Case Scenario: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has contracted with a medium-size excavation firm to construct a small series of three earthen dams as part of a flood control program in North Carolina. For economic reasons, dams #1 and #2 have to constructed at the same time and dam #3 can only be built after #1 and #2 are completed. There is also a very important scheduled completion date that has to be met (relating to next year's flood season). The project is being handled by Bryan Johnson, who has been with the company for about a year.
This is a new job for Bryan in that he had never before headed more than one project at a time. About three months into the building of dams #1 and #2, he began to notice an information problem. He had supervisors from dams #1 and #2 reporting to him, but he never know how far along they were in relation to each other. Since dam #3 cannot be built until both dams are fully complete, he cannot tell if it will be started on time and therefore completed on time. Realizing the situation was becoming serious, he began to wonder about how he could coordinate the projects. How could he tell where the projects were in relation to each other? How far were they jointly behind? Bryan's major problem was his inability to monitor and record the dual projects effectively.
Questions: What would you recommend to Bryan?