Complete the following items for this assignment: 1. Read through the Case 13.1 Tree Trimming Project Case in Larson and Gray. Respond to Questions 1 and 2 of the case. Use Microsoft Excel to complete this item and include all calculations in your Excel file. Note that showing all calculations in Excel is required. 2. Complete Appendix Exercise 2 at end of Chapter 13 in Larson and Gray. Specifically, complete the table on pp. 509-510 in the textbook (note th SPI and CPI can be determined after the table is completed). Assume that cumulative EV, PV, CV, SV, SPI and CPI values are needed. Also, complete the table at the top of p. 511. At the end of Period 5, what is the status of this project (be specific)? 3. Discuss a strategy that you would use to communicate the status of the project to stakeholders. 4. Use Microsoft Excel to complete this item and include all calculations in your Excel file. Note that showing all calculations in Excel is required. Case 13.1 Tree Trimming Project Wil Fence is a large timber and Christmas tree farmer who is attending a project man- agement class in the spring, his off season. When the class topic came to earned value, he was perplexed. Isn't he using EV? Each summer Wil hires crews to shear fields of Christmas trees for the coming Holiday season. Shearing entails having a worker use a large machete to shear the branches of the tree into a nice, cone-shaped tree. Wil describes his business as follows: A. I count the number of Douglas Fir Christmas trees in the field (24,000). B. Next, I agree on a contract lump sum for shearing with a crew boss for the whole field ($30,000). C. When partial payment for work completed arrives (5 days later), I count or estimate the actual number sheared (6,000 trees). I take the actual as a percent of the total to be sheared, multiply the percent complete by total contract amount for the partial payment [(6,000/$30,000 = 25%), (.25 x $30,000 = $7500)]. 1. Is Wil over, on, or below cost and schedule? Is Wil using earned value? 2. How can Wil set up a scheduling variance? Available TABLE A2.2 Resources Availability and Pay Rates 10 Resource Marketing staff R&D Engineering Purchasing Quality engineers Designers Legal staff Production ction Abbrev MRKT R&D ENG PURCH QUAL DESIGN LEGAL PROD Hourly rate $ 80/hr $ 80/hr $100/hr $ 60/hr $ 80/hr $ 60/hr $120/hr $ 60/hr Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling outside of slack. Note: No splitting of activities is allowed. Note: No partial assignments (e.g., 50 percent). All resources must be assigned 100 percent. Part 3 Top management has accepted the July 19th completion schedule created at the end of Part 2. Prepare a brief memo that addresses the following questions: 1. How much will the project cost? What is the most expensive activity? 2. What does the cash flow statement tell you about how costs are distributed over the life span of the project? Include a monthly cash flow for the project
