MGMT 339 Ch. 8- Project Management

How is a project defined in operations management?

An interrelated set of activities with a definite starting and ending point, resulting in a unique outcome for a specific allocation of resources.

What is the primary objective of project management?

A systemized, phased approach to defining, organizing, planning, monitoring, and controlling projects.

What is a program in the context of project management?

An interdependent set of projects that share a common strategic purpose.

What are the three core roles of a project manager?

Facilitator, communicator, and decision maker.

What are three key traits to look for when selecting a project team?

Technical competence, sensitivity, and dedication.

What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

A comprehensive statement of all work that must be completed for a project.

How is an 'activity' defined in a project network?

The smallest unit of work effort consuming both time and resources that can be scheduled and controlled.

What does a network diagram depict?

The relationships between project activities using nodes (circles) and arcs (arrows).

What is a precedence relationship?

A sequence rule specifying that one activity cannot start until a preceding activity has been completed.

What is the 'critical path' of a project?

The sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that takes the longest time to complete.

How is Earliest Finish (EF) time calculated?

EF = ES + t, where ES is the earliest start time and t is the estimated duration.

How is Latest Start (LS) time calculated?

LS = LF - t, where LF is the latest finish time and t is the estimated duration.

What is activity slack?

The maximum length of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.

What is project crashing?

The process of shortening or expediting specific activities to reduce the overall project completion time and total costs.

What is 'normal time' (NT) in project crashing?

The time necessary to complete an activity under normal conditions.

What is 'crash time' (CT)?

The shortest possible time to complete an activity.

What are the three types of costs involved in project crashing?

Direct costs, indirect costs, and penalty costs.

When should you stop crashing activities on a critical path?

When the activity cannot be further reduced, another path becomes critical, or the increase in direct costs exceeds the savings from shortening the project.

What happens if more than one path is critical during crashing?

Activities on each critical path may need to be reduced simultaneously to shorten the project duration.

What is the purpose of a Gantt chart in project management?

It provides a visual schedule display of project activities, often used for monitoring and controlling progress.

Name three common organizational structures for managing projects.

Functional, pure project, and matrix.

What are two common techniques for diagramming project networks?

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM).

What are three methods for estimating activity times?

Statistical methods, learning curve models, and managerial opinions.

What is the relationship between project duration and penalty costs?

Reducing project duration can eliminate or reduce penalty costs incurred by missing a deadline.

Why is it important to identify the critical path?

Because any delay in an activity on the critical path will directly delay the entire project completion date.

What is the primary goal of project crashing?

To shorten the project duration by adding resources to critical path activities, usually at an increased cost.

How is the net savings of a project crash calculated?

By subtracting the cost of crashing from the indirect cost savings gained by finishing the project earlier.

What is a risk-management plan?

A plan that identifies key project risks and prescribes specific strategies to circumvent or mitigate them.

What are the three time estimates used in beta distribution for project risk analysis?

Optimistic time (a), most likely time (m), and pessimistic time (b).

What does the central limit theorem allow project managers to do when analyzing project risk?

It allows them to assume the project completion time distribution is normal, enabling the use of z-transformations to calculate probabilities.

What is the formula for the expected time of an activity in PERT?

Expected Time = (a + 4m + b) / 6.

What is the formula for the variance of an activity in PERT?

Variance = ((b - a) / 6)^2.

How is the z-value calculated when assessing project completion probability?

z = (T - Expected Finish Time) / Square Root of Path Variance, where T is the target due date.

What is Scrum in the context of project management?

An agile framework that focuses on allowing teams to respond rapidly, efficiently, and effectively to changing requirements.

What are the three key roles in the Scrum framework?

ScrumMaster, Product Owner, and the Development Team.

What are the two primary components of monitoring and controlling projects?

Monitoring project status (issues, risks, schedule) and monitoring project resources (leveling, allocation, acquisition).

What activities are included in the project closeout phase?

Writing final reports, completing remaining deliverables, and compiling recommendations for process improvement.

Why might a non-critical path become critical during a project?

If a non-critical path has a large variance, it may experience delays that exceed its slack, potentially becoming the new critical path.

What is the difference between direct and indirect project costs?

Direct costs are associated with specific activities (e.g., labor/materials), while indirect costs are overhead or penalty costs incurred over the project duration.

What is resource leveling?

The process of adjusting project schedules to ensure that resource demand does not exceed resource availability.

When should you stop crashing a project?

When the cost of crashing an additional unit of time exceeds the savings generated by the reduction in indirect or penalty costs.

What is the significance of the critical path in project scheduling?

It is the longest path through the network and determines the minimum time required to complete the project.

How do you calculate activity slack?

Slack = Latest Start (LS) - Earliest Start (ES) or Latest Finish (LF) - Earliest Finish (EF).

What does a z-value of 0 represent in a normal distribution?

It represents the mean, indicating a 50% probability of the project being completed by that time.

What is the purpose of a network diagram?

To visualize the sequence of activities, their dependencies, and the overall project timeline.

What is the difference between the beta and normal distribution in risk analysis?

The beta distribution is used to model individual activity times, while the normal distribution is used to model the total project completion time.

What is the primary benefit of using agile frameworks like Scrum?

Increased flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing project requirements during the execution phase.

What are 'open issues' in project monitoring?

Unresolved problems or risks that could potentially impact the project's success or schedule.

How does project crashing affect the total project cost?

It increases direct costs but may decrease indirect or penalty costs, leading to a potential net savings if managed correctly.

What is the 'earliest expected finish time' for a project?

The sum of the expected activity times along the critical path.

What is the final phase of the project life cycle?

The closeout phase.