Project Management - Section A

What is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness? Give an original example – maximum of one paragraph.

Effective means something sufficient to achieve a purpose or the expected result and efficiency means performing in an optimum manner. Example- If a salesperson is achieving his tasks, he is effective in his work, and efficiency means the percentage of achieved tasks that produced business for the company.

What is the difference between NRE and RE costs? Give original examples–

Recurring expenses are general and administrative expenses which are required for operating a company’s business- like wages and salaries, travel expenses, depreciation and support services, whereas non-recurring expenses are those which are an extraordinary or one-time expense which company do not expect to recur, at least not on regular basis, like the purchase of the real estate, equipment and machinery, repair costs.

Why is stakeholder analysis important? Give an original example – maximum of one paragraph.

The stakeholder analysis is important because it can help to identify the interests of all the stakeholders of a project, who may negatively, or positively be affected by the project or can affect the project. It helps to identify the groups that need to participate in the project and helps identify the potential present and future issues that can disrupt the project. Example- If a dam is to be constructed by the government; its various stakeholders could be the tender holders, the residents likely to be affected, and the taxpayers whose money is invested in the project, the users of waters of the river.

What is the difference between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge?

Tacit knowledge is embedded in the human mind through experience and jobs subconsciously. It is difficult to extract and express, like intuition and wisdom. Explicit knowledge is one which is documented in books, documents, codes and that can facilitate action, like a degree in economics.

Explain the project management approach that you selected to develop the project management plan with your group for assessment 2 (Agile Approach) – maximum of five paragraphs.

An agile approach to the management of the project is a frequent approach that focuses on continuous releases and incorporating feedback and improvement accordingly with every iteration. The benefits of an agile approach are the development of speed, collaboration and it gives the ability to better respond to changes and trends.

The agile project approach can be categorized into two systems- scrum and Kanban. While the scrum system uses fixed-length iterations or repetitions of work which are called sprints, while Kanban system matches the given work with the team’s ability, focusing things to be done as fast as possible.

Project Management - Section B

Identify the tasks that belong to the critical path.

Critical path refers to the sequence of steps, that governs the project duration. Simply put, it is the longest distance between the beginning and the end of the project, including the tasks and their respective duration, to give a clear idea of the project schedule. Tasks on this critical path are called critical tasks and in case one such task is delayed by one day, the entire project estimate will have to be extended by one day. Critical tasks are identified by eliminating summary tasks and complete tasks, identifying the first critical tasks and evaluating their successors. In the given Gantt chart, the tasks on the critical path include performing marketing survey, analyzing requirements, approving PMP, developing hardware XYZ, integrating software, systems testing, rework, and launch prototype.

Identify five problems in this Gantt chart and propose solutions to correct each one. Use the project management tool provided in class.

Lack of schedule contingency – The said Gantt chart does not include proper schedule contingencies to account for risk and uncertainties related to delays in the project. To resolve this, it is recommended to include a project contingency task before the project completion milestone.

Presence of hangers – The Gantt chart also includes hangers which are a problem as tasks should have at least one successor and one predecessor and presence of hangers which lack successor and/or predecessor make the forward and backward pass calculations incomplete. Proper communication should be used to tie different part of the projects.

Lack of detail – there is a lack of detail in the Gantt chart as it only includes basic information regarding the tasks such as duration, start and finish time, and does not include details like float widow and dateline. This limits the functionality of the chart. Project management tools should be used to includes necessary details in the chart.

Lack of project summary task, footer, legend and header – Without a header, footer and legend, the project manager cannot properly analyze the chart. Date of the update, revisions and other details should be included in the chart.

Constraints misuse - overwriting calculate date defeats the value of schedule and undermines schedule logic. The project manager should be judicious while using constraints.

(10 marks)

Add and justify five new tasks aimed at avoiding the cost of non-conformance.

Project cost review

Project schedule contingency plan

Risk management

Project revision

Changelog

Identify five risks in this Gantt chart and define mitigation and contingency plans for each one.

Approval of the project proposal

Kick-off meeting

Unit test

Approval of technical plan

Approval of PMP

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Project Management Assignment Help