Budget has been really tricky to navigate on the new product build. Once the project has started, yourself as the project manager have done a calculation and come up with a value earned of 20,000 but the actual cost was 18,000. What is the cost variance, and what does this number tell us? (Is the project ahead of schedule behind schedule? Or under or over budget)? Case Study

You and a group of friends from a diverse set of backgrounds and careers have decided after some heated but valuable conversations to start a business. This business will be building a unique but effective vehicle for driving long distances but it has customizable interchangeable options to include comfortable overnight sleeping conditions and can drive both on-highway, and off-road. Your group of friends are avid travelers and want to create a vehicle that has it all - but at an affordable price to cater to anyone across North America. This is a huge project and undertaking, but you are all passionate about creating a new product and are excited to take on the challenge. The group is building a large van, but pending its initial success may mean the group will build other types of vehicles and product lines. The 'group of friends' are as follows:

• Monica- she's the marketing and product wizz of the friend group. With an MBA and strong social media following, she's perfect member of the project team to make sure this product comes to life and sells it via social media along the way - she's outgoing and strong willed, but collaborative to meeting goals and timelines. She overextends herself with her creative brain, which sometimes results in conflict and may impact project timelines.
• Sham- He's the principal engineer. He tends to be quiet, a bit more introverted and needs a clear set of instructions and structure to perform his work. He is the designer and will do all drawings and implementation of components of the vehicle. He is also extremely thorough and detailed, to make sure that all things work, work again, and work again. Critical thinking, however, isn't his strongest attribute, as he keeps his eye on tasks and only his tasks, so sometimes struggles to think outside the box and work with other team members.
• Sahar- is strong in procurement and sourcing - they are realistic, a good negotiator, in what can and cannot be done - they're organized and able to think critically to achieve solutions for problems that arise. They know where everyone else is at the project to know when to procure specific components. Sahar is integrated closely across all other members of the team to make sure timelines are not delayed.
• Rafihis the go getter and key sales member of the team. He has a strong sales background and is very good at convincing others on anything and everything. He's data driven and takes ownership on tasks with ease. Though he is not heavily involved in the project, he is excited to sell the vehicle once it's been built and validated for the public to use.
• Zee- he's the funder of the project - He was very successful in some investments a few years back and ready to start investing in cool projects. He is cautious with this project but is excited to see the product and vehicle come to life. While he wants to know what's going on in the project, but is not involved in the day to day.
• Lastly - yourself as the project manager. You're required to capture project requirements, and manage the project from its initiating phases, to closure. Your end goal is to create a fully functioning vehicle for on-road and off-road travel around the world. With the investment, and idea in place, you're ready to get started on this project!

More details of this case study and each scenario can be seen in your quiz questions.