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b. Decomposition: this technique is about breaking project work packages into smaller more easily
manageable units.
Most projects important enough to have a significant impact on quality are too large to tackle
all at once. Instead, large projects must be broken down into smaller projects and, in turn, into
specific work elements and tasks. The process of going from project objectives to tasks is called
decomposition. Project decomposition begins with the preparation of a preliminary plan. A
preliminary project plan will identify, in broad high-level terms, the objectives of the project and
constraints in term of time and resources. The work to be performed should be described and
precedence relationships should be sketched out. Preliminary budgets and schedules will be
developed. Finally, subplans will be developed for each subproject for the following:
Control plans.
Quality control plans.
Cost control plans.
Schedule control plans.
Staffing plans.
Material plans.
Reporting plans.
Other plans as deemed necessary.
These subplans are developed in parallel for the various subprojects.
Improvement happens one project at a time, but without proper planning these project may
well fail to deliver their objectives.
c. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM): is a method for constructing project schedule network
diagram that has rectangular boxes, depicting nodes and arrows connecting the boxes,
depicting the logical relationship between the activities. this technique is also called Activity on
Node (AON).
d. Dependency determination: this technique is used to define the sequence based on the types of
dependencies between the activities.
Q.2 State and describe process of estimating resource & duration for the activity
Ans: As we are already aware that for every step we take has a time frame and every move needs
some resource and both these parameters need to be considered before each action. Thus even
though the activity is identified and sequenced, we get only partial schedule, to get further clarity
on the schedule it is very important to understand the resource requirement and time required to
complete each activity. The importance of the two parameters can be understood from the fact,
that project management has two separate processes for find the two requirements. The two
processes are:
· Determining resource requirement for each activity
· Calculating the time required for each activity
Determining resource requirement for each activity
There are various resources used on a project. Some of which are people, machinery, money. And
for each activity, to be accomplished we have a particular resource requirement. The reason for
calculating this requirement is, that there is a cost factor attached to each resource and to execute
the project successfully, it is very important that we are aware of the cost component.
The information or input to this process may be similar or different from the previous processes. The
basic inputs to this process are:
· List of activity
· Activity Characteristics
· Resource Calendar: this document gives us an idea of the resource availability for the project
activities. It also gives information about the resource skillset.
Q.1 Describe the five process groups and 9 knowledge areas of project management.
Ans: Mapping of planning process with Knowledge areas
Most of the experienced project managers believe that project management can be dichotomized
in two major ways; firstly as process groups and secondly as Knowledge areas. As per the project
management fraternity, project management can be dissected into 9 knowledge area and 5
process groups. The authority and responsibility of decisions for all the project management
processes lies with the project manager. The five process groups are based on Deming’s cycle,
considering a project as a solution to a given problem. As per the cycle, these are four steps to a
problem solving process. These four steps are Plan-Do-Check-Act.
Project process group include processes which are linked by their inputs or results, where the output
of one process may be the input for the other. These five process groups are as listed below:
· Initiation: Processes in this group launch a project or project phase. The key activities in this group
include, but are not limited to, creating a feasibility study. Identifying a business needs, creating
project charter, product description and selecting project manager.
· Planning: The process in this group collect information from various constituent processes unto
the degree of completion and confidence. Project managers should include stakeholders in the
planning process group. Project management plan integrates scope, cost, schedule, risk etc. to
produce a realistic plan which is acceptable to the stakeholders.
· Execution: Process groups consist of processes to complete the work in each of the phases.
These processes help the project manager coordinate and direct project resources to meet the
objectives of the project plan. The key activities in this group are acquire project team, perform
quality assurance, develop project team, vendor solicitation and selection, distributing project
information and direct and manage project execution.
· Monitoring and Controlling: Processes in this process group ensure that the project goes
according to plan. Activities in this process group are actions to be implemented when project is
not going as per plans. In this process group variances from the project baseline are identified
and necessary corrective measures are undertaken. Key activities in this process group are
ensuring quality control, providing scope verification, implementation change control, and
configuration management, controlling key parameters like cost, schedule and scope and
monitoring risk response.
· Closing: This process group included all processes to close all activities in a project or project
phase. The activities in this process group are to be performed even for the projects which have
been terminated in the middle or aborted projects. Key activities which are a part of this process
group include, but are not limited to auditing procurement documents, scope verification,
closing procurements, document lessons learned, submitting final reports, and archiving project
records
The 42 processes are also grouped into various knowledge areas. The nine knowledge areas are:
· Project Integration Management: The processes in this knowledge area amalgamate all the forty
two processes of project management. Integration includes characteristics of confederacy,
consolidation, enunciation and integrative events that are important for project management.
The processes in this knowledge area are used for balancing processes in all the other
knowledge areas. The major activities in this knowledge area include but are not limited to
creating the project management plan, monitoring the plan, performing change control and
closing the project.
Q.3 The below example depicts the preparation of cake. Here, some of the interdependent
activities where some follow a particular order, whereas others are performed independently.
Preceding Estimate
Activity
Activity in minutes
Start Start 0
D Start 4
Activity D,A 6
F D,A 7
c. Dynamic Programming
There are various classes of methods that are useful for obtaining optimal solutions for such NP-
Hard problems. One class of methods is referred to us Dynamic programming. Dynamic
programming is one of the more widely used techniques for dealing with combinational
optimization problems. It is a procedure that is based on a divide and conquers approach.
Dynamic programming can be applied to problems that are solvable in polynomial time, as well
as problems that are NP – Hard.
There are several algorithms or classes of algorithms for solving an LP. The two most important
over are
i) The simplex methods and
ii) The interior point methods
Although simplex methods work very well in practice, it is not known if there is any version of the
simplex method that solves the LP problem in polynomial time. The best known example of an
interior point method is the Karmakar algorithm, which is known to solve the LP problem in
polynomial time.
Q.5 What is a business case? List the business related questions answered using a business case.
Ans: What is a Business Case?
The Business Case is a one-off, start-up document used by senior management to assess the
justification of a proposed project, or to assess the options for a project that has already received
funding. If approved, it confirms senior management support and/or resourcing for a recommended
course of action (option).
The business case answers the following business related questions
– How did the initiative come about?
– What is the opportunity / treat / issue improvement being addressed?
– Why in clear and concise terms, is the initiative necessary?
– What is the desired product, service or result?
– What are the benefits to the enterprise and its customers?
Q.6 What is delay analysis? Explain the various types of delay analysis methodology.
Ans: What is a ‘delay analysis’?
Delay analysis is a forensic investigation into the events or issues that caused a project to run late
resulting in Schedule Variances. Delay analysts refer to `critical' and `non-critical' delays; the first are
events causing delay to the project's completion date and the second type affect progress on the
project but do not directly impact the project completion date.
During the past decade developments in computer technology and the availability of more
advanced planning software packages changed the way in which delay claims and the results of a
delay analysis are presented.
Delay analysis methodology
There are two types. The first type of delay analysis methodology is prospective; which demonstrates
the theoretical or likely impact of the consequences of delaying events rather than showing what in
fact occurred. The basis of this methodology is to establish a programming model of the project,
usually the contractor's as planned programme, then impact the model by the application of
delaying events. This type of methodology is commonly used to demonstrate what extension of time
a contractor is due, as a result of the application of employer responsible delaying events. This is said
to be the contractor's entitlement. Entitlement in this context is derived from the results of a delay
analysis and is not to be confused with contractual entitlement. In summary the prospective type of
methodology is a theoretical calculation of the likely delay a delaying event(s) would cause to
project completion. In other words, it focuses firstly on the delaying event and then demonstrates
the likely delay to progress and ultimately project completion that is likely to flow from the event.
The second type of delay analysis methodology is retrospective. The retrospective analysis tries to
show what actually occurred on a project; where the delays were; and what caused the delay to
project completion. The analysis shows how actual progress differed from what was planned. By
focusing on how the works actually progressed, the analysis will show when work activities were
delayed, and from the results of the analysis, investigation of what caused the actual delays can be
carried out. In summation, this type of methodology looks at what actually happened, what
activities were actually delayed and only thereafter what caused the delay. Both types of delay
analysis methodology are to some degree subjective. The prospective analysis relies heavily on a
programming model of the project and the delay analyst's opinion on how the delay event was
likely to influence the model. The retrospective analysis is less subjective as it relies on actual
progress. However, interpretation of the results as to what caused delay is subjective. This is because
the delay analyst will usually have to consider a number of related issues as to what caused delay
and apply his own experience and judgment.