Project Description

The new computer-controlled conveyor belt is an exciting project that moves and positions

items on the conveyor belt within 1 millimeter. The project will produce a new system for

future installations, and for replacement of those in the field, at a low cost. The computer-

controlled conveyor belt has the potential to be a critical unit in 30 percent of the systems

installed in factories. The new system is also easier to update with future technologies. Table 1

has been developed for you to use in completing the project exercises.

Table 1 Conveyor Belt Project; WBS

Hardware Hardware specifications

Hardware design

Hardware documentation

Prototypes

Order circuit boards

Assemble preproduction models

Operating system Kernel specifications

Drivers

Disk drivers

Serial I/O drivers

Memory management

Operating system documentation

Network interface

Utilities Utilities specifications

Routine utilities

Complex utilities

Utilities documentation

Shell

System integration Architectural decisions

Integration first phase

System hard/software test

Project documentation

Integration acceptance testing

 The project begins January 4, 2010.

 The following holidays are observed: January 1, Memorial Day (last Monday in May),

July 4th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in

November), December 25 and 26.

 If a holiday falls on a Saturday then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if it falls

on a Sunday, then Monday will be given as a day off.

 The project teams work eight-hour days, Monday through Friday.

Part 1

1. Develop the WBS outline using the software available to you.

2. When is the project estimated to be completed?

3. How long will the project take?

4. What is the critical path(s) for the project?

5. Which activity has the greatest amount of slack?

Include the following printouts:

 A Gantt chart.

 A network diagram highlighting the critical path.

 A schedule table reporting. ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity.

Table 2 Conveyor Belt Project; Schedule

Activity Description Resource (one team each) Duration (days) Preceding Activity

1 Architectural decisions Design 25 — 2 Hardware specifications Development, design 50 1 3 Kernel specifications Design 20 1 4 Utilities specifications Development, design 15 1 5 Hardware design Design, development 70 2 6 Disk drivers Assembly, development 100 3 7 Memory management Development 90 3 8 Operating system documentation Design, documentation 25 3 9 Routine utilities Development 60 4

10 Complex utilities Development 80 4 11 Utilities documentation Documentation, design 20 4 12 Hardware documentation Documentation, design 30 5 13 Integration first phase Assembly, development 50 6,7,8,9,10,11,12 14 Prototypes Assembly, development 80 13 15 Serial I/O drivers Development 130 13 16 System hard/software test Assembly 25 14,15 17 Order circuit boards Purchasing 5 16 18 Network interface Development 90 16 19 Shell Development 60 16 20 Project documentation Documentation, development 50 16 21 Assemble preproduction models Assembly, development 30 17F-S, lag 50 days 22 Integrated acceptance testing Assembly, development 60 18,19,20,21

Part 2

Remember the old saying, “A project plan is not a schedule until resources are

committed.” All information is found in Tables 2 and 3.

Table 3 Organization Resources

Name Group Cost ($/hr)

Design R&D (2 teams) $100

Development R&D (2 teams) 70

Documentation R&D (1 team) 60

Assembly/test R&D (1 team) 70

Purchasing Procurement (1 team) 40

Part 2-A

Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions:

1. Which if any of the resources are overallocated?

2. Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any overallocation

problems by leveling within slack. What happens?

3. Assume the project is resource constrained and resolve any overallocation problems by

leveling outside of slack. What happens? What are the managerial implications?

Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling outside of slack.

Note: No splitting of activities is allowed.

Part 2-B

When you show the resource-constrained network to top management, they are visibly

shaken. After some explanation and negotiation, they make the following compromise with

you:

 The project must be completed no later than February 2, 2012

 You may assigned two additional teams of your chose.

 If this does not suffice, you may hire other teams from the outside. The outside

team would cost $50 more per hour than your inside teams.

 You have to stay within the 530 days. If you need more than two internal teams

uni ts , then hire as few external teams as necessary. Select the cheapest possibility!

Change as few activities as possible. It is recommended you keep work packages,

which require cooperation of several organizational units inside your company. You

decide how best to do this.

Hint: Undo leveling prior to adding new resources.

Once you have obtained a schedule that meets the time constraints, prepare a memo that

addresses the following questions:

1. What changes did you make and why?

2. How long will the project take?

3. How much will the project cost?

Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table presenting the new schedule.

Include a monthly cash flow and a cost table for the project.

Part 3 (Bonus)

Prepare status reports for four quarter of the project (Fourth Quarter, January 1, 2011)

given the information provided i n Table 4. This requires saving your resource schedule as a

base- line and inserting the appropriate status report date in the program. Assume that no

work has been completed on the day of the status report.

Your status report should include a table containing t h e PV, EV, AC, BAC, EAC, SV,

CV, and CPI for each activity and the whole project. The report should also address the

following questions:

1. How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule?

2. What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well?

3. What do the PCIB and PCIC indicate in terms of how much of the project has been

accomplished to date?

4. What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? What is the predicted VACf ?

5. Report and interpret the TCPI for the project at this point in time.

6. What is the estimated date of completion?

Table 4 January 1, 2011

Activity Start Date Finish Date Actual

Duration

Remaining

Duration

Hardware specifications 2/9/10 4/12/10 45 0

Hardware design 4/13/10 7/16/10 67 0

Hardware documentation 7/19/10 8/24/10 27 0

Prototypes 11/11/10 – 34 44

Kernel specifications 2/8/10 3/12/10 25 0

Disk drivers 3/15/10 8/17/10 110 0

Serial I/O drivers 11/11/10 – 34 119

Memory management 3/15/10 7/30/10 98 0

Op. systems documentation 3/15/10 4/16/10 25 0

Utilities specifications 3/8/10 3/29/10 16 0

Routine utilities 4/26/10 7/27/10 65 0

Complex utilities 3/30/10 8/11/10 95 0

Utilities documentation 5/3/10 6/2/10 22 0

Architectural decisions 1/4/10 2/5/10 25 0

Integration 1st phase 8/25/10 11/10/10 55 0

Part 4

You have received revised estimates for the remaining activities at the end of the fourth quarter:

 Prototypes will be completed on 3/8/11.

 Serial I/O drivers will be completed on 6/30/11.

 System hardware/software test will start on 7/1/11 and take 25 days.

 Order circuit boards will start on 8/8/11 and take 5 days.

 Assemble preproduction model will begin on 10/14/11 and take 18 days.

 Project documentation is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 55 days.

 Network interface is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 99 days.

 Shell is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 55 days.

 Integrated acceptance testing is expected to start on 12/29/11 and will take 54 days.

Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions:

1. What is the new EAC for the project? How long should the project take given these revised

estimates?

2. What recommendations would you make?

Include a revised schedule, a Tracking Gantt chart, and cost table with your memo.