The second change to consider would be to select the suppliers during subproject P and have them work directly with the dedicated teams as described in step 4. This would involve adding an additional activity to subproject P called Supplier Selection and Contract Negotiations (P5) with a duration of 12 weeks. This new activity would be done in parallel with P1, P2, P3, and P4. Subproject S and V would be eliminated from the project.

With this new design, all the subprojects would be done sequentially with P done first, then D, and finally I.

h) Draw a project network that includes all the activities with times.

i) Calculate the early and late times for each activity. List those in a table.

j) What would be the expected impact on how long it would take to complete the project if this change were made?

 

exhibit 4.13 Major Subprojects/Activities Product specifications (P) Market research Overall product specifications Hardware Software Work Breakdown Structure and Activities for the Cell Phone Design Project Supplier specifications (S) Product design (D) Hardware Software Battery Display Camera Outer cover Product integration (1) Subcontracting (V) Hardware User interface Software coding Prototype testing Suppliers selection Contract negotiation Activity Identification P1 P2 P3 P4 S1 S2 D1 D2 D3 D4 11 12 13 14 V1 V2 Dependency P1 P2 P3 P4 P4 S1 S1 S1 D1, D2, D3 D4 D2 12 11, 13 S1, S2 14, V1 Duration (weeks) 2455 56 1214 3444 10 2