Deck 12: Project Management

Question 1

Discuss possible sources or reasons why conflict can arise in teams.

Answer 1

Project management:
Every business constantly tries to explore new opportunities. A project helps in the execution of new opportunities. It is necessary to manage the project for its successful completion. Thus, project management refers to the planning, analyzing, execution, completion and evaluation of the project.
Project team:
A project team is responsible for the execution of assigned tasks. The project manager can successfully complete the project, if the project team sincerely works to complete its tasks.
The following are the reasons for conflict in teams:
• Conflict arises when the team members are not cooperative. If the team members have competing goals, they will try to compete with each other. They will not be supportive and it will lead to conflicts between team members.
• There is a difference of opinion, when the team members fail to follow the team norms.
• Disagreement on a particular decision leads to conflicts.
• Lack of leadership of the team leader is also a reason for conflicts.
• The self-oriented or self-centered attitude of team members leads to conflict.
Conclusion:
Mental attitude of the team members will lead to conflict. This ruins efficiency of the team. It is a hindrance to the performance of a team. Therefore, the team members should not be self-oriented. Instead, they should focus on achieving the organizational goals.

Question 2

What is a multiple project assignment matrix? When would it be used?

Answer 2

Project management:
Every business constantly tries to explore new opportunities. A project helps in the execution of new opportunities. It is necessary to manage the project for its successful completion. Thus, project management refers to the planning, analyzing, execution, completion and evaluation of the project.
Project assignment matrix:
Project assignment matrix displays the assignment of responsibilities to individuals in multiple projects. It is helpful for the top-level management to monitor the project team. One can easily identify the different roles and responsibilities of any employee in multiple projects.
Usage of project assignment matrix:
• Companies having multiple projects can build a project assignment matrix.
• It is useful to coordinate the activities between different projects.
• It gives a consolidated picture of individuals' responsibilities in multiple projects.
• The project manager can balance the allocation of work among employees with the help of project assignment matrix.
• It avoids unnecessary work burden on a single employee.
Conclusion:
Project assignment matrix helps the company to run its project activities in an organized way. It will coordinate the activities between different projects. Thus, a company having multiple projects can adopt this matrix to coordinate its activities and to avoid work burden on employees.

Question 3

A project has a task with the following task time estimates:
Pessimistic completion time = 18 weeks
Most likely completion time = 15 weeks
Optimistic completion time = 7 weeks.
What is the variance for the task?

Answer 3

Task variance:
Task variance is helps to compute the timings of the project with high probability of completion.
There are three times of project completion. They are:
Optimistic completion time (t o ):
Optimistic completion time is the minimum time required to complete the task.
Most likely completion time (t m ):
Most likely completion time is the best estimation for the task completion.
Pessimistic completion time (t p ):
Pessimistic completion time is the maximum time required to complete the task.
Estimate the task variance:
Task variance is the square of task standard deviation. It is computed by dividing the value which is attained by subtracting the optimistic task completion from pessimistic task completion with 6. The value is squared to find the value of task standard deviation. t o is the optimistic completion time.
t m is the most likely completion time.
t p is the pessimistic completion time.
S t 2 is the task standard deviation.
Hence, the task variance is .

Question 4

The following data describe the tasks and their relationships in a project Use the data to identity the projects critical path.

Question 5

In what ways does the functional project organization differ from the pure project organization?

Question 6

Why do project teams expedite project tasks? How is task expediting accomplished?

Question 7

Roberta Rodriguez has been assigned the responsibility of managing the new layout design for her company's production facility in Tennessee. This redesign involves an analysis of the existing layout, identifying and analyzing improved layout solutions, selecting new equipment, designing the new layout, modifying the existing plant, and implementing the new production process. The company would like to complete the project as expeditiously as possible because the demand for its products is strong and no production capacity will be available at Roberta's plant during the modification. Roberta has been meeting with plant management and engineers, and the following tasks and estimated task times required to complete the changeover have been identified: Questions
1. Draw the network diagram for the project
2. Compute the expected activity times and activity time variances for each task.
3. Identify the projects critical path.
4. For what project duration could Roberta be 90 percent certain of completing the layout redesign project?
5. Which tasks, if any, would you recommend crashing?

Question 8

The optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times for the tasks making up a project are as follows. Use the data to compute the expected completion time and variance for each task.

Question 9

A project consists of the following tasks, with task times in weeks. Use the data provided to identify the projects critical path.

Question 10

Discuss the three primary responsibilities of a project manager.

Question 11

Why do you think the matrix team structure is the most common team organization in project management?

Question 12

The following information relates to a project for the Hawking Company. Use the data provided to solve for the critical path of the project

Question 13

As part of a team, visit an organization and ask employees about a recent project they nave undertaken. Inquire about the overall purpose of the project and the objective in completing it, the project's scope, the resources available to complete the project, the time required, and the roles and responsibilities of various managers assigned to the project. Also ask about various project management tools employed to schedule activities and assign resources as well as manage the time and costs of the project. What challenges did the company have to overcome to com-plete the project? Prepare a report that describes your findings.

Question 14

The optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times for the tasks comprising a project are as follows. Use the data to compute the expected completion time and variance for each task.

Question 15

The following information relates to a project (note: task times are in weeks): Use the information to solve for the critical path and then to determine the completion time that would provide a 90 percent chance of success.

Question 16

Together with a team of students, identify a project in which you could be involved. For the project, develop the set of tasks that must be compleled, the task times, the resources required, and the objective of the project. Develop a network diagram of the project. Incorporate your time estimates and identify the projects estimated completion time and the critical path. Also identify the time estimate for which you believe you have a 90 percent chance of success.

Question 17

What is scope creep? How is scope creep detrimental to a project?

Question 18

The following information relates to a project (task times are in weeks): Use the information to solve for the critical path and then to determine the probability that the project could be completed within 33 weeks.

Question 19

Three time estimates for a task in a project are as follows:
Optimistic completion time = 4 weeks
Most likely completion time = 9 weeks
Pessimistic completion time = 15 weeks
Calculate the expected task completion time.

Question 20

The optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times for the tasks comprising a project are as follows. Use the data to compute the expected completion time and variance for each task.

Question 21

The following information relates to a project (task times are in weeks): What is the project's completion time for which we are 95 percent sure of success?

Question 22

What is meant by the behavioral side of project management?

Question 23

What does PERT stand for in project management? What does CPM stand for in project management? What is the purpose of these techniques in project management?

Question 24

The following information relates to a project (task times are in weeks): What is the probability that the project can be completed within 60 weeks? What is the probability that the project will take longer than 60 weeks?

Question 25

Suppose that a task in a project has the following time estimates:
t 0 = optimistic completion time = 6 weeks
t m = most likely completion time = 8 weeks
t p - pessimistic completion time = 11 weeks
Compute the expected task completion time.

Question 26

The following table lists the tasks and preceding tasks for a project. Draw the activity-on-node diagram for this project.

Question 27

Use the following project information to expedite the project by one week. Times are shown in weeks.

Question 28

What is the student problem, and how does it relate to project management?

Question 29

What are the major categories of costs of a project. How are these costs best controlled?

Question 30

Use the following information to expedite the project by two weeks. Project times are in weeks.

Question 31

A project has a task with the following task time estimates:
Pessimistic completion time = 18 weeks
Most likely completion time = 15 weeks
Optimistic completion time = 7 weeks.
What is the estimated completion time for the task?

Question 32

The following table lists the tasks and preceding tasks for a project. Draw the activity-on-node diagram for this project

Question 33

The following information relates to a company's project-Times are in days. How should the company crash the project to expedite it by three days?

Question 34

Briefly describe four different types of teams. How is the choice of team related to the scope of the project?

Question 35

What role does the beta distribution play in calculating expected task times and task variances in project management?

Question 36

Three time estimates for a task in a project are as follows:
Optimistic completion time = 4 weeks
Most likely completion time = 9 weeks
Pessimistic completion time - 15 weeks
Calculate the expected task variance.

Question 37

The following table lists the tasks and preceding tasks for a project. Draw the activity-on-node diagram for this project.

Question 38

Outline the different phases of development that teams go through in a project.

Question 39

What does the S curve describe in project management?

Question 40

Suppose that a task in a project has the following time estimates:
t 0 = optimistic completion time = 6 weeks
t m = most likely completion time - 8 weeks
t p = pessimistic completion time = 11 weeks
Compute the expected task variance.

Question 41

Find the critical path for the following project (task times are in weeks):