Project to Install an Emergency Power Plant at a Tidal Barrier
Project to Install an Emergency Power Plant at a Tidal Barrier
Given the information below you are asked to apply project management techniques to the Proposed Project to address both the Planning Phase and the Implementation Phase of the project. In your report you should include your understanding of what is meant by the meaning of “project” and provide examples of different types of projects, including research, administrative, process improvement etc. See also Table of data (below) giving an overview of the Project, a Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS), durations and cost-related information.
1) Construct a suitable network diagram which shows the precedence logic of each activity. You should use the activity-on-arrow or precedence method. This may be done manually on paper but a higher grade may be obtained with the help of software to draw the diagram. Use the diagram to calculate each activity Early Start Day number and hence determine the earliest likely overall completion time. Taking this day number as a target for completion, calculate the Latest Times for each activity or node. Finally calculate the floats and show the critical path. Higher marks awarded if done using appropriate software and correct with no errors.
(20%)
2) From your network information using an Excel spreadsheet to one day accuracy produce a Gantt chart based on Early Start times. Explain the limitations of the Gantt Chart on its own and how an activity network assisted by computer software could be used to monitor the actual progress in terms of timing throughout the project and what steps might be taken to improve the timing schedule if the project were required to be completed in two months. Higher marks are awarded for additional examples with calculations done in Mircosoft Project.
(15%)
3) Using the given cost estimate information calculate total cost by Group and Overall, without and then with Contingency. Construct a budget (BCWS) spreadsheet with activities down the left hand side and a month by month calendar as the X-Axis. Apply a suitable method of allocating the cost of each activity evenly over each month of its duration. Allocate costs to months. The sheet should show sub-total costs for each activity group and overall per month. Construct a graph against time for the periodic spend and the same information on a cumulative basis. Higher marks are awarded for additional examples and clear explanation with illustrations.
(20%)
4) Explain how the Earned Value System (EV) works and why it is more appropriate for projects than a simple Actual v Budget system as often applied in on-going business operations. Illustrate how the indices can reveal the true cost and time variances at intermediate stages in the project and help to predict the final position at project completion. Higher marks are awarded for additional examples
(15%)
