Assignment: Project Management

Objective:

The objective of this assignment is to:

 Apply project management techniques such as the calculation of expected time for

activities using the PERT formula.

 Manually and graphically represent project tasks through network and Gant

diagramming.

 Perform critical path analysis to determine a project's duration and critical tasks.

 Use Project Management Software to input project tasks, generate network and Gant

diagrams, and compare manual and software-assisted project scheduling.

 Analyze the impact of changes to task durations on overall project timelines and the

critical path.

 Calculate slack time and determine flexibility in scheduling.

Please complete the five problems shown below. Answers must be provided in a Word document

that you will upload using the link provided on Canvas. Also, upload your ProjectLibre file(s).

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Problem 1: Calculate Expected Time (20 points)

Calculate the expected time for the activities in Table 1. The answer should be formatted with

two decimals. Time is measured in days.

Table 1
Activit Pessimistic
Optimistic time Realistic Time Expected Time (ET)
y time
A 4 8 10 ?
B 5 8 11 ?
C 3 5 7 ?
D 5 9 12 ?
E 2 5 8 ?

Problem 2: Network Diagram and Critical Path (20 points)

A project has been defined to contain the following list of activities along with their required

times for completion as shown in Table 2.

Table 2
Task Task Name Duration (weeks) Predecessors
1 Collect Requirements 4
2 Analyze processes 2 1
3 Analyze data 2 2
4 Design Process 6 2
5 Design Data 3 3
6 Design Screens 2 3, 4
7 Design Reports 4 4, 5
8 Code 5 6, 7
9 Test and Document 7 7
10 Deploy 2 8, 9
11 Project Review 2 10

Instructions:

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 a. Manually sketch a network diagram to represent the activities shown in Table 2.

Provide a screen capture of your sketch. You can use software packages such as Draw.io,

MS Visio, or even MS Office to create the sketch. The important thing is that you submit

a screen capture of your sketch here. (hint: use figure 3-25 from your textbook as

guidance)

b. Project Duration: How many weeks does it take to complete the project?

c. Project End Date: Assuming that the project starts on October 28, 2024, what specific

date does the project end?

d. Critical Path: What tasks are part of the critical path?

e. What tasks have slack time? How many days of slack for these tasks?

Note: You will not use specialized software for this step. Perform manual

calculations as explained in your textbook.

Problem 3: Using Project Management Software (20 points)

You could use either ProjectLibre or MS Project to complete this step.

Enter the project described in Table 2 into Project Management Software:

1. Generate a network diagram with the project management software and compare it

with the network diagram you drew in Problem 2.

o According to the Project Management Software, what is the completion date? If

there is a difference, explain the reason for the difference.

o Produce screen captures of the network and Gantt chart associated with this step

and paste them into the Word document.

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 2. Scenario Change: Explain what would happen in terms of overall duration and critical

path if activity 6 were revised to take six weeks instead of two weeks (use the Project

Management Software for this step). Get a screen capture of the network and Gantt chart

associated with this step and paste it into the Word document.

Problem 4: Critical Path and Slack Analysis (20 points)

Assume you have a project with ten activities labeled A – J, as shown in Table 3. Please

complete the following:

1. Calculate the earliest completion (EF) for each task.

2. Calculate the latest completion (LF) for each task.

3. Determine the slack for each task.

4. Identify the critical path by determining which tasks have zero slack.

5. Draw a network diagram and highlight the critical path.

Complete Table 3 with your calculations:

Table 3.

Activity Preceding Event Expected duration EF LF Slack Critical Path?

(days)
A — 4
B A 5
C A 6
D A 7
E A, D 6
F C, E 5
G D, E 4
H E 3
I F, G 4
J H, I 7

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Problem 5: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for Researching Point of Sale

Software

You are the project manager responsible for helping a fast-food restaurant owner select a new

Point of Sale (POS) system to improve operational efficiency. The restaurant owner wants a full

assessment of different POS alternatives available in the market, along with a final

recommendation. You need to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to plan and

organize the tasks required to successfully complete the project and document it in ProjectLibre

or MS Project.

Instructions:

1. Identify Key Activities:

a. Consider what steps are involved in assessing POS systems, gathering the

restaurant's specific needs, evaluating alternatives, and preparing a

recommendation.

b. List about 5 to 10 key activities necessary to research POS software solutions

and present a final recommendation to the restaurant owner.

2. Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

a. Once you have identified the key activities, break the project down into phases or

tasks and document it in the project management software.

 Durations for the activities should be defined in days. The entire

project, from the start of research to presenting the final

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 recommendation, should take no more than 90 days. There is flexibility

in your time estimations since this is a hypothetical scenario.

 At least one activity should have two or more predecessors.

 Identify the dependencies between tasks, such as activities that cannot

begin until others are completed.

 To show your work, create a table showing the task number,

predecessors, and duration.

b. Generate and submit the following:

 Network Diagram: Capture a screenshot of the network diagram

showing task dependencies.

 Gantt Chart: Capture a screenshot of the Gantt chart showing the

project timeline.

3. Provide an Overall Description:

a. Describe how you organized the project and the rationale behind your WBS.

b. Discuss the total time of completion, any slack time, and any critical

dependencies between tasks.

This problem requires you to apply project management techniques to a real-world scenario,

using tools like ProjectLibre or MS Project to create a structured and detailed project plan. Be

sure to think critically about how to sequence tasks and manage time effectively.

Submission Guidelines:

 Provide your answers in a Word document adequately labeled to identify your answers.

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 Upload the Word document and your ProjectLibre or MS Project file(s) to Canvas.

 The document with answers must use 12-point font, Times New Roman, and double-

spaced paragraphs.

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