Project Management

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Project Management

• What is Project Management?
• Tracking project timing and cost.
• What is a project?
• a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
  unique product or service.
• (A Guide to the Project Management Body of
  Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Newton Square, PA
  Project Management Institute (PMI), 2000.)

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Project Management

• Why do Project Management?
• To effectively plan a project in order to
  maximize the probability of successful completion
  on time and within budget.
• To monitor if your project is staying on time
  and is within budget.

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Project Management

• What questions might project managers be
  interested in?
• How long will the project take?
• Can I add manpower or tools to reduce the overall
  project length?
• To which tasks should I add manpower?
• What tasks are on the critical path?
• Is the project on schedule?
• When should materials and personnel be in place
  to begin a task?
• Am I within budget?
• Should I transfer funds between line items?
• Other?

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Project Management - Examples

• University Center
• Other major construction projects
• Large defense contracts
• NASA projects (space shuttle)
• Product development
• Global product development
• Senior Design projects
• Other

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Project Management - Timing
Timing A project consists of a series of tasks
with estimated durations. Consider building a
house Step A Prepare site (5 days) Step B
Build foundation (8 days) Step C Frame walls
and roof (15 days) Step D Rough in plumbing (12
days) Step E Rough in electrical (10 days) Step
F HVAC venting (8 days) Step G Drywall (11
days) Step H Finish electrical (5 days) Step I
Finish plumbing (4 days) Step M Paint (5
days) Step J Finish HVAC (2 days) Step N
Landscape (5 days) Step K Install kitchen (8
days) Step L Install baths (14 days)
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Project Management - Timing

• Timing Gantt Chart
• Tasks and task durations are often represented as
  Gantt Charts.
• Provides good visual feedback regarding tasks,
  timing, what is on time what is late, etc.
• No consideration for task precedence.

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Project Management - Timing
Timing Network Diagram Tasks must sometimes be
performed in series, or may at times be performed
in parallel. For the house example, let each arc
represent a project task/job. Each arc
is identified by a job letter and duration. Note
the dummy jobs indicating precedence that jobs H
and I must complete before K or L begins.
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Project Management - Timing
Critical Path Why is knowing the critical
path important?
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Project Management - Cost

• Costs
• Estimate your costs by task (add a safety factor,
  20-50?)
• Also called itemizing
• Track your costs by item
• Formally transfer/track transfer of budget
  between line items.
• Stay within budget!!

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Project Management - Resources

• Resources
• How do resources affect project management?
• Add workers to reduce task time.
• Remove workers if a task is not on critical path.
• Ensure tools and supplies are available at start
  of each task.
• Other?

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Project Management - Tools
Software Most Popular (Listed by Yahoo.com)
Blue Angel Technologies, Inc. - provider of
metadata management tools. Niku Corporation
(NasdaqNIKU) - develops enterprise application
software that cuts costs and increases
productivity by automating the work of internal
service organizations. eRoom Technology,
Inc. - makers of a browser-based product used to
manage projects, collaborate on documents,
share information, and hold discussions. Formerly
Instinctive Technology. Mindjet - developers
of software to help business people organize
information into visual maps which display
relationships among diverse information.
eProject - specializes in web-based project
management and team collaboration software that
includes integration with WAP and palm-held
devices. Available on-site or as a hosted
service. Primavera Systems, Inc - Software
tools for managing both small and large
projects. Elite.com - offers web-based
project management and time and billing
software. Welcom Software Technology -
provides project management, collaboration, and
cost management solutions. Scitor
Corporation Business Solutions Group - provides
project and process management software
solutions and services. FreeTaskManager.com
- offers free web-based bug tracking and project
management software designed for business
managers and developers. 116 additional sites
listed in alphabetical order (did not include
MicroSoft Project)
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Project Management - Tools
Manual Method Can you manage projects
manually? Absolutely! (Who managed the building
of the Egyptian pyramids and what software did
they use?) Excel is a common tool used to
manually track projects.
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Applying Project Management

• Initial Setup
• Identify task and task precedence
• Estimate task cost and timing
• Identify critical path
• Modify resource allocation to adjust task timing
  and costs
• Continuous Monitoring
• Update if timing has changed
• Identify if still on time
• Identify if critical path has shifted
• Modify costs as real costs are realized

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Applying Project Management

• Project A cookout for the ISE 312 class. The
  grill, tables, and chairs will be borrowed from
  the university, but all food, condiments, plates,
  etc., as well as cooking and cleanup, are the
  responsibility of the class.
• Steps
• Identify task and task precedence
• Estimate task cost and timing
• Identify critical path
• Modify resource allocation to adjust task timing
  and costs

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Applying Project Management

• Tasks, task precedence, cost, and timing.

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Applying Project Management

• Network diagram

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Real World Examples

• Project development of the Whirlpool Duet
  washer/dryer pair
• Global project
• European front-loader platform, North American
  design group, manufactured and sold in both North
  America and Europe.
• Short development time (lt3 years, compared to 5
  for major platform development.)
• Challenges centered around distance between
  design and development groups, differences in
  manufacturing processes and materials, etc.
• Success of the project attributed to strong
  project management, communication, and
  cooperation among the team.

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Real World Examples

• Project design and manufacture of a new private
  jet for Gulfstream
• Global project
• Parts manufactured in 5 different countries
  around the world.
• Engine manufacturer a newly merged corporation in
  Germany.
• Key to success mitigation plans (what happens
  if something goes wrong?)