The Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM) were developed by management scientists to help organizations with planning, scheduling and controlling large projects, such as building a new hospital or launching a new product. I first became familiar with the utility of project scheduling in my Air Force career when we used PERT/CPM to schedule activities associated with the construction of an air field in Spain. More recently, last semester I worked with an MBA student in applying the techniques to help in scheduling subcontractors to build car wash facilities throughout the state. I even wanted to use PERT/CPM to schedule our wedding activities, but when you are young, in love and/or elope you don 't have time for analysis (just kidding - at least about the analysis part). When I speak of large projects I mean an undertaking that has series of interdependent activities that take time to complete, require funds and resources, such as time and labor. Interdependence means that activities follow a given sequence or precedence relationship - some activities cannot start until others are completed. PERT is a scheduling technique that was specifically designed by the Navy in 1958 for projects with uncertain activity times. CPM was designed by Remington-Rand and DuPont in 1957 to address the time-cost tradeoff: if the project manager wishes to accelerate a project so that it is completed faster than originally planned, there is a cost tradeoff. Today, we generally speak of PERT/CPM as a single quantitative method with a number of analysis components. Further, today the method is as applicable to small projects as to large ones. Project Scheduling can be broken down into twelve general steps. These ... ... middle of paper ... ...ot begin until both Activities C and E are completed. Project Scheduling Step 4 involves construction of a graphical representation of the project, called an Activity Network. The activity network for this project is shown in Figure 7.1.1. Figure 7.1.1. - -> B --- --- -> E --- --- -> G --- --- -> I --- --- -> J | 60 6 10 6 12 | ^ ^ | | | A ---- ---| -> C --- --- --- --- --- --- --- | | 3 | 5 | | | | | - -> D --- --- -> F --- --- -> H --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - 15 40 7
The purpose of this document is to compare and contrast three different Linux vendors in regards to their specific server and workstation OS products they offer in the workplace. In addition, I will discuss the price for each vendor, specifications, performance, and reliability. The three vendors I would like to discuss are Arch Linux, Red Hat Enterprise, and Ubuntu. Linux is an operating system that has several distros to choose from. Linux allows the user more control of the system and greater flexibility. As an open operating system, Linux is developed collaboratively, meaning no one company is solely responsible for its development or ongoing support. Companies participating in the Linux economy share research and development costs with
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Quality Project Reflection For my quality project, I decided to buy and sell stocks to better understand the inner workings of the stock market. By completing extensive research --reading books such as Buffett: The Making of An American Capitalist and watching films such as The Big Short-- I was able to not only gain a better understanding of the stock market, but to also experience it first-hand. To document my work, I created a stock portfolio to analyze each of my stock choices. Through this entire process, I gained a lot of valuable insights.
1. Christine’s leadership abilities could benefit by having knowledge of the stages of group development. Specific to her situation, it seems that aside from the very first group meeting, Mike was not present for the forming stage of the group. As a result, questions such as “What can the group offer me?”, “Can my needs be met and still contribute to the group”, and other discovery inquiries did not get answered for Mike so he has not felt part of the team so he has withdrawn from the group. As a leader, Christine could have encouraged to Mike the importance of being present for group meetings so he can be part of the team. For example, at the lunch room incident when Mike walked away, she could have talked with him individually and explained to him that she perceives that he does not feel welcome and has been avoiding team meetings. Christine could address the how important it is to attend the team meetings, explain to him the “WWIFM” (what’s in it for me) aspects and the fact that team needs him as he has so much that could contribute and add value to the team. She could also indicate that the team’s success will only be possible when every member contributes. By doing so, she can help ensure that Mike is able to join the group during the forming stage and hopefully move quickly to the norming and then performing stages.
Gray, C., Larson, E. (2008). Project Management: The managerial Process. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
Strategic planning includes fiscal planning and developing a timeline for projects. PERT and Gantt Charts assist in scheduling and managing simple to complex projects. Leveraging resources can aide in assureing there are sufficient financial resources for the project. As well, it is important to consider the workforce needed to fulfill the implementation and goals of the project.
Taking these steps will help in the evaluation processes and show where the less that leading processes are being practiced. Evaluating this outcome will be evaluated and show whether there is economic value for the hospital, or if alternative methods need to be considered to achieve the goals.
Kezner, H. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. 6th. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1998. Print.
The projects in today’s world are given a lot of importance and it will continue to grow in the coming years. There are a lot of companies which do not have production, but all of them do have projects. There are a lot of books which have been published on which related to planning and managing the projects. The one of the most important one was published by the author Eli Goldratt in his book ‘Critical chain’. This book basically talks and shows how the application of theory of constraints in the field of project management. The novel is basically based on one of the MBA classes in America where a number of ideas are developed in discussions among the students and the lecturers. The lecturer is basically fighting for a tenure with the president of the university who expects a downturn in the executive MBA. The lecturer who teaches project management has a word with one the senior colleagues and project management was the right topic to teach. There were three students who were placed in the project management team of their company which manufactures electronic products. The students are enrolled in this MBA class along with other students, here they discover a new approach to project management which is known as the
Finally, I’ve learned the importance of looking ahead on the schedule to make decisions. The point of looking at upcoming activities is a good practice for a PM to make sure he/she will be ready when times come. By analyzing two to three periods ahead, I was able to anticipate and keep track of my resources and spending especially in periods where parallel tasks were executed. It wasn’t a perfect 10/10 hindsight but still useful.
The whole presentation was about concept of network diagram and beginning to end of project cycle. At the beginning of the presentation he emphasized that as a student studying project management we should understand what network diagram is and have to know how to compress the duration of project down using the diagram. Being closely connected with stakeholders is one of the fundamental virtues of project manager because
Heldman, K. (2011). PMP: Project management professional exam study guide, sixth edition. Indianapolis, Ind: John Wiley & Sons.
Time-phased project work is the basis for project cost control. Work package duration is used to develop the project network. Further, the time-phased budgets for work packages are timetabled to establish fiscal measures for each phase throughout the project. The time-phased budgets are to emulate the real cash needs of the budget, which will be used for project cost control. This information is useful to estimate cash outflows. The project manager's attention is on when the costs are to occur, when the budgeted cost is earned, and when the actual cost materializes. This information is made up to measure project schedule and cost variances (Gray & Larson, 2005). The following are typical types of costs found in a project:
PMBOK guide defines TM as the “Use of available time and your own productivity along with the appropriate planning and management of the project schedule” highlighting the link between Time Management and productivity and its closely knit relationship to scope and cost areas. Max Wideman presents a wider definition for TM as the “function required to maintain appropriate allocation of time to the overall conduct of the project through the successive stages of its natural life-cycle, by means of the processes of time planning, time estimating, time scheduling, and schedule control.” Ultimately at it’s core however, TM is about time, its planning and control during all stages of the project. A further look into Wideman’s definition of TM by means of identifying its importance throughout the entire project life-cycle (Initiation, planning, execution, controlling and close-out) is required. It is hoped that by analysing how TM tools and techniques can positively and negatively effect the different stages of the Project life cycle a better understanding of productivity, TM and project success will result.
Project management involves all activities that encompass scheduling, planning, and controlling projects. A successful project manager ensure that an organization’s resources are being used both efficiently and effectively. Most projects need to be uniquely developed require a sense of customization and the ability to adapt to any posed challenges. The scope of effective project management includes defining what the project is and what is being expected to be accomplished. Projects are imposed to fulfill a certain need and project managers must have the ability to create the proper definition. Goals and the means used to attain those goals have to be clearly stated. Project Managers must also have the ability to plan