Describe how you used or how you would have used microsoft

Question

Assessment Tasks-

Part A: Developing the schedule

For part A of the assessment you must complete the following tasks and questions. Read all the questions before you commence the tasks. The schedule is to be developed in an appropriately named Microsoft Project 2013 file (see the name specified below) and the questions are to be answered in a Word document. As stated above, any assumptions must also be listed at the beginning of the Word document (after the coversheet).

1. Use Microsoft Project to develop the project schedule. Note that Ms. Thurlings has also asked you to include the following in your schedule:

a) The project title as the overall project summary (as task 0 and WBS number 0). All other tasks should be "indented" according to the WBS structure described in the case study (see table 1, figure 1, notes regarding the "ramp up" task, milestones and milestone reviews etc.).

b) A WBS column before the "Task Name" column and a WBS Predecessors column after the "Task Name" column as shown below:

(task number - no column title)

i

Task Mode

WBS

Task Name

WBS Predecessors

Duration

Start

Finish

Predecessors

Resource Names

c) The milestones and milestone reviews at the end of the task list in your schedule. See the notes after table 1 for more details about this requirement. (Note that this is not always a requirement in a project schedule. Milestones can be embedded in the schedule or listed at the start. In this assignment you must add them at the end.)

d) Resource allocation details.

e) Holidays.

f) The critical path(s) automatically displayed in red on the bars of the Gantt chart view of your schedule

At this point there may be resource over allocation issues. Do not attempt to resolve these before answering question 2. Save this version of your schedule in GD_PartAQ1.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.

2. At this point ignore any resource over allocations. For the purposes of this question only you can assume that there would be no resource constraints so do not attempt to resolve any resource over allocation (if any exists) at this point. Based on your GD_PartAQ1.mpp schedule:

a) Use the "view tab" filter to display only the critical tasks. Provide a screenshot showing the task names and the Gantt chart of all the tasks on the critical path(s).

b) Did the annual holidays make any difference to the end date of your project? Explain why/why not.

c) If you were asked to complete the project 3 weeks earlier by reducing the duration of some of the tasks in the project, what tasks would you target for reduction and why? In your answer, include specific suggestions about how you could reduce the duration of those tasks and why you targeted those specific tasks.

d) Create a new version of the schedule with the changes you outlined in part (c) highlighted using the "background colour" icon on the task ribbon. Make sure that your changes have reduced the project duration by 3 weeks. Call this file GD_PartAQ2_shortened.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission. This file is not to be modified/developed further.

3. Create another copy of your original question 1, GD_PartAQ1.mpp in another file called GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp. In this question, unlike question 2, assume that you will not have any additional resources assigned to the project even if there are resource over allocation issues. If your schedule had any resource over-allocation issues resolve these in the GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp file without adding any additional resources. For this assignment, do not "split tasks". Save this "modified" version of GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp file. You will be required to submit the GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp file as part of your assignment submission.

a) Describe how you used (or how you would have used Microsoft Project) to resolve any resource over-allocation issues.

b) Does the fact that you cannot have any additional resources for this project have any impact on your project duration and end date? Explain.

c) Does the fact that you cannot have any additional resources for this project have any other impact on your project? Explain.

4. Continue working with GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp. In this file, include 3 additional milestone "markers" at the end of the milestone list to highlight

a) The latest date that the project manager should contact the regulatory authorities to book in regulatory approval tests.

b) The latest date that the project manager should contact the production manager to book the facilities for the first prototype build.

c) The latest date that the project manager should contact the production manager to book the facilities for the second prototype build.

d) What are the last dates for booking the facilities ((a), (b) and (c)) according to your schedule?

Make sure that these new milestones have the appropriate predecessor relationships so that the dates will be automatically adjusted if there is any change to the schedule. On your schedule, highlight the rows that include these milestones. This change is to be saved in your GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp file.

5. Write a memo to the director of product development, Ms. Thurlings, providing the following information:

a) the expected completion date of the project, assuming it commences on 23/5/16;

b) the total duration of the project;

c) an explanation of the main factors that cause the project to require that length of time and any recommendations that you might make if time was a priority for the project;

d) the estimated direct labour costs for each of the resource types working on the project. Present the costs in a table similar to the following:

Resource Name	Cost
Electronics Engineer
Software Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Test Engineer
Production Engineer
Technical Writer
Total direct labour costs:

Assume that you will send the project schedule (GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp) as an attachment to the memo. The information in the memo should correspond to the attached schedule. Some notes regarding memos can be found on the course website in the same area as this specification.

Part B: Modifying the schedule

Mr. Production reviews your project schedule and requests the participation of one engineer from each of the following functional areas in the P1 and P2 builds: production, electronics, software and mechanics. Only the production engineer is required for the final "ramp up" production of 2000 devices. You agree with this proposal.

You are also informed that the Chinese display supplier has been able to revise the delivery time. The delivery time is now reduced to 4 weeks which is corresponds to the time required for the other components.

In addition you have been informed that some additional software features are required in the software. After consultation with the software engineers involved in the original estimates you have been advised that "development of the PC software" and the "user interface development" tasks will both require an additional 1 week of work by a software engineer.

Based on the information given above complete the following tasks:

1. Copy your GD_PartAQ3_resources.mpp file into a file called GD_PartB.mpp file. Amend the project schedule in your new GD_PartB.mpp file incorporating the request from Mr. Production, the change to the delivery time for the display and the new estimated times for the software tasks. If this has created any resource over allocation issues resolve these before progressing to the next question. Save the changes. The GD_PartB.mpp file is also to be included as part of your final assignment submission.

2. Have the changes impacted on the duration of your project and if so in what way? Be very precise in your answer. If the project is longer or shorter state the previous finish dates the new end date and by how much the project has been shortened or lengthened.

3. Describe the impact of each of these changes on the project duration in a table similar to the following:

Change	Impact on project duration (longer, shorter or no impact)	By how much	Explanation
Addition of resources to prototype 1 and 2 builds
Change to delivery time of display unit
Additional time required for user interface development
Additional time for development of PC software

Note that if a combination of the changes have had an additional impact that would not have occurred if the change was made in isolation clarify this in your explanation.

4. Describe the impact of each of these changes on the direct labour costs for the project in a table similar to the following:

Change	Impact on direct labour costs (more, less or no impact)	By how much	Explanation
Addition of resources to prototype 1 and 2 builds
Change to delivery time of display unit
Additional time required for user interface development
Additional time for development of PC software

Part C: Tracking Progress

In this part of the assignment you are to imagine that your project is underway and that it is time to produce one of your regular status reports.

This means that your group needs to meet together early in week 10 to save the baseline and decide on and enter your status data for the project. Your group needs to enter the data together and make sure that everyone has a copy of the updated mpp file. This is to ensure that everyone is working with the same information when they write their individual attempt at the status report.

The individual sub-deliverable due at the end of week 10 is the group's GD_PartC.mpp file plus each students individual attempt at the answers to the Part C questions.

In week 11, you should complete the group version of the Part C answers and include this in your final group submission. All previous "group" answers should already be complete.

1. Copy GD_PartB.mpp to GD_PartC.mpp. Save the baseline for this version of your project.

2. Assume that you are now at the end of the fourth week of your project and that you have data about when tasks actually started, their duration (which must be consistent with the start date and the status date) and the estimated remaining duration. If the task has been 100% completed assume that you know the actual start date and actual finish date. You are required to produce a status report for the project every two weeks, so this will be your second status report. In your GD_PartC.mpp file

a. Set the status date to the end of the fourth week and include a solid, purple status date gridline in your project to ensure that the status date is clearly visible in your Gantt Charts.

b. Enter some status data. For the purposes of this assignment you are to invent your own data about the status of the various tasks that you would expect to have started at this point in the project. You are required to enter status data with some variation compared to the baseline so that you can demonstrate an understanding of the earned value data in your status report.

For tasks that should have been started by the status date you are to enter reasonable data about their start date, actual duration (up to the status date), estimated duration remaining (or completion date). Do not have all tasks starting and finishing exactly according to your original estimates and make sure that your changes do not violate any predecessor constraints. You are free to enter data to make tasks finish early or late or enter data about the remaining duration that means a task is expected to take either more or less time than originally estimated. It is also acceptable to have some tasks that are tracking according to their original duration estimates, just not all tasks. Save your changes in GD_PartC.mpp and use this file to answer parts c, d and e below.

c. Include a screenshot of the top of your tracking Gantt chart showing the tracking table and the Tracking Gantt Chart for some of your tasks. For example, if asked to do this for the Microsoft Project practical 4 schedule, you would have included a screenshot similar to the following:

d. Include a screenshot of the top of the earned value table for your GD_PartC.mpp file. You will probably have to add the additional CPI and SPI columns. For example, if asked to do this for the Microsoft Project practical 4 schedule, you would have included a screenshot similar to the following:

e. Based on the current status of your project, you are to produce a status report with a similar format to "exhibit 13.1" in the textbook (the actual template you are to use for the status report is provided as Appendix 2). Detailed explanations for why tasks are not tracking according to their original estimates are not required for this assignment as the data you entered is "fictitious". However, you can suggest reasons for tasks to be tracking better or worse to make your report more realistic if you wish. Even if you do not give specific reasons, you must still flag which tasks are responsible for your project status being better or worse than planned.

3. Although you have ended the Microsoft Project schedule with milestone "M4: the end of the project", you understand that the project is not yet completed (even though the product has been delivered)  as you have not yet completed the closing stage of the project

a. What tasks will need to be carried out in this stage of the project and why are they important?

b. How you will motivate the team at this stage in the project and why is motivation likely to be an issue?

c. Is there anything that needs to be done prior to the closing stage to ensure that it runs smoothly?

4. Project changes can influence the schedule and budget of successor tasks in a project and this can also have a large impact on other project stakeholders. What steps could the project manager take to allow a smoother transition of project changes? Provide two specific suggestions in your answer.

Attachment:- Assignment.rar