Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

In order to evaluate the construction of sanitary landfill located at La Castellana, Negros

Occidental, the following project management methods will be used.

3.1 Work Breakdown Structure

The following are the steps to make a Work Breakdown Structure:

1. Gathering the team members and identify the project’s deliverables and sub-

deliverables. The project managers and the subject matter experts are included.

2. Identifying the project’s key deliverables. These should be put at the second level

of the WBS. Key deliverables will be important to project’s completion and they

will be carried out by independent teams.

3. Breaking of the key deliverables into smaller parts of work, termed as work

packages with the help of expert or to rephrase it, identifying the work that is

essential to complete each deliverable.

4. Creating of a WBS dictionary in where a document that includes the meaning and

the scope of the different elements in your work breakdown structure.

5. Creating a WBS using other formats like text-based work breakdown structures,

tabular structures, or flowcharts.

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 There are two types of Work Breakdown Structure:

a. Deliverables Oriented.

– Other terms for this type of WBS are – Entity Oriented, Noun

Oriented or Product Oriented. This is based around the product

that are typically used by Engineer Managers.

b. Phase Oriented.

- Other terms for this type of WBS are– Activity or Task

Oriented, Verb Oriented or Process Oriented WBS. This

type of WBS is typically used by Project Managers.

3.2 Milestone Chart

Milestone Charts aids in providing a way to accurately estimate the time it will take to

complete your project more precisely, making it an important part or component in making a

precise project scheduling. They are frequently used in scheduling methodologies, such as the

Critical Path Method, which can dictate major scheduling periods. With milestones, you can

more accurately calculate the slack in your project by separating the project into intervals, or

smaller timeframes to control. Milestones can specify upcoming deadlines for all thing

associated to the project, from deliverables that are due in other projects to impending deliveries

from suppliers. Lastly, they are exceptional at indicating the point when you transition to another

state or phase of the project. Milestones, like tasks, can be associated. It is when the one phase of

the milestone cannot begin until the phase before it is accomplished. In that way you’re not

hindering team members by having them standby or not allowing them to do what they need to

move progress further with their tasks.

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 Steps to create Milestone Chart.

Based on the researcher’s created work breakdown structure, they will determine

which work can be done at the same time, the duration of each task and its start and end

date.

1. Create a list of the works from the WBS.

2. Determine which works be done at the same time.

3. Determine the duration of each work.

4. Determine the starting and end date.

3.3 Gantt Chart

A Gantt Chart is a horizontal bar chart that displays the tasks of a particular project

displayed against time. They represent important information like who is assigned to a particular

task, how long would it take to accomplish a task, and overlapping activities in a project. Gantt

charts can be used for planning projects of any kinds and are very convenient because they show

the schedule of what work is to be finished in a particular day. They also help you view the start

and end dates of a project in one glance.

Creating a Gantt Chart for the project is crucial because one can easily see what he/she

needs to do on a particular day and one will be able to know the duration it needs to be

accomplished to be able to meet the goal/schedule. One will also know what activities can be

done at the same time resulting in the data becoming more managed with better clarity and

organization. Using this, it is easier to check the progress of the construction knowing if it is on

schedule or it is delayed.

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 Steps to create a Gantt Chart (Using Microsoft Excel).:

With the given information from the created Milestone Chart for the project, one

can create a Gantt Chart based on those data.

1. Make a standard Excel Bar chart basing on the Start date

2. Add the Duration data to the chart

3. Add task descriptions and info to the Gantt chart

4. Transform the bar graph into the Excel Gantt chart

3.4 PERT-CPM

There are six steps that are like both PERT and CPM techniques. The following are the

procedure for PERT-CPM:

1. Describe the project and all its important activities or tasks. The project that is

composed of several tasks must only have one start activity and one finish

activity.

2. Create a relationship to activities. There must be a task that should take first and a

task that needs to take place next.

3. Make Network” that connects all activities. There should be unique event

numbers per activity. In order to avoid giving the same numbers to two or more

activities, dummy arrows should be used.

4. Allocate each task with time and/or cost estimates.

5. Solve for the critical path which is the longest time path through the network.

6. To plan, schedule, and control the project, using of Network is a must.

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 In scheduling, there are 6 outputs that can be achieved.

• Plan schedule management.

• Define project activities.

• Sequence activities.

• Estimate resources.

• Estimate durations.

• Develop the project schedule.

The schedule of activities generally has a network that shows:

 Critical Activities.

 Earliest Start Date.

 Earliest End Date.

 Latest Start Date.

 Latest End Date.

 The Float. (The amount of extra time available for an activity.)

3.5 S-Curve

An s-curve is a mathematical graph that shows the total data used in the project —such as

cost or man-hours—plotted against time. This is especially important in project management

since it gives an easily understandable view of how the work progresses together with the funds

being used. At the start of the project, the project is slow and usually is just a straight line. But

when

Generating S-Curve Analysis Charts

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 To generate S-Curve charts:

1. From the Process Navigator, select Monitor/View S-Curve Analysis. The View S-

Curve Analysis of Project Progress view is shown.

2. From the Analyze list, select one of the following:

 Costs to analyze costs over time.

 Work to analyze person- hours over time.

3. From the View Type list, select the way you want to see the data. Your available

selections will depend on the selections you have made from the Analyze list. See

Selecting View Types for Cost and Work section of this topic for a description of

these selections.

4. From the Display list, select the type of cost or work you want to analyze. The

available selections depend on the Analyze and View Type selections you have

made. For a description of the selections you can make, see Analyzing Cost and

Work.

5. If needed, use the Filter console to select a specific program, project, or work

package to report on or, use the From Date and To Date fields to define a time

frame to examine.

See Using the Filter Console.

1. Click Show to generate the S-Curve.

3.6 Bill of Quantities / Cost Estimates

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The following are the esential elements of a good Bill of Materials (BOM):

• BOM Level. – A certain part or assembly in the BOM should get a

ranking or number explaining where it fits in the hierarchy of the

BOM, in this way, anyone will able to understand the BOM.

• Part Number. – The BOM must give a part number to each item

for anyone who’s involved in the manufacturing process to

reference and identify parts easily. For confusion not to take place,

there should only be one part number for each part.

• Part Name. – Each part, material, or assembly should have a

detailed and distinct name so that anyone will easily identify the

part without them relying to other sources for reference.

• Phase. - It is important to record the lifestyle stage of each part of

the BOM. An example would be naming a stage “In Production”

which means that a particular stage is in the process of being

completed. Another example would be “Unreleased” or “In

Design” which means that a certain stage is yet to be approved.

Those terms are helpful especially during the introduction of new

products because they allow progress to be tracked swiftly.

• Description. – A detailed, comprehensive, and informative

description for each material or part is essential. This element of

BOM helps anyone to identify parts and differentiate similar

materials and parts.

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 • Unit of Measure.- There should be a specification of units in the

BOM that should be used to quantify the part or material. Units

like “cubic meter, “meter”, “ounces”, “each”, and other similar

identifiers of quantity can be used. This element ensures the

accuracy of quantities that are purchased and delivered to assembly

lines.

• Procurement Type. – Each part of the BOM should be identified

as something that is purchased off the shelf or manufactured

according to project specifications.

• Reference Designators. – The BOM should have this element that

will explain in depth how the part fits on the circuit boards when a

product includes printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs).

• BOM Notes. – It is important to include any useful additional

information to those who will use the BOM.

Cost estimation in project management is the process of forecasting the cost and other

resources needed to complete a project within a defined scope. Cost estimation accounts for each

element required for the project and calculates a total amount that determines a project’s budget.

An exact cost estimate is important for deciding whether to take on a project, for determining an

eventual scope of the project, and for making sure that projects remain feasible financially and

for avoiding overruns of cost. A cost estimate can be used to prepare a project cost baseline,

where it is the milestone-based point of comparison for assessing the actual cost performance of

a project.

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Procedures of Cost Estimating includes:

1. Determining the direct costs.

2. Determining the indirect costs or the costs that produce intangibles.

3. Calculating the savings between current and future expenditures.

A cost estimate is a summation of all the costs that are involved in finishing a project

successfully, from inception to completion project. These project costs can be classified in many

ways and levels of detail, however the simplest classification divides costs into two main

categories: the direct costs and indirect costs.

In general, direct costs are those that are directly connected to a single area (like a

department or a project). Direct costs are expenses that are only billed to a particular project in

project management. They might include the wages of the project team, the costs of resources

needed to make products, the cost of fuel for equipment, and the money used to deal with any

risks specific to the project.

On the other hand, indirect costs cannot be linked to a specific cost center and are instead

incurred simultaneously by a number of projects, sometimes in varying amounts. Quality control,

security costs, and utility costs are typically categorized as indirect costs in project management

because they are shared among multiple projects and cannot be directly billed to any one project.

However, a cost estimate is more than just a list of costs: it likewise frames the suspicions

underlying each cost. A report known as the basis of estimate contains estimates of cost

accuracy and these assumptions, in addition to cost inclusions and exclusions. The basis of

estimate report makes it possible for project stakeholders to interpret the costs of the project and

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comprehend the ways in which actual costs may differ from estimated costs. Past the wide orders

of immediate and roundabout expenses, project costs fall into more specific categories.

Examples of common costs include:

• The cost of human effort put into achieving the project’s goals

(Labor)

• The price of the materials used to make products. (Materials)

• The cost of purchasing and maintaining project-related equipment.

(Equipment)

• The cost of external work (from vendors, contractors, etc.) that a

company seeks for any given project. (Software)

• The non-physical computer resources. Physical resources for

computers. (Hardware)

• The price of renting or using specialized services, facilities, or

equipment. Costs that were added to the project budget to deal with

risks. (Facilities)

Cost assessing is the act of gauging the expense of finishing an undertaking with a

defined scope. It is the most important part of project cost management, a field of knowledge that

deals with planning, keeping track of, and controlling a project’s financial costs. The cost

estimate, also known as the approximate total cost of the project, is used to set a project’s budget

and control costs. When deciding whether or not to take on a project, determining its final scope,

maintaining financial viability, and avoiding cost overruns, an accurate cost estimate is essential.

A project cost baseline, which serves as the milestone-based benchmark for evaluating a

project’s actual cost-performance, can also be prepared using a cost estimate.

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Application of Cost estimate

• To estimate the direct and indirect costs associated with

implementing the redesign recommendations and new redesigned

activities.

• To estimate the current and future costs of an activity workflow or

value stream.

• To estimate the cost, schedule and quality of a product

development project.

A technique to estimate all costs associated with performing an enterprise change project or

product development activity. Cost estimation can be performed using a bottom-up or top-down

approach. When using a bottom-up approach, the costs are calculated on a unit level, then rolled

up to the top level. The cycle time, number of people, and cost per person are used. The top-

down approach is general and does not break out costs in detail, but could identify major cost

(e.g., hardware, software).

However, it is important to use a consistent level of detail when estimating benefits to enable a

common cost benefit analysis. Cost benefit analysis is a technique to compare the total cost and

the total benefit of a proposed solution. Both tangible and intangible factors need to be addressed

and considered.

3.7 Using Microsoft Project

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 The application is designed to assist project managers in developing plans,

assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing

workloads.

Microsoft Project creates critical path schedules. Schedules can be resource levelled. The

chain has visualized in a Gantt chart. Resource definitions (people, equipment and

materials) can be shared between projects using a shared resource pool. Each resource

can have its own calendar which defines what days and shifts a resource is available.

Resource rates are used to calculate resource assignment costs which are rolled up and

summarised the resource level.

Each resource can be assigned to multiple tasks in multiple plans and each task

can be assigned multiple resources. Microsoft Project schedules task work based on the

resource availability as defined in the resource calendars. All resources can be defined in

an enterprise resource pool.

Microsoft Project creates budgets based on assignment work and resource rates. As

resources are assigned to tasks and assignment work estimated, Microsoft Project

calculates the cost equals the work times the rate. This rolls up to the task level, then to

any summary tasks and finally to the project level.

How to make Gantt charts with Microsoft Project

a. Open Microsoft Project software and choose a blank project. This opens

up a chart that looks almost exactly like an Excel spreadsheet. Since it is a

blank chart, users can write the tasks on these columns.

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b. Create tasks. It would be helpful to prepare a task list on Excel and then

copy these to the project page. If not, users can simply type tasks

manually. At this point, the tasks are automatically understood by

Microsoft Project that they are to be completed in one day. This can be

changed depending on the dependencies which will be described in the

steps that follow. Then, choose the summary task and go to the TASK tab

to indent the tasks under it. This makes the indented ones the subtasks. If

there are subtasks to these subtasks, then, they should also be indented

further.

c. Then, to set the start and end dates of the tasks, users can click on the

‘start date’ field next to a specific task and choose a date from the drop-

down calendar. Do the same with the ‘end date’ field. Another way to do

this is to go to the duration tab and manually input the number of days or

hours a task has to be completed within.

d. Adding a milestone is also helpful in showing that the project is in

progress or that it has ended. One way of doing this is by creating a

duration of 0 days which automatically converts the task as a milestone. A

second way of doing this is by inserting a row where the Milestone should

be and then clicking the ‘milestone’ button on the ribbon. When all of

these are set, the Gantt chart will show the tasks, how long they will be

finished through the start and end dates, and if the project has already been

completed.

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 e. Users can also customize their Gantt charts according to how they want it

to be or to suit their way of working. This can be done by fiddling with the

division of time on the chart. The two levels of time are normally

displayed in week and day. The top tier can be changed to months, years,

or quarters while the bottom tier can be used to reflect the smaller division

of time. Also, users can color-code their tasks, un-shade the non-working

time, and personalize almost every other aspect of the chart.

Create a Network Diagram in Microsoft Project

f. To find the Network diagram view, choose View > Network Diagram.

g. Add a legend

h. Choose File > Print > Page Setup.

i. On the Legend tab, decide how you want your legend to look, which pages

it should show up on, and then labels you want.

j. Choose OK.

Automatically change the way the boxes are laid out

k. Choose View > Network Diagram.

l. Choose Format > Layout.

m. Under Box Layout, choose the box arrangement, alignment, spacing,

height, and width that work best for you. To space boxes evenly, select

Fixed in the Height and Width boxes. Keep in mind that grouped tasks are

positioned automatically. You’ll need to undo grouping if you want to

change them.

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 Manually change the way boxes are laid out.

If you’ve gotten this far and still don’t like how your boxes are positioned,

click Format > Layout, select Allow manual box positioning, choose OK, and

then drag the boxes to the spot you want.

If you manually reposition a task, you can change the layout of any linked tasks or

subtasks associated with it by right-clicking on the task and choosing Layout Related Tasks

Now.

Choose what kind of task information to show

If things are looking cluttered (or you start to experience information overload),

try changing the task information in each box so you only see what’s most important.

1. Choose View > Network Diagram.

2. Choose Format > Box Styles.

3. In the Style settings for list, select the task that you want to change.

4. Under Border, choose the shape, color, width, and gridline options to create

the look you want.

5. Select a name under Data template to apply your changes to an existing

template. To create a new template that will use your changes, choose More

Templates, and then choose New (to create a new template), Copy (to base the

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 new template on an existing one), Edit (to change a template), or Import (to

import a template from another project).

6. Choose OK.

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