NightHawk Project - Part I

Part A

You are the Assistant Project Manager to Danielle Green, who is in charge of the NightHawk project. NightHawk was the code name given to the development of a handheld electronic defibrillator, medical diagnosis device, and reference guide. NightHawk is being designed for emergency medical technicians and paramedics who need a quick way to capture some basic medical data on an individual and provide an easy-to-use reference guide to use in emergency situations.(The defibrillator capability was added following the incident with the NFL football player's (Damar Hamlin) cardiac arrest during a game on January 2, 2023.)

Danielle and her project team are developing a project plan aimed at producing 30 working models in time for MedCON '24, the biggest medical equipment trade show each year. (MedCON '21 and '22 were cancelled due to the Pandemic. MedCon '23 was a limited success.) Meeting the MedCON January 10, 2024 deadline is critical to success for this device. (Note that this deadline does include transportation to the trade show.) All the major medical equipment manufacturers demonstrate their equipment and its capabilities and took orders for new products at MedCON. Danielle has also heard rumors that competitors are considering developing a similar product, and she knows that being first to market (especially as things get 'back to normal' after the Pandemic) will make a significant sales advantage. Besides, top management has made funding for the project contingent upon developing a workable plan for meeting the MedCON '24 deadline.

The project team has spent the morning working on the schedule for NightHawk.They started with the WBS (work breakdown structure) and developed the information for a project network, adding activities when needed. Then the team has added the time estimates they had collected for each activity.The preliminary information for activities with duration time and predecessors are in Table 1. Use this data to answer the questions below.

• The project will begin the on Monday, March 20, 2023. This is the earliest that personnel become available from the completion of other projects and work or lab space becomes available. (For Part A) Assume there are no holidays in the initial schedule.
• The project team works 8-hour days Monday through Friday.

1. What is the Critical Path for this project? (You may use the Activity #s to specify the Critical Path.) [Note that this is for the initial entry of the project-schedule data.]

2. What is the projected finish date for the project?

3. Will the project meet the January 10^th deadline? Explain.

[Note: Make sure you have answered the above questions before you continue!]

Part B -Add these new assumptions:

• Assume the following holidays are regularly observed:January 1, Martin Luther King Day (3^rd Monday in January), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), July 4^th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November), December 25 and 26.
• If a holiday falls on a Saturday, then Friday will be given as an extra day off; if a holiday falls on a Sunday, then Monday will be given as a day off.

4. What is the Critical Path for this project (for Part B)? [List the full path ... it may or may not be the same as in Q1 above.]

5. What does the addition of these holidays do to the projected finish date? How many workdays, if any, are added to the schedule?How many calendar days, if any, are added to the schedule? Are these the same value? Why, or why not?

6. On what date will the project now be finished? Will the project meet the January 10^th deadline?

[Note: Make sure you have answered the above questions before you continue!]

Table 1

Activity Description Duration Predecessor(s)

(Days)

1 Product Architectural Decisions 8 --

2 Internal Device Specifications 20 1

3 External Device Specifications 18 1

4 Device Feature Specifications 15 1

(This includes the addition of the defibrillator)

5 Voice Recognition Module 15 2,3

6 Case 4 2,3

7 Screen 2 2,3

8 Speaker Output Jacks 2 2,3

9 Storage Memory & Mechanism 2 2,3

10 Database Creation 40 4

11 Microphone / Soundcard 5 4

12 Pager 4 4

13 Barcode Reader 3 4

14 Alarm Clock 4 4

15 Computer I/O Design 5 4

16 Review Device Design 10 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15

17 Determine Component Prices 5 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15

18 Device Integration Review 10 16,17

19 Document the Design & Production35 16

20 Procure Prototype Components 20 18

21 Assemble Prototypes 12 20

22 Lab-test Prototypes 20 21

23 Field-Test Prototypes 20 19,22

24 Adjust/Refine Design 22 23

25 Order Custom Parts 3 24

26 Order Stock Parts 3 24

27 Assemble First Production Unit 10 25, FS of 13 time-units; 26, FS of 8 time-units

28 Test First Production Unit 10 27

29 Produce 30 Units (for MedCON) 10 28

30 Train Sales Representatives 15 29

31 Ship/Transport Devices to MedCON 1 30, FS of 3 time-units