Real-World Project Management Chapter 13. Characteristics of Project Management Unique one-time...

Real-World Project Management

Chapter 13

Characteristics of Project Management• Unique one-time focus

– Difficulties arise from originality

• Subject to uncertainties– Unexplained or unplanned events often arise,

affecting resources, objectives and timelines

• Multiple stakeholders– Different interests in both the processes and

outcomes of the project

• No clear authority– Project chain of command may conflict with the

formal structures of the participating organizational units

Chapter 13 - Real World Project Management 1

Measuring Project Success• Stakeholders determine the degree of

success for each project undertaken– For example, success may be measured by

savings in operating costs or revenue generated– Complications arise when different groups of

stakeholders have different interests, values and objectives

– Stakeholders must be identified, prioritized and their measures of success well understood

• Process must be developed to achieve the desired results


Qualitative Methods for Achieving Success• The path to success lies in conservative

planning– Establishes the opportunity to exceed

expectations– Stakeholder expectations must be managed

• Expectations must be controlled and managed over time

• Project managers must possess both technical and soft skills

• Work objectives must be clearly defined in order to decrease the possibility of scope creep


Qualitative Tools and Techniques for Project Management• Network diagramming is one of the most

versatile techniques for planning– Graphic illustration of the activities in a project

and their relationship• Provides a timeline, critical path, activities on the

critical path


System Development Project

Design Development Testing andImplementation

Data Analysis

Analysis

Process Analysis

Reports Design

Database Design

Code Reports

Code Data Entry

Code Database

System and Network Testing

Installation and

Training

Choosing a Project Network Diagramming Technique• To commonly accepted approaches are

Activity on Node (AON) and Activity on Arrow (AOA)


Using activity on node (AON), nodes represent

activities and arrows show precedence.

Using activity on arrow (AOA), arrows are activities

and nodes are “events.” Precedence is captured in

event relationships.

B

A

C

3

1 2

4

A

C

B

B and C cannot begin until A has been completed; D cannot begin until both B and C have been completed.

C cannot begin until both A and B have been completed; D cannot begin until C has been completed.

C and D cannot begin until both A and B have been completed.

B and C cannot begin until A has been completed.

A and B must be completed before C can be started.

A precedes B, which precedes C.

Activity

Relationships

AON

AOA

A B C 1 2 3 4 A B C

1

2

3

4

A

B

C

3

4

1 2 A B

C

1

2

3

A

B C

A B

C

4

5

A

B

C

D

A C

D B

1 3 5

2 4 6

Dummy

A C

B D

A

B

C

D

1 2 4 5

3

A B

C

D

Dummy

A B D

C

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Diagramming the Systems Development Project


I

Finish Start

A

H

C

D B

E

F

G

Developing a Project Schedule


• A project network can be used to develop a project schedule or plan

• The duration of a project is equal to the longest path on the project network

– This is the critical path

– A project may contain more than one critical path

• Activity slack is the amount of time a project can be delayed before it becomes critical

Computing Earliest Start and Earliest Finish Times


I

1

16

17

Finish Start

A

4

0

4

H

3

13

16

C

5

4

9

D

5

3

8

B

3

0

3

E

4

9

13

F

3

8

11

G

4

8

12 Early Start

Early Finish

Activity Duration

Computing Late Start and Late Finish Times


I

1

16

16

17

17

Finish Start

A

4

0

0

4

4

H

3

13

13

16

16

C

5

4

4

9

9

D

5

3

4

8

9

B

3

0

1

3

4

E

4

9

9

13

13

F

3

8

10

11

13

G

4

8

9

12

13Late Start Late Finish

Probabilistic Project Management


• Treat activities as if they are common variables and assign probabilities to activity times to reflect the inherent uncertainties– Calculate an optimistic time (a),a most likely

time (m) and a pessimistic time (b)

– Probabilities for activity times are taken from the beta distribution

– The formula for te is a weighted average of the three time estimates in which the most likely time (m) is weighted four times that of either the optimistic or pessimistic times

Analyzing Probabilities


• Assume that the duration of all activities are independent from each other

• Activity times are random variables

• Let T = due date for the project, TE = expected completion time for path

• T, TE and 2 can be used to calculate a z-score– The value of z is the number of standard

deviations that the project due date is from the expected completion time

Making Time, Cost and Performance Trade-Offs


• Project completion dates are generated in isolation of management expectations and may demonstrate no relationship to their desires

• To meet stakeholder expectations, you may:– Add resources

– Reduce performance specifications

– Change management expectations

– Combine the previous alternatives

Making Time-Cost Trade-Offs


• Adding resources may add complexity and increase project length

• Accurate estimates regarding the times and costs involved are necessary– Normal time (NT) = Expected activity duration

without crashing– Normal cost (NC) = Expected activity costs

without crashing– Crash time (CT) = Expected activity duration

with crashing– Crash cost (CC) = Expected activity cost with

crashing

Making Time-Cost Trade-Offs


• Costs are linear, it costs proportionally the same to reduce an activity by one day as it does two days

• Per period crashing cost is referred to as “bang for the buck”– Only crash activities that are on the critical path– Crashing an activity on the critical path may not

reduce the project duration– The process of crashing may cause the set of

critical paths to change• The crashing technique for managing

projects reduces the duration by making a trade-off between time and money

Reducing Performance Specifications and Other Alternatives


• Project duration can be reduced by eliminating certain project deliverables– Allows managers to reallocate resources

originally intended for other activities into new activities that could reduce the project duration without increasing costs

• Elimination of activities depends on criticality of deliverable

• The project due date may be negotiable• Individual alternatives are not mutually

exclusive

Real-World Project Management Chapter 13. Characteristics of Project Management Unique one-time...

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