Training of Control System - IT Project Management Assessment Answer

IT Project Management Assignment

1. Use Microsoft Project to develop the project schedule. You must include the resource allocation details on the schedule as well as the WBS shown in Table 1. Develop the schedule and make sure that you:

i. Have an appropriate project name at the top of the task list as a summary task. Have all other

tasks indented below the top summary task.

ii. Have the WBS shown in table 1.

iii. Include the milestones at the bottom of the task list (as this has been requested by senior

management).

iv. Include the resource allocation details on the schedule.

v. Resolve any resource allocation issues.

2. Identify the critical path in your schedule:

i. Make sure that the tasks on the critical path are automatically highlighted by the software in

the Gantt chart view (i.e. the software should highlight bars of the CP tasks in red in your

.mpp file).

ii. List the tasks on the critical path in your answer to this question in the Word document.

3. a) Include three additional tasks in your schedule with a duration of 1 day each to do all the

organisation for following meetings:

i. Design review meeting

ii. Test plan meeting

iii. Customer acceptance meeting

You must manually highlight these three tasks in yellow using the “background colour” icon on the

task ribbon. This is to allow your marker to locate them easily.

b) Based on your schedule, when is the latest date that you need to begin organising the test plan meeting?

c) Based on your schedule, when is the latest date that you need to begin organising the customer

acceptance meeting?

4. Write a memo to Ms Gurumarra, the director of software development outlining:

i. The expected duration and completion date of the project.

ii. The estimated labour costs of the project. This information must be presented in tabular

form with the total cost for each of the work packages, the costs for any meetings and the

final total for the whole project.

5. a) List two tasks you would target if you were asked to shorten the project duration.

b) Explain your reasons for choosing to target those tasks.

c) For each task, suggest what you would do to shorten the task.

6. List 2 important activities that the project manager needs to perform in the planning phase of the

project. Describe one of these activities in more detail.

7. Why is it necessary to calculate the earned value of work performed? How is this done?

8. Describe how you would calculate a cost performance index. What does it mean when the CPI is below 1.0? What does it mean when the CPI is above 1.0?

Assessment Part B

You are informed by the software engineers that tasks 2.2 Database construction is going to take an extra 3 person-weeks and that task 3.2 Image handler is going to take 1 extra person-week to complete.

Based on the additional information given above, complete the following

tasks:

1. Copy your Part A .mpp file to a Part B file and amend the project schedule incorporating the new

estimated times for the tasks above (2.2 and 3.2). You need to resolve any resource over-allocation issues caused by the introduction of these changes. You also need to highlight the rows of these

changes in green.

2. a) What is the duration of the project now?

b) When is the completion date of the project now?

c) Discuss whether the length of the project is now shorter/longer/the same in comparison to Part A (make sure you include the difference in your answer, that is how much longer or shorter is it).

3. List two negative risks that could impact your project. For each state what type of risk treatment youwould use for the risk and describe the treatment action During a lessons learnt meeting at the end of the project ethics was a key theme. You realise that your team does not understand how important ethics is to project management. Realising that you need to bring your

team up to date with ethics you decide to provide some training for them. You have decided to develop a

short handout based on the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

4. Develop a one page handout for your team outlining the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional

Conduct. You need to include a section on how the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

applies to your team.

Assessment Part A:

1. The adequacy of the project schedule. Includes:

• Summary task
• Tasks + WBS
• Durations/effort
• Resources (+ issues resolved)
• Milestones
• Predecessor relationships
• Holidays

After signing the project contract on 7/12/2015, the project is started on that date.

Before task scheduling in MS-Project software, we have to calculate the duration for each task from effort. The calculation for duration of each task from given effort is shown in the following Table,-

As, Duration= Actual work x Effort

The Part-A.mpp file is created in Ms-Project 2010 software and it shows the following details,-

• Project name, 2D-arcade game System is shown at the top of the task list.
• Predecessor relationships and Holidays are shown in the Part-A.mpp file.
• Summary tasks with Gantt chart.
• WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) is shown in Part_A-WBS.mpp file.
• M1 to M7, milestones are shown in Part-A.mpp file.

The resource allocation details including Resource Type, Initials, Group, Maximum number available and standard rate are assigned in the Resource sheet of the MS-Project software. The screenshot is shown below,-

• Assigning standard rate in the following three cases, some problem occurs in resource sheet. After calculating the standard rate manually, we can assign these in the resource sheet to resolve these issues.

First Case: Task Name: Review of design meeting.

Where, 3 SE and 1 TE are assigned.

Standard rate for 1 SE= $130.00/hr.

So, standard rate for 3SE is: $130.00x3= $390.00/hr, 1 TE is: $100.00/hr. Total rate is= $490.00/hr

Second Case: Review of test plan meeting.

Where, 2TE are assigned.

Standard rate for 1 TE= $100.00/hr.

So, standard rate for 2 TE is: $100.00x2= $200.00/hr

Third case: Customer acceptance meeting

Where, 3SE and 1 TW are assigned.

Standard rate for 3SE is: $130.00x3= $390.00/hr, 1 TW is: $85.00/hr. Total rate is= $475.00/hr

2) Critical path (highlighted and tasks listed):

The possible critical paths in the Gantt chart are shown in the red colored links in the Part-A.mpp file that is shown automatically by the software. (Ms-Project 2010). From Format tab-> click on the check box critical Tasks. The possible paths are as follows,-

Path 1:

Requirements specification -> Engine architecture design-> Review of design meeting-> Organization of Review of Test plan meeting

Path 2:

Requirements specification -> Develop test plan-> Review of test plan meeting-> Level editor-> Export game files-> Export .cpp files-> Integration testing-> Validation testing-> Performance testing-> In-house alpha testing-> Develop customer presentation-> Organization of Customer acceptance meeting

Path 3:

Requirements specification -> Develop test plan-> Review of test plan meeting-> Level editor-> Export game files-> Export .cpp files-> Integration testing-> Validation testing-> Performance testing-> In-house alpha testing-> Develop customer presentation-> Customer acceptance meeting-> Customer training

Path 4:

Requirements specification -> Develop test plan-> Review of test plan meeting->Object handler->Engine help

From the above possible paths, Path-3 is considered as critical path in the Project.

3) Dates of bookings (+ link in .mpp file)

The Part-A.mpp file shows the following date of bookings as per requirements,-

• The task, Organization of Design review meeting is booked on 25^th Febuary, 2016. As per criteria it should be one week prior of Review of Design meeting that is held on 3^rd March, 2016.
• The task, Organization of Test plan meeting is booked on 7^th March, 2016. As per criteria it should be one week prior of Review of test plan meeting that is held on 14th March, 2016.
• The task, Organization of Customer acceptance meeting is booked on 6^th July, 2016. As per criteria it should be two weeks prior of Customer acceptance meeting that is held on 21^st July, 2016.
• The entire Organization meeting held for one day as per schedule.

4) Appropriateness of the Written Memo – includes all details required as shown in .mpp file.

MEMO:

To: Mr Gurumarra

From: Project Manager

Date: 4/12/2015

Re: Estimated duration, scheduling of tasks and total cost for the Project.

The project, 2D-arcad game system will be signed on 7/12/2015. Before, a detailed project scheduling is done as per different tasks of the project. Different manpower resources like 3 Software Engineers, 2 Technical Writers and 2 Test Engineers are assigned to different tasks as per criteria. The following different considerations should be taken as,-

• Identify all tasks and their subtasks in detailed level for the project.
• Analysing the efforts (Person-weeks) for different subtasks, the duration of each subtask is calculated. The working hours assumed 5 days/ week and 8 hrs/day.
• Holidays like 25 December 2015 (Christmas Day), New Year’s Day (1 January 2016), 26 January 2016(Australia Day) and 25 March 2016(Good Friday) are mentioned in the project calendar as non-working days.
• Contract will be signed on 7/12/2015 and that day the project will commence.
• Various task dependencies also determined and three new sub tasks are booked like organization of Design Review meeting (25^th February, 2016), Organization of Test plan meeting (7^th March, 2016) and Organization of Customer acceptance meeting (6^th July, 2016).

In Ms-Project 2010 software, the project scheduling is done. As per calculation by the software, the duration and cost estimation is achieved as follows,-

• The project is completed by 165 days and the completion date is on 28/7/2016.
• The standard rates for Software Engineer are $130.00/hr, for Technical Writer $85.00/hr and for Test Engineer $100.00/hr assumed.
• The resource is allocated as per standard rate in the Resource Sheet of the software.
• The cost view is achieved by the software.

The estimated labour costs of the project is shown in the Table,-

Estimated Meeting Cost:

So, the total Cost is , $4,10,840.00

The above information are presented for your attention.

5) Two tasks for shortening the project + discussion

• The following two tasks are required for shortening the project ,-
• Requirements specifications that take to complete 45 days.
• Level Editor that takes to complete 30 days.
• These critical tasks greatly influence on the project duration. The task, Requirements specification takes 9 person-weeks of SE i.e. 45 days. Again, Level editor takes 6 person-weeks of SE i.e. 30 days. The duration for both tasks can be minimized to complete the project earlier. These two tasks are the longer compare to all other tasks of the project. So, I target these tasks to minimize.
• The manpower resource, Software Engineers are allocated for both tasks. If more software engineers will be allocated for those two tasks then effort would be minimized. So, naturally these two tasks require lesser time.

6) Additional planning

The Project Manager should perform the following two major activities in the Planning phase,-

• Detailed Requirements specification analysis: In this case, Business requirements, User requirements, Usage scenarios, Operational requirements and system requirements must be considered.
• Functional specification for the Project: The functional specification is baseline in planning phase and it may be changed in the next stages. It naturally contains the background information of the project in a business context, any user or customer additional requirements, physical and logical design of the project, divide the modules and sub-modules which are required for developing the project, security requirements, legal requirements like business policy or governmental requirement, risk analysis document etc.

7) Earned Value definition and explanation:

A comprehensive trend analysis technique for forecasting cost and schedule at the early stage in a project is Earned Value method. It is an indicator where we can monitor the project plan, actual work and completed work to check if the project is on track or not. It mainly determines after spending budget and time, how much work is completed.

The Earned value is the accurate estimation of the project’s progress based on planned values and Actual values.

Planned Value (PV): This value is assigned at the beginning of the project. It is also known as the BCWS (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled).

Actual value/Cost (AC): It is the actual cost for each physical work accomplished. It is also known as ACWP (Actual Cost of Work Performed).

Earned Value (EV): It is the % of work completed with respect to the Planned Value (PV). For example, if the PV of a Project is $1500 and the project is 30% completed, then

EV= PVx % of completed.

So, EV=$1500x 30% = $450.

To calculate the performance ratio of the Project, the Actual Cost (AC) value is considered.

For example, if the Actual Cost for the project is $1000 (up to 30% completed), then performance ratio= (1000/1500) x100= 66.67%. In this case, the performance ratio is below 100% so; the project has the facility for positive expenditure.

If the performance ratio is more than 100% then the project has negative expenditure i.e. project cost exceeds the budget. But, if the performance ratio is equal to 100%, then the project is alongside the planned budget.

8) Discussion on CPI:

The CPI (Cost Performance Index) is a measure for cost efficiency or budget efficiency of a project. To determine the CPI of a project, two indicators should be considered:

• Earned Value (EV) and
• Actual Cost (AC).

CPI= EV/AC.

From the previous example, the Earned Value (EV) for the project is $450 and actual cost for the project is $1000 (up to 30% completed). So, the CPI= 450/1000= 0.45. It is less than 1.0 so, the project is unfavourable condition i.e. the funds are over utilized.

In another case, if the project is completed 80%. EV= PVx % of completed.

So, EV=$1500x 80% = $1200. (Assume, Planned Value, PV=$1500 and Actual Cost, AC=$1000)

So, CPI= EV/AC= 1200/1000= 1.2 >1.0. Here, the project is favourable condition and funds are utilized more efficiently than planned.

The value of CPI may be three possible outcomes,

• If the value of CPI is 1.0 then the project is favourable and funds are utilized as per planned.
• If the value of CPI is greater than 1.0 then the project is also favourable and funds are utilized more efficiently than planned.
• If the value of CPI is less than 1.0 then the project is unfavourable and funds are over utilized as per planned.

Assessment Part B:

1)The adequacy of the amended schedule

The Database Construction task needs extra 3 person-weeks i.e. 3+3=6 person-weeks i.e. 6x5=30 days to complete. Again, Image Handler task needs extra 1 person-weeks i.e. 2+1=3 person-weeks i.e. 3x5=15 days to complete. These changes are shown in the Part-B.mpp file and tasks are highlighted by green color.

2 ) The new critical path duration (and finish date) + compared to part A

1. What is the duration of the project now?

From the Part-B.mpp file, it is shown that the duration of the project is 165 days.

1. When is the completion date of the project now?

The completion date of the Project is now 28/7/2016.

1. Discuss whether the length of the project is now shorter/longer/the same in comparison to Part A.

First, copying the Part-A.mpp file into Part-B.mpp file then the necessary changes are done for the two tasks as per requirement, it is observed that the duration of the Project is 165 days which is same as Part-A.mpp file. Due to increasing efforts of two tasks, the new duration for Database construction task is 30 days and new duration for Image Handler task is 15 days.

From the task scheduling of Part-B.mpp file, it is cleared that Database construction task and Level Editor task both start and finish at the same time as well as both are critical tasks. Both tasks are executed in parallel and whose predecessor task is Review of Test plan Meeting. Again, Image Handler task executes with Object Handler task in parallel as well as both tasks is critical. Both tasks dependent on the Review of Test plan Meeting and finish on the same time. So, no extra time is needed to complete these tasks. Naturally, the project is finished at the same time.

3) Appropriate risks, treatment type and treatment action:

The following negative risks for the Project may be,-

• In Part-B.mpp file, Database Construction task and Image Handler task are increased by efforts and duration. But, the duration of the project remains unchanged. In this case, the cost is also increased. As, for Database construction task, additional labor cost is required for extra 15 days for SE i.e. 15x8x $130.00/hr = $ 15600 extra cost are required. Again, for Image Handler task, additional labor cost is required for extra 5 days for SE i.e. 5x8x $130.00/hr = $ 5200 extra cost are required. So, total $15,600 +$5200= $20,800 extra cost is required. The Cost for Project-B.mpp file is more than $20,800 of Project-A.mpp file. Total cost for Project-B.mpp is, $410840+$20800= $431640 which is shown in Part-B_Cost_view.mpp file. This is a great risk for the project as duration is not minimized but cost is also increased.

The treatment is taken for this risk as, Requirements Specification task should be minimized as 6person-weeks i.e. duration will be 30 days instead of 45 days. As, it is a critical task and executes alone, new project duration will be (165-15) days = 150 days. Again, cost will also minimize for 15 days SE. i.e. Cost will be reduced by 15x8x$130/hr. = $15,600. So, new cost will be $431,640-$15,600=$4,16,040.

• For designing the Engine architecture, utilities, database and user interface, risks can be held due to lack of original software. If original and genuine software is not available then the project may be failed at the time of testing and even after implementation. It is also a great risk as project fails after development. It is a product based risk. To minimize this risk, updated and genuine software should be taken to design and develop the project. At the planning phase, updated and original hardware, software, utilities should be arranged. After completing the project, efficient customer training should be provided. So, this risk can be eliminated.

4) Ethics handout for team:

PMI (Project Management Institute) defined Code for Ethics and Professional conduct when the team members are handling the Project. This code includes moral, cultural and ethical behavior. The various areas of the Code are discussed below,-

Responsibility:

• Concealing confidential information of the project.
• Handling project as per professional requirements.
• Taking appropriate decision in particular situation.
• Maintaining all necessary laws and rules.
• Reporting any illegal behavior to Project Manager if any.

Respect:

• Behaving professionally to stakeholders.
• Detaching from personal interest.
• Communicating to customers and suppliers in good faith.
• Maintaining cultural norms and customs.
• Respecting Company’s property right.

Fairness:

• Making any decision in a fair way.
• Providing equal access and opportunity during acquiring resources.
• Hiring manpower in transparent way ignoring personal considerations.
• Acting anything or taking any decision impartially.
• Avoiding any confliction.

Honesty:

• Making commitments in an honest way.
• Seek and speak the truth of any fact.

Cultural Competence:

• Maintain cultural ethics in all project situations.
• Practice professional awareness at the time of dealing with other cultures.
• Respecting other cultural in view of morality.
• Cultural differences should be ignored during project handling.

The above code of conduct should be followed by the team members of the project. After scheduling the project followed by manpower arranging, these code of conduct should be handed over to the team members. This Code actually increases the confidence of the team as well as helps an individual to take wise decisions at difficult situation. The team members must follow the Code otherwise appropriate action should be taken against them. This policy tends to obey the code of ethics by team members.