Project Management - Tools and Techniques

Question 1

Planning for Activities and Costs: Identify and explain the technique applicable for planning for Activities and Costs

WBS, WP & SOW, PBS and CBS

Answer 1

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
- Breaks complex tasks into manageable pieces

WP (Work Packages) & SOW (Statements of Work)

• Specifies the work to be done for each activity described in the WBS
• SOW indicates who is responsible and when the work need to be delivered.

PBS (Product Breakdown Structure)
- List the products required for each activity

CBS (Cost Breakdown Structure)
- Creates the financial plan/budget from the information gathered in the WBS, WP, SOW and PBS.

Question 2

Planning for Quality: Explain the purpose of the Project Quality Plan (PQP) and the elements it contains

Answer 2

A major document that details the standards that must be met in order to ensure a successful development process.

Risk assessment
- internal and external risks likely to affect the project and alternative actions that can be taken to reduce risks.

Project requirements
- details of the work to be carried out, timescales and deliverables.

Project organisation
- Management roles and responsibilities.

Monitoring and reporting procedures

• How the project will be monitored and actions to be taken if slippage occurs.
• States the frequency and content of reports as well as key control processes (end of stage meetings)

Key development stages
- Activities that will need to be completed.

Testing strategy
- The stages of development where testing is to be carried out, by whom and of what.

Procurement policy
- Procedures and standards for procurement.

Question 3

Identify and explain the two Project Management Methodologies

PRINCE2 - O,Pl,C,Pr,Q,RM,CM
PMBOK - I,S,T,Cos,Q,HR,Com,R,P

Answer 3

PRINCE2: PRojects IN Controlled Environments, version 2

• process based approach, where each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs in addition to the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be undertaken.
• Similar to a How To approach.
• Organisation
• Plans
• Control
• Products
• Quality
• Risk Management
• Change Management

PMBOK: Project Management Body Of Knowledge
- Defines 9 key processes in terms of Inputs, Outputs, Tools, Techniques and how they fit together.

1. Integration Management - To ensure various elements are properly co-ordinated.
2. Scope management - To ensure the project includes all work required and only the work required to complete successfully.
3. Time management - Timely completion of activities.
4. Cost management - Completed within approved budget.
5. Quality Management - Ensuring the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
6. Human Resource management - Make the most effective use of the people involved.
7. Communication management - Timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and distribution of project information.
8. Risk management - Identifying, analysing and responding to project risk.
9. Procurement management - Processes for acquiring goods and services from outside the performing organisation.

Question 4

What is a project Methodology?

Answer 4

Can be considered in the same term as a recipe for cooking. It identifies the ingredients and how these ingredients will be combined together to produce the perfect meal.

Comprised of:

• Documentation - Project initiation and scoping
• Technique - Set of standard techniques required to plan and control the project (Critical Path Analysis, Risk Management Procedures, Gannt Chart)
• Sequence - The order in which the stages will be performed.
• Overview - of how the documentation and techniques fit together.

Question 5

Planning for Time: Identify and explain the technique applicable for planning for time.

CPA

Answer 5

Planning for Time: Critical Path Analysis

• A diagram of nodes and activity lines.
• Nodes represent the sequence, the Earliest Event Time (EET) and the Latest Event Time (LET)
• Activity lines inform of the duration for the activity and a code to represent the name of the activity from a list.
• Dummy activity lines are represented with a dash line and indicate a dependency.
• Total project time is the final Node
• Float is the spare time that is available between the EET and LET
• The Critical Path is the series of nodes that do not have any Float.

Question 6

Planning for Resources: Identify and explain the technique applicable for planning for resources

RH

Answer 6

Resource Histogram

• A graphical representation of the total cost of the resources required by period.
• Each bar represents the total cost for that period with each section of the bar representing a category of cost.
• They help with capacity planning, resource scheduling and management.

Question 7

Planning for Risk and Uncertainty: Explain the risk management process

Answer 7

Risk Identification
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Monitoring

Likelihood Low, Impact Low = Accept the Risk
Likelihood Low, Impact High = Transfer the Risk
Likelihood High, Impact Low = Reduce the Risk
Likelihood High, Impact High = Avoid the Risk

Accept: Monitor the risk to ensure the potential likelihood or impact do not increase.

Transfer: Subcontracting the risk to those more able to handle it i.e. a specialist. or insurance.

Reduce: Implement internal controls. An alternative course of action with a lower risk.

Avoid: Project should be abandoned.

Question 8

Planning for Risk and Uncertainty: Explain techniques used for managing uncertainty

Answer 8

Contingency planning

• Discussing possible additional finance with lenders.
• Re-planning remaining project with longer duration.
• Identifying if required materials available from other possible suppliers.

        Uncertainty when planning for time

• Scenario Planning
• Buffering: adding artificial slack into risky activities.
• Gantt Chart - An alternative or complementary approach to network analysis. Graphical representation of activities.
• Milestones and Control Gates: A project

Question 9

Explain the calculation for the Project Evaluation Review Technique

Answer 9

PERT is a method for overcoming uncertainy over time taken for individual activities in a network diagram.

• This provides an expected completion time
• provides a probability of completion before the specified date.

Each task is assigned 3 times/durations.

• an Optimistic time (o)
• A probable time (m)
• A pessimistic time (p)

PERT = (o+4m+p) / 6