Managing Projects


Task 1


 


 


 


Task 1:


4.) If the project starts on July 7, 2008, what is the earliest date it can be completed using a 5 day working week? Assume no other holidays.


 


Following the critical path, and assuming that the project is done within a 5 day working week with out any other holidays, if the project starts on July 7, 2008, based on the critical path the project will end on October 6, 2008. Since the critical path shows tasks that are completed with out any slacks, following this path would allow the project to be done with the earliest finish time of 66 days. Counting 66 days from July 7, 2008 with a five day working week would lead us to the date October 6, 2008.


 


5.) If the following happened what would be the effect on the duration of the whole project? Explain the reasons.


a)    A 2 day delay in H.


b)    Activity Q is completed 1 day before schedule


c)    A 4 day delay during activity Q.


 


A 2 day delay in task H would not delay the overall completion of the entire project since task H has a total float of 2 days. This means that task H can be delayed by 2 days without affecting the number of days needed to finish the entire project.


Even if activity Q is completed earlier by 1 day it still wouldn’t affect the total time it would take to accomplish the whole project. This is because the last activity, activity R, needs both activity Q and activity P to be complete before it can begin. Since activity P’s earliest finish time is 65 days and activity Q’s earliest finish time is 64 days, even if Q finishes in 63 days activity R would still begin when activity P finishes, which is 65 days.


If activity Q is delayed by 4 days then this would also lengthen the time it would take to complete the overall project. Activity q is only allowed a total float of 1 day which means that it can only be delayed by one day wherein it will not affect the total time it would take to complete the project. If Q is delayed by 4 days then it would be completed at a later time than P which would mean that the start time of the last task, R, would also be delayed, and this would cause the overall completion time to be delayed.


 


6.) Explain and discuss the purpose of network diagrams.


Network diagrams are constructed for the purpose of representing a project and its tasks in such a way that it can be analyzed and the most efficient sequence of tasks can be followed in order to complete the project. A network diagram representation of a project shows the amount of time each task needs in order for it to be completed, which tasks are done simultaneously, and which tasks are needed in order for one task to begin. It also shows the amount of time that is allowed for a task to be delayed; this is shown as the total float of the task. The tasks that need to be carried out in order for the project to be completed efficiently and quickly are marked by the critical path. In summary, a network diagram’s purpose is to provide a flow of the entire project, show the time allowed for each task to finish, and show the sequence tasks needed in order to finish the entire project with speed and efficiency.


 


Reference:


Glen, M.C. 1995, A Guide to Network Analysis [online]. [Accessed March 6, 2008]. Available from World Wide Web: http://project.mvps.org/networkanalysis.htm


Quality Tools, Activity Network Diagram. 2008 [online]. [Accessed March 6, 2008]. Available from World Wide Web: http://quality.dlsu.edu.ph/tools/activity_network.html


Beasley, J. E. O-R Notes [online]. [Accessed March 6, 2008]. Available from World Wide Web: http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~mastjjb/jeb/or/netaon.html


 



Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com


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