Project Scheduling using MS Project
\nDeliverables (to be submitted via dropbox on eCourweware)
\n1. MS project file from Part 1
\n2. MS project file from Part 2
\n3. Word document which include answers for the questions from Part 1&2
\n*** please save the files using your last name and first name initial followed by the deliverable number, e.g., LeeJ1.mpp, LeeJ2.mpp, and LeeJ3.docx<\/p>\n
Note: you will need to use Microsoft Project to complete this homework. There are two ways to obtain access to Microsoft Project \u2013 see below and also refer to 3 lecture (part 2) for detailed instructions.<\/p>\n
1. Use the cloud-based Microsoft Project:<\/p>\n
(a) Go to http:\/\/memphis.edu\/umware
\n(b) Login with your U of M user ID and password
\n(c) Find \u201cMicrosoft Project 2013\u201d and launch the software.<\/p>\n
2. Download and install Microsoft Project on your PC or laptop (it works only on Windows):<\/p>\n
As a U of M student taking an MIS course, you can download Microsoft Project and several other Microsoft programs. Here are the instructions:
\n1. Copy and paste this URL into a separate browser window (if you just click on this link, you will end up in Microsoft \u201cOutlook\u201d which is not where you want to be):
\nhttp:\/\/e5.onthehub.com\/d.ashx s=tm4e26krf6
\n2. When you get to this site, login with your U of M user ID and password.
\n3. Locate either Microsoft Project 2010 or 2013. Click through the options to indicate that you want to download and install the program. If you are provided with a CD-key, make sure you write it down because you will need it to install the program.
\n4. Click the \u2018installer\u2019 icon to install the installer. On the Windows desktop, click to run the installer, then click the MS project icon to install the program.
\n5. The MS Project program will install on to your hard drive. When the installation process is complete, the program should appear on your \u201cprograms\u201d list on the Windows desktop.
\nPart 1<\/p>\n
Use the project information in the table below to create a network diagram using MS Project. After having done so, answer questions1,2,&3.<\/p>\n
Activity Predecessor Days to Complete
\n1 Contract Signoff \u2013 5
\n2 Art Design 1 10
\n3 Code Design 1 5
\n4 Database Design 1 10
\n5 Build Site 2,3,4 8
\n6 Test Site 5 9
\n7 UAT 6 10
\n8 User Signoff 7 5
\n9 Close Project 7,8 5
\nQuestion 1) what is the overall project schedule (duration) <\/p>\n
Question 2) name the activities that are on the critical path.<\/p>\n
Question 3) what is the total \u201ctime slack\u201d of this project (hint: time slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed before it delays the project)
\nPart 2
\nDescription of the Project
\nYou are currently managing an IT project that was initiated to build a new web site to support a product launch for a major telecommunications company. There are many parts of the value chain in play, including marketing, IT, customer service and operations. Youneed to derive and manage an acceptable project plan based on the provided Microsoft Project Template.<\/p>\n
To begin with, download a copy of the file named \u201cTigersProject.mpp\u201dfromeCourseware.<\/p>\n
General Tips
\nRead instructions very carefully and follow them step-by-step (skipping a step may result in errorr). As you follow the instructions, simultaneously make notes and\/or answer questions. Also, think logically what each step implies as opposed to mechanically following the instructions. Lastly, your answers should be specific and demonstrate your thought process and reasoning.<\/p>\n
1) Set up the project to begin on 2\/12\/2016.
\na. Set WBS 1.1.1 to Start on 2\/12\/2016.
\nb. Go to the top menu and click on Project, and then click \u201cProject Information\u201d. It will pop up a window, and there you can modify the start date \u2013 set it to 2\/12\/2016
\n*** When you change the start date, start date for every other activity should be adjusted automatically<\/p>\n
2) Now, you will notice the start date for some of the tasks is too early. This is because no predecessor relationships have been set on some tasks. Assign predecessors to these tasks as follows:
\na. Set WBS 4.1 to have predecessor WBS 3.2.9 (line 43).
\nb. Set WBS 4.2 to have predecessor WBS 4.1 (line 52).
\nc. Set WBS 4.5 to have predecessor WBS 4.2 and 4.3 (lines 53 and 54).<\/p>\n
3) Now that you have an initial project schedule, baseline the project.
\na. On the Project tap, select Set Baseline, then click the baseline you want to save (select Baseline, and Entire project).<\/p>\n
Question 4) on the Project tap, select Project Information, then click Statistics, what is the duration, work, and costs for this current \u201cBaseline\u201d set
\n4) OK, you now have an initial baseline. However, you only have \u201cgeneric\u201d resources such as programmer, QA, developer. You need to assign real resources (i.e., people) so you can start understanding the costs as not all resources are billed equally. Select \u201cTask\u201d \u2013 \u201cGantt Chart\u201d \u2013 \u201cResource Sheet\u201d. The starting Resource Sheet looks something like this:<\/p>\n
5) Make it look more like this (notice the change in rates and names).<\/p>\n
6) Now, change the working time.
\na. Choose \u201cChange Working Time\u201d on the Project tap.
\nb. Select \u201cStandard (Project Calendar)\u201d \u2013 this will make changes apply to entire calendar, not just an individual resource.
\nc. Go to \u201cWork Weeks\u201d, click Details.
\nd. Select the M, T, W, Th, F columns on the calendar.
\ne. Set selected date(s) to \u201cSet day(s) to these specific working times\u201d\u2026 and select 9AM to 12PM and 1PM to 4PM. Close \u201cOK\u201d
\nf. Click Options at the bottom and set to 6 hours per day instead of 8 hour per day.
\ng. Save a project Baseline to \u201cBaseline 1\u201d.<\/p>\n
Question 5) what is the DURATION for the \u201cBaseline 1\u201d Is it longer or shorter than the \u201cBaseline\u201d Explain why Also, what is the COST for the \u201cBaseline 1\u201d Is it a greater or lesser cost than the \u201cBaseline\u201d Explain why <\/p>\n
You need a visual representation of the critical path to be able to answer the next set of questions. Please use \u201cGantt Chart\u201d and \u201cNetwork Diagram\u201d view.<\/p>\n
Now, looking at the schedule, the project sponsor would like to see two weeks shaved off the project schedule (duration). They are willing to make cost accommodations (within a reasonable amount) to meet that timeline. They would like to keep the cost increases to minimum (i.e., less than 5% over the current budget). Fortunately, we also have an outsourcing relationship with an offshore team in Brazil with specialties in both QA Testing (Joanne Fitch) and Development (Rita Das). Their resources can\u2019t work faster than ours, but they have the ability to repartition some of the tasks. Furthermore, their rates are nearly half as much as our internal billing rate. For example, QA cost would be $40\/hr and Development cost would be $55\/hr.<\/p>\n
Question 6) what does \u201ccrashing the project\u201d mean (Check the book, slides, Google, etc.) <\/p>\n
Question 7) do you see any opportunities for crashing in our project to shave off two weeks utilizing our outsourced partner If so, provide a few sentences on how you would go about doing this. If not, explain why not.<\/p>\n
Question 8) assuming you crash the project and reduce our critical path, is it possible that another critical path could present itself Is it possible to have more than one critical path Answer yes or no, then explain for both of these.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Project Scheduling using MS Project Deliverables (to be submitted via dropbox on eCourweware) 1. MS project file from Part 1 2. MS project file from Part 2 3. Word document which include answers for the questions from Part 1&2 *** Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94776\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}