Project Management

(MBA)
 Table of Content

Title Page
List of Figures iii
List of Tables iv
1. Introduction 1
Q1.1 Develop a CPM/PERT network for the Moore House Contractors
and determine the probability that the contractors can complete a 1
house within forty-five days. Does it appear that Moores might need
to increase their bid to compensate for potential penalties?

1.1.1 Project Network 2

1.1.2 Probabilistic Activity Times 7
1.1.3 Probabilistic Time Estimates 8
1.1.4 Probabilistic Network Analysis 8
Q 1.2 Indicate which project activities Moore Contractors should be 11
particularly diligent to keep on schedule by making sure workers
and materials are always available. Also indicate which activities
the company might shift from as the need arises.
Q1.3 Develop an action plan for ensuring compliance with Countryside 12
Realtors.
1.3.1 Human Resource plan 12
1.3.2 Timing 12
1.3.3 Resources 12
1.3.4 Action Plan Moore Housing Contractors Model 14
Q2 ``Creating successful project teams is a daunting task for any
project leader, especially when they are pressed to deliver results 16
within aggressive timescales and tight budgetary constraints.
Building successful project teams is about slotting the right
individuals into designated team roles and fostering team spirit. ``
Select three journal articles from Google Scholar on Project
Management relevant to the statement to critically discuss this
statement.

2.1 Introduction 16

2.2 Building a high-performance Team 16

2.3 Practices for creating a high-performance team as per Article reviewed 17

2.4 Design a framework of practices for building a high-performance team. 19

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2.5 Evaluate two teams and their practices 21
2.5.1 Team 1 (Adecco Company Group) 21
2.5.2 Team 2 (Zapier` company) 22
2.6 Recommendation and conclusion 22
Q3 Project Risk Analysis and Management (PRAM) is an integrated 22
program, based on efforts to extend risk management to cover a
project`s entire life cycle.

Critically discuss the key features and phases of PRAM.

3.1 Introduction 22
3.2 Project Risk Analysis and Management process and its key features 22
3.2.1 Risk Analysis 23
3.2.1.1 Qualitative Analysis 23
3.2.1.2 Quantitative Analysis 24
3.2.2 Risk Management 26
3.3 The benefits of PRAM 28
3.4 Conclusion 28
Appendix 1 29
4 References xxx

ii
 List of Figures

Pages
Figure 1: Process of drawing an AON diagram. 3

Figure 2: Critical Path diagram. 3

Figure 3: PERT Using Probabilistic Method with 3 Time Estimates. 7

Figure 4: Table of probability (Z). 8

Figure 5: the percentage area. 10

Figure 6: Action plan of the company Moore Housing Contractors. 15

Figure 7: Factors successful implementation of high-performance team. 17

Figure 8: Motivation theories. 20

Figure 9: Risk management strategy chart. 23

Figure 10: The project risk management probability/impact grid matrix. 24

Figure 11: The categories of probability and Impact. 24

Figure 12: The categories of probability and Impact. 25

Figure 13: The connections between Cost, Time and Technical Performance. 26

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 List of Tables

Pages

Table 1: The excel spreadsheet and calculate expected time and total for each path. 4

Table 2: The value of ES, EF, LS, LF and Slack. 5

Table 3: The duration for only critical activities. 6

Table 4: Calculate probability using excel. 9

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Question 1

1. Introduction

The project management brings together a set of tools and techniques-performed by people to
describe, organize and monitor the project activities. The Moore Housing Contractors project
is composed of processes, even if it employs a haphazard approach. The report explains the
advantage and planning to organize this project and teams around the project processes. It
involves applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to accomplish the project's objective.
This project is a process that includes initiating a new project, planning, putting the project plan
into action and measuring progress and performance. It can identify the project requirements,
establishing project objectives, balancing constraints and tracking the needs and expectations
of the key stakeholders into consideration using PERT and CPM.
Pert (Program evaluation and review technique) used to schedule, organize and coordinate
tasks within a project. It is a methodology developed by U.S Narry in the 1950s to manage the
Polaris submarine missile program.
Furthermore, Pert chart represents a graphic illustration of a project as a network diagram
consisting of numbers nodes representing events or milestones in the project linked by labelled
visitors representing tasks in the project.
CPM (Critical Path method) Consists of that set of dependent tasks on the preceding which
together take the longest time to complete tasks which fall on the critical path should be noted
in some way, so that they may be given special attention. The CPM chart can define a multiple
equally critical path.

1.1. Develop a CPM/PERT network for the Moore House Contractors and determine the
probability that the contractors can complete a house within forty-five days. Does it
appear that Moores might need to increase their bid to compensate for potential
penalties?

Program Evaluation and review technique design to analysis the task involve in completing a
given project, especially the time needed to complete each task, and identifying the minimum
time needed to complete the total project. Pert was developed primarily to simplify the planning
and scheduling of large and complex projects. It was able to incorporate uncertainty by making

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it possible to schedule a project while not knowing precisely the details and durations of all the
activities. It is more of an event-oriented technique rather than start and completion-oriented
and is used more in R&D type projects where time, rather than cost is the major factor.
The role of pert was used to determine the expected project completion time, where it shows
the probability of completion before a specified date. Project managers can easily know what
will be the specified date to complete the project by using the pert method to analysis the critical
path of the project because the critical path activities that will provide the critical path will
directly impact on the completion time of the project.
There are six steps which are common to both the technique as follows:
- Define the project and all its activities or tasks. It should have single start activity and a
single finish activity.
- Developing the relationship among the activities decides which activities must precede,
and which must follow others.
- Draw the network connecting all activities. Every activity should have unique event
numbers.
- Assign time and cost estimates to each activity.
- Define the critical path which the longest time through the network.
- Using the network to help planning, monitoring, scheduling and controlling the project.

1.1.1. Project Network

The company Moore Housing Contractors negotiates a deal with Countryside Realtors to build
six houses in the development of the town the activity predecessor and times estimates of the
project are shown in the following table 1.
The diagram below represents the Activity-on-Node which the boxes are connected from
beginning to the end, each node is coded by letter that correlates to an activity on the project
schedule:

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 Figure 1: Process of drawing an AON diagram.
Source: (Self-resource).

The critical path of the project can be ascertained as follows:

Figure 2: Critical Path diagram.

Source: (Self-resource).

3
 Activity Predecessors a m b t v standard de viation
a ___ 3 4 6 4.17 0.25 0.50
b a 2 3 5 3.17 0.25 0.50
c b 2 4 5 3.83 0.25 0.50
d b 1 2 4 2.17 0.25 0.50
e b 1 2 3 2.00 0.11 0.33
f c 2 4 5 3.83 0.25 0.50
g e 2 3 5 3.17 0.25 0.50
h e 2 4 7 4.17 0.69 0.83
i f 1 3 4 2.83 0.25 0.50
j f 1 2 4 2.17 0.25 0.50
k c,g 3 5 8 5.17 0.69 0.83
l i 5 6 10 6.50 0.69 0.83
m j,h,k 6 8 12 8.33 1.00 1.00
n l 2 3 6 3.33 0.44 0.67
o n 1 2 5 2.33 0.44 0.67
p d,o 2 3 7 3.50 0.69 0.83
q m 3 4 6 4.17 0.25 0.50
r p 4 6 10 6.33 1.00 1.00
s q 3 5 12 5.83 2.25 1.50
t q 2 4 8 4.33 1.00 1.00
u q 2 3 6 3.33 0.44 0.67
v t,u 4 6 10 6.33 1.00 1.00
w v,s 2 5 8 5.00 1.00 1.00
x v,s 1 3 4 2.83 0.25 0.50

Table 1: The excel spreadsheet and calculate expected time and total for each path.

However, the Pert technique used to estimate the duration of each activity by working out the
start and finish times using the forward and backward pass technique.

ES EF

LS LF

- Forward pass process identifies all the earliest times by calculating the early start date and
early finish date for all the activities.
- Backward pass is a process which finds all the latest time. It determines the latest finish LF
time value, then the latest start LS time value.

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Calculate ES, EF, LF, LS and slack using the following formulas:
ES (Earliest start times) = max(EF).
EF (Earliest finish times) = ES+ t (expected time).
LS (Latest start time) = LF – t.
LF (Latest finish time) = min (LS).

Activity ES EF LS LF Slack critical path

a 0 4.17 0 4.17 0 Y
b 4.17 7.34 4.17 7.34 0 Y
c 7.34 11.17 7.85 11.68 0 N
d 7.34 9.51 33.84 36.01 26.5 N
e 7.34 9.34 7.34 9.34 0 Y
f 11.17 15 11.68 15.51 0.51 N
g 9.34 12.51 9.34 12.51 0 Y
h 9.34 13.51 13.51 17.68 4.17 N
i 15 17.83 21.02 23.85 6.02 N
j 15 17.17 15.51 17.68 0.51 N
k 12.51 17.68 12.51 17.68 0 Y
l 17.83 24.33 23.85 30.35 6.02 N
m 17.68 26.01 17.68 26.01 0 Y
n 24.33 27.66 30.35 33.68 6.02 N
o 27.66 29.99 33.68 36.01 6.02 N
p 29.99 33.49 36.01 39.51 6.02 N
q 26.01 30.18 26.01 30.18 0 Y
r 33.49 39.82 39.51 45.84 6.02 N
s 30.18 36.01 35.01 40.84 4.83 N
t 30.18 34.51 30.18 34.51 0 Y
u 30.18 33.51 31.18 34.51 1 N
v 34.51 40.84 34.51 40.84 0 Y
w 40.84 45.84 40.84 45.84 0 Y
x 40.84 43.67 43.01 45.84 2.17 N
Table 2: The value of ES, EF, LS, LF and Slack.

The critical path would be a – b – e – g – k – m – q – t – v – w and the project mean time is

45.84 days.

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Activity ES EF LS LF Slack critical path
a 0 4.17 0 4.17 0 Y
b 4.17 7.34 4.17 7.34 0 Y
e 7.34 9.34 7.34 9.34 0 Y
g 9.34 12.51 9.34 12.51 0 Y
k 12.51 17.68 12.51 17.68 0 Y
m 17.68 26.01 17.68 26.01 0 Y
q 26.01 30.18 26.01 30.18 0 Y
t 30.18 34.51 30.18 34.51 0 Y
v 34.51 40.84 34.51 40.84 0 Y

Table 3: The duration for only critical activities.

The activities with zero slack are called critical activities and lie to critical path. Therefore, to
find a critical path must follow this formula to find the activities with zero slack.

Slack = LS – ES or LF - EF

Slack is beneficial to the project manager since it enables resources to be temporarily diverted
from activities that might be delayed various reasons or for which the time estimate has proved
to be inaccurate.
The network diagram shows the procedure relationship between the activities. Activity A
(Excavation; pour footers) has a start event 1 as well as an ending event 2.
Activity B (begins at event 2 and ends at event 3). The activity B cannot start until activity A
has been completed. Activity C, D and E cannot begin until activity B has been completed but
they can be performed. Similarly, activities F, K, G, H can start only after completion of
activities C, D and E respectively. And activities I, J, M start after completion of activities F
and H Furthermore, Activities L, N, O, P, R are similar, activity Q, S start after end of activity
M, similar S, T, U and both R, W, and X finish at the end of the event.
The critical Path for any network is the longest path through the entire network; all activities
must be completed to complete the entire project, any delay in completing the critical activities
will increase the project duration.
Critical Path determines the earliest and the latest scheduled times for various activities. The
minimum time required completing the project is calculated. In a network, among various
paths, the longest path which determines the total time duration of the project is called the
critical path. The following conditions must be satisfied in locating.

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Critical path method, the time estimates is assumed to be known with certainty. In certain
projects is difficult to estimate the time of various activities. Then, Pert is used in such projects
with a probabilistic method using three-time estimates for an activity, rather than a single
estimate as shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: PERT Using Probabilistic Method with 3 Time Estimates.

Source : https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/quantitative-techniques-for-management-tutorial-
297/project-evaluation-review-technique-pert-9921.html

1.1.2. Probabilistic Activity Times

In the project network for building a house in the previous section, all activities time estimates
were single values. By using only a single activity time estimate, the time estimate for activities
is 45 days. Since only this one value is given, the activity time does not vary from 45 days. It
is rare that activity time estimates can be made with certainty. Project activities are likely to be
unique. There is little historical evidence that can be used as a basis to predict activity times.
The only difference between Pert and CPM is that Pert uses probabilistic activity time.

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1.1.3. Probabilistic Time Estimates

There are three-time estimates for each activity are determined as the most likely time (m), the
optimistic time (a), and the pessimistic time (b).

a (Optimistic time): The shortest time taken to complete the activity. It means that if everything
goes well then there is more chance of completing the activity within this time.
m (Mean time): It is the normal time taken to complete an activity if the activity were
frequently repeated under the same conditions.
b (Pessimistic time): It is the longest time that an activity would take to complete. The activity
would take this time estimate if unexpected problems are faced.
Calculate the expected time, variance and standard deviation for each activity using the
following formulas:
𝑎+4 𝑚+𝑏
Expected time: t = 6
𝑎−𝑏
Variance: V =( 6 )2

Total V = 13.95
Standard deviation: √V
The three-time estimates, the mean time and the variance for all the activities in the network
as shown in Appendix 1.

1.1.4. Probabilistic Network Analysis

The probability that the project will be completed within a certain period given the mean and
the variance, it is determined the probabilistic analysis of a CPM/Pert network. The Z value is
computed using the following formula:
𝑥−𝑢
Z=
𝜎
45−45.83 −0.83
=( √∑∝
)=
√5.805
= - 0.3486

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 Figure 4: Table of probability (Z).
Source : http://sixsigmastudyguide.com/z-scores-z-table-z-transformations/

P(Z) = 0.348 Then, P(Z) = 36.37 %

Variance of critical activities: 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.11 + 0.25 + 0.69 + 1 + 0.25 + 1 + 1 = 5.805.
α= √5.805 = 2.409.

Calculate probability using excel:

Variance(α₂)of critical activities Variance α Probability

5.805 2.40935676 -0.34864077
36.37%

Table 4: Calculate probability using excel.

Source: Self-resource.

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 Figure 5: the percentage area. Source: self-resource.

u = Project mean time.

x= the proposed project time.
Z= number of standard deviations x is from the mean.

There is a 36.7 % probability of completing the project in 45 days. So, it is the

shortest possible time to complete the activity if everything went right.

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Question 1.2
Indicate which project activities Moore Contractors should be particularly diligent to
keep on schedule by making sure workers and materials are always available. Also
indicate which activities the company might shift from as the need arises.

The company Moore Housing Contractors should move its resources from the activities that
have slack towards the critical activities. The activities D and E has slack can be moved to K
and M which are critical. It must determine what activities to keep on track as Rusell et al
(2001) states that slack is the amount by which an activity can be delayed without delaying any
of the activities that follow it or the project as a whole.
At Event E has to evaluate two predecessor activities ,Activities B-D and B-C and B-E, to
indicate which are predecessor activities. Activities A-B-D and A-B-C, the Earliest start would
be A-> B-D = 9.51 and A-> B-C = 11.15. However, Activity B->E = 9.34 has to be taking
Earliest starts. So, the Earliest start at event E is g after k and for activity M there is two
predecessor activities: J-> M = 22.33, k->M = 26.01. Then, J->M activity is more earliest than
K-M activity, Similar to activity There is Q-> S ->W = 41.01, Q-> T -> V ->W = 45.84 or Q-
> U->V->X = 42.67. So, activity Q-> T -> V is more longest and activity V defines two
predecessor activities as V-> W and V -> X = 42.67, Activity V -> X is more Earliest. Then, it
will take 45.84 days along activities A-> B -> E -> G -> K -> M -> Q -> T -> V->W. It is the
longest path in the network which called critical path.

The company must shift the activities A, B, D, E, G, K, M, Q, T, V, W which has slack = 0 to

focus on resources, labor and the essential activities that will need to be completed on schedule
in order to make the project a success.

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Question 1.3
Develop an action plan for ensuring compliance with Countryside Realtors.

Action plan determines the planning that guides day-to-day works. Action plan helps Moore
House Contractors to understand a framework where they are going and why they are going
there and it helps to do detailed and takes the user through a process that could be replicable in
a project. It indicates the resources (inputs), Human Resource and outputs which are the results
of the activities.

1.3.1. Human Resource plan

Action plan must include a human resourcing plan to carry out planned activities. For this plan,
it can include staff ‘needs or support required, capacity building needs in order to enable staff
to carry out activities.

1.3.2. Timing

There are two aspects of timing: when to do every task and how to plan the time needed to
carry out your activities.
The key is usually doing the right things at the right time in the right order.

1.3.3. Resources

The resource must action plan carry out are:

- People.
- Time.
- Space.
- Equipment.
It involves a financial plan by identifying a budget. Project measures to help planning future
activities better. The questions must department/teams and prepare work for an action plan
process.
Project Manager becomes a source of information and direction by developing the initial plan,
staffing the project and building relationships each other and customers and creates a good

12
environment that encourages team members to engage in the project and encourages innovative
approaches to develop the plans which include: project scope, projects costs, project quality.
1- Project scope: determine a behaviour of the project, and the scope of work (SOW) is a
written document that defines what work will be accomplished by the end of the project
deliverables of the project. The quality of scope measures the ability of project manager
and project stakeholders to develop and understand of what products and services the
project delivers.
2- Project costs: defines developing and controlling a project budget that will accomplish the
project objectives. The among of information needed to develop a detailed budget is often
missing. The project team develops a detailed level of project budget estimates.
3- Project Quality: The quality of the project based of the execution of the products and
services deliverables. The impact is analysing the process a cost or schedule changes.
Pinto et al. (1988) Developed a list of ten factors that should be associated in implementation
projects into strategic and tactical clusters as:
- Project mission: defined and agreed-upon objectives in the project plan.
- Top management support: Managers get behind the project at the outset and make clear to
all personnel involved that they support successful completion.
- Project’s action plan: scheduled plan of the required steps in the implementation process
needs to be developed, including all resource requirements (money, materials, staff).

1.3.4. Action Plan Moore Housing Contractors Model

Basic Model for building up Action Plan:

Company Moore Housing Contractors
Project: Building six Houses
Number Tasks Description Days Start Date Finish Date Respons Priority
-ible
Teamworker
1 A Excavation, pour 4.15 15/04/2017 20/04/2017 High
footers
2 B Lay foundation 3.15 20/04/2017 24/04/2017 Youth High
Group
Teamworker
3 C Frame and roof 3.83 24/04/2017 28/04/2017 Medium

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 Teamworker
4 D Lay drain tiles 2.17 28/04/2017 01/05/2017 Low

Teamworker
5 E Sewer [floor] 2 01/05/2017 03/05/2017 High
drains
6 F Install insulation 3.83 03/05/2017 07/05/2017 Homeowner Medium

7 G Pour basement 3.17 07/05/2017 11/05/2017 Homeowner High

floor
8 H Rough plumbing, 4.17 11/05/2017 16/05/2017 Youth Low
pipes Group

9 I Install windows 2.83 16/05/2017 19/05/2017 Youth Medium

Group
Teamworker
10 J Rough electrical 2.17 19/05/2017 22/05/2017 Low
wiring
11 K Install furnace; air 5.17 22/05/2017 28/05/2017 Youth High
conditioner Group

12 L Exterior 6.50 28/05/2017 03/06/2017 Homeowner Low

brickwork
Teamworker
13 M Install 8.33 03/06/2017 12/06/2017 High
plasterboard, mud,
plaster
Teamworker
14 N Roof shingles, 3.33 12/06/2017 16/06/2017 Medium
flashing
Teamworker
15 O Attach gutter, 2.33 16/06/2017 19/06/2017 Medium
downspouts
16 P Grading 3.50 19/06/2017 23/06/2017 Homeowner Low

Teamworker
17 Q Lay subflooring 4.17 23/06/2017 28/06/2017 High

Teamworker
18 R Lay driveway, 6.33 28/06/2017 05/07/2017 Low
walks, landscape
Teamworker
19 S Finish carpentry 5.83 05/07/2017 11/07/2017 Low

20 T Kitchen cabinetry, 4.33 11/07/2017 16/07/2017 Homeowner High

sink, appliances
Teamworker
21 U Bathroom 3.33 16/07/2017 20/07/2017 Medium
cabinetry, fixtures

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22 V Painting [interior 6.33 20/07/2017 27/07/2017 Youth High
&exterior] Group
Teamworker
23 W Finish wood 5 27/07/2017 01/08/2017 High
&
floors, lay carpet Homeowner

24 X Final electrical, 2.83 01/08/2017 04/08/2017 Youth Medium

light fixtures Group

Figure 6: Action plan of the company Moore Housing Contractors.

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QUESTION 2

“Creating successful project teams is a daunting task for any project leader, especially
when they are pressed to deliver results within aggressive timescales and tight budgetary
constraints. Building successful project teams is about slotting the right individuals into
designated team roles and fostering team spirit.”

Select three journal articles from Google Scholar on Project Management relevant to the
statement to critically discuss this statement.

2.1. Introduction

Robbins (2003:33-39) declared that teams made up of flexible individuals have members who
can complete each other tasks. This is an obvious plus to a team because it improves its
adaptability greatly and makes it less reliant on any single member. So, selecting members who
themselves value flexibility, then cross-training them to be able to do each other job, should
lead to higher team performance over time. However, every project is unique with its
conditions, motivation and selection team, especially, giving the art and science of project team
building including the contributions made by team members, leadership, communication and
internal power relationships.

Kim Heldman (2001:333) defines project team as a process of creating an open

communication, encouraging the environment for your team and developing it into an effective,
functioning, coordinated group.

2.2. Building a high-performance Team

Lewis (1998) contends that team building is the creation of a winning and collaborative spirit
among team members so that they can work in harmony to achieve project goals, they can
control time, cost, quality in a project and project managers must bring the team together, get
its members all headed in the right direction and provide motivation, reward, recognition to
keep the team in top shape using techniques and working in the most efficient and effective
manner possible. The team building should begin with honest and clear communication by
informing employees about how the company makes and losses money.

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Dr. Bruce Tuckman defines five stages of building a team within `` Forming-storming-
norming-performing and adjourning`` model (FSNP model )as follows:
- Forming: describes the members when are working together for the objectives, they must
be formal and take on an ``all business`` approach.
- Storming: is where the action begins, the team become confrontational with each other to
control and position who can be jockey for status or the top dog.
- Norming: after the team knows their position, they will start resolve project problems
instead of people problems by making good decisions.
- Performing: the team must be effective and productive to being in this stage and the level
of trust between members must be high.
- Adjourning: this phase refers to the breakup of the team after the work is completed.

2.3. Practices for creating a high-performance team as per Article reviewed

Kur (1996) provides building successful project teams by satisfying the customers, employees,
investors. He defined factors as quality management and learning organization, creating the
organization culture, identify the group size, group composition, team training and the purpose
of the team, providing a supportive environment. The members can measure their high
performance by system factors and human factors (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Factors successful implementation of high-performance team.

Source:( Harold Kerzner,2013:246).

They define their mission, vision and goals. They create a team culture based on shared vision,
creativity, participation, learning ability, trust and improving their skills by dealing with
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conflicts, the dynamics of teamwork, conduct meeting, effective decision-making,
communication skills, problem solving methods, improvement techniques, quality of control
tools, creativity approach, system thinking and technical skills.
Sharp et al (2000) propose that a high-performance team is who can deliver results within
aggressive timescales and tight budgetary constraints by slotting the right individuals into
designated team roles and fostering team spirit using six key phases as follows:
- Team member competencies.
- Skills, processes, tools and techniques.
- Interpersonal skills which based on soft skills, it includes things as leadership, influence,
negotiation, communication, empathy and creativity.
- Training based on assessing a team member ‘skills and abilities, assessing the project needs
and providing the training using new technology which includes the details of this in the
staffing management plan.
- Shared vision, purpose, goals, direction and organizational values including openness.
However, Meredith Belbin (1981) identified nine different factors of behaviour effective team
roles as:
- Plant: can be highly creative and good solving problems, free-thinking, generates ideas in
unconventional ways. They are not thinking a lot but doing very little and deviating from
protocol.
- Resource investigator: the person uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to
the team and being outgoing, enthusiastic, explores opportunities and develops contracts but
they might forget to follow on a lead. They need innovation, relation management and
diversity.
- Teamworker: helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and
complete it on behalf of the team but they might be hesitant to make unpopular decisions.
- Co-ordinator: needed to focus on the team`s objectives draw out team members and delegate
work appropriately but they might over-delegate, leaving themselves little work to do. They
believe that team work towards the right direction.
- Monitor Evaluator: provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and
weighs up the team`s options in a dispassionate way but they could be slow to come to
decisions.
- Specialist: brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team but they overload you with
information.

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- Shaper: provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose
focus or momentum but they could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humored in their
attempts to get things done.
- Implementer: needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible but
they might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes.
- Completer finisher: most effectively used at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinize the work
for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control but they could be accused of
taking their perfectionism to extremes.

2.4. Design a framework of practices for building a high-performance team

A team is an energetic group of people who are committed to achieving common objectives,
who work well together and enjoy doing and who produce high-quality results.
The purpose of framework of building an effective team can be determined by factors as
follows:
- Work environment: represents a comfortable place where a sense of unity and strong spirit.
It involves the acceptance and tolerance of differences and working styles.
- Team culture: based on empowerment, shared visions, creativity, participation, learning
ability, trust and respect, protect and support, engage in open dialogue and communication.
- Flexibility: response to change in the external environment, improve quality, reduce cost
and use their intellectual capital.
- Leadership ability: the managers lead the technical design and development of the product,
they traits theory that leaders are born not made which include visionary, empowerment,
charismatic, passionate and trust.
- Communication skills: team members need to know how to communicate, how they meet
and participate to make decisions. They involve a feedback of setting goals.
- Delegation: team members delegate for different training needs, define the task, control
time.
- Motivation: is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and
persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robbins, 2009). There are different theories
as shown below:

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 Figure 8: Motivation theories. Source:( Self-resource).

2.5. Evaluate two teams and their practices.

Team members of high-performance team spirit who have a sense of self-direction. They start
to become self-managing because of the sense of shared responsibility and self-critical in the
most creative sense.
Blanchard, Zigarmi and Zigarmi (1985: 89-90) define clear goals which must be designed to
be `` SMART``:
- Specific: a specific goal is distinct and defines as much of the goal as possible and contains
no ambiguous language.
- Measurable: a measurement gives feedback and let's team know when a goal is complete.
- Assignable: goals must be assignable to individuals or groups.
- Realistic: realistic goals are challenging yet attainable within the given timeframe.
- Time-Based: must be aggressive yet realistic.

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2.5.1. Team 1 (Adecco Company Group)

The team spirit explains the context for spirituality in projects and create a sense of purpose
and achievement to encourage and act as a touchstone for ethical and sustainable decision-
making.
All team members identified roles and expertise are needed for the group in order to achieve
team's plans. They determine the membership of the group including areas of knowledge and
skills to ensure robust ideas and discussion. A critical consideration is the availability of
members to attend a meeting and perform required tasks between meetings. They determine
the time for eventual communication and discussion with all team members. Their leader
focuses on the systems and practices in the team, not on personalities of its members. He makes
sure that team members can: understand the purpose, active toward meeting, utilize procedure
for making decisions and resolve problems, not necessary to be a strong, charismatic
personality.
Furthermore, Team members work on spirit model. They cannot share authority or
responsibility. The team spirit is representing in people than everything seems to be going well.

2.5.2. Team 2 (Zapier` company)

The collaboration of the virtual team increases the ability to organize their knowledge and
redesign jobs to make them meaningful and challenging. They communicate using new
technology as video conference, e-mails and electronic networks to support each other
virtually.
This group of individuals working on a project who use new technology to meet from various
work base locations. They share a common goal but they work from different locations
(different continents or areas). They will accomplish projects for a specific amount of scope,
time and cost. They define the roles and discuss the aspects of their projects from the beginning
to the end processes and identify the project risks and they write the report on the
accomplishment of their projects. However, all members are moving in the same direction by
sharing the vision, create strategies to understand clearly their goals and tasks of each member.

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2.6. Recommendation and conclusion

The critical success factor for a team is the way which the team members relate to each other
and the leader. The principles of trust, integrity and commitment are established with the team,
and the leader communicates the same effect to all members. The bottom-line is that the
symbiotic relationships between the members where each share knowledge and experiences is
the most critical aspect that determines the success of the team.

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Question 3
Project risk Analysis and Management (PRAM) is an integrated program, based on
efforts to extend risk management to cover a project`s entire life cycle.
Critically discuss the key features and phases of PRAM.

3.1. Introduction

All organizations create new strategies to introduce and implement to successfully deliver the
projects within schedule and budget but risk exists on all projects and it can present future
opportunities or future threats. All risks represent causes and consequences which are the
impact of one or more project objectives, risks come from internal or external to the project as
prince 2 defines project risk management as uncertain event or set of events that should it occur,
will have an effect on the achievement of objectives but PRAM is a process which analyse and
manage the risks associated with a project to increase the likelihood of successful completion
of a project to cost, time and performance objectives.

3.2. Project Risk Analysis and Management process and its key features

PRAM is an objective project risk management that breaks the risk management process into
meticulous procedures or processes to be used in different phases of the project life cycle. It
can start at any stage in the life-cycle of a project and can be continued until the costs of using
it are greater than the potential benefits to be gained. It is can be applied with a project
management structure that deals with the process and is responsible for the process as well as
integrating its documentation and techniques on each individual process step. Cooper et al.
(2005) appointed that the core material is well structured and easy to be followed.
The figure below represents the PRAM guide risk management process of deciding how to
approach plan and execute risk management activities for a project.

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 Figure 9: The PRAM guide risk management process.
Source: Cooper et al (2005:396)

PRAM process defines two stages: Risk Analysis and Risk Management.

3.2.1. Risk Analysis

The first stages Risk Analysis is split into two sub-stages, qualitative analysis it focus on
identification and subjective assessment of risks and a quantitative analysis `sub-stage` that
focuses on an objective assessment of the risks.

3.2.1.1. Qualitative Analysis

A qualitative analysis identified a risks by interview between team members, organising a

brainstorming meetings or using a personal experience of the risk analyst to determine which
ones needed the most attention by qualitative risk analysis as high, medium, low and a
probability impact matrix can help decide which risks are most important. There are two
dimensions probabilities and impacts.

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 Figure 10: Risk management strategy chart.
Source : (https://www.prince2primer.com/master-prince2-risk/).

Chart lists define onside (axis) of the probability of a risk event and another side (axis) of the
impact of the risk event occurring. Then, the project manager summarizes the results in
probability/impact matrix.
Working with stakeholders to identify a positive and negative risks event related to the project
using brainstorming session in which over look risk events after asking a participant to identify
negative risk events and then positive ones. They note it on a sticky note and marking each one
as a high, medium or low probability of occurrence and impact. There is the whiteboard large
probability/impact matrix (One negative risk event and another positive risk event which
everyone can post their sticky notes in the appropriate sections of the appropriate matrix) then
they examined the results to combine and reward risk events to improve collaboration.

Figure 11: The project risk management probability/impact grid matrix.

Source : https://www.prince2primer.com/master-prince2-risk/

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The team discussed in detail how they planned to respond to risks, especially those in the
medium and high categories and documented the results in the risk register.
For example, risks 1 and 2 are listed as high in both categories of probability and impact. Risk
9 and 10 are high in the probability category but low in the impact category. Risk 5 is high in
the probability category and a medium in the impact.

Figure 12: The categories of probability and Impact.

Source: (Kim Heldman,2009:252)

3.2.1.2. Quantitative Analysis

A quantitative analysis involves more sophisticated techniques which some people is most
formal aspect of the whole process requiring:
- Measurement of uncertainty in cost and time estimates.
- Probabilistic combination of individual uncertainties.
- The procedures for make decision that need to be modified if risk analysis is adopted as
identifying the estimation of the cost and time and associated probabilities as figure shown
below.

26
 Figure 13: The connections between Cost, Time and Technical Performance.

Source : (http://herdingcats.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/11/domain-dependent-concepts.html.

-The cost is according to the scope of the work and the commitment to the process. It defines
the percentage of the total project cost, is relatively small. It can be argued that the cost incurred
is an investment if risks are identified during the process that may otherwise have remained
unidentified until it was too late to react.

-The time is dependent upon the availability of information. The cost and time risk analysis
requires anywhere from one to three months depending upon the scale and complexity of the
project and the extent of planning and cost preparation already carried out.

-Resource: if expertise does not exist within an organization with experience of using project
risks analysis and management has been introduced to an organization, in-house expertise will
develop rapidly.

Quantitative risk analysis used two techniques sensitivity analysis is considered to be the
simplest form of risk analysis. It determines the effect on the whole project of changing one of
its risk variables. The technique can be used to address the impact of risk on the economic
return of a project. The second techniques is probabilistic analysis specifies a probability
distribution for each risk and then considers the effect of risks in combination. It is the method
of performing a quantitative risk analysis and is the one most people consider to be synonymous
with the whole risk analysis and mannagement process. It represents a probabilistic time

27
analysis with the aid of a CPM network. It can be used for probabilistic cost analysis when the
cost estimate can be broken down into the same categories or activities.
The third techniques is influence diagrams. It represents a relatively new technique for risk
analysis. They provide a powerful means of constructing models of the issues in a project which
are subject to risk. However, the final technique is decision trees are graphical method of
structuring models. They bring together the information needed to make project decisions and
show the present possible action.

3.2.2. Risk Management

Risk Management uses the information collected during the risk analysis phase to make
decisions on how to improve the probability of the project achieving its cost, time and
performance objectives. It is a stage of PRAM process which involves the formulation of
management responses to the main risks. It starts during the qualitative analysis phase as the
need to respond to risks. Risk management can involve identifying measure to avoid a risk or
to reduce its effect, establishing plans to deal with risks if they should occur, initiating further
investigations to reduce through better information, considering risk transfer to issues,
considering risk allocation in contracts.
However, the manager uses the information to choose between the feasible responses to each
risk identified during the qualitative phase. It involves the project plans to reduce the risk. This
method represents two types of response to a risk which can be defined as follows:
- Immediate response: an alteration to the project plan such that the identified risk is
mitigated or eliminated and he may choose to amend his overall time and cost plan in order
to increase the probability of achieving his time and cost objective.
- Contingency response: a provision in the project plan for a course of action that will only
be implemented should the adverse consequences of the identified risk materialize.
Furthermore, the response to the risk can be on five things: remove risks, reduce risks,
avoid risks based on elimination of a specific risk which can transform on threat using
surveys, transfer risks shifting the consequences of a risk and responsibility. The company
can transfer its risks to another company or accept a risk which the team can accept the risk
and use the new survey without suffering the consequences.

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3.3. The benefits of PRAM

The five points in a project where benefits can be achieved by using it.
- Feasibility study: this stage defines the project which is more flexible enabling changes to
be made which can reduce the risks and low costs. It can help in deciding between various
implementation options for the project.
- Sanction: the customers make a view of the risk. So, they can associate with the project and
can check that all possible steps to reduce or manage the risks have been taken. It can be
able to achieve the project objectives (cost, time and performance).
- Tending: the contractor can make use of it to ensure that all risks have been identified and
to check his risk exposure.
- Post Tender: is for ensuring all risks have been identified by the contractor and to assess
the likelihood of tended programmes being achieved.

3.4 Conclusion

Risks pose both opportunities and threats to the project. The team analyze and create the plan
and strategies to understand the risks facing the project and determine the response plans for
the risks.
The plan risk management process determines the input, planning risk management and output
which define the details to monitor, control risks throughout the project. Perform qualitative
risk analysis and perform quantitative risk analysis evaluate the risks and assigning probability
and impact values to the risks. The report represents the plan risk responses process and assigns
individuals to manage each risk response to the risk strategies for a negative include avoidance,
mitigation and transference risk strategies for positive risks include exploit, share and enhance.

29
Appendix 1

Activity Description Predecessors a m b

a Excavation; pour footers --- 3 4 6
b Lay foundation a 2 3 5
c Frame and roof b 2 4 5
d Lay drain tiles b 1 2 4
e Sewer [floor] drains b 1 2 3
f Install insulation c 2 4 5
g Pour basement floor e 2 3 5
h Rough plumbing, pipes e 2 4 7
i Install windows f 1 3 4
j Rough electrical wiring f 1 2 4
k Install furnace; air conditioner c, g 3 5 8
l Exterior brickwork i 5 6 10
m Install plasterboard, mud, plaster j, h, k 6 8 12
n Roof shingles, flashing l 2 3 6
o Attach gutter, downspouts n 1 2 5
p Grading d, o 2 3 7
q Lay subflooring m 3 4 6
r Lay driveway, walks, landscape p 4 6 10
s Finish carpentry q 3 5 12
t Kitchen cabinetry, sink, appliances q 2 4 8
u Bathroom cabinetry, fixtures q 2 3 6
v Painting [interior &exterior] t, u 4 6 10
w Finish wood floors, lay carpet v, s 2 5 8
x Final electrical, light fixtures v 1 3 4

30
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