Industrial Engineering Chapter 14 Project Planning And Acquisition Discussion Questions Which The Following Would Considered

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Chapter 14

Project Planning and Acquisition

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

14-1. Q: Which of the following would be considered a project: (a) construction of a hydroelectric

dam; (b) operation of a nuclear reactor; (c) development of an engine for the B-2 bomber

through the first production prototype; (d) a production order for an additional twenty F-15

aircraft?

14-2. Q: Often the most difficult part of any project is defining the project. Why is this the case?

14-3. Q: In your words, what are the key differences between agile and traditional project

management approaches?

14-4. Q: Discuss how the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling

relate to the project process.

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PROBLEMS

14-1. Q: Prepare (i) a milestone schedule and (ii) a work breakdown structure for one of the

following: (a) construction of a steel and concrete highway bridge, or (b) movement of the

printing department of a daily newspaper from one building to another (assuming two

identical presses, with one press continuously available for use).

A: Student answers will vary with interest and expertise. See the response to the next question for

14-2. Q: Establish tasks, times, and precedence relationships for the project selected in question

14-4, and draw (a) a bar chart and (b) a network diagram schedule for it.

A: Regardless of whether the bridge or the printing press project is chosen in problem 14-1

each student will create a different set of milestones and tasks, so no “book solution” is

14-3. Q: For the project outlined in the following table, prepare (a) a bar chart, (b) an AOA

network diagram, and (c) a AON network diagram. (d) What and how long is the critical

path?

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14-4. Q: For the project outlined in the following table, prepare (a) a bar chart, (b) an arrow

network diagram, and (e) a circle (AON) network diagram. (d) What and how long is the

critical path?

A: (a) See the bar chart at the left in answer 14-8(a) (Early Start).

14-5. Q: For the project in Problem 14-4, (a) provide a worker-level profile, assuming that all

tasks begin as early as possible; (b) repeat the profile, assuming that no more than nine

people are available in any week and the manning level for a task cannot change; and (c)

identify the project duration in each case.

A: a) uses a maximum of 10 resources, 13 week duration as shown below:

b) Limiting to 9 resources, duration grows to 17 weeks

Week Task(s) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1 A,B,C

2 A,B,C

3 A,B,C

4 A,B,C

5 A,B,C

6 A

7 D,E

8 D,E

9 D,E

10 E

11 E

12 E

13 F

Resources

Week Task(s) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1 A,B

2 A,B

3 A,B

4 A,B

5 A,B

6 A,C

7 C,D

8 C,D

9 C,D

10 C,E

11 E

17 F

Resources

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14-6. Q: Tasks X, Y, and Z must be completed in series to complete a project. The three time

estimates (a, m, and b) for each task in days are: X: 30, 45, and 66 days; Y: 24, 42, and 60

days; and Z: 26, 50, and 68 days. For each task calculate (a) the expected time Te and (b) the

standard deviation 0. What is the (c) expected time Te and (d) the standard deviation 0T for

the complete project?

A: Calculation is as follows:

14-7. Q: If a project has an expected time of completion Te of 45 weeks with a standard deviation

of 7 weeks, what is the probability of completing it within one year (52 weeks)? Within 38

weeks?

A: The probability of completing the project in within Te weeks is exactly 50%. The

14-8. Q: Tasks A, B, and C must be completed in series to complete a project. The three time

estimates (a, m, and b) for each task in weeks are: A: 8, 11, and 14 weeks; B: 7, 10, and 19

weeks; and C: 10, 19, and 22 weeks. For each task calculate (a) the expected time Te and (b)

the standard deviation . What is the (c) expected time Te and (d) the standard deviation a T

for the complete project? What is the probability of completing the project (e) in 40 weeks?

(f) In 46 weeks?

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14-9: Q: The text shows how to reduce to duration of the project shown in Figure 14-12 from 19 to

18 to 17 weeks at the lowest cost. Continue this process, showing the most economical way

to reduce project duration from 17 weeks, week by week, to the minimum possible duration.

What is the minimum project total cost at this minimum duration?

A: Following are the optimum steps (of which 1 and 2 are in the text):

14-10. Q: For the project outlined on the following table, (a) draw a network diagram (arrow or

AON, as preferred), and (b) identify the critical path and duration. (c) Identify the task(s) you

would crash and the incremental cost to reduce project duration by (i) one week; (ii) a second

week; (iii) a third week.

(b) Above the normal critical path (ACE, or 1-3-4-5) is 12 weeks; the other two paths (BCE,

or 1-2-3-4-5; BDE, or 1-2-4-5) are 11 weeks.

(c-i) Costs to crash each of the tasks are shown ($/ week) in the right-hand column of the

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14–11

Q: The following project carries a penalty cost of $200/day ($1400/week) for any delay in

completion beyond 26 weeks. Any task can be accelerated by up to three weeks at a cost of

$1000 per week reduction. Draw an arrow diagram, identify the critical path and duration,

and determine which task(s), if any, you will crash, and by how much, to minimize project

cost.

A: As illustrated in the bar chart and arrow diagram below, there are three paths: VWX (1-2-

3-4) at 29 weeks, Z (1-4) at 30 weeks, and critical path VY (1-2-4) at 31 weeks. Either V or Y

14–12

Q: A project manager observes that they had budgeted expenditure of $450,000 by a specific

date and had only spent $425,000 by then. What should she conclude?

A: The project manager knows the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) is $450,000

14–13

Q: Consider the following network for a small project (all times are in days)

a) Draw a AOA network diagram representing the project

b) Use PERT to determine the critical path and associated time—label your answers

c) The customer wants the project delivered in 20 days. What is the probability of meeting the

customer’s expectation? Use Figure 14-3 to develop your estimate.

d) If activity D had an expected completion time of 15 days, does this impact the expected project

completion time? If so, how? (3)

A: a)

b) Using the calculations below and applying the forward and backward pass, we find the

critical path to be A-C-E-H = 19

c) Z = 20−19

Task Expected Time StDev

A 2 0.33

B 5 0.33

C 2 0.33

D 9 1.33

E 5 0.33

F10 1.33

G 3 0.33

H10 1.33