Page 641 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. APPENDIX TWO Computer Project Exercises In developing the exercises, tradeoffs had to be made to enrich the learning experience. One of the major problems students initially encounter is data and detail overload. This reduces their ability to identify project and data problems and to compare alternatives. Although the project found in the exercises is real, it has been reduced and detail has been eliminated many times to concentrate on applying project management principles and understanding linkages. In addition, other simplifying assumptions have been made so that students and instructors can trace problems and discuss outcomes. These assumptions detract from reality, but they keep the focus on the objectives of the exercises and reduce student frustration with software intricacies. Moving from these exercises to real projects is primarily one of increasing detail. The simplifying assumptions are given below (make sure they are included in \"default,\" \"preferences,\" and/or \"options\" sections of the software used): The POM+ Project* Big Kola Company has been concerned that specialized fruit drinks have been eroding their cola market. The CEO mandates that \"If you can't beat them, join them.\" Grape juice was the first product that was successful after an advertising blitz claiming the antitoxin benefits. Lately, competition is compressing grape juice margins and profits. Months of additional market surveys and focus groups have resulted in three potential highmargin drinks: cranberry, blueberry, and pomegranate. All these choices represent antitoxins. The decision is to produce the pomegranate drink that has many health claims. For example, the relative ability of these juices to eliminate harmful free radicals (antitoxins) is 71 percent for pomegranate, 33 percent for blueberry, and 20 percent for cranberry (Technion Institute of Technology). The market potential appears very attractive and should have a higher profit margin than the other potential juice products. Another appeal for pomegranate juice is its familiarity in the Middle East and Asia. The Priority Matrix for the POM+ Project is: Page 642 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Connor Gage, the project manager, has formed his project team and the members have come up with the following work breakdown structure. 1.0 POM+ Project 1.1 R&D product development 1.1.1 Need survey 1.1.2 Set product specs 1.1.3 Shelf life report 1.1.4 Nutrition report 1.2 Secure fruit suppliers 1.3 Initial Production 1.3.1 Equipment rehab 1.3.2 Production trials 1.3.3 Quality trials 1.3.4 Quality metrics 1.3.5 Quality training 1.4 Distribution 1.4.1 Market testing 1.4.2 Package design 1.4.3 Select distributors 1.5 Legal 1.5.1 Complete FDA certification 1.5.2 Register trademark 1.6 Prepare product launch Part 1 1. Develop the WBS outline using the software available (save your file). 2. Use this file and the information provided below to create a project schedule. 3. The following holidays are observed: January 1, Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), July 4th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), December 25 and 26. 4. If a holiday falls on a Saturday then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if it falls on a Sunday then Monday will be given off. 5. The project team works eighthour days, Monday through Friday. 6. The project will begin on January 3, 2012. 7. Based on this schedule, submit a memo that answers the following questions: a. When is the project estimated to be completed? How many working days will it take? b. What is the critical path? c. Which activity has the most total slack? d. How sensitive is this network? e. Identify two sensible milestones and explain your choice. Page 643 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Include the following (one page) printouts: A Gantt chart. A network diagram highlighting the critical path. A schedule table reporting ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity. Hints: Change the timescale to months and weeks. The estimated duration of the project is 135 days. Remember: Save your files for future exercises! The following information has been derived from the WBS. Note that the activity number is what appears in the software with the complete WBS entered. Part 2 Remember the old saying, \"A project plan is not a schedule until resources are committed.\" This exercise illustrates this sometime subtle, but important point. Using your files from Part 1, input resources and their costs if you have not already done so. All information is found in Tables A2.1 and A2.2. Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. Which if any of the resources are overallocated? 2. Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any overallocation problems by leveling within slack. What happens? 3. What is the impact of leveling within slack on the sensitivity of the network? Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack. 4. Assume the project is resource constrained and resolve any overallocation problems by leveling outside of slack. What happens? Page 644 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. TABLE A2.1 Resource Assignments TABLE A2.2 Resources Availability and Pay Rates 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. Once you are confident that you have the final schedule, save the file as a baseline. Hint: Save a backup file just in case without baseline! Page 645 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. TABLE A2.3 Status Report March 31, 2012 Part 4 A Assume that today is March 31, 2012, and Table A2.3 contains the tracking information for the project up till now. Enter this information into your saved baseline file and prepare a status report for the first three months of the POM+ project. Your status report should also address the following questions: 1. How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule? 2. What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well? 3. What do the PCIB and PCIC indicate in terms of how much of the project has been accomplished to date? 4. What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? What is the predicted VACf? 5. Report and interpret the TCPI for the project at this point in time. 6. What is the estimated date of completion? 7. How well is the project doing in terms of its priorities? Try to present the above information in a form worthy of consideration by top management. Include an Earned Value table and a Tracking Gantt Chart. Note: Insert March 31, 2012, as the status date in the Project Information box. Part 4 B Assume that today is May 31, 2012, and Table A2.4 contains the tracking information for the project up till now. Enter this information into your saved baseline file and prepare a status report for the POM+ project. Your status report should address the following questions: 1. How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule? 2. What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well? 3. What do the PCIB and PCIC indicate in terms of how much of the project has been accomplished to date? 4. What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? What is the predicted VACf? 5. Report and interpret the TCPI for the project at this point in time. 6. What is the estimated date of completion? 7. How well is the project doing in terms of its priorities? Try to present the above information in a form worthy of consideration by top management. Include an Earned Value table and a Tracking Gantt Chart. Note: Insert May 31, 2012, as the status date in the Project Information box. Page 646 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. TABLE A2.4 Status Report May 31, 2012 Red Zuma Project The ARC Company specializes in developing and selling a wide range of highquality scooters. Sales representatives report that there is a growing demand for racing scooters. ARC's president, Robin Lane, is excited about the possibilities and predicts that one day these kinds of razor scooters will be featured in XGame events. ARC is a small company and uses a strong matrix to optimally utilize limited manpower. The Project Priority Matrix for the Red Zuma Project is: Part 1 You are a member of a project team assigned to develop the new razor scooter code named \"Red Zuma.\" Table A2.5 contains the information necessary to create a project schedule. For the purpose of this case assume the following: 1. The project begins January 2, 2015. 2. The following holidays are observed: January 1, Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), July 4th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), December 25. 3. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if it falls on a Sunday, then Monday will be given as a day off. If December 25th falls on a Friday then Monday will not be given a day off. 4. The project team works eighthour days, Monday through Friday. Page 647 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. TABLE A2.5 Red Zuma: Project Schedule Construct a network schedule for this project and prepare a memo that answers the following questions: 1. When is the project estimated to be completed? How long will the project take? 2. What is the critical path for the project? 3. Which activity has the greatest amount of slack? 4. How sensitive is this network? 5. Identify two sensible milestones and explain your choices. Include the following printouts: A Gantt chart. A network diagram highlighting the critical path. A schedule table reporting ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity. Part 2 The following personnel have been assigned fulltime to the Red Zuma project team: 4 marketing specialists 4 design engineers 4 development engineers 4 industrial engineers 4 test riders 2 purchasing agent Use the file from Part 1 and the information contained in Tables A2.6 and A2.7 to assign resources to the project schedule. Page 648 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. TABLE A2.6 Red Zuma: Project Resources TABLE A2.7 Red Zuma Resource Assignments Part A Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. Which if any of the resources are overallocated? 2. Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any overallocation problems by leveling within slack. What happens? 3. What is the impact of leveling within slack on the sensitivity of the network? Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack. 4. Page 649 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Assume that the project is resource constrained and no additional personnel are available. How long will the project take given the resources assigned? (Hint: Undo leveling performed in Part A before answering this question.) Note: No splitting of activities is allowed. 5. How does the new duration compare with the estimated completion date generated from Part 1? What does this tell you about the impact resources can have on a schedule? Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table displaying free and total slack depicting the resourceconstrained schedule. Part B Top management is not happy with the resourceconstrained schedule. Robin Lane, the president, has promised retailers that ARC will begin production in time for the major trade show in Las Vegas on January 22, 2016, which means the project needs to be completed by January 17, 2016. She has authorized working the first available Saturday of each month to help the project get completed sooner. She realizes that this will only reduce the project duration by 12-13 days. After talking to the engineers, everyone agrees that they do not have to wait for the Detailed Product Design to be 100% completed before starting to build the prototype. The consensus is that Building the Prototype can start 30 days after the start of the Detailed Product Design. Likewise the Final Manufacturing Process can start 15 days after the start of Finalized Product Design. Dewey Martin, director of product development, is also willing to add personnel to the project. He is willing to make available at least one more Development, Design, and/or Industrial Engineer to the project as well as Marketing Specialist. Since there is an acute shortage of personnel at ARC he requests that you only use additional manpower that will help meet the deadline. Your objective is to develop a schedule which will satisfy the deadline with minimum additional resource usage. Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. What was the impact of introducing StarttoStart lags to the schedule and budget? 2. Which, if any additional personnel assignments, would you choose to complete the project before the January 17th deadline? Explain your choices as well as the reasons for not choosing other options. 3. How have these changes affected the sensitivity of the network and the critical path? Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table displaying free and total slack for the new schedule. Note: Do not assign new personnel to specific tasks, simply add them to the Resource Sheet. All new personnel are available full time (100%). Page 650 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Part 3 Top management has accepted the 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. Once you are confident that you have the final schedule, save the file as a baseline. Hint: Save a backup file just in case without baseline! Part 4 Part A Today's date is July 8, 2015, the milestone date for the completion of the Prototype. You are charged with preparing a status report for top management. Table A2.8 summarizes progress on the Red Zuma project: Submit a professional status report to Robin Lane that addresses the following questions: 1. How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule? 2. What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well? 3. How much of the project has been accomplished (PCIB)? 4. What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? 5. What is the estimated completion date? 6. How is the project doing in terms of priorities (see Part 1)? Report and interpret relevant Earned Value metrics in your report. Include a Tracking Gantt chart as well as an Earned Value Table with your memo. TABLE A2.8 Red Zuma Project Update Page 651 PRINTED BY: mohsinjawa@email.phoenix.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Part B You have told Robin Lane that based on what you know now you need to revise the estimates for some of the remaining activities. Detailed Product Design is expected to take 3 days longer than planned. Build Prototypes is expected to take 2 days less than planned and Finalized Product Design is expected to take 3 days longer than planned. Final Manufacturing Process is expected to take 2 days less than planned, while Install Production Equipment is now expected to take only 30 days. You also report that Detailed Marketing plan will be completed before the end of the New Year. She is insisting that the project be completed by January 17th in order to be ready for the Las Vegas show. She is willing to spend $50,000 from Management Reserves to expedite shipping if necessary. $25,000 would reduce the shipping of components by 5 days and/or $25,000 would reduce the shipping of manufacturing parts by 5 days (Hint: Adjust lag). Prepare a memo to Robin that addresses the following questions: 1. What is the impact of the revised estimates for Finalized Product Design and Install Production Equipment on the project schedule and cost? 2. Would you recommend authorizing the expenditure of $50,000? Explain. 3. What, if any other recommendations, would you make so that the project can achieve Robin's deadline? Justify your recommendations. Include a Tracking Gantt chart with variance schedule that depicts your final recommendations and revised schedule. Hint: After adjusting the Installation of Production Equipment and Finalized Product Design, level outside of slack to eliminate any resource over allocation problems. Conveyor Belt Project Part 1 Project Description The new computercontrolled conveyor belt is an exciting project that moves and positions items on the conveyor belt within <1 prosecuted