ME511 Project Study

CHAPTER 4
PLANNING PHASE
(Part 1)
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To continue on the sample project story:

The department move project team struggled through several meetings before they
eventually identified the Engineering Department Head as the project leader and clearly
outlined their objectives, deliverables, accomplishments, and resources requirements
While that first task was was difficult, the one that they now face is a maze of
entanglements. Someone has to establish a list of tasks to enable the identified resources
to reach the appropriate peole within the allotted time and in proper sequence. All this has
to be done with minimal difficulties and in an over-all time frame that satisfies the school
officials. They wonder if they will be able to do what is expected.

They felt confident that they understood the deliverables and accomplishments of the
projects but wondered, for example, about who was actually going to do the office layouts.
Who would assist the person responsible. How much time would the group/team need?
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How do we, the project team, convince the people in the project that the jobs we are
asking then to do are worthy of their attention?

How much time, for instance, would it take to obtain the office equipment? What sequence
should that tasks be in? Should the office equipment be in hand before the office area is
prepared? Can the office equipment be ordered at the same tiem the office layouts are
being completed? How can we ensure that the over-all project will be completed in the
time frame allocated by the school officials with a minimal number of difficulties
throughout its implementation?
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To proceed with the lecture:

The concerns expressed by the poject team relocating a department are similar to
concerns raised by many other teams about to embark on a project's planning phase. This
phase anwers fundamental questions such as:
• Who will be responsible for the various elements identified in the work breakdown
structure
• How should the project's tasks be organized to ensure that the resources reach the
right people and the proper location at the right time and in correct sequence?
• What can we do to obtain needed resources commitments and ensure our plan's
success?
• What opportunities can we see or how can we gain other benefits for the organization?
• How can we anticipate problems and plan for them to ensure proejct success
Questions such as these are the basis for the planning phase.
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The basic purpose of the planning phase is to organize the project's tasks and resources;
establish realistic time frames and deadlines; and identify actions necessary to ensure
success.

The planning phase musters the organization's resources and assures their efficient use
over the life of the project. This is the project team's means of deploying equipment,
supplies, and people for the time needed and in the right sequence. The project plan also
allows for key checkpoints where decisions must be made and ensures that problems and
opportunities will surface and be resolved.

To help project leaders/managers and team members complete the planning phase, the
following steps have been developed:
• Assign responsibility
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• Sequence deliverables
• Schedule deliverables
• Schedule resources
• Protect the plan

• Assign Responsibility

It is neccesary to identify who will be responsible for completing each element of the
work breakdown structure and allow the project team to compare all available resources
to the work breadown structure. If an appropriate resource is not currently available
inside or outside the organization, the project team is alerted to the need for these
additional resources.
It is possible to identify primary and secondary responsibility for each task, but only one
person can have primary responsibility for a work breakdown structure element. This
reduces misunderstanding among team members and other workers who have important
contributions to make, and it assists the project manager in over-all management.
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The most practical way to assign responsibilities is to construct a responsibility

assignment matrix (RAM) that matches people with tasks. As shown in example 2-1, the
vertical axis list the work breakdown structure elements. The horizontal axis lists the
departments or individuals who are the most likely resources to complete the project.
Initial resource commitments are obtained after the responsibility assignment matrix is
devised and reviewed by key leaders/managers. Each matrix cell contains a brief
description of the work to be done and the resources needed. Example 2-2 shows a
sample of a completed responsiblity assignment matrix for part of the department move
project.
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Example 2-1
Department/Individuals
Work The
Breakdown The work to be done is briefly
Structure described in the matrix cell
Elements
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Example 2-2
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
Project Statement: Move the EVSU Ormoc Engineering Services Department within one month
(at a cost not to exceed Php 115,000.00).
Resource Leader/Department Responsibilities
Work Breakdown Project Industrial School Dept Purchasing Facilities Ace
Structure Leader Engineer Head Heads Dept Head Movers
1. Office layouts drawn
1.1 Relationship charts
Prepared
1.1.1 Interviews Provide Conduct* Provide Provide
conducted input interviews Input Input
1.1.2 Charts prepared Approve Prepare*
charts charts
1.2 Department block Review Develop* Approve Review
layouts drawn layouts layouts layouts

* Designates primary responsibility for task accomplishment, others are secondary responsibilities
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The first pass at the responsibility assignment matrix describes the work to be done and
outlines the potential individuals or departments to provide the resources required. Now
the project leader/manager is faced with the task of gaining commitment from actual
people - a form of project study/management discussion. The project leader/manager first
approaches those designated with primary responsibility. Those who will provide
secondary support are approached later.
Gaining commitment from people with primary and secondary responsibility is not always
easy. A number of key criteria have proven useful in the discussions project
leaders/managers have with the designated resource providers. The task must be
appropriate for that department or individual. The resources must be available or
additional decisions must be made to make them available. The cost of these services
must be identified, perhaps modified, and the parties must agree on how these costs will
be absorbed. Finally, the project manager must gain the commitment of individuals and
department heads or leaders to provide these services. While these criteria are clear and
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rational, the project leader/manager may have to be a skilled negotiator who remains
sensitive to the true needs of the project and the leaders/managers of the resources
involved. This is why the dicussion between the project leader/manager and the resource
provider(s) is called the initial work negotiation.
The project leader/manager is a key decision maker in the process of assigning
responsibility. Three major criteria are useful to project leaders/managers in this role:
• Who has the resources (people/facilities/equipment/other)?
• Who has the infomation that is critical for success?
• Whose commitment is critical to the project's successful implementation or for its sponsorship?

• Sequence deliverables

The work breakdown structure shows what must be done. The responsibility assignment
matrix says who. Sequenching and scheduling deliverables tells when. It is here that the
elaborate sequencing and scheduling techniques like Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM) can be applied to improve over-all
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project study/management, but there are many techniques for organizing the project plan.
These can be as simple as a listing of the work breakdown structure elements, together
with the individual responsible, and the time in which the task must be completed. Or,
project plans can be highly complex, relying on PERT, for example.
The choice of a suitable planning approach depends on the project's complexity, the
planning skills of the project leader/manager, and the availability of computer software or
other technical support. All of the planning techniques available share three
characteristics:
• They are based on dependencies or precedent relationships.
• They include esmates of task completion time and resource requirements
• They provide a basis for project monitoring and modification as required during
project implementation
Project study/management discussions should be used to evaluate the plan. Team
members need to verify that task sequence and duration are accurate and realistic. If
additional or more expensive resources are necessary to meet the project deadline, the
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project sponsors should be notified.

Each of the sequenching techniques, from simple to complex, follows a five-step
sequence:
1. List the project tasks or steps which can be obtained directly from the work breakdown
structure terminal elements.
2. Enter an estimate of the time needed to complete each task. The task duration is
calendar time not person-hour or person-day time. (For example, the time needed to
order and receive the office equipment in the department move project is one person-
day each. However, the calendar time for the supplier to process the order and ship the
equipment is two weeks.). Finally, when estimating time, ensure that all time estimates
are recorded in a common time unit, e.g., days, hours, weeks or months.
3. Place each of the tasks in order of precedence. This precedent listing is derived from
the knowledge and experience of the project team. (A clear understanding of the result
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of each task will help identify precedent relationships.) The project task list in Example
2-3 shows one alternative fro linking time estimates and precedence relationships to
the project tasks and work breakdown structure elements. These statements of
completion time and precedence relationships must fit into the over-all project time
allowed.
Example 2-3 is found in the next page
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Example: 2 - 3. Project Task List. Project Statement: Move the EVSU Ormoc Engineering Services Department within
one month (at a cost not to exceed Php 115,000.00).
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4. Identify the over-all project completion date and project start date (if they have not
been determined). In most instances, the target project completion date is known in
the definition phase and stated in the project statement. Both the completion date and
start date should be determined at this point in the planning phase.
5. List the project tasks and their start and completion dates in the order that they need to
be completed to meet the project completion date. More complex or larger projects
commonly use network diagrams to sequence tasks.

• Network Diagrams or Precedence Networks

Network diagrams, which are sometimes called precedence networks, are commonly
tools for sequencing deliverables. Network diagrams use combinations of arrows ( ) and
nodes ( ) to graphically show the project plan and the precedence relationships in the
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plan. Two basic types of network diagrams are commonly used:

Activity-on-Node, which shows the project task on the node of the project plan.
Activity-on-Arrow, which shows the project task on the arrow between two nodes. The
nodes are also called events, which indicate the start and end of the project task.

• Developing Network Diagrams

Networks are developed on the basis of three concepts: activities, events and precedence
relationships. Activities are the work breakdown structure terminal elements or tasks to
be performed in the project. Activities consume time and resources. An event marks the
beginning or the end of an activity. Events do not consume time or resources. When the
project manager arranges the activities and events into a proper sequence using the
precedence relationships, he or she is ready to develop a network diagram. This four-step
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sequence should be used to develop a network diagram.

1. Determine if the activity-on-node or activity-on-arrow format will be used. Either format

can be used effectively; the choice is often matter of personal or organizational
preference. Computer software may also dictate the choice. In the activity-on-node
format, each work breakdown structure terminal element is listed within a node of the
diagram. The arrows joining the nodes indicate the relationship in terms of each
element's precedents.
When using the activity-on-arrow format, the node or circle indicates an event - the
finish of one activity and the start of the next activity. The work breakdown structure
terminal element - the activity - is shown on the arrow. Thus, the arrows show the
project activities and their sequence. In both cases, once the work breakdown
structure element has been recorded, the calendar time for that element is recorded as
well.
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2. On the left side of the page a start node is developed and on the right side a finish node
is developed.
3. Using the precedent relationships that have been developed earlier, a network of the
project tasks is drawn beginning with the start node and ending with the finish node.
When developing a netwok diagram by hand, a number of iterations will be necessary
before the project network is completed, especially in more complex projects.
4. Review the network to make sure that every node, with the exception of the start and
finish nodes, has at least one entering and one exiting arrow. This ensures that all
precedence relationships in the project are accounted for. Aside from those
relationships that must precede others in the project, some activities may take place
simultaneously with other activities or need only to be completed by the project's end.
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A special condition sometimes occurs in activity-on-arrow networks when two or more

activities have several, but not all, of their immediate predecessors in common. A dummy
activity or dummy task, which takes no time to complete, is added to allow the correct
precedence relationships to be shown.
The following project will help illustrate the use of dummy tasks. The leader/manager of a
small, regional business office wants to install a computerized client database system.
The leader/manager has the budget for the computer system and has developed the
project statement, project objectives, work breakdown structure, resource requirements
and responsibility assignment matrix. The leader/manager is starting to develop the
precedence relationships for the project plan.
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For example, task 1.0 (System designed) precedes tasks 2.0 (System purchased) and 3.0
(Personnel trained); task 2.0 precedes 4.0 (System installed); and both 3.0 and 4.0 precede
5.0 (System pilot tested). Please review the precedence chart and network diagram.
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• Critical Path

The critical path is that path through the project network that determines the shortest
time within which the project can be completed. It is the sequence of tasks that
determine the minimum duration of the project. This means that if any task on the critical
path changes duration then the project will change the same way. In complex projects
there are many work breakdown structure elements that can be completed at the same
time, thereby conserving time. If the project leader/manager were merely to add up the
calendar time of all of the work breakdown structure elements, it would likely produce an
over-all time frame four or five times the actual calendar time allocated for the project.
Since many activities cann be performed simultaneously, elapsed time can be far shorter
than a mere totalling of project task durations. This aspect of planning permits a
considerable boots to profits and customer relations through efficient use of resources.
The minimum elapsed time required to complete the project - the total amount of time to
complete all of the project activities - is determined by the project's critical path.
To be continued on part 2