Product Development Case Description
Overview
This case study simulates a project management scenario where the student takes on the role of project manager. Students are required to use Microsoft project management software as part of this assessment task.
Background
Synthesys Informaticsis a medium sized company that develops and manufactures mobile data collection devices.
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 2013/2016 file (see the name specified below) and the questions are to be answered in a word document. Any assumptions must also be listed at the beginning of the Word document (after the coversheet).
Q1. Use Microsoft Project 2013/2016 to develop the project schedule according to the instructions below.
For this assignment, unless the specification states otherwise, you must initially allocate onlyone of each required resource to a task. Note that Ms. Horsell has also asked you to include the milestones at the top of the task list in your schedule.
Include the following in your schedule
i. Project information (start date, Author etc.) and Holidays listed in ‘General Information'.
ii. A project title of "The MDC Project". This is also to appear as the overall project summary at the top of your "WBS" in the mpp file. It must appear as task 0 with WBS number 0. All tasks should be "indented" according to the WBS structure described in the case study (see Table 1).
[See the Microsoft Project practicals for details about how to add the project title and how to make it the overall project summary]
iii. A WBS column before the "Task Name" column and a WBS Predecessors column after the "Task Name" column as shown below:
|
Task Number
|
|
Task Mode
|
WBS
|
Task Name
|
WBS Predecessor
|
Duration
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Predecessors
|
Resource Names
|
|
(no column title)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
iv. The milestones are to appear at the beginning of the task list in your schedule. See the Milestone table for details. (Note that this is not always a requirement in a project schedule. Milestones can be embedded in the schedule or listed at the end). In this assignment, you are required to place them at the beginning.
v. Ms. Horsell has also asked you to use a "customised WBS code" for the milestones. For example, if you double click on the first milestone, you can change the WBS code to M1 as illustrated in the screenshot below.
vi. Resource allocation details.
vii. 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 PartAQ1.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.
Q2. At this point ignore any resource over allocations. Copy your PartAQ1.mpp schedule to PartAQ2.mpp.
i. Ms. Horsell asks you to allocate all three SE to task "2.10 User Interface development& 2.11 Database development". Assume that with the additional resources the task still requires "6 person-weeks" (i.e. that there will be a reduction in duration as the work can be divided equally between the two resources).Highlight your changes on PartAQ2.mpp file.
a. What is the new duration of task 2.10 and 2.11 and has this change impacted on the overall duration of the project? Explain.
b. If you were asked to complete the project 10 days earlier by reducing the duration of some of the tasks (other than 2.10 and 2.11), what tasks would you choose, by how much and why? Highlight the tasks that could be reduced on PartAQ2.mpp file.
ii. Save PartAQ2.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.
Q3. Copy your PartAQ2.mpp schedule to PartAQ3_resources.mpp. If your schedule has any resource over-allocation issues resolve these in the PartAQ3_resources.mpp file without adding any additional resources. For this assignment, do not "split tasks" and do not allow levelling to "adjust individual assignments on a task".
Save this "modified" version of the PartAQ3_resources.mpp file. You will be required to submit PartAQ3_resources.mpp file as part of your assignment submission.
i. Describe how you resolve any resource over-allocation issues.
ii. Does the fact that, your project is resource-constrained; has any impact on your overall project duration and end date? Explain the changes you notice and give reasons.
Q4. Write a memo (use the Memo template provided on Moodle) to Ms. Horsell providing the following information:
i. The expected completion date of the project, assuming it commences on 5th February, 2018; The total duration of the project;
ii. An explanation of the main factors that cause the project to require that length of time and any recommendations that you might make to reduce the duration if time was a priority for the project;
iii. 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:
Q5. Describe at least one strategy that you need to adopt to ensure that the project is completed on time.
Part B - Modifying the schedule
Mr. Production reviews your project schedule and requests that both the prototype builds also include the participation of one engineer from electronics and one from mechanics. You will have to update your schedule as you agree with this proposal.
You are now 1 week after the M1 milestone and the display supplier has been revised the delivery time. This is one of the components required for the prototype 1 build (not the prototype 2 build). The delivery time is now expected to take 5 weeks. (This will impact on the duration for task 5.1.)
In addition, you are advised that the type approval and regulatory approval tests are now expected to take only 2 weeks.
Based on the additional information given above complete the following tasks. Read all the tasks before you commence any modifications.
1. Copy your PartAQ3_resources.mpp file into a file called PartB.mpp file.
In your PartB.mppmake the changes in the order given above and as you make each change note the impact relative to the "current status" (i.e. the status after the previous change) it has on the:
- Overall project duration
- End date
- Direct labour costs for the project
Highlight all the changes on your schedule. Save your schedule with the highlighted changes in your PartB.mpp file. This PartB.mpp file is also to be included as part of your final assignment submission.
2. Describe the impact of each of these changes on the project duration in a table similar to the following:
If the combination of changes have had an additional impact that would not have occurred if a change was made in isolation you should also discuss this in your answer to this question. Similarly, if there were resource over-allocation issues that had to be resolved and resulted in a change to the duration, this should also be discussed.
3. Describe the impact of each of these changes on the direct labour costs for the project in a table similar to the following:
Part C - Tracking Progress
Saving the baseline and entering the status data
Note that the fourth Microsoft Project practical is an example of what is required for Part C. Make sure that you have worked through practical 4 before attempting Part C of this assignment.
1. Copy PartB.mpp to PartC.mpp. Save the baseline for this version of your project in PartC.mpp.
2. Assume that it is now 25th May 2018 and that you have data about when tasks actually started, their duration (which must be consistent with the start date and the status date, i.e. they cannot have a start date and a duration that takes them beyond the 25/05/2018). Assume that you have also collected data about the estimated remaining duration for all the tasks that have commenced (but not yet finished). If a task has been 100% completed assume that you know the actual start date and actual finish date.
Assume that status reports are produced every two weeks and that all the earlier status reports have been completed according to this fortnightly schedule. Given that 25/05/2018 is the end of week 16, you should record the status report number as "8" when you complete the status report for this section of the assignment.
In your PartC.mpp file (in which you have saved a baseline)
a. Set the status date to 25th May 2018 and include a solid, purple status date gridline in your project to ensure that the status date is clearly visible in your Gantt Charts. View the Tracking Gantt chart.
b. Enter some status data.
For the purposes of this assignment you are to invent your own data about the status of the other project tasks. This means that you have to enter status data about the other tasks that you would expect to have started by the status date. (Use the status date gridline you created in part (a) to identify tasks that require status information.)
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) and estimated duration remaining (or completion date).
Attachment:- Specifications.rar