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Assignments 1 and 2 - engineering project management

Advanced Engineering Project Management (University of Southern Queensland)

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ENG8208 Advanced Engineering Project Management

Assignment 1 – Semester 1 2016

Date due: 22 April 2016

Weighting: 40% (400 marks)

Special Instructions

1. Answer all questions, and ensure that your answers have the coverage, and are in the format,
requested.

2. Present your own ideas.

3. Your answers should be properly referenced and reflect that you have undertaken research
outside the study material. You are to use the Harvard AGPS referencing system, information
which is available from the USQ Library webpage:
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide

4. You will require a table of contents for your answer to Part A.

5. You will require an abstract and table of contents for your answer to Part B.

6. You should include a word count for each of Part A and Part B of Question 1. Word counts
exclude the List of References.

7. It is expected that your written answers will be produced using electronic word processing.
The ‘.pdf’ format is preferred for written answers.

8. Calculations for the project budget should be clearly explained.

9. Assignments will be submitted electronically via the Study Desk.

10. Please note that if plagiarism or cheating is detected in this assignment it will result in no
marks for the assignment. Students should ensure they clearly understand the meaning of
plagiarism and cheating. In particular, students should understand that while they may
collaborate with other students on the conceptual ideas in their assignments, the final written
report submitted by each student must be unique, and must not contain the written material of
(a) any other student in the course, or (b) by any other person without due acknowledgement.
Assignments are expected to be submitted to plagiarism detection software at the time of
submission.

11. Applications for extensions of assignment submission must be made in writing to the Course
Examiner together with accompanying documentation as specified in the Assessment of
Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances Procedure. The application and all supporting
documentation must be submitted electronically.

An Assignment submitted after the deadline without an approved extension of time will be
penalised. The penalty for late submission without a pre-approved extension will be specified
in the assignment instructions. At the very least, the penalty for late submission is a reduction
by 5% of the maximum Mark applicable for the Assignment, for each University Business
Day or part Business Day that the Assignment is late. An Assignment submitted more than ten

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University Business Days after the deadline will have a Mark of zero recorded for that
Assignment.

Course Examiners may refuse to accept Assignments for Assessment purposes after Marked
Assignments and/or feedback have been released. If Compassionate and Compelling
Circumstances appear to exist, Course Examiners must consider these before refusing to
accept an Assignment.
See: http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents/14749PL#4.2_Assignments

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Question 1 (100 marks total)

Earned Value Management

Question 1 (a) --- Project 1 - 25 marks

You are managing a project that is scheduled to take 12 months to complete and has a budgeted actual
cost (BAC) of $1,000,000.

At the Status Date, the project has the following characteristics:

Planned value (PV) $300,000

Actual cost (AC) $350,000
Percentage of work completed 25%

Calculate the following quantities:

Earned Value (EV) (4 marks)

Cost Variance (CV) (3 marks)

Schedule Variance (SV) (3 marks)

Cost performance index (CPI) (3 marks)
Schedule performance index (SPI) (3 marks)

Using your results, apply the three (3) formulae listed in Section 7.4.2.2 of the (6 marks)
text to the calculation of the Estimate at Completion (EAC) of the project.

These formulae are as follows:

 EAC=AC + (BAC – EV)

 EAC=BAC/CPI
 EAC= AC + [(BAC-EV) / (CPI x SPI)].

For each of these calculations (3 in total), calculate the To-Complete (3 marks)

Performance Index (TCPI).

SUB- TOTAL FOR QUESTION 1 (a) 25 MARKS

Question 1 (b) --- Project 2 - 25 marks

You are managing a second project that has the same time and cost specifications as those in Question
1 (a), but which is 40% complete at the Status Date, when Actual Costs are $350,000.

Its specifications are below

Budgeted Actual Cost (BAC): $1,000,000.

Schedule time to complete: 12 months

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At the Status Date, the project has the following characteristics:

Planned value (PV) $300,000

Actual cost (AC) $350,000
Percentage of work completed 40%

Calculate the following quantities:

Earned Value (EV) (4 marks)

Cost Variance (CV) (3 marks)

Schedule Variance (SV) (3 marks)
Cost performance index (CPI) (3 marks)
Schedule performance index (SPI) (3 marks)

Using your results, apply the three (3) formulae listed in Section 7.4.2.2 of the (6 marks)
text to the calculation of the Estimate at Completion (EAC) of the project.

These formulae are as follows:

 EAC=AC + (BAC – EV)

 EAC=BAC/CPI
 EAC= AC + [(BAC-EV) / (CPI x SPI)].

Calculate the To-Complete Performance Index TCPI_. (3 marks)

SUB- TOTAL FOR QUESTION 1 (b) 25 MARKS

Question 1 (c) - 30 marks

Comment on each of these projects from the point of project performance, paying particular attention
to the following:

Cost Variance (CV) (2 marks per project)

Schedule Variance (SV) (2 marks per project)
Cost performance index (CPI) (2 marks per project)
Schedule performance index (SPI) (2 marks per project)
Estimated Actual Cost (EAC) of the project (2 marks per project)
A brief assessment of the overall project performance, including any (5 marks per project)
necessary measures required to successfully complete the project

Total Marks per project 15 marks per project

SUB- TOTAL FOR Question 1 (c) 30 MARKS

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Question 1 (d) - 20 marks

Briefly discuss two (2) advantages and two (2) disadvantages of Earned Value Project Management.

Marking:

Advantages (5 marks per advantage – 10 marks total)

Disadvantages (5 marks per disadvantage – 10 marks total)

SUB-TOTAL FOR QUESTION 1 (d) 20 MARKS

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Question 2 (300 marks total)

Developing a Revised Project Management Plan and Report to Management

Background
You have recently been appointed as a project manager in a large engineering organisation. Some
examples of such an organisation include, but are not limited to:

 Consultant
 Government organisation
 Construction company
 Installation company
 Asset management provider
 Maintenance services provider
 Other.

The organisation may be operating in one or more engineering disciplines, such as civil, mechanical,
electrical, environmental, mechatronic, biomedical, or other discipline, or in construction or surveying.

Your organisation has asked you to review the management of a medium sized project (up to $5
million in value), which is to be completed within two (2) years of its commencement. The project has
at least 20 main activities.

The project commenced eight (8) months ago. The first six (6) weeks were spent developing the
project charter and preparing the original project management plan. Project execution (carrying out the
work) commenced immediately the project management plan was completed and approved.

There will be a one (1) month project closing period at the end of the project. During this time,
equipment will be tested and commissioned (if relevant to your project), and the project will be
finalised.

The project deadline is firm, subject to any justifiable contingencies.

The existing business case and project charter are not detailed. Similarly, the project management
plan, including a basic Gantt chart and high level budget is not well detailed or described.

There are a number of issues with the project:

1. To date, the project is two (2) months behind schedule. Part of this delay has resulted from
poor understanding of lead times for delivery of particular project components. There are no
other significant factors that should impact on project delivery.

2. Because there is only a quite basic project plan and time schedule, there is poor sequencing of
critical activities. They do not have clear scheduled completion dates.

3. There have been delays in procuring some critical project resources. There may be alternative
suppliers.

4. While there were a number of specialised personnel for particular aspects of the project
available at the start of the project, they were not booked ahead of when they were required.

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Most of these resources are now booked for several months ahead. Few alternatives are
available.

5. As a result of the influence of a number of stakeholders, there has been significant scope
creep, which with the current rate of progress will delay delivery by one (1) month. This scope
creep also threatens to impact on the project’s business case.

6. Some components of the project have not been delivered or built to the required quality
specification. Consequently, there have been delays while defects have been rectified.

7. Communication between project manager, project sponsor, stakeholders, contractors,

consultants and other key personnel has not been good. There are therefore a number of cases
where key information has not been communicated well. This poor communication has
impacted on project progress.

You have been charged with delivering a revised project management plan to deliver the project on
time; and with providing a report to the Project Sponsor explaining the actions you have taken.

Your Task

Question 2 (a) Developing a Revised Project Plan

(maximum 2500 words) (200 marks)

1. Define your organisation and project. (20 marks)

Nominate an organisation of your choice, and the engineering discipline or disciplines in which it
is operating.

Nominate a suitable project (for example, road development, subdivisional development, power
station, mobile phone network, mining, provision of industrial equipment, installation,
maintenance, surveying) to use as an example.

2. Prepare a revised project charter, including an updated business plan. (30 marks)

3. Prepare an updated project management plan for completing the project within its original
timeline.
(130 marks)

The project management plan should include the following:

 Definition, preparation and definition of subsidiary plans

 Identification and description of stakeholder needs
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 Plans for the project management Knowledge Areas of:
 project integration management
 project scope management
 project time management
 project cost management
 project quality management
 project human resource management

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 project communications management

 project procurement management
 Definition and sequencing of the main project activities
 Main activity resources and durations
 Project schedule, costs and budget

Notes:

 The project charter should include a revised business case for the project and link the
project with your organisation’s strategic plan. On the basis of this business case, the
project sponsor will make a decision about the future of the project.
 You may assume that the project sponsor has allowed the project timeline to be increased
by one (1) month to allow for the scope creep already approved. However, further scope
creep is not permitted.
 The project scope management plan should include a section on controlling scope creep
 The project time management plan should include a Gantt chart showing the major project
activities.
 The project cost management plan should include all costs reasonably expected to be
incurred in delivering the project. These costs may include estimates for ensuring
completion of the project.

4. Prepare a plan for executing, monitoring and controlling the project (10 marks).

5. Prepare a plan for any testing and commissioning, and for closing the project
(10 marks)

SUB- TOTAL FOR QUESTION 2 (a) 200 MARKS

Question 2 (b) Report to Project Sponsor

(maximum 1000 words) (50 marks)

Write a report to your Project Sponsor that:

 succinctly outlines the steps you have taken to deliver the project within its original timeframe
(as extended by permitted scope creep of one (1) month)
 explains why they have been taken
 demonstrates how they will enable the project to be completed within its original timeframe
 discusses the additional costs that will be incurred to achieve this target
(50 marks)

SUB- TOTAL FOR QUESTION 2 (b) 50 MARKS

Written Communication (50 marks)

Abstract and table of contents (10 marks)

Structure (10 marks)
Language, style, spelling (10 marks)
Completion in within word count (10 marks)
Setting out and referencing (10 marks)

SUB- TOTAL FOR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 50 MARKS

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ASSIGNMENT 1

QUESTION 1
PART A:

GIVEN DATA:

Duration of the project = 12 months.

Budgeted Actual Cost (BAC) = $ 1,000,000.

Planned Value (PV) = $ 300,000.

Actual Cost (AC) = $ 350,000.

Percentage of work completed = 25 %.

TO FIND:

a. Earned Value (EV).

b. Cost Variance (CV).
c. Schedule Variance (SV).
d. Cost performance index (CPI).
e. Schedule performance index (SPI).

Also,

1. Estimate at Completion(EAC) & To Complete Performance Index(TCPI).

SOLUTION:
a. I order to find Earned Value, we use the formula EV = % of completed work × BAC

That is, EV = 25 % × 1,000,000 = × 1,000,000

Therefore, EV = $ 250,000

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b. Similarly, finding Cost Variance, CV = EV – AC

Or, CV = $250,000 – $350, 000
Therefore, CV = - $ 100,000

c. Finding Schedule Variance, SV = EV – PV

Or, SV = $250,000 - $300,000
Therefore, SV = - $ 50,000

d. Finding Cost performance index, CPI = EV / AC

Or, CPI = $250,000 / $350,000 = 0.714

Therefore, CPI = 0.714

e. Finding Schedule performance index, SPI = EV / PV

Or, SPI = $250,000 / $300,000 = 0.83

Therefore, SPI = 0.833

Also finding the Estimate at Completion (EAC) of the project using the following formulae:

1. EAC = AC + (BAC – EV)

Or, EAC = $ 350,000 + ($1,000,000 - $ 250,000)

Therefore, EAC = 1,100,000

2. EAC = BAC / CPI

Or, EAC = 1,000,000 / 0.714 = 1400560.224

Therefore, EAC = 1400560.224

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3. EAC = AC + [(BAC – EV) / (CPI × SPI)]

Or, EAC = $ 350,000 + [($ 1,000,000 - $ 250,000) / (0.714 × 0.83)]

Therefore, EAC = $ 1616891.892

Also, finding TCPI:

Since the CPI value is less than 1, the project is over budgeted. So the To-Complete Performance
Index(TCPI) is given as;

TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (EAC – AC)

Applying the above formula for all three cases, we get:

A. TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (EAC – AC)

Or, TCPI = (1,000,000 – 250,000) / (1,100,000 – 350,000)

Therefore, TCPI = 1

B. TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (EAC – AC)

Or, TCPI = (1,000,000 – 250,000) / (1400560.224 – 350,000)

Therefore, TCPI = 0.713

C. TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (EAC – AC)

Or, TCPI = (1,000,000 – 250,000) / (1616891.892 – 350,000)

Therefore, TCPI = 0.591

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PART B:

GIVEN DATA:

Duration of the project = 12 months.

Budgeted Actual Cost (BAC) = $ 1,000,000.

Planned Value (PV) = $ 300,000.

Actual Cost (AC) = $ 350,000.

Percentage of work completed = 40 %.

TO FIND:

a. Earned Value (EV).

b. Cost Variance (CV).
c. Schedule Variance (SV).
d. Cost performance index (CPI).
e. Schedule performance index (SPI).

Also, Estimate at Completion(EAC) & To Complete Performance Index(TCPI).

SOLUTION:
a. I order to find Earned Value, we use the formula EV = % of completed work × BAC

That is, EV = 40 % × 1,000,000 = × 1,000,000

Therefore, EV = $ 400,000

b. Similarly, finding Cost Variance, CV = EV – AC

Or, CV = $400,000 – $350, 000
Therefore, CV = $ 50,000

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c. Finding Schedule Variance, SV = EV – PV

Or, SV = $400,000 - $300,000
Therefore, SV = $ 100,000

d. Finding Cost performance index, CPI = EV / AC

Or, CPI = $400,000 / $350,000 = 1.142

Therefore, CPI = 1.142

e. Finding Schedule performance index, SPI = EV / PV

Or, SPI = $400,000 / $300,000 = 1.333

Therefore, SPI = 1.333

Also finding the Estimate at Completion (EAC) of the project using the following formulae:

1. EAC = AC + (BAC – EV)

Or, EAC = $ 350,000 + ($1,000,000 - $ 400,000)

Therefore, EAC = $ 950,000

2. EAC = BAC / CPI

Or, EAC = 1,000,000 / 1.142 = 875656.742

Therefore, EAC = 875656.742

3. EAC = AC + [(BAC – EV) / (CPI × SPI)]

Or, EAC = $ 350,000 + [($ 1,000,000 - $ 400,000) / (1.142 × 1.333)]

Therefore, EAC = $ 744218.134

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Also, finding TCPI:

Since the CPI value is greater than 1, the project is under budgeted. So the To-Complete
Performance Index(TCPI) is given as;

TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (BAC – AC)

Applying the above formula for all three cases, we get:

TCPI = (BAC – EV) / (EAC – AC)

Or, TCPI = (1,000,000 – 400,000) / (1,000,000 – 350,000)

Therefore, TCPI = 0.923

PART C:

 Cost Variance: Cost Variance is the difference between Earned Value and Actual Cost. In
the first project, cost variance is a negative value which indicates that this is an over budget
project. While in the second project, the value is positive indicating that the project is under
budget.
 Schedule Variance: Schedule Variance is the difference between Earned Value and
Planned Value. In the first project, schedule variance is a negative value. Thus we can
conclude that the project is behind schedule. But the value is positive for the second project
which makes it obvious that the project is ahead of the schedule.
 Cost Performance Index: Cost Performance Index is the ratio between Earned Value and
Actual Cost. When we look at the first project, cost performance index is less than 1, which
indicates that the project funds are not efficiently utilized. But the cost performance index
for the second project is greater than 1, which means that the project funds are used
efficiently.
 Schedule Performance Index: Schedule Performance Index is the ratio between Earned
Value and Planned Value. Schedule performance index for the first project is less than 1,
which means that the project is not progressing as the rate originally planned. But the
schedule performance index for the second project is greater than 1 indicating that the work
is progressing better than the rate originally planned.
 Estimated Actual Cost: Estimated Actual Cost is the total expected budget of the project.
First project is an over budget project when compared with the second project which is an
under budget project.

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The first project is an over budgeted and beyond schedule project and thus the overall
performance is low. The measures that could be taken to complete the project successfully is
to utilize the budget efficiently and work harder and faster to bring the project near schedule
and budget.

On the other hand, the second project shows an overall good performance and I suppose the
only thing required now required is to continue the work without delay to successfully
complete the project.

PART D:
Two advantages of Earned Value Project Management Plan are:

 Earned Value Project Management Plan makes sure that all the project parameters are
on track. It tracks the project in terms of work, time and cost.
 Earned Value Project Management makes it easy to recover from any delay’s occurred
due to unexpected events.

Two disadvantages of Earned Value Project Management Plan are:

 Earned Value Project Management Plan does not give importance to maintaining
project quality. While taking care of project progress, the quality is often neglected.
But quality is among the key objectives of any project. Thus, maintaining both these
aspects in an equilibrium are often a good challenge.
 Huge preparation about the project has to be done to understand each and every aspects
of the project clearly. This process of implementing the Earned Value Project
Management Plan can often be too time consuming.

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ABSTARCT
For many years, the state of Kerala in southern India has lagged behind the rest of the nation in the
area of urban public transportation. The ever growing traffic on the roads of Kerala has forced the
Government to employ Logitech Metro Rail Corporation Limited(LMRC), which has a reputation
of being the pioneer organization contributing efficiently to urbanization in India.
In a state like Kerala, where the majority of people rely on public transport, the necessity of an
efficient urban transportation was an issue that needed immediate attention. Addressing to the
issue, the Government of Kerala brought forward LMRC, a highly reliable, economic and
convenient metro rail project that could be the perfect solution to the current inefficient public
transportation system.
With the project, LMRC and the Government of Kerala aims at eradicating the transportation
related issues faced by the common people and provide a permanent solution to it. Implementation
of the metro rail network over a stretch of 26.5 km, starting from Petta to Aluva, which is among
the most crowded areas of Kerala will help ease the uncontrollable traffic levels and issues
associated with it.
LMRC is a Government funded project with an estimated budget of $5 million and is to be
completed within a time frame of two (2) years. A highly skilled team of experts, headed by the
project manager will be responsible for the completion of the project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Logitech Metro Rail Corporation Limited……………………………………10

2. Revised Project Charter………………………………………………………..10

2.1.Project Description & Purpose……………………………………………….10
2.2.Project Objectives…………………………………………………………….11
2.3.Project Assumptions………………………………………………………….11
2.4.Project Requirements…………………………………………………………11
2.5.Project Constraints & Boundaries…………………………………………….11
2.6.Stakeholders’ List……………………………………………………………..12
2.7.Project Manager & Team……………………………………………………...12
2.8.Budget Summary…………………………………………………………........13

3. Updated Project Management Plan…………………………………………….13

3.1.Definition, Preparation……………….………………………………………..13
3.2.Identification & Description of Stakeholder Needs…………………………...14
3.3.Work Breakdown Structure……………………………………………………14
3.4.Project Management Plans…………………………………………………….16
3.5.Definition & Sequencing………………………………………………………20
3.6.Main Activity Resources & Duration………………………………………….20
3.7.Project Schedule, Cost & Budget……………………………………………....21

4. Plan for Executing, Monitoring & Controlling……………………………........21

5. Test, Commissioning & Closing the Project……………………………….........22

6. Report to Project Sponsor………………………………………………………..23

7. References…………………………………………………………………………24

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QUESTION 2(a)

1. LOGITECH METRO RAIL CORPORATION LIMITED

Over the last few years, the state of Kerala has undergone rapid development in terms of
industrialization, which has resulted in a rapid population growth. The estimated cost of
completion of the project is $5 million in value and the Government of Kerala has categorized it
as a medium sized project. The metro rail project is to be completed within two (2) years of its
commencement. The rail network is to be constructed over a 26.5 km stretch from Petta to Aluva.
LMRC surveyed the area and has divided the entire project into three (3) major phases, with at
least 20 main activities.
Since the metro rail project involves surveying, construction, industrial equipment’s and
mechanical works, the project can be categorized under Civil & Mechanical disciplines.

2. REVISED PROJECT CHARTER

The revised project charter is as follows:

2.1 Project Description & Purpose:
With the rapid increase in population, the need for an efficient urban transportation system did
become an inevitable issue that needed an immediate attention. Thus, LMRC, a Kerala
Government funded metro rail project was implemented with a budget of $5 million in value and
is to be complete within a span of two (2) years. The project commenced on 24th September 2014
and is expected to complete by the end of October 2016.
The purpose of the project is to eradicate the transportation related issues faced by the common
people and provide a permanent solution to it. Implementation of the metro rail network over a
stretch of 26.5 km, starting from Petta to Aluva, which is among the most crowded areas of Kerala
will help ease the uncontrollable traffic levels and issues associated with it. LMRC also aims at
providing an economic and safer traveling experience to the common people.

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2.2 Project Objectives:

In a state like Kerala, where the majority of people rely on public transport, the necessity of an
efficient urban transportation was an issue that needed immediate attention.
Since the current public transportation of Kerala couldn’t handle the rapid growth of population,
the common people started relying more on private transport, which gave rise to long traffic
congestion and increase in pollution. So LMRC surveyed the area, identified the most affected
places and thus the objectives were set. LMRC divided the entire project into three (3) major
phases. Objectives included:
 Identifying the areas that needed immediate attention.
 Proper planning and execution of project without much affecting the day-to-day activities
of the people.
 Providing a permanent solution to the transportation issue faced by the common people.
 Decrease the reliability on private transport.

2.3 Project Assumptions:

 The first phase of LMRC project is assumed to complete within 8 months.
 Implementation of the project would decrease the traffic congestion by 75 %.
 The Government would be able to provide the common people with a cheap and reliable
mode of transportation.

2.4 Project Requirements:

 Raw materials for construction of tracks, metro coaches, stations etc.
 Temporary blocking of road ways at few places to facilitate uninterrupted project work.
 Experienced Engineers from Civil and Mechanical backgrounds.
 Financial support from the Government.
 Skilled labor force.

2.5 Project Constraints and Boundaries:

 Proper re-direction of local traffic during the phase of project.
 Complete co-operation from the local community.
 2 years’ time-frame cannot be violated.

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2.6 Stakeholders’ List:

The stakeholders’ involved in the Metro Rail Project can be classified as Internal Stakeholders’
and External Stakeholders’.
 Internal Stakeholders’:
a. The Government of Kerala.
b. Kerala State Road Transport Department.
c. Project Manager.
d. Quality Inspector.
e. Technical Manager.
 External Stakeholders’:
a. Suppliers.
b. Workers.
c. Common people.

2.7 Project Manager and Team:

A project manager is the one who is completely responsible for the project, which in this case is
me. So as the project manager of LMRC, I would be responsible for proper planning, executing
and successfully completing the project within the allocated time period and budget. I will be
assisted by an expertise team of engineers, field officers, contractors and workers throughout the
project. I, along with my team will be responsible for identifying and understanding each and
aspect of the project. Demands put forward by the major stakeholders’ and the project associated
benefits to the community would be on prime focus. I, as the project manager would be in constant
communication with everyone associated with the project, ranging from the major stakeholders’
to the laborers.
My major responsibilities will be to develop a feasible project plan, identify and manage risks,
focus on quality of raw materials, constantly checking the project progress, effective time and cost
management and so on. I, along with my team would deliver our best to fulfill the demands of the
stakeholders and impact the community positively.

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2.8 Budget Summary:

Land Acquisition $ 1,500,000

Raw material, Machinery & Equipment’s $ 1,200,000

Wages $ 800,000

Road Widening $ 900,000

Taxes & Advertisements $ 400,000

Additional Charges $ 200,000

TOTAL $ 5,000,000

3. UPDATED PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

3.1 Definition, preparation and definition of subsidiary plans:

LMRC is a Kerala Government funded metro rail project, which aims at solving the current
transportation related issues faced by the common people and contribute positively towards
community welfare. After a proper survey, the experts of LMRC has identified the areas that need
immediate attention. The proposed project covers the most congested areas, a stretch of 26.5 km
starting from Petta to Aluva. Implementation of the rail network will help reduce the traffic volume
by almost 75 %.
The entire project is divided into three (3) major phases, which is again sub-divided into almost
20 major activities. The initial part of the project would be the legal acquisition of land from
concerned authorities. Then the traffic has to be re-directed and road widening along with rail track
construction has to be done. An expertise team of engineers from Civil & Mechanical department
will be allocated and they as a team would be responsible for the construction of tracks and the
machinery/equipment’s needed. Once the tracks are fully constructed, a sample test run will be

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initiated and the results would be evaluated. Necessary changes if required will also be done to
ensure reliability.

3.2 Identification and description of stakeholder needs:

Stakeholders’ have a great impact on the entire project right from the initial phase to its completion.
In this metro rail project also, the stakeholders will be completely involved throughout the project.
The stakeholders’ for this project are identified as Internal Stakeholders’ and External
Stakeholders’.
Internal Stakeholders’ are:
 The Government of Kerala.
 Kerala State Road Transport Department.
 Project Manager.
 Quality Inspector.
 Technical Manager.
And, External Stakeholders’ are:
 Suppliers.
 Workers.
 Common people.

The needs of stakeholders include successful completion of the project within the estimated time
frame and budget, project sustainability, uninterrupted supply of raw materials, financial support
for the project, quality of end product etc.

3.3 Work Breakdown Structure(WBS):

A WBS is drafted for the LMRC undertaken metro rail project and is been depicted below:

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METRO RAIL
CONSTRUCTION

Project Project Detail Design Construction Evaluation

Management Requirement & Closing

Project Preliminary Recruitment of Project

Planning Inspection
Approval Design Workers

Initializing Financial Prototype Road Widening Testing

Support

Executing Required Raw Final Design of Construction of

Materials Tracks Tracks Closing

Monitoring & Machinery & Final Design of Construction of

Controlling Equipment’s Coaches Coaches Reviewing

Successful Testing Testing

Closing Completion of
Project on Time.

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3.4 Project Management Plans in the following areas of:

 Project Integration Management:

Project Integration Management will produce a series of inputs, tools and techniques and outputs.
LMRC adopts this strategy to verify if all the aspects of the projects are properly met. The inputs
in project integration management adopted by LMRC include project charter, project business plan
and performance reports. The project charter is adopted to get a proper idea about the entire project,
to identify key areas and form a good project management team. The project business plan is
adopted to identify the requirements of the project and budget related issues. Finally, when the
project is successfully completed, a performance report is drafted to evaluate the overall
performance of the team and the product.

Similarly, Tools and Techniques include project plan methodology, further planning and
facilitation methods. Outputs include updated project management plan and results. The project
team headed by the project manager (me) will be following these techniques to conclude the
project within the allocated time frame and budget.

 Project Scope Management:

Project Scope Management is adopted by LMRC to understand the success and benefits of the
project. Project Scope Management needs to guarantee that the project incorporates all the work
needed to achieve the expected project output effectively. The key scopes that LMRC expects to
achieve upon the successful completion of the project is reduced volume of traffic, avoiding city
congestion and reduce reliability on private transportation. With this project, the Government of
Kerala being a major stakeholder, will be able to generate a good revenue.
Controlling Scope Creep: Scope Creed could be avoided by proper listing of milestones that needs
to be achieved. Following a proper strategy to approach the project is essential to control scope
creep.

 Project Time Management:

Project Time Management technique is allocated by LMRC to have proper planning and execution
of the project and try best to complete the project successfully within the expected time period of

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two (2) years. Proper understanding and scheduling of project activities are done. The activities
and time allocation for each activity is shown below in the form of a Gantt chart:

 Project Cost Management:

LMRC adopts Project Cost Management to ensure that the organization will be able to complete
the metro rail project successfully within the expected budget frame of $ 5 million. LMRC is a
Government funded project. So preparing a proper budget plan is utmost important and is a primary
requirement of the project objective. The expert project management team of LMRC have prepared
an estimate of budget distribution, which is as follows:

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Land Acquisition $ 1,500,000

Raw material, Machinery & Equipment’s $ 1,200,000

Wages $ 800,000

Road Widening $ 900,000

Taxes & Advertisements $ 400,000

Additional Charges $ 200,000

TOTAL $ 5,000,000

 Project Quality Management:

Project Quality Management is adopted by LMRC to ensure the scope and sustainability of the
project. Project quality is among the primary stakeholder requirements. An on-field Quality
Inspector will be allocated to ensure proper maintenance of quality. Quality of raw material,
equipment’s and the skill of workers contribute to high quality of the overall project. Quality check
is initiated at various stages of the project to ensure proper functioning. If an error is detected,
rectification process is initiated immediately to prevent loss of time and budget. Satisfying the
needs of the stakeholders is the key objective of the project.

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 Project Human Resource Management:

Project Human Resource Management deals with the management of humans involved in the
project. Forming a group of skilled and understanding people is a key factor which fruitfully
contributes to the successful completion of the project as per the set objective. Proper manager is
the key person responsible for maintaining and supporting proper human resource.
People involved in the project may vary to each other in terms of culture, background and ethnicity.
So apart from project manager, a human resource manager who specializes in managing human
assets is involved in the project progression phase to deal with the issues if any detected. Workers
being the major human resource needs intense attention. Proper planning and executing of
workers’ wages, providing a good working environment and understanding them are important.
LMRC has a strong team of workers’ and maintaining these human assets are efficiently executed
by LMRC.

 Project Communications Management:

Developing a proper communication among everyone involved in the project is an essential

element that could affect the overall success of the project greatly. The project manager being the
key person of the project has to have fruitful communication to the team members. Main
communication channels used by LMRC are e-mails, phone calls, hand written documentations,
face-to-face updating and so on.

 Project Procurement Management:

Procurement is the process of obtaining goods and services from suppliers outside of the
organization. Proper managing of these supplies are very important. Since the entire project has to
be completed within the budget frame of $ 5 million, selection of procurements should be effective
in quality & quantity. Raw materials for the metro coach production is supplied by a Chinese
Company. Only after proper negotiations, LMRC decided to invest on procurements.

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3.5 Definition & Sequencing of the main project activities:

The main project activities are listed and briefly explained below:
 Project Management: Project Management involves planning, execution, monitoring &
controlling and closing. Valuable inputs from each stakeholder is taken into consideration.
Preparing a proper project management plan is essential.

 Project Requirement: Once a properly planned lay-out is drafted, the next phase is
estimating the raw materials required, machinery & equipment’s and the diversity of work-
force needed for the successful completion of the project. The requirements of the
stakeholders are identified.

 Detail Design: Preliminary design lay-outs for the track and coaches are made. Project
prototypes are also created to get a better understanding of the entire project.

 Construction: Construction of the rail tracks, road widening and construction of coaches
are to be initiated.

 Testing & Result: Once the construction is done, a test run over the new track is initiated
to gather data’s. Any needed rectification is done and the final results are drawn. The
project is then closed.

3.6 Main Activity Resources and Durations:

LMRC is a Government funded metro rail project. So the main activity resources are provided
largely by the Government. Few procurements are also undertaken. The duration for completing
the project successfully is two (2) years. But the project sponsors have allowed the project timeline
to be increased by one (1) month to allow for the scope creep already approved.
3.7 Project Schedule, Cost and Budget:

The LMRC undertaken project is a two (2) year project, which began on 24th September 2014
and is expected to complete by the end of October 2016. The total estimated budget of the
project is $5 million and is funded by the Government.

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Land Acquisition $ 1,500,000

Raw material, Machinery & Equipment’s $ 1,200,000

Wages $ 800,000

Road Widening $ 900,000

Taxes & Advertisements $ 400,000

Additional Charges $ 200,000

TOTAL $ 5,000,000

Shown above is an estimate of cost & budget. Once the estimation is done. Then the team has to
work on controlling each stages or activities of the project within the estimated budget frame.
Acquisition of land legally requires the highest expenditure, followed by raw material, machinery
and equipment’s. Cost management is among the hardest challenge faced by LMRC, so a proper
planning and execution of the technique is highly essential.

4. Plan for Executing, Monitoring and Controlling the Project:

LMRC with the metro rail project aims at providing an urban mode of transportation to the
common people of Kerala. So utmost care has been taken to execute the project with perfection
and great satisfaction. Before the start of the project, a team of well experienced and skilled

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engineers, contractors, quality inspectors and workers were formed. After the initial planning
phase, the execution of the project was undertaken. Procurement of raw materials, availability of
local raw materials, machinery & equipment’s, requirement of skilled labor forces and allocating
duties to engineers are the key plans in executing. During the construction phase, proper
monitoring of work, maintenance of machinery & equipment’s is undergone. Any issues detected
are prioritized and an appropriate solution is immediately drafted. The controlling phase involves
activities such as testing, identifying defects and importantly not slowing down the pace of the
project. The allocated time is two (2 years) and a budget frame of $ 5 million, LMRC will take
necessary controlling steps to try its best to finish the project successfully within the time-frame
and budget limit.

5. Plan for any Testing and Commissioning, and for Closing the Project:

Once the construction is completed, a test run is conducted on the new track to study and
understand the project performance and quality. The project manager will review the final output
and further documentations will be initiated. The quality inspector will study the test results and
rectify any detect if identified. Once the entire processor is completed from testing to documenting,
the project will be closed.

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QUESTION 2(b)

REPORT TO PROJECT SPONSOR

This report is drafted to outline the steps undertaken to successfully complete the project within
the time frame. The main reason to come up with a revised project management plan is to avoid
the scope creep and complete the in expected time. An additional time of one (1) month is being
allocated by the sponsors though. Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling and Testing &
Result are the steps taken by LMRC to deliver the project in the expected time frame.
The project lagged a proper plan initially. But while drafting the revised management structure, a
team of skilled engineers along with the project manager came up with a proper plan which could
be implemented. After drafting the plan, the execution of the outlined plan had to be done. The
construction work included properly planned activities and the work force used were also skilled
and trained. Having a detailed plan structure allowed the LMRC team to execute the project with
standard and eliminating time loss. Monitoring & Controlling also played a key role to the success
of the project. A team of quality inspectors were recruited, who could keep monitoring each phase
of the project during its execution phase and completed phase. Adopting this technique of
involving special on-field quality inspectors proved to be highly profitable as the errors were
immediately identified and rectified, which helped in maintaining the pace of the project without
hindering the expected quality. Then a proper testing of each phase of the project was initiated and
the respective results were tabulated and studied. A test run on the newly constructed track is
initiated and is reviewed to understand the efficiency and for the detection of any flaws. Once all
the tests on track is completed. A detailed project report is documented and is submitted to the
Government of reviewing. An additional cost of $200,000 will be incurred to successfully
implement the revised project management plan. Recruitment of skilled labors and procurement
of rail coach materials from China will be included in this additional cost. Thus by adopting a
revised project management plan helped LMRC to complete the project successfully within the
time frame.

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REFERNCES

Thorpe, D. (2013) Uauth.Usq.Edu.Au. Available at:https://lor.usq.edu.au/usq/file/72d6fa11-9f28-

4293-aed0-a34a65581767/1/Module%202%20-
%20Engineering%20project%20life%20cycle.pdf(Accessed: 24 April 2016).

Administrator, K. and Ltd, K.M.R. (2015) Slide 1. Available at:< http://kochimetro.org>.

(Accessed: 25 April 2016).

2016, B. (2005) Metros - mass transit systems - Bombardier transportation. Available at:
http:<//www.bombardier.com/en/transportation/products-services/rail-vehicles/metros.html>.
(Accessed: 26 April 2016).

2016, S. (2016) World’s largest railway companies as of april 6, 2015, based on market value (in
billion U.S. Dollars). Available at: http:<//www.statista.com/statistics/260683/the-largest-energy-
railway-companies-worldwide-based-on-market-value/>. (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

Watch, P. (2016) Project monitoring and control phase in planning management. Available at:
http:<//www.projectmanagementwatch.co.uk/project-monitoring-and-control-phase-in-planning-
management> (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

nc, B.H. (2008) Definition of the closing process group in project management. Available at:
http:<//www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/1676-what-is-involved-in-the-project-closing-
stage/#imgn_1>. (Accessed: 29 April 2016).

Sparrow, P. and penna, 4 (2012) Earned value management: Advantages and disadvantages.
Available at: http:<//www.ianswer4u.com/2011/12/earned-value-management-advantages-
and.html>. (Accessed: 21 April 2016).

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ENG8208 Advanced Engineering Project Management

Assignment 2 – Semester 1 2016

Date due: 10 June 2016

Weighting: 60% (600 marks)

Special Instructions

1. Answer all questions, and ensure that your answers have the coverage, and are in the format,
requested.

2. Present your own ideas.

3. Your answers should be properly referenced and reflect that you have undertaken research
outside the study material. You are to use the Harvard AGPS referencing system, information
which is available from the USQ Library webpage:
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide

4. You will require a table of contents for your answers to Question 1(a), and Question 2.

5. You will require an abstract and table of contents for your answer to Question 1(b).

6. You should include a word count for all questions. Word counts exclude the List of
References.

7. It is expected that your written answers will be produced using electronic word processing.
The ‘.pdf’ format is preferred for written answers.

8. Calculations for the project budget should be clearly explained.

9. Assignments will be submitted electronically via the ENG8208 Study Desk.

10. Please note that if plagiarism or cheating is detected in this assignment it will result in no
marks for the assignment. Students should ensure they clearly understand the meaning of
plagiarism and cheating. In particular, students should understand that while they may
collaborate with other students on the conceptual ideas in their assignments, the final written
report submitted by each student must be unique, and must not contain the written material of
(a) any other student in the course, or (b) by any other person without due acknowledgement.
Assignments are expected to be submitted to plagiarism detection software at the time of
submission.

For further information refer to the University’s Academic Integrity Policy 13752PL

11. Applications for extensions of assignment submission must be made in writing to the Course
Examiner together with accompanying documentation as specified in the Assessment of
Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances Procedure. The application and all supporting
documentation must be submitted electronically.

An Assignment submitted after the deadline without an approved extension of time will be
penalised. The penalty for late submission without a pre-approved extension will be specified
in the assignment instructions. The penalty for late submission is a reduction by 5% of the
maximum Mark applicable for the Assignment, for each University Business Day or part

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Business Day that the Assignment is late. An Assignment submitted more than ten University
Business Days after the deadline will have a Mark of zero recorded for that Assignment.

Course Examiners may refuse to accept Assignments for Assessment purposes after Marked
Assignments and/or feedback have been released. If Compassionate and Compelling
Circumstances appear to exist, Course Examiners must consider these before refusing to
accept an Assignment.
See: http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents/14749PL#4.2_Assignments

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Question 1 (450 marks)

Background
Because you have performed very well in your project review task, you have gained a position as a
program manager in an organisation that provides project management services for planning,
designing and implementing engineering projects.

The projects for which the organisation provides its services encompass all disciplines of engineering,
plus related disciplines like construction.

Your main responsibility is the management of a program of approximately six (6) engineering
projects in your organisation.

You have just taken over this particular program, and are keen to make an impression.

Three (3) of the six (6) projects in this program are progressing well towards a satisfactory result. The
remaining three (3) projects, Project A, Project B and Project C require attention.

The information given below about each project is fairly basic. You are expected to develop additional
details about each project as part of your answer, and for each project nominate an example project
(for example, an infrastructure development project for Project A, development of a new
manufacturing system for Project C) for which to develop your answers. Further information with
respect to these matters is in sub-questions 1 and 2 of Question 1(a).

Project A

Project A is a planning, design and implementation infrastructure development project (about $15
million in value and expected to take about three years from the start of planning to completion),
which is well advanced in its planning component. While the project is progressing well in terms of
time, cost and quality, there are a number of sustainability and stakeholder management issues with it.

This project is being undertaken in an environmentally sensitive area in which live a number of
property owners who are quite concerned with the impact of the project on their environment. In
particular, they are concerned that a thorough environmental risk assessment has not been undertaken
with respect to the long-term impact on the sensitive bushland area in which they live. They are also
concerned that completion of the project, through providing the basis for significant property
development and destruction of bushland, will forever change the social fabric of their region. They
have formed a Landholders’ Action Committee that is determined to prevent the project from
succeeding. The delays caused by the concerns of the property owners have the potential to threaten
the completion of this project satisfactorily.

There is an alternative, less controversial route for the infrastructure being developed. This route is
acceptable to the Landholders’ Action Committee. It will, however, cost an addition $1.5 million to
use this route, which will result in a six month delay to delivery of the project.

Project B

Project B is the development of a facility in a remote area, of about $5 million in value, of

approximately 18 months’ planned duration. It is 30 per cent completed. Earned Value analysis shows
that the project is not achieving its planned cost or progress targets. The project is also not achieving
quality requirements.

Some of the specialised components used for this project are only obtainable from overseas suppliers,

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and are difficult to transport over the rough terrain near the project site. There has been a delay on
ordering these components. The transportation of these components, which has to be booked several
months ahead, has not been arranged, and there is also difficulty with obtaining tradespeople with the
requisite set of skills to install them.

There are also a number of other risks associated with this project, including a quite basic business
case, rudimentary project charter, poor definition of expected project outcomes, exchange rate risks
and the potential for significant penalties to be levied if it is not completed in time for the local
Member of Parliament to officially open it.

Project C

Project C is a small (about $2 million in value) but complex project that has as its purpose the
development of a new computer based management system, and is highly complex in nature. In
particular, it has a number of small interrelated sub-systems that are mutually dependent, and does not
have a well-defined direction. It is currently about 40 per cent complete.

This project is being developed by staff of your organisation, with the assistance of specialist
contractors as required. Differences between the development staff and organisational management
about the direction that the project should take threaten, however, to impact on its successful delivery.
Similarly, requests by organisational management for scope change are numerous, and change control
procedures are poor. To date, the project manager has successfully managed to manage requests. This
may not always be the case.

If the new system achieves its desired goals, the organisation would be expected to achieve
considerable productivity improvements. However, it is threatened by non-completion unless all
parties involved successfully resolve their differences about the direction of the project.

There has been a recent change in the composition of the Board of Directors of the organisation. The
new Board has decided that the organisation should develop a more focused strategic direction, and in
particular wishes to focus on projects with strong business cases, well defined project charters and
very clear objectives that must be agreed to by key stakeholders. All projects must be very closely
aligned to the particular engineering disciplines represented in the organisation. There is a strong focus
on minimising risks to the organisation and on good communication between all parties in all projects.
In addition, there is a strong focus on project completion.

The new Board is committed to completion of existing projects, and will provide the necessary
resources to compete these projects, even at a potential loss, in order to maintain and build its client
base. It is, however, not keen to undertake further internally focused projects like system development.
The Board does, however, want to be prudent in the way that it manages its projects, and to build a
platform for a successful future.

The Board therefore urgently requires that you review these projects and present a report on what steps
you will take to ensure that all three projects that require attention will be completed on time and to
the required quality. Losses are to be minimised. Internal projects are to be carefully scrutinised to see
whether they could be outsourced if that is a better option.

You will accordingly need to undertake a review of all three (3) projects to ascertain whether they fit
the organisation’s new strategic direction and what action should be taken given the potential risks
associated with them.

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Your Task

Question 1 (a) (3000 to 4000 words) (300 marks)

Analysis of Performance of the Selected Projects

1. Nominate three (3) example projects for discussion. (30 marks – 10 marks per project)

Nominate an organisation of your choice, and the engineering discipline or disciplines in which it
is operating.

Nominate three (3) suitable projects (for example, road development, subdivisional development,
power station, mobile phone network, mining, provision of industrial equipment, installation,
maintenance, surveying, research and development) to use as examples for your discussion.

These projects should be consistent with your nomination of the type of engineering disciplines in
which your organisation operates.

2. Define key characteristics of each project nominated. (75 marks – 25 marks per project)

For example:

 Fit with current organisational strategic direction

 Estimated cost
 Estimated duration
 Expected quality of deliverables
 Current expenditure, percentage complete, quality standard achieved
 Key stakeholders
 Main risks
 Impact on the environment and society – short term and long term
 Complexity
 Other factors (for example, human resource, communications, procurement)
 Project integration factors
 Any other significant factor impacting on the project

3. Review each of the projects nominated in the background with respect to their alignment
with corporate direction and the principles of good project and program management.

(105 marks – 35 marks per project)

Areas to consider in this review include, but are not limited to:

 Project charter and plan

 Business case for the project in accordance with the new strategic direction of your
organisation
 Identification of project stakeholders and their role in the project
 Potential to be completed within the constraints of time, cost and quality
 Likelihood of the project’s scope being changed as a result of stakeholder issues and
requirements
 Change control requirements
 Potential human resource, communications and procurement issues that may impact on
delivery of the project

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 Potential risks in delivering the project and subsequent to delivery of the project
 Sustainability of the project and its outcomes
 Other matters considered important to the achievement of these objectives

4. Develop a plan to manage each of the projects to achieve project objectives.

(90 marks – 30 marks per project)

This plan should take into account each of the issues described above, and summarise the
following points:

 Summary of issues for each project as determined by analysis

 Fit of the project with corporate direction
 Consequences of not completing the project within key performance indicators
 The best approach for managing the project, with particular focus on the five (5) main
issues with the project
 Whether the organisation should undertake any future projects of the type of project that is
being reviewed

SUB- TOTAL 300 MARKS

Question 1 (b) (1000 to 1500 words) (90 marks)

Report to Board of Directors

Write a report to the Board of Directors of your organisation that:

 Summarises your analysis of each of the three (3) projects you have been asked to assess.
(30 marks – 10 marks per project)

 Describes your proposed solution for each project, including the feasibility of implementing it.
(30 marks – 10 marks per project)

 Discusses, from an overall program management perspective, how the projects within your
program can be better assessed, prior to acceptance by the organisation, for feasibility and
alignment with the Board’s strategic direction for your organisation.
(30 marks)

SUB- TOTAL 90 MARKS

Written Communication for Question 1 (60 marks)

Abstract (Question 1b only) and tables of contents (both parts of Question 1) (10 marks)
Structure (10 marks)
Language, style, spelling (10 marks)
Completion in within word count (10 marks)
Setting out and referencing (20 marks)

SUB- TOTAL 60 MARKS

TOTAL MARKS FOR QUESTION 1 450 MARKS

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Question 2 (150 marks)

Write a 2000 to 2500 word essay to discuss the following questions:

 What in your opinion are the three (3) main issues that project managers are likely to face in
the next 50 years?

 Why are they likely to be the main issues that project managers are likely to face?

 How would you expect the practice of project management to change over the years to meet
these issues?

 What is your overall assessment of how projects might be managed in the future?

Marking
Identification of issues, discussion, analysis (120 marks)

Identification and explanation of each issue (10 marks per issue) (30 marks)

Discussion of why each issue is important (10 marks per issue) (30 marks)

Analysis of how the practice of project management will change to meet them
(10 marks per issue) (30 marks)

Overall assessment how projects will be managed in the future (30 marks)

SUB- TOTAL 120 MARKS

Written Communication for Question 2 (30 marks)

Structure (abstract, introduction, body, conclusion) (10 marks)

Language, style, spelling (10 marks)
Setting out and referencing (10 marks)

SUB- TOTAL 30 MARKS

TOTAL MARKS FOR QUESTION 2 150 MARKS

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ENG 8208 _
ADVANCED
ENGINEERING
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT - 2

Toji Thomas_ U1075024

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Nomination of Projects………………………………………. 2

2. Key Characteristics of the Projects…………………………. 4

3. Review of Each Projects……………………………………... 7

3.1 Project A………………………………………………….. 7

3.2 Project B…………………………………………………. 12

3.3 Project C…………………………………………………. 15

4. Plan to Manage Projects…………………………………….. 18

5. Report to Board of Directors………………………………... 21

6. Question 2…………………………………………………….. 25

7. References…………………………………………………….. 29

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ENG 8208 ASSIGNMENT – 2

QUESTION 1 (a) - ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE

1. NOMINATION OF PROJECTS

For many years, the state of Kerala in southern India has lagged behind the rest of the nation in the

area of urban public transportation. The ever increasing traffic on the roads has forced the

Government to employ Logitech Metro Rail Corporation Limited(LMRC), a highly reliable,

economic and convenient metro rail project that could be the perfect solution to the current

inefficient public transportation system.

LMRC, which has a reputation of being the pioneer organization contributing efficiently to

urbanization in India, has currently undertaken 6 projects. Of these 6 projects, three (3) projects

are progressing well towards successful completion. The Metro Rail Project is one among the three

(3) which is progressing well along with two (2) other major projects in neighboring states. But

the remaining three (3) subsidiary metro rail projects face few issues. The following are the three

(3) projects:

1. Road Development: Developing a proper road network over a 26.5 km stretch, from Petta to

Aluva, where the metro rail project was previously implemented, is a new project undertaken

by LMRC. The existing road network was completely damaged during the metro rail

construction phase. So the government of Kerala is planning to implement extensive road

development in those areas to regulate traffic congestion and easy accessibility to metro

stations. This is a AUD 13.5 million project which is currently experiencing disagreement from

the property owners who are quite concerned with the impact of the project on their

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environment, particularly the long-term impact on the sensitive bushland area in which they

live. The project is categorized under civil and mechanical disciplines of engineering.

2. Manufacturing Metro Rail Coaches: The manufacturing of metro rail coaches is another project

undertaken by LMRC. But the project is not performing well from the start. The Earned Value

analysis shows that the project is not achieving its planned cost or progress targets. The quality

requirements are also not properly met. The coach construction facility is located in a remote

area outside Kochi. The project is categorized under electro-mechanical discipline of

engineering. LMRC has collaborated with a renowned Japanese Company to seek assistance

with delivery of few specialized components required for the construction of coaches, but the

transportation of these components over the rough terrain near the project site had to be booked

several months ahead, yet has not been arranged.

3. Metro Rail Track Security System: Developing a new computer-based track security system is

a highly complex project. This project is being developed by the technical staff of LMRC, with

time-to-time assistance of specialist contractors and has a number of interrelated sub-systems

that are mutually dependent and does not have a well-defined direction. The new Board of

Directors of the organization aims at developing a more focused strategic direction with a well-

defined project charter and very clear objectives. A strong focus on maximizing good

communication between all parties involved in the project is also given. This project is a small

budget project and deals mainly with software & IT discipline of engineering.

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2. KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROJECTS

In a state like Kerala, where the majority of people rely on public transport, there is utmost

necessity of developing and maintaining a well-established transportation system. Though the

metro rail project previously undertaken by LMRC was successful, but the on-going three (3)

subsidiary projects are facing issues. All the issues needed to be fixed and a revised approach

towards the project should be taken immediately.

1. ROAD DEVELOPMENT: The metro rail project is implemented over a stretch of 26.5 km

starting from Petta to Aluva. These are among the most crowed areas of Kochi with huge

number of residents’ and businesses. As the metro rail track construction ended, the

condition of the existing road network deteriorated to an unusable state. Thus the Kerala

government decided to involve LMRC in yet another project; road development alongside

the metro rail track. This would regulate the currently troubling traffic congestion

especially during peak hours of the day and also facilitate easy access of people to metro

stations. Regulating the traffic congestion of these areas is among the key organizational

strategy. The estimated cost of road development project is AUD 13.5 million and is

expected to complete within a period of three (3) years. The acquisition of land and raw

materials, machinery & equipment’s are among the costliest part of the project. The major

stakeholders’ involved in the project can be classified as:

 Internal Stakeholders’:
a. The Government of Kerala.
b. Kerala State Road Transport Department.
c. Project Manager.
d. Quality Inspector.
e. Technical Manager.

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 External Stakeholders’:
a. Suppliers.
b. Workers.
c. Common people.

The project is performing well in terms of cost, time and the quality, but a number of

stakeholder management issues and environmental issues persists. But the heart of the city

is covered by a bushland and continuing further construction of road would have long-term

impact on the sustainability of the bushland. So the residents around those areas are

concerned about the continuation of project. An alternative route has been suggested by

the Landlords’ Action Committee and is under consideration. It will, however, add an

additional cost of AUD 1.5 million to the project’s total budget and an extra six months on

project timeline.

2. MANUFACTURING METRO RAIL COACHES: The manufacturing of metro coaches is

yet another project undertaken by LMRC and the project fits with the current organizational

strategic direction. For quick aiding of coach manufacturing, a facility needs to be

constructed in a remote area, which would be away from the hustles of the city. The total

budget of the project is estimated to be AUD 5 million and is expected to complete within

a time frame of 18 months. Without proper surveying of the area, the LMRC identified a

remote area on the outskirts of city for the purpose of constructing a facility that can aid

the manufacturing of metro coaches. The site was considered highly suitable for the

purpose as it is almost abandoned, but no emphasis on the accessibility to the area was

considered. The manufacturing of metro coaches has not yet started because some of the

specialized components needed for the manufacturing of coaches has to be obtained from

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Japan, but is hindered due to the delay on ordering these components and the difficulty

faced to transport the needed components over the rough terrain near the current location.

Upon conducting Earned Value analysis, it is found that the project though 30 percent

complete is not achieving its planned cost or progress targets. The main stakeholders’

involved are LMRC, government of Kerala, Suppliers, Workers etc.

Lack of proper planning and improper communication with the foreign supplier are the

other factors that accounts to the overall failure of the project. There are also other risks

associated with the project such as rudimentary project charter, poor definition of expected

project outcomes, exchange rate risks and so on.

3. METRO RAIL TRACK SECURITY SYSTEM: Developing a track security system to

ensure safety and proper functioning of metro rail is a small project that completely fit with

LMRC’s current organizational strategic direction. The estimated cost of the project is

AUD 2 million with a time frame of 12 months to complete. LMRC has planned to install

a new computer-based security management system. This new system has a number of

small interrelated sub-systems that are mutually dependent, which makes the project highly

complex in nature.

Considering the complexity of the project, assistance from specialist contractors are

required. There is a difference between the development staff and organizational

management about few changes made in the project direction, however, it is to impact

positively to the project. The organizational management requests for scope change are

numerous, but the change control procedures are poor.

The major stakeholders’ involved in this project are LMRC, government of Kerala,

additional contractors, organizational management team, workers etc. This project does not

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have a particular long or short term impact on the environment as such. To date, the project

manager has been able to manage the terms and conditions put forward by the

organizational management team. There has been a change recently on the composition of

the Board of Directors. The new Board has decided to be more focused on the strategic

direction, particularly to develop a proper project charter, strong business cases and very

clear objectives that must be agreed to by major stakeholders’.

3. REVIEW OF EACH PROJECTS

Project A:

PROJECT CHARTER

NAME OF THE PROJECT ROAD DEVELOPMENT

Project Description/Plan:

 Re-surfacing or repairing of existing road from Petta to Aluva.

 The new road will be constructed alongside the metro rail track over a stretch of 26.5 kms.

 LMRC aims to complete the project in an estimated budget of AUD 13.5 million.

 The total duration of the project is three (3) years.

 Project aims at regulating the traffic congestion.

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Current Issues:  Sustainability of bushland situated at the heart

of the city will be tampered.

 Property Owners are quite concerned with the

impact of the project on their environment.

 Landholders’ Action Committee is determined

to prevent the project from succeeding.

 An alternative, less controversial route for the

road development is being developed, but it

will cost an additional of AUD 1.5 million and

a delay of six months.

Stakeholders’ List: Internal Stakeholders’:

a. The Government of Kerala.
b. Kerala State Road Transport Department.
c. Project Manager.
d. Quality Inspector.
e. Technical Manager.

External Stakeholders’:
a. Suppliers.
b. Workers Union.
c. Common people/Property owners.

Estimated Cost AUD 13.5 million.

Estimated duration Three (3) years.

Percentage Completed 57 %

Current Expenditure AUD 8.2 million.

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PROJECT TIMELINE

Start Date March 18th 2016

End Date March 15th 2019

Inauguration April 2nd 2019

CURRENT COST EXPENDITURE

Land Acquisition AUD 2.9 million
Raw material, Machinery & Equipment’s AUD 2.4 million
Workers’ Wages and Accommodation AUD 1.6 million

Additional Expenses AUD 1.3 million

TOTAL AUD 8.2 million

Business Case:
This is a government funded project that aims to improve the transportation system for the common

people of Kochi. Logitech Metro Rail Corporation(LMRC) is a pioneer organization that has

contributed positively to India’s growth by successfully completing numerous projects across India

and overseas. LMRC’s management team has already succeeded in completing the Metro Rail

Project for Kerala and now has started Road Development as a subsidiary project. The primary

objective of the project is to regulate the traffic congestion and to facilitate the easy access of

people to metro stations. The project began successfully on 18th March 2016. The estimated budget

of the project is AUD 13.5 million and the duration of the project is estimated to be three (3) years.

The project has successfully completed 57 % of its work within the expected budget and time

frame. Already AUD 8.2 million has been invested towards the project. Land acquisition and cost

of raw materials, machinery & equipment’s are the category that needed the investment. Though

the project is progressing well in terms of cost, time and quality, there are a number of

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sustainability of sustainability and stakeholder management issues that needs attention. At the

heart of the city where the next phase of the road development has to be done, lies an

environmentally sensitive area in which live a number of property owners who are quite concerned

about the negative impact that the project could have on the environment. They are in particular

concerned that a thorough environmental risk assessment has not been undertaken with respect to

the long-term impact that this project could have on the sensitive bushland area. To prevent the

project from succeeding, the property owners’ have formed a Landholders’ Action Committee,

which would determine the future of the project. A less controversial alternative route, which is

acceptable by the Landholders’ Action Committee as well is being developed. The alternative

route, however, cost an additional AUD 1.5 million and an extension of six months to the estimated

project time line. But the extra amount does not concern LMRC by anyways. The financial

supporter of the entire project is Government of Kerala and the government officials has confirmed

their support to continue the project. The officials have estimated that the revenue that could be

generated in a span of 2 years after the successful completion of road development would be much

more than the total amount spent on it. So economically the project is highly feasible.

Project Stakeholders’ and their role:

The major stakeholders’ involved in this project are listed below:

 Internal Stakeholders’:

1. The Government of Kerala.

2. Kerala State Road Transport Department.

3. Project Manager.

4. Quality Inspector.

5. Technical Manager.

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 External Stakeholders’:

1. Suppliers / Contractors.

2. Workers Union.

3. Common people / Property owners.

The Government of Kerala is the key shareholder of the project. The government is determined in

providing an urban means of transportation and reducing the traffic congestion of the city. Being

the key stakeholder, the government is responsible for clearing all the legal issues related with

acquisition of land, property owners concerns and so on. The entire project is financially supported

by the Kerala government. Kerala State Road Transport Department is responsible for redirecting

the current traffic to other alternative routes during the resurfacing and repairing phase. Project

Manager is the one who plans the entire project and is in constant contact with the other

stakeholders’, especially the government, contractors and workers. The quality manager ensures

that the project quality is maintained at every phase; from starting to successful completion and

the technical manager is responsible for maintaining the technical aspects of the project.

Contractors, workers and the common people are external stakeholders’, yet play a key role in the

success of the project. The contactors are responsible for supplying with raw materials and

equipment’s. The workers for a big project of this kind has to be skilled and are recruited by the

worker’s union of Kerala. The common people, though are not directly contribute much to the

project, but could be a key factor in many cases.

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Project B:

PROJECT CHARTER

NAME OF THE PROJECT MANUFACTURING METRO RAIL COACHES

Project Description/Plan:

 Manufacturing of coaches for metro trains in a remote facility.

 Involvement of a Japanese Company for parts.

 LMRC aims to complete the project in an estimated budget of AUD 5 million.

 The total duration of the project is 18 months.

Current Issues:  Earned Value analysis shows that the project

is not achieving its progress targets.

 Lack of proper surveying of the landscape.

 Delay in obtaining specialized components

from overseas supplier due to difficulty in

transporting over the rough terrain.

 Delay in obtaining tradespeople with the

requisite set of skills to install them.

 Other risks such as, rudimentary project

charter, poor definition of expected project

outcomes and so on.

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Stakeholders’ List: a. The Government of Kerala.

b. Project Manager.
c. Quality Inspector.
d. Technical Manager.
d. Suppliers.
e. Workers Union.

Estimated Cost AUD 5 million.

Estimated duration 18 months.

Percentage Completed 30 %

Current Expenditure AUD 1.5 million.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Start Date January 28th 2016

End Date July 30th 2017

Inauguration August 21st 2017

CURRENT COST EXPENDITURE

Raw material, Machinery & Equipment’s AUD 0.7 million

Workers’ Wages and Accommodation AUD 0.5 million

Additional Expenses AUD 0.3 million

TOTAL AUD 1.5 million

Business Case:

Manufacturing of metro coaches is another project undertaken by LMRC. This project has an

estimated budget of AUD 5 million and is expected to complete within a time frame of 18 months.

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The project is 30 percent complete, but currently is delayed due to few issues. Before the actual

manufacturing of coaches, a development facility in a remote area, on the outskirts of the city was

constructed. This was categorized as the initial phase of this project. An evaluation of project progress

was done after the initial stage. It was identified upon conducting Earned Value analysis that the

project was not achieving its planned cost or progress targets, and also has not achieved quality

requirements.

Another concern is about the delay in ordering of few components used in manufacturing coaches

from overseas supplier and the difficulty in transporting these components over the rough terrain near

the project site. The transportation of these vital components from Japan had to be booked much

earlier, but was not taken care of. Other issues are rudimentary project charter, poor definition of

expected outcome and so on.

Project Stakeholders’ and their role:

The major stakeholders’ involved in this project are:

1. The Government of Kerala.

2. Project Manager.

3. Quality Inspector.

4. Overseas Suppliers.

5. Contractors.

6. Workers Union.

The government of Kerala financially supports the entire project. The Kerala government is the

legal authority and acts as the main decision-making body. The project manager plans and executes

the entire project. Project manager will always be in touch with the government through e-mails

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or direct calls. It is the project manager’s duty to properly plan the project and try best to complete

the project successfully within the estimated time and cost. The quality inspectors are responsible

for monitoring and constantly tracking the progress of each phase of the project. Any progress or

issues related to the project is reported to the project manager by the quality inspectors. In this

project, few specialized parts related to the coach manufacturing had to be obtained from a

Japanese company. They act as an overseas contractor/supplier. Apart from this, local contractors

will also be involved in the project. The labors are provided by the worker’s union of Kerala.

Project C:

PROJECT CHARTER

NAME OF THE PROJECT TRACK SECURITY SYSTEM

Project Description/Plan:

 Development of a new computer based track security system.

 The system is highly complex in nature as it has a number of mutually dependent interrelated sub-

systems.

 LMRC aims to complete the project in an estimated budget of AUD 2 million.

 The total duration of the project is 12 months.

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Current Issues:  Does not have a well-defined direction.

 Differences between the development staff

and organizational management.

 Poor management for scope change and poor

change control procedures.

 Recent change in the composition of the Board

of Directors of LMRC.

 Weak business case and undefined project

charter.

Stakeholders’ List: a. Government of Kerala.

b. Additional contractors.

c. Organizational management team.

d. Technical Association Members.

Estimated Cost AUD 2 million.

Estimated duration 12 months.

Percentage Completed 40 %

Current Expenditure AUD 0.9 million.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Start Date September 11th 2016

End Date September 15th 2017

Inauguration September 21st 2017

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CURRENT COST EXPENDITURE

Computer based security system AUD 0.4 million

Technical Engineers team wages AUD 0.3 million

Additional Expenses AUD 0.2 million

TOTAL AUD 0.9 million

Business Case:
Development of a track security system is a small budget project undertaken by LMRC. Developing

a new computer based security system is highly complex in nature as it has a number of small

interrelated subsystems that are mutually dependent. The project is estimated to cost AUD 2 million

upon completion and has to be delivered in a year’s time. The project completed 40 percent with few

negligible issues. There has been a recent change in the composition of the Board of Directors of the

organization. The new board decided to develop a more focused strategic direction with strong

business case, well defined project charters and clear objectives. The project is economically feasible.

An urgent review of the project has to be done.

Project Stakeholders’ and their role:

The major stakeholders’ involved in this project are:

a. Government of Kerala.

b. Additional contractors.

c. Organizational management team.

d. Technical Association Members.

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The government of Kerala financially supports the entire project. The Kerala government is

the legal authority and acts as the main decision-making body. Additional contractors are

involved in this project keeping in mind its complex nature. Organizational management is a

special body of computer engineers, analysists and system developers and so on. They are

solely responsible for the development of the new computer based security system. Additional

help will be provided by the technical association members if needed.

4. PLAN TO MANAGE EACH PROJECTS

All the three projects have issues that needs rectification so as to complete the project

successfully within the estimated time and budget. Shown below are the issues with each

project and the solutions that needs to be considered:

Project A:
Issues:

 Number of sustainability & stakeholder management issues.

 Construction harmful for the environment.

 Construction would have long-term impact on the sensitive bushland.

 Insufficient local labors and materials.

 Disagreement from property owners about project continuation.

Solutions:

 A proper planning about the area of construction had to be done during the planning phase.

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 A general meeting should be organized and all the stakeholders’ must be made introduced

to each other to prevent future conflicts. Project manager should be able to manage the

issues of stakeholders’ efficiently.

 An alternative route that could minimize the impact on the sensitive bushland could be

opted to continue the road development.

 More skilled labors should be deployed to increase the productivity.

 Proper negotiations with the property owners about the new strategic plans of the

organization could solve the disagreement issues and take the project to a success.

These are the few issues that the road development project is currently facing. Apart from these,

there is absolutely nothing wrong in the project. It is progressing well in terms of time, cost and

quality. However, the new plans have to executed properly and special care should be taken to

maintain the expenses. Upon following the revised plan, the project would definitely complete

successfully. So, there is absolutely nothing wrong in undertaking any future projects by LMRC.

Project B:
Issues:

 Earned Value analysis shows that the project is not achieving its planned cost or progress

targets.

 Delay in ordering few specialized components from overseas supplier.

 Difficulty in transporting these components over the rough terrain near the project site.

 Lack of tradespeople with the requisite set of skills to install the components.

 The project has a very basic business case, rudimentary project charter and poor definition of

expected project outcomes.

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 Risk of significant penalties to be levied if the project is not completed within the estimated

time.

Solutions:

 Lack of proper communication between the stakeholders, project engineers and workers is the

main reason for not achieving the projects planned cost or progress targets.

 The lack of coordination between the project manager and the overseas supplier has caused a

delay in ordering of few vital components needed for the project. Delay in booking will affect

the project negatively, but still can be brought back to the track with proper planning.

 Skilled labor force must be utilized in installing the components. Help from overseas

contractors could be considered.

 A well explained business case, project charter and a well-defined definition of expected

project outcomes should be drafted.

If the issues are correctly addressed with good results, then the project could be a success and

LMRC should be doing similar projects in the future without repeating the same mistakes again.

Project C:
Issues:

 New computer based security management system is highly complex in nature.

 The system has a number of interrelated sub-systems that are mutually dependent.

 Differences between the development staff and organizational management.

 Scope change requests and poor change control procedures.

 Recent change in the composition of Board of Directors of LMRC.

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Solutions:

 Involving expertise in the development process of the new security system.

 A well-defined direction should be set and understood before beginning of the project.

 The new board of should review the project and understand the previously committed mistakes.

 A good communication should be established between all parties involved in the project.

If the new Board of Directors are successful in proper reviewing of the project and decide quickly

the best way to react to cut down the loss and finish the project within the estimated time, then

there is nothing wrong for the organization to take up similar projects in future.

Word Count 1(a) = 3992.

QUESTION 1 (b)

5. REPORT TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LMRC has always been delivering successful projects. But now the organization has decided to

move in a radical new direction considering the type of projects undertaken currently. Most of the

projects undertaken are big budget and would definitely create huge revenue for the company. As

the head of the new strategic development conducted by the organization, I have been responsible

for 6 new projects. Three (3) projects out of six (6) are smoothly heading towards successful

completion. But the other three (3) are being delayed or interrupted due to few issues. These issues

are being analyzed by me and a feasible solution have been derived.

The following are the issues that are being detected after analysis of each project:

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Project A: Road Development:

Road development is a subsidiary project to the previously completed Metro Rail Project in the

city of Kochi, Kerala. The project had a proper plan before starting and is almost half way through.

The project began on 18th March 2016 and is expected to complete successfully within 3 years of

time period. The early analysis shows that the project was progressing well in terms of cost, time

and quality. But during the second phase of the project, a number of sustainability and stakeholder

management issues arose. The property owners who lived in the area, had concerns about the

proper completion of environmental risk assessment. The heart of the city is covered by a bushland

and continuing further construction of road would have a long-term impact on the sustainability of

the bushland. So the residents around those areas are concerned about the continuation of project.

An alternative route has been suggested by the Landlords’ Action Committee and is under

consideration. It will, however, add an additional cost of AUD 1.5 million to the project’s total

budget and an extra six months on project timeline.

Project B: Manufacturing of metro rail coaches:

The initial phase of this project is to develop a coach manufacturing facility in a remote area

outside the hustles of the city. The entire project is estimated to cost AUD 5 million and has to be

completed within the time frame of 18 months. The project began on 28th January 2016. Upon 30

percent completion, an Earned Value analysis was conducted. The analysis shows that the project

is not achieving its planned cost or progress targets. Also the major delay in starting the

manufacturing phase is due to the unavailability of some specialized components that would be

necessary in the manufacturing process of the coaches. These components have to be obtained

from an overseas supplier. The delay in ordering the components and the difficulty of transporting

it through the rough terrane near the manufacturing facility have had a cumulative damage to the

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overall progress of the project. Also the lack of having tradespeople with the requisite set of skills

to install them has just increased the concerns. The project also has other risks such as, basic

business case, rudimentary project charter and poor definition of expected outcomes.

Project C: Metro rail Track Security System:

Metro rail track security system is a small budget project undertaken by LMRC. The entire project

has an estimated budget of AUD 2 million. The target is to develop a new computer based security

management system. But the computer based security management system has a number of small

interrelated sub-systems that are mutually dependent, thus making the entire project highly

complex. There are few differences between the development staff and organizational

management about the direction of the project. however, those concerns could have a positive

impact on the overall success of the project. The organizational management has requested for

scope change and the project manager, till date was successful in managing the requests. There

has been a recent change in the composition of the Board of Directors of the organization. The

new board decided to develop a more focused strategic direction with strong business case, well

defined project charters and clear objectives.

Though these projects have few issues, my proposed solutions are highly feasible and could

definitely take the project to a success. Solutions are:

Project A: Road Development:

The current environmental sustainability issue and the associated objection on continuation of the

project by the property owners can be sorted out by conducting a proper environmental risk

assessment. If the risk assessment shows long-term impact on the environment, then the

organization can opt for the additional route that is being suggested and agreed upon by the

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property owners and the Landholders’ Action Committee. The additional cost could easily be

incurred within months after successful completion of the project. The solution is among the most

feasible solution that can lead the project to success.

Project B: Manufacturing of metro rail coaches:

This project has not met planned cost or progress targets. Even the quality standards are not up to

the mark. All these issues arise due to lack of proper planning and involving stakeholders’, project

manager, quality inspectors, contractors etc during each phase of the project. Thus involvement of

project stakeholders’, project manager and quality inspectors is highly important. Feedbacks about

each stages of the project should be analyzed and errors must be detected. The delay in ordering

should not have happened. Now recruitment of skilled labors must be done quickly to facilitate the

manufacturing process without any further delay. The delivery of components should be made

quicker by requesting the overseas supplier. High-standard business case and a well-defined

project charter must be drafted in order to avoid confusions or delays. If the solutions are taken

into consideration, then the project can be highly feasible with a little effort from the entire team.

Project C: Metro rail Track Security System:

The complex nature of this project due to the presence of a number of interrelated sub-systems that

are mutually dependent, makes it a highly difficult project to execute. The initial step to be taken

is to involve a special team of computer software expertise to develop the new intended computer

based security management system. With the recent change in the composition of Board of

Directors of the organization, it has become much easier to approach the entire project in a different

and better way. My suggestion is to conduct a detailed review of the work done so far by the newly

formed body, identify the errors and come up with perfect solutions. A high necessity of

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establishing good communication between all parties of the project is needed. The new body

should provide necessary resources to complete this project even at a potential loss, which at this

point seems to be inevitable.

From an overall program management perspective, all the three projects can be successfully

completed if a proper plan is drawn. A well-defined business case and project charter must be

present. Establishment of proper communication among all the stakeholders of the project must be

ensured. Proper monitoring of each project to understand the status should be frequently done.

QUESTION 2

ISSUES & WHY?

Advancement in Technology:

Each new day passes by witnessing the advent of new technologies. Project management now is

based on human resources and individual skills. However recent technological advancements in

the information technology field has paved way for the introduction of project management

software’s. This software’s are precise in decision making and calculations. With the help of these

software’s Project managers will be able to improve the quality and standards of the projects they

work on. In time, different projects undertaken by the project managers becomes complex. At

present Project Management includes very little use of software’s. Project managers across the

world still use traditional project management methods and consider these software’s as being an

aid rather than being the driving force behind the actual project management. Complex nature of

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future projects will definitely make the project managers to rely on software driven project

management.

Experiential Learning Will Be More the Norm than Exception:

Professional development of Project Managers will be focused mainly on reality based learning

and on-job training programs. Project Managers will be trained in such a way that they will be able

to perform and apply what they learned to their current projects. In other word’s the Project

Managers will be trained according to the project which Is presently in hand unlike the current

way of teaching them general concepts. Universities that currently offer Project Management

courses will have to alter their way of teaching so as to concentrate more on making the course

relevant, practical and pragmatic based on the participant’s real projects.

Demand in Multidiscipline Knowledge:

Projects in earlier days was comprised only of a single discipline of engineering. Be it civil

mechanical, chemical, electrical, the engineers didn’t have the need to collaborate much. However,

in the future, a college degree and specialization in a particular engineering discipline might not

be enough to successfully complete a project. The complexity of the modern projects will demand

knowledge from a number of different engineering branches.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO MEET THESE ISSUES:

Advancement in Technology:

In order to cope up with the advance in technology, universities that offer project management

courses should mandatorily include a program in project management software’s. As a result, all

students will be able to have a basic knowledge on project management software’s. Software’s are

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usually made on an evolutionary basis. They get updated every now and then according to

advancement in science and technology. Evolution in software’s either make them easier to use or

more complex in nature. This can affect the ability of an average project manager. So as to get rid

of the problem every project management team should be employed with a software specialist.

This not only increases the efficiency of the team, it also improves the quality and overall outlook

of the project.

Experiential Learning Will Be More the Norm than Exception:

Project management teams play a critical role in driving operation efficiencies. MNC’s will then

be in hunt for a project manager who has various other skills such as negotiation, communication,

critical thinking, change management and imperative decision making and leadership skills.

Universities that offer project management courses should not only teach course material but also

teach values that are essential for a project manager to develop interpersonal and intrapersonal

skills. A pattern on what goes on around the world should be noted and the upcoming project

managers should be given training in developing trends rather than still focusing on basic project

management concepts. Introducing a more pragmatic and prudent approach which will help in

improving the potential of future project managers.

Demand in Multidiscipline Knowledge:

With progress in science and technology at its peak and never ending, it would be difficult for a

particular individual with a certain specialization to understand and comprehend all aspects of a

project. Institutes that trains project managers should take up this as a serious issue and start

teaching the students, the basics of a number of engineering disciplines. Organizational

environment is affected by various factors like social, economic and technological aspects.

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Therefore, a change in any of these factors can be highly influential to the organizational

environment. As mentioned earlier, Project Management in the future will be more daunting due

to the rapid technological advancements and therefore project managers are to be trained in such

a way that they can be able overcome the complexity that they are faced with in the projects that

they deal with.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF HOW PROJECTS ARE MANAGED IN FUTURE:

A project manager needs both structural elements and change management elements in order to

succeed with the project and realize the benefits of the project. Generally, the project managers

aim is to guarantee the deliverables and keep focus on the product. What is as of now seen and

supported is for the project manager to concentrate on quality to a higher degree and to choose the

project management team likewise. Thus, significance should be given to “why the project has

been initiated” rather than “what the project is to deliver”. In order to progress responsibly, project

managers should just try to survive now and thrive later, they have to consider demographics,

social and cultural trends and other macro environmental factors.

Project management educators should move beyond the conventional ways of educating the

upcoming project managers by taking up a broader learner based practical approach. A central IT

support system with unquestionable knowledge base should be adopted to improve efficiency of

project management teams in top organizations. Even greater emphasis will be given to human

resource development. Project managers will undergo progressive strategic planning sessions in

order to promote efficient strategic alignment. With the help of education, improvements in the

field of science and technology we can predict the changing nature of project management teams.

Team leaders in the future will be able to understand the dynamics of the people in the team and

at all levels including the cognitive structures that create and influence decision making. Also

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globalization will play a major part in the progress of the project management fraternity. As the

size and complexity of a project increase companies and people from different companies will

work together even when placed miles apart. Even though this might pose a unique challenge in

the form of eliminating an age old concept of “hands on management” which is still considered

important by Senior Project Managers.

With the ever changing face of technology and continuous increase in demands for better and safe

lifestyle, the area of project management will continue to play a significant role in the changing

future of the world.

REFERENCES

 http://www.mpug.com/articles/10-trends-ruling-project-management-that-will-

affect-your-future/

 http://implementconsultinggroup.com/inspiration/articles/project-manager-of-the-

future/

 http://www.pmi.org/learning/future-of-project-management/future-leaders-will-

need-to-change-the-way-they-manage-their-teams.aspx

 Administrator, K. and Ltd, K.M.R. (2015) Slide 1. Available at:< http://kochimetro.org>.

 (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

 Watch, P. (2016) Project monitoring and control phase in planning management. Available

at: http:<//www.projectmanagementwatch.co.uk/project-monitoring-and-control-phase-

in-planning-management> (Accessed: 25 June 2016).

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