Standard Exam Term 2, 2013

COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 1 of 18

Instructions Sheet

1. Write all answers in the spaces provided in this examination paper.

2. Answer all seven questions.

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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 2 of 18

TOTAL 50 MARKS

Question 1 (5 Marks)

(a) A project life-cycle typically passes through defining, planning, executing and closing
stages. Describe the main activities performed in the closing stage. 3 marks

(b) Describe at least four ways in which having a project office (PO) can help to support
effective project management. 2 marks
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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 3 of 18

Question 2 (6 Marks)

(a) Project managers often have to manage the trade-offs between time, cost and
performance. One technique/tool that is useful for this purpose is a priority matrix.
Explain what is meant by the following priority matrix and what options the project
manager should consider if he/she finds that the project with this priority matrix is
slipping behind schedule. 3 marks

Time Performance / Cost

Scope
Constrain

Enhance

Accept

Question 2 continued over page

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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 4 of 18

Question 2 (continued)

(b) What do you believe is more important for successfully completing a project – the
formal project management structure or the culture of the parent organisation? You
must explain your reasons and justify your answer using examples where appropriate.
3 marks
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Question 3 (6 Marks)

(a) Although it is desirable to have a highly cohesive team working on a project, project
managers need to be aware that there are potential pitfalls. Describe two of the potential
pitfalls. 2 marks

(b) What are the likely outcomes if a “change control process” is not used in a project?
Give reasons for your answer. 1 mark

Question 3 continued over page

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Question 3 (continued)

(c) Describe a typical “change control process” to manage change in a project. 3 marks

Question 4 (6 Marks)

(a) After a risk has been identified and assessed, a decision must be made about the most
appropriate response. For example, it may be possible to share the risk. Give a brief
description of another four possible categories of response. Include examples. 4 marks

Question 4 continued over page

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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 7 of 18

Question 4 (continued)

(b) What information should be in the communication plan for a project? 2 marks
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Question 5 (7 Marks)

This question relates to the project described in the network diagram and resource
requirements table below.
Network Diagram

1 8

B
E
2 4
5 2

C
3 2

D
KEY:
4 2

Activity

Activity number Duration estimate

(in days)

Resource Requirements

Task Resources (workers) required

for the duration of the task
A 6
B 3
C 3
D 3
E 9
Question 5 continued over page
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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 9 of 18

Question 5 (continued)
Assume that the number of workers required for a task does not change for the duration of the
task.

(a) Complete the table below to show the current resource requirements for the
duration of the project. 2 marks
DAYS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Task A
Task B
Task C
Task D
Task E
Total
number
of
workers

(b) What is the total number of “worker days” or “person days” of effort required for this
project? 1 mark

(c) What are the advantages of performing resource leveling (within available slack)?
2 marks

Question 5 continued over page

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Question 5 (continued)

(d) Perform resource leveling (within available slack) for the project and show the result in
the next table. 2 marks

DAYS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Task A
Task B
Task C
Task D
Task E
Total
number
of
workers
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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 11 of 18

Question 6 (10 Marks)

These questions are based on the following network diagram for a project:

B E

2 4 5 7 H

8 4
A C J
F
1 3 3 3 10 4
6 5
I
D G 9 7
4 5 7 3

KEY: Activity

Activity number Duration estimate (in weeks)

Question 6 continued over page

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COIS20008 ICT Project Planning and Management Page 12 of 18

Question 6 (continued)

(a) Given that the customer would like the project completed in 20 weeks, complete the
table below listing the following values for each activity: earliest start time (ES),
earliest finish time (EF), latest start time (LS), latest finish time (LF) and total slack
(TS). 3 marks

Activity ES EF LS LF TS
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J

(b) Given the estimated durations in the network diagram, what is the shortest time in
which the project can be completed? 1 mark

Question 6 continued over page

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Question 6 (continued)

(c) Only the activities in the following table can be shortened (crashed). They can only be
crashed by 1 week. The costs to crash each activity/task are shown in the table.

Task/Activity Cost to shorten task by 1

week

D $1200

E $2300

F $1300

I $1600

You are required to shorten the project in the network diagram by 1 week for the
smallest possible cost.

What activity or activities would you shorten/crash to achieve this and why? 2 Marks

Question 6 continued over page

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Question 6 (continued)

(d) How many critical paths does this project have? 1 mark

(e) Would you say that this network diagram is very sensitive, moderately sensitive or not
very sensitive and why? 1 mark

(f) It is possible to shorten the critical path of a project (i.e. crash the project) and save
money. Explain how/when this can occur. 1 mark

(g) Why is scheduling overtime a popular choice for getting projects back on schedule?
1 mark
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Question 7 (10 Marks)

The formulae required to answer this question are provided in the table below.

Value Description Formula

EV Earned Value EV =% completed *original budget
CV Cost variance CV = EV-AC
SV Schedule Variance SV = EV-PV
CPI Cost performance index CPI =EV/AC
SPI Schedule performance index SPI =EV/PV
EACi Forecasted estimate of EACi = AC + [(BAC-EV)/CPI]
completion (if we continue at the
same efficiency on the project) BAC is the total planned value of the
project

This question relates to the following network diagram and baseline budget table.

A C
E
1 2 3 5
5 2
B D

2 3 4 7

KEY: Activity

Activity number Duration estimate (in months)

Question 7 continued over page

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Question 7 (continued)

Total Month
Activity Budgeted
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
cost
A 20 20

B 25 25 25

C 40 40 40 40 40

D 10 50 60 30 30 10 10

E 20 20

Total

Cumulative

Table 1: Budget Table (values are in thousands of dollars)

Note: When answering the questions requiring a dollar value, show the exact amount (e.g.
$100,000).

(a) According to Table 1, what should be the cumulative budgeted cost at the end of
month 8? Show your working by completing the totals and cumulative totals in Table
1 above. 1 mark

Question 7 continued over page

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Question 7 (continued)

(b) Complete the following table to provide a status report for the project at the end of
month 8: 4 marks

End of Month 8

Activity Actual % EV AC PV CV SV
complete (Earned (Actual Cost) (Planned (Cost (Schedule
Value) Value) Variance) Variance)

A 100% 40

B 100% 80

C 90% 200

D 75% 150

E 0% 0

Cumulative totals

Table 2: Status Report (Actual costs are in thousands of dollars)

(c) What does the data in the completed status report table tell you about the budget and
schedule for the project overall? In your answer you must state whether the project is
under budget, over budget or on budget (according to the plan) and whether the project
is on schedule, behind schedule or ahead of schedule. 2 marks

Question 7 continued over page

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Question 7 (continued)

(d) Assuming that the project is to continue at the same rate of efficiency, what is the
forecasted cost at completion? Show your working. 2 marks

(e) Discuss one option for reducing the budget of a project. In your answer discuss any
other impacts of pursuing this option. 1 mark

- End of paper –