risks and opportunities associated with the specific circumstances. They will not be unduly swayed in their decision by considering only the best and worst case scenarios.
