MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

ProjectManagement
Conceptualdesignphase,establishingfeasibilityanddefining functionalrequirementsquestionsare:
Howwillitwork? Whatfunctionswillitperform?

Thenhighlevelmanagementquestionsemergesuchas:
Howmuchisthedesigngoingtocost? Whencanyoudeliver?

Secondaryconcernsinclude:
Howmanypeopledoyouneed? Whatskillsmusttheypossess? Whatloadwillyouplaceonthelabandthemachineshop? Willyoubeusinganyspecial(scarce)testequipment?

Thegoalofprojectmanagementistocompleteontimeandon budget.

DefinitionofaProject
Aprojectisaquantifiablepieceofwork,witha definedstartandend,withexpectationsof specificoutputsordeliverables. Otherattributesassociatedwithaprojectare:
Theoutputislowvolume,auniqueproduct/service. Therearemeasurableobjectives. Ituseslimitedsetofresources(people,materials, equipments). Theworkisoftencomplex,uncertain,and/orurgent.

TheProjectManagementApproach

MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

ProjectOrganization
Manydifferent typesof organization. ProjectManager
Personincharge oftheproject.

Sophisticated structureformore complexprojects. Individualsare typicallyassigned tomorethanone project.

OrganizationChartforaDesignProject

ElementsofProjectManagement
Meetingbudgetandmeetingschedule. Threemainelementsare:
Planning
Aprojectplandefinestheworktobedonealongwithaschedule,anda budget.

Monitoring
Compareactualprogresswiththeplanandmakeadjustmentsasneeded.

Control
Makechoicesabouthowtooptimizeprojectperformance;reallocate resourcestomakesuretaskscompleteontimeandintegratesmoothly.

Therearemanymanagementtheories. Managementtheoryisbeyondthescopeofthiscourse,butitis safetosaythatoveranengineerscareer,theywillexperiencea varietyapproaches,someofwhichtheymayfindmoredifficultto copewiththanothers.

TheProjectPlan

MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

TheProjectPlan
Aconcisestatementastohowaprojectistobeconducted.
Whatitwillcost. Whenitwillbecompleted. Whatresourceswillbeneeded.

Anagreementbetweenprojectteamandtheclient. Theprojectplancantakemanyforms,largelydependentuponthe complexityandsize/scopeofthework. Allplanscontain:

DefinitionoftheWork
Abreakdownofthevarioustasksneededtocompletetheproject.

Schedule
Dates/timesforcompletingtasksandsubtasks,demarcatedbymilestones.

ResourceRequirements
Estimateeachengineerstime,materials,equipment,andothersupportservices.

CostEstimate(projectbudget)
Anestimateofallcostsassociatedwiththeproject.

ThePlanningProcess
Theplanningprocessparallels thesystemdesignstage. Duringthesystemdesignstage theprojectplanisnormally developedandformally documentedatthecompletion ofthesystemdesignstage,

ThePlanningProcess

DefiningtheWork

MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

BlockDiagram
Developacleardefinitionofthework requiredtocompletethedesignproject. SystemDesign BlockDiagram Tasks WillusetheblockdiagramofRPM MeasuringDevice(RMD)toillustratethe conceptsofprojectplanning.

BlockdiagramofRPMMeasuringDevice.

Example:SimpleDescriptionofWork
Limitationsofthetable shown:
Taskdescriptionfailsto describetheexpected outputsordeliverables. Inputsshouldalsobe described. Dates specifiedare milestonesonly.No indicationoftaskduration, beginandend. Resources areidentifiedbut tasksandlevelsof involvementnotclear.Needs forotherresourcesarenot shown. Precedence oftasksisnot obvious.

Example:ExpandedDescriptionof Work(1)

Example:ExpandedDescriptionof Work(2)

DefiningTasks
Whatmakesupatask? Guidelines:
Approaches:
Topdown approachstartingwithjustafewtasks,thenbreakthemdownaddingdetailand complexity. Bottomup bylistingallsmalltaskstodefinetheproject,thencombinetosimplifythework definition.

Eachblockintheblockdiagramshouldinitiallybeasingletask;ifseveral blocksformasinglemodule(e.g.Circuitboard),combinethetasksintoone. Tasksshouldbeassignabletoindividualteammembers. Workleadinguptoamilestoneshouldbeconsideredatask. Startofataskisdependentoninputsfromothertasks,butshouldbe independentofadditionalinputsduringitsconduct. Toomanytasksincreasesadministrativeload;engineersliketodesign,not shufflepaper.Toofewtasksoversimplifies,andincreasesthechanceforerrors inbudget,schedule,andresources(newbieadvice afewtoomanyisbetter thantoofew).

Scheduling

MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

Scheduling
Thelogicalsequencingoftasks. Adesignprojectmustincludeaschedule. Twocategoriesofschedulingmethods
Networkdiagrams Simplebar(Gantt)charts.

Projectschedulescanbekeptintoolssuchas MicrosoftProject.

NetworkDiagrams
Networkdiagramsalsoknownasprecedencediagrams. Thetwomostcommonandwidelyusednetwork diagramtechniquesare:
CriticalPathMethod(CPM). ProgrammeEvaluationandReviewTechnique(PERT).

Graphicallyillustrateinterdependenceandprecedence amongtasks,aswellastiminginformation. Twotypesofnetworkdiagrams

Activityonarrow(AOA) Activityonnode(AON).

ActivityOnArrowMethod

Tasks (activity)representedaslinesinterconnectingnodes. Nodes,indicatedbycircles,representapointintimeinthe schedulewhereactivitiesstartand/orfinish. Elapsedtimeforeachtaskisshowninparenthesis afterthetask name. Completiontime/schedule date(inweeks)isshowninthelower halfofeachnode.

ActivityOnNodeMethod

Tasks (activity)areshownasblocksinterconnectedbylines. Informationabouttasksiswrittenintheblocks.

AttributesofNetworkDiagrams
Precedence
Startandcompletionoftaskseasilyseen. Tasksthatcanbecarriedoutinparallel(independentlyof oneanother)andtaks thatmustbecarriedout sequentiallyarereadilyapparent.

CriticalPath
Thecriticalpath(showninheavyline)indicatessequence oftasksthatlimitstheoveralltimetocompletethe project.

SlackTime
Indicateshowlongataskmaybeextendedwithout impactingthetotalelapsedtimeoftheproject.

ReviewingtheWorkDescription
Projectplandevelopmentisiterative. Meanstoimprovetheschedulemightbe revealedafteranetworkdiagramiscompleted.
Addanotherengineer. Addanewtask.

Compressingscheduleinvolvestradeoffs
Addingeffort Addingpersonnel Addingrisk

ReviewedSchedule

BarCharts
Ganttcharts
Horizontalaxisrepresentsthetotaltimespanofproject. Projecttasksrepresentedashorizontallines(bars)alongatime axis. Showswheneachtaskmusttakeplaceandhowlongeachwill take. Variants:
Status barsshadedtoindicatedamountofworkcompleted. Milestones Resources Dependencies SlackTime CriticalPath

Helpfulinmonitoringtheprogressofaproject.

GanttChartExample

BarChartVariants
a) SlackTime
Dottedline Triangles Shadedbars

b) Precedence c) CriticalPath

NotesonScheduling
Iterateplantoimprovepresentation.
Sellcustomersorconvincemanagement. Oftenrequiresredefinitionoftasks.

Usedbyprojectteammembers:
Toseehowtheirworkrelatestoothers. Tounderstandtheimportanceofmeetingdatelines.

Problemsofpresentation
Toomanytasks confusing. Toofewtasks lossofdetail,difficulttounderstand. Tasksimbalance someareashavedetailsandothersaregeneral. Teammemberrolesnotclearlyidentified.

Manycomputerizedprojectmanagementsystemsavailable.
Theprojectmanagementsystemmustservetheproject. Accuracyofinformationisimportant sophisticationhasnobearing.

PlanningResourcesandEstimatingCosts

MANAGINGTHEDESIGNPROCESS

CostingPractices
Resourcesandestimatingcostsarecloselylinked. Requiredresourcesandattributedcost:
Personnel
Establishedrates(hourlyordaily). Rateincludeoverheadcosts.

Lab,shop,andotherinternalfacilities
Includechargeforservicesprovidedbyothercostcenters. Internalcostsincludedinoverhead.

Outsideservicesandfacilities
Includechargeforusingservicesofoutsideconsultantorrentof specializedequipment.

Suppliesandmaterials
Generalofficeorlabsuppliesusuallyincludedinoverhead. Componentsrequiredspecificallyfortheprojectarecharged.

EstimatingPersonnelRequirements
Personnelcostislargestcostinmostprojects. Accuratebudgetentailscorrectestimationof personnelrequirements. Availabilityofpersonnelwiththerightskillswillhavea bigimpactontheschedule. Waystoapproachpersonnelrequirements:
Determinenumberofpeoplerequiredfromthework definitionandschedule. Determineavailablepersonnelandthenorganizethemto completetheproject.

Personnelhistogram usefultoolforpersonnel planning.

PersonnelHistogram
Toestimatepersonnel needs. Toarrangeworksoasto utilizepersonnel effectively.

BudgetPreparation
Afterresources completelyknown. Organizeintoatable brokendowninto categories.

CostDistribution
Aprojectedcashflowisimportanttomanagetheexpenditures.

PuttingthePlanTogether
Theprojectplandocument.
Formsacommitmentorcontractwithinanorganization,orinsomecases betweenorganizations. Commitmentbytheprojectteamanditsprojectmanagertoprovidespecified deliverablesonspecifieddatesforaspecifiedprice. Typicaloutline:
1.0 Background 2.0 ProjectOverview 3.0 OrganizationandManagement
3.1 Personnel 3.2 OrganizationandResponsibilities 3.3 MonitoringandReporting

4.0 Descriptionofwork 5.0 Schedule 6.0 Budget Attachments: A. RequirementsSpecification B. SystemSpecification

ProjectPlanContent
Background
Historyofprojectundertaking. Workdonetodate. Constraintsnoted. Keydecisionstodateandjustification. Marketforecast,feasibilitystudies,etc.

(1)

ProjectOverview
Summarizeentireplan,emphasizingdeliverables,dates,andcosts.

OrganizationandManagement
Listofpersonnel skills,responsibilities,assignedtasks,andexpected deliverables. Organizationalstructure. Frequencyandcontentofprogressreport. Methodsusedinbudgetandschedulecontrol.

ProjectPlanContent
DescriptionofWork
Detaileddescriptionofwork.
Tableform &description

(2)

Schedule
Ganttchart Descriptionofkeydates,areasofrisk,andsupporting information.

Budget
Costbreakdown. Cashfloworscheduleofexpenditures.

Attachments
Supportingdocumentsprovidingusefulinformationonthe contentandconductoftheproject.