Due Week 2: Project Charter Provide a project charter of your selected project i

John Smith

6 years ago

Project charter (in MS Word)

If working in a group, include a statement
of participation, describing how each person contributed to this project
deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.

Due Week 3: Scope Statement
Prepare a scope statement using either
the model on pages 144-145 in the text as a template or the scope template in Doc Sharing.
Remember to be tangible, measurable, and specific. Be sure to include all
sections required in the Practitioner section of the Week 2Lecture.
Deliverables:

Project scope statement (in MS Word)

If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
Due Week 4: Work Breakdown Structure
and Network Diagram
According to the PMBOK Guide,
“the WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work
to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and
create the required deliverables.” In other words, it lists the project’s
tasks, the subtasks, the sub-subtasks, and so on.
For this phase, you will create a work breakdown structure
(WBS) for the project you selected during phase one. Remember that the WBS
starts with your major deliverables (that you stated in your scope management
plan) at the highest level. The lower levels have the tasks required to
complete those deliverables. You should have at least three tasks under each
deliverable, but you may have as many tasks as needed to ensure that the
deliverables are complete. Review the textbook (and the PMBOK Guide, if you
have it) for some suggestions on how best to create a WBS. From your work
breakdown structure, develop a project task list with dependencies, add
durations, and then submit a network diagram (using MS Project) and a
project schedule.
Develop the Work Breakdown Structure

Your WBS should have a minimum of 2530
tasks and be three subtasks deep.

Make sure to use verb-object task names
(for example, “Develop software”).
o Enter tasks in MS Project.
o Create the predecessor relationships to create a
network diagram.
o DO NOT LINK SUMMARY TASKS!
o In the Gantt Chart Tools tab, check the box marked
Outline Number in the Show/Hide group.
Deliverables:

In MS Project, print the following.
o Gantt Chart Entry Table on no more than three pages
[View > Tables > Entry]
Include Task Name, Duration, Start, Finish, and
Predecessor columns with Gantt Chart.
o Schedule Table on one page [View
> Tables > Schedule]
Include only the default columns (Task Mode, Task
Name, Start, Finish, Late Start, Late Finish, Free Slack, Total Slack) and do
not include the Gantt Chart. Make sure that all columns are wide enough to read
completely.
o Network Diagram ononepage [Task tab >
View group > Network Diagram]
Highlight Critical Path and Circle Milestones.
Justify why you chose your milestones. (Hint: use
milestones from the scope statement or look for key merge or burst activities.)
Also print out the network diagram on two to three
pages so that task information can be read.
o Using the Resource Sheet (View > Resource
Sheet), develop and print a list of resources required for your project.
Include Max.Units and Costs (Std. Rate, Ovt. Rate, Cost/Use).

If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
DO NOT ASSIGN RESOURCES AT THIS TIME!
Due Week 5: Risk Management Plan
1. Establish the project’s priority matrix (constrain,
enhance, accept).
2. Identify a minimum of 10 project risks and when each will
occur in the project life cycle, and then determine their impact and
probability of occurrence.
3. Create a matrix similar to the one from the your
text (Pinto, Figure 7.5 Classifying Project Risk on page 222), making
sure that it is consistent with your priority matrix, or use the risk
management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.
4. Justify the use of your risk scoring matrix or use
the risk management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.
5. Assess your risks according to your matrix.
6. Rank the risks according to their total risk score.
7. Prepare the Risk Response Matrix for each
riskRisk, Response, Contingency, Trigger, Responsible PersonUsing the Risk
Management Analysis Template in doc shr
Deliverables:

Use the Risk Management Analysis
Template spreadsheet (risk management analysis template.xls) found in Doc
Sharing (there is a separate tab for each portion of the risk management plan)
or use the risk management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.

If working in a team, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
Due Week 6: Resource Management Plan
A project plan cannot be considered
complete until the resources have been assigned (including the bottom-up cost
estimate) and leveled, ensuring that the resources are available to complete
the work.
Tasks:
1. Assign resources to tasks.
2. Print out
the resource sheet.
3. Identify resources that are over-allocated.
4. Print the
Gantt chart and entry table.
5. Print reports
(or tables) showing the costs of the resources and the cost by work package. Is
this an acceptable cost for your project? That is, is it within the budget
proposed in the scope statement?
6. Level the project within available slack.
7. Print the
new entry table (do not include the Gantt chart).
8. Identify resources that remain over-allocated.
9. If resources are still over allocated, clear
leveling and then re-level without the slack constraint.
10. Identify how this has affected the project duration
(the number of days and the new completion date).
11. Assume that no other resources are available. What
will your team do to complete the project on time? Instead of assigning
overtime, add a new resource for a cost 1.5 times the normal labor cost. What
is the cost for the additional resource and the total project? Is this revised
cost within the amount developed in the scope statement? If you choose notto
add a resource, your project completion may be delayed. Is a delay in the
project due date acceptable? Why or why not? Submit supporting documentation
from MS Project as needed.
Deliverables:
1. A journal of project activity. Describe what you
did on each step, and the results of your actions.
2. MS Project printouts (as above). Please indicate on
the printouts which step they support.
3. Final time and cost results. Describe how these
meet the needs as defined in the scope statement. If your team believes that
the original scope statement needs to change, describe the changes, why the
changes were necessary, and include the modified scope statement in the
deliverables.
4. Include a copy of your original (and revised, if
necessary) scope statement with the deliverables.
5. If working in a team, include a statement of
participation, describing how each person contributed to this project
deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
Due Week 7: Communication Plan
According to the PMBOK Guide,
“the Communications Planning process determines the information and
communications needs of the stakeholders; for example, who needs what
information, when they will need it, how it will be given to them, and by
whom.” In other words, it lists the general communication requirements for
the project.
This week, you will create a simple
communication plan for the execution of your project. This plan should have the
following information: contact information for all affected parties, major
deliverables and how progress on the deliverables will be communicated to the
affected parties (as well as who the affected parties are and when
communication will take place), and any other miscellaneous information about
communication on the project (see the Communications Plan template in
Doc Sharing).
Deliverables:

Business memo summarizing the
submission for the week

Communication plan
If working in a team, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
Due Week 8: Final Project Package
You will need to create a project plan.
This plan should be completely integrated and presented in a logical order. It
should be written professionally and should be mistake-free in terms of
spelling and grammar. The final project plan should incorporate any changes
that occurred along the way, including corrections and advice given by
colleagues or your professor.
Any tables and/or graphs should be
labeled correctly. Your final project plan should consist of the following
items.

Table of contents

Project charter

Scope statement

Work breakdown structure

Network diagram

Risk management plan

Resource management plan

Communication management plan
Deliverables:
Project plan consisting of the
following items

Business memo summarizing the
submission for the week

Complete project plan, including
the project charter

Lessons learned document (to be
completed individually, even if the balance of the project was performed as
part of a team)
o 1. What went well in the project? What could have
gone better?
o 2. If working in a group
What did you learn from working in a project group?
How did the interpersonal dynamics affect your participation?
If there were conflicts, how were they resolved?
o 3. What did you learn in completing this project
about yourself and how you work in a team environment?
o 4. What could have made this project a better
learning experience?
If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
week 1
discnn

Case Study: The Keflavik Paper
Company (graded)

Read the
case study 3.1 on pages 103104 of the text.
The
Keflavik Paper Company is a case with the problem of determining a project
management process for new product development. Answer the following questions:
What does
this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening methods on a
firms ability to manage projects effectively?
How would
project portfolio management help to improve the situation at Keflavik?
If you
think about it, all business problems are case studies. To effectively evaluate
the situation, you must approach the problem in a methodological manner. A
proven technique to do this is to
list the facts;identify the issues;based on the facts of the
case and your knowledge, analyze the issues of the case;prepare recommended
solutions and their possible outcomes;implement the optimal
solution (not always the one with the best outcome, since the cost or
other things could be impractical); andmonitor the implementation
and the outcomes.
So when
you read and prepare to respond to this case, please follow the above guidelines.
I don’t necessarily expect you to perform steps 46, but I do expect your
response to be based on the facts and your knowledge.
Rememberyour
first impressions may not be correct!

Case Study: Widgets ‘R Us (graded)

Read the
case study 2.4 on pages 6566 of the text.

The Widgets R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the company is set
up and how the company will handle operations with its projected growth. Answer
the following questions:

You have been called in as a consultant to analyze the operations at WRU. Based
on the readings, what would you advise Widgets R Us to do in order to sustain
the competitive advantage in the widget market?

What structural design changes might be undertaken to improve the operations at
the company?

This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.

week 2
discnn

Project Scope (graded)

The
project scope defines what will be delivered as part of the project, and in
some ways, it can be likened to the term vision. That said, whose
view and needs should be expressed in a project’s scope? What items need to be
addressed in defining the scope? Why are these items important to define?

Case Study: Project Management at
Dotcom.com (graded)

Read the
case study 5.3 Project Management at Dotcom.com in the text on pages 166167.

Dotcom.com is a software engineering and systems development consulting firm
that needs some organizational improvements in the area of project management
processes that will cut cost and potentially increase the profit margin for the
company. Answer the following questions:

Discuss how you would begin redesigning dotcom.coms project management
processes to minimize the problems it is experiencing with poor scope
management.

week 3
disn

Project Schedule (graded)

To
develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a project network,
which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown structure and
organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships governing
when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work activities
with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the activities, we
can create a schedule for the project work. What types of information can we
learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule and all the
information used to generate it?

This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.

Risk Management (graded)

Assume
you have just been assigned to a project risk team of five members. Because
this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a
project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on
all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team
member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much
detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should
proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out their
proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include
but not be limited to the following information:
Team objectivesProcess for handling risk
eventsTeam activitiesTeam outputs
Please
post your outline and comment on at least two other posts.

week 4
discnn

Case Study: The Problems of
Multitasking (graded)

Read the
case study 12.1, The Problems of Multitasking in the text on pages 405406.
Answer the following questions:
How does multitasking
confuse the resource availability of project team personnel?In modern organizations, it
is impossible to eliminate multitasking for the average employee? Do you
agree or disagree with this statement? Why?How would resource loading
and/or resource leveling help this situation?

Reducing Project Duration (graded)

In your
own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope reduction as means of
schedule compression. When would each be appropriate? Which methods are
considered better first-choice methods by most project sponsors?

week 5
disvnnn

Project Baseline (graded)

We have
now moved from the planningstage to the doingpart of
project management. Following good project management practices, we have set
a baseline. How is a project baseline used to guide the execution of the
project’s work, to evaluate progress and performance, and to control the
project?

Project Communication (graded)

Discuss
the importance of communication and information exchange to project success.
What are the crucial features and elements of effective communication and
information exchange in successful projects?

week 6
discnn

Case Study: Finding the Emotional
Intelligence (graded)

Read the
case study 4.2 Finding the Emotional Intelligence in the text on pages 130.
What are the differences
between leaders and managers? Can anyone be a leader? Which would you
prefer to work for and why?Share an example from your
work or school experience with working through the five stages of team
development.Select one of the
characteristics of an effective project manager and tell why it is
important.Take the Future Time
Perspective scale on page 129. Share your results and comments with the
class.

Quality Management Processes
(graded)

Read
about the Quality Management Process on page 25 of the text.

Why are measurements
critical to quality management? What types of measures are available for
quality?How important is it to
include a quality assessment in your project WBS? What can happen if
quality is overlooked?Lets do a little research
on Six Sigma. What is it and why is it important to quality management?

week 7
discnn

Case Study: The Project that
Wouldn’t Die

Review
case study 14.2 on page 471. Answer the three questions at the end of the case.
Your answers must be supported by the facts of the case. You will be graded on
the content of your answers as well as your feedback to other responses.

Case Study:Judys Hunt for
Authenticity

Review
case study 11.1 on page 375. Answer the three questions at the end of the case.
Your answers must be supported by the facts of the case. You will be graded on
the content of your answers as well as your feedback to other responses.

This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.

all weeek
i labs

Objectives –
MS Project 2010
q
Understanding Project Scheduling
q
Introduction to Microsoft Project
q Working
with Project Tasks
q Basic
views, time scales and reports
Whether
you are a project manager or not, project management techniques are extremely
helpful in meeting goals and objects. Project management techniques define a
path to a specified goal and then supervise the implementation.
MS
Project can help you establish your initial plan as well as monitor progress.
MS Project can quickly produce reports and other information that will help
keep management, customers, and your project team informed. To get the most
from MS Project, not only do you need to understand project management
terminology, you also need to be familiar with the software itself. Therefore,
do not attempt to quickly finish the lab, but take your time and read
all instructions carefully.
Understanding
Project Scheduling
A typical
project is composed of tasks and resources. After
tasks are identified, you organize the tasks in a logical hierarchy, also
called aWork Breakdown Structure (WBS). Eventually, this sequence will
show the interdependencies of each task. Then each task is given aduration.
In MS Project, this can be in weeks, days, hours or minutes. You can also
specify a milestone, which will represent an event that marks the
completion of a group of related tasks.
To
accomplish any task, you need resources. Resources can include
people, equipment, material or special facilities necessary to complete a task.
Resource availability and scheduling are
important constraints to completing a task.
Once you
establish a plan, complete with tasks and resources, you will often need to
refine the plan before saving it as a baseline. The baseline is
your guideline to help manage the project.

MS Project
Basics
When you
first start MS Project, a blank project file is displayed in Gantt
Chart View. (If you need to open an existing MS Project file, the file
extension is .mpp.) Let’s take a look at the main window:

The above
image is the default screen for MS Project 2010. The right side of the screen
consists of the area for the Gantt Chart. The left side of the screen is the
Entry table where tasks, durations, and other task information is entered. The
Entry Table and Gantt Chart are separated by a moveable Divider
Pay
particular attention to this layout. The Entry table is where
we enter our tasks and durations. The Gantt chart will
eventually show our tasks and durations in a graphical bar chart. The other
part of significance is the divider. This allows you to show more or less of
the Entry table/Gantt chart.
In
Project 2010 the menu bar is set up into Ribbons. To access the various
ribbons, Tabs are selected across the top of the menu bar. Within the ribbon
the various sections are divided into groups:
TABS

GROUPS
The above
image displays the Microsoft Ribbon in the top of the window. The ribbon is
navigated via Tabs. Within each tab are Groups and within each of the Groups
are individual commands.

Objectives
– Microsoft 2010
q Create
a list of resources
q Assign
resources to tasks
q Enter
resource information
q Assign
costs to resources and tasks
q Assign
variable resource pay rates and costs rate tables
Resources
are the people, equipment, and materials necessary to complete a task. MS
Project focuses on two aspects of resources: availabilityand cost.
Availability determines when a specific resource can work on a task and how
much work they can do and cost refers to how much money will be required to pay
for that resource.
MS
Project works with two types of resources: work resources and material
resources. Work resources are the people and equipment that do the work of the
project. These can be a single individual, a group of people who have common
skills (such as electrician), or equipment (such as a truck or diagnostic
tool). Equipment resources need not be portable; they can be fixed, such as a
conference room or lab. Material resources are consumables that you use up
during the project, such as cabling or bricks.
We will
be creating our resources and assigning them to tasks. Please follow all
instructions carefully!
Adding
Resources
1. Log
onto Windows.
2. Open
your completed file MyLab1b_XXX.mpp (or download the MyLab1b_XXX.mpp file from
Doc Sharing.) Check the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure that
your beginning file is correct. If it is not, then correct your file as needed
or download the completed MyLab1b_XXX.mpp file from Doc Sharing.
3. Save
as MyLab2_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.
It is
important to note, that when entering resources in MS Project to NEVER add
resources to a summary task. ONLY ADD RESOURCES TO THE WORK PACKAGES.
When adding resources to summary tasks, MS Project will add the value of that
resource to each work package below the summary and add that time to the
resource’s usage. This will affect both cost and potentially cause resource
over-allocations. Also, MS Project does not add the value of the cost on some
reports, when the resource is assigned at the summary task level.
Resources
can be entered into Project in several different locations. The Assign
Resources dialog box is one method. The Resource Sheet is another method and
the Task Information box is a third method.
4. Make
sure you have not clicked or highlighted any of the tasks in
your project!
5. On the
Resource tab, click on the Assign Resources button. It is the one with the
“faces” on it.

The
Assign Resources dialog box appears.
6. In the
first Name field, type Project Manager and press enter.
(Do not press Assign!) See Figure 1

Objectives –
MS Project 2010
q Change
the task type settings to control how resources affect task assignments
q Apply a
preset resource contour to change work value distribution
q Working
with task information forms
When
planning a project schedule, adjustments are often needed to reflect necessary
changes in project scope, assignments, etc. In MS Project, when an assignment
is changed, the schedule is recalculated to display the
changes. You can work with the scheduling method and the task
type settings when making changes to the initial resource assignment.
In the
previous lesson, the initial resource assignments were made
for our project. But we need to learn how to make adjustments to how those
resources are used. It is important that you read every part of this lab
carefully, if not twice.
Working with
Effort-Driven Scheduling
How a
task reacts to the addition and removal of resources is defined by the
scheduling method and the task type settings. In MS
Project, the default scheduling method is effort-driven scheduling.
Effort-driven scheduling extends or shortens the duration of a task to
accommodate changes to resources but doesn’t change the total work for
the task.
Work is the amount of effort, or
number of hours, resources put into a task.
The total
work for a task is determined by the duration estimate for the task and the initialresource
assignment using the following formula:
Work =
Duration * Units
For
example, say you give a task the duration of one day (or eight hours based
upon a normal working day). If the initial resource assignment
is two units (200%) of a particular resource, the total work for
the task will be 16 hours.
16 hours
= 1 Day (8 hours) * 200%
As
resources are added or removed after the initial assignment,
the amount of work is notrecalculated, but redistributed
among the resources. In other words, the duration is recalculated, not the
work:
Duration
= Work / Units
So if you
assign two more units of the previous resource or two different resources, the
total work remains 16 hours; however, the 16 hours is now redistributed among
the four resources (16 hours divided by 4 units equals 4 hours of work per
resource). The duration is now .5 days (4 hours).
.5 Day (4
hours) = 16 hours / 400%
Effort-driven
scheduling assumes that the more (or fewer) resources you assign to a task will
decrease (or increase) the duration of a task. “If I can use more people,
I can get done faster”. The key to effort-driven schedulingis
when you make that first assignment (when you press assign or press enter when
entering resource assignments), that is when the amount of work is calculated
and never changes when you make additional assignments or
subtract resources. This effect is very important to understand!

Let’s
demonstrate this effect.
1. Log
onto Windows.
2. Open
your completed file MyLab2_XXX.mpp. (or use the MyLab2_XXX.mpp file from Doc
Sharing) Check the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure your
beginning file is correct.
3. Save
as MyLab3_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.
4. Make
sure you are in Gantt chart view and your table is the task entry table.
5. From
the View tab and the Task Views group, click Other Views and then More Views.

6. The
More Views dialog box appears (figure 1). Select Task Entry and
then press Apply.

Figure 1
7. You
will notice that your screen “splits” into two separate windows or
panes again.
8. The top window
or pane is your Gantt chart view with the entry table.The bottom pane
is known as the task form window and contains many different
formats. The default format you are looking at is known as the resources and
predecessors detail view. We will use different detail formats in this window
in coming labs. For now, remember this is the task form window.
9. In the top pane, click on
task #3, Inventory Current Equipment. Notice in the lower pane, the
resource assignment you made from the previous lab, Systems Administrator.
Remember that you initially assigned two units of this
resource. The duration you gave this task was 3 days (or 24 hours). When you
made the assignment, the initial scheduling then calculated
the work. Given the formula, work equals duration times units, 24
hours times 2 units equals 48 hours of work and that is what is in the work
column for that resource.
10. Also
notice the box Effort driven (next to the Previous button) is checked.
That means that this task is using effort-driven scheduling. Also notice the
textbox below it labeled Task Type and the phrase Fixed
Units. We will be returning to this box shortly.
Again,
making sure you have clicked on task #3, open the Assign Resources dialog box
from theResource tab (the one with

week 4
ilabb

Objectives
q View
resource workloads
q Locate
resource conflicts
q Use
automatic leveling to resolve resource overallocations
q
Manually resolve resource overallocations
When
making resources assignments to tasks, MS Project tries to schedule the
appropriate work for that resource; however conflicts can arise if a resource
is scheduled to perform more work than the resource can accomplish. These
conflicts can occur as a result of a single or multiple task assignment and are
often a case of overallocation of the resource. (You can also underallocate a
resource). The problem then becomes how to resolve those conflicts. With MS
Project, some of these conflicts can be solved automatically or manually.
For this
lab, we will be using the MS Project Lab, MyLab4_XXX (where
XXX are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 4. Included with
this lab is an Addendum, where you can quickly check your project information
prior to starting this lab.
Viewing
Resource Workloads
Viewing
resource workloads helps to identify to what extent a resource is overallocated
or underallocated. When a resource is overallocated, the resource text is
highlighted in red and a leveling indicator is displayed.
To view
the workloads:
1. Log
onto Windows.
2. Open
your completed file MyLab4_XXX.mpp. Check the addendum at the end of this
lesson to make sure your beginning file is correct.
3. Save
asMyLab5_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials
4. From
the Task tab and the Resource Views group, select Resource
Usage.
This view
shows each resource, total assigned for the entire project, each task the
resource is assigned and total hours for each task, and on the right, a time
graph showing the detail of how the work is divided up. (You may need to expand
the columns and move the time graph to see all details).
5. Notice
the resource, Systems Administrator, is highlighted in red. This
resource is overallocated.
Also
notice the icon to the left of Systems Administrator. This is the leveling indicator.

Work Detail

6. Select the Systems Administrator resource
name.
7. On the
Task Tab and the Editing group, click the Scroll To Task button.
8. The
right pane timescale scrolls to the first work values for the resource.
9. Scroll the
timescale (at the bottom of the scale) until you see work values highlighted in
red. In the week of November 17, the timescale shows this resource
working a total of 40 hours on Friday of that week. The breakdown is 16 hours
on Install Hardware and 24 hours on Install Software. (Figure 1).

Figure 1
10. From
the View tab and the Resource Views group, select Other Views, the select More
Views and apply the Resource Allocation View.
11. The
resource allocation view is now displayed. The tasks for the selected resource
are displayed in the bottom pane along with the Leveling Gantt view, showing
you the first conflict in the schedule (Figure 2).

Figure 2
12. By
viewing this screen, we notice that the two tasks, Install Hardware and Install
Software are occurring at the same time. Install Hardware was
initially scheduled for 2 units of Systems Administrator for 3 days for a total
of 32 hours. The 32 hours were distributed over the three working daysat 16
hours the first day, 8 on Saturday and 8 on the following Monday. Install
Software was initially schedule for 3 units of Systems Administrator for 3 days
(or 48 hours total). The 48 hours were distributed over the
three working days at 24 hours the first day, 12 on Saturday and 12 on the
following Monday. Unfortunately, we only have 3 units of resources total for
these three days, and 3 units can only do 24 hours of work in one day (3 * 8 is
24 hours). At this point, we have to decide what we want to do to alleviate
this situation.

week 6

i lab

Objectives – MS
Project 2010
q Use constraints to set date limitations
q Set a project schedule baseline
A task constraint is a restriction
or limitation that you or MS Project set on the start or finish date of a task.
During the course of a project, limitations may have to be placed upon a start
or finish date of a task. For example, while you can start doing your income
taxes at any time, you must complete them by April 15 (assuming you do not file
for an extension). Do not confuse task constraints with task
dependencies. While you may schedule two tasks to start at the same time
(dependency), you may not specify a certain starting date (constraint).
All tasks are assigned constraints. A constraint is either flexible or inflexible. A
flexible constraint is not tied to a specific date; whereas an inflexible
constraint is tied to a specific date.
Task constraints can help create a more accurate
schedule by using detailed information to control start and finish dates of
important tasks. But they can restrict your flexibility in scheduling. You
should make sure that any constraint for a task is necessary before assigning
that constraint, particularly if the task is part of the critical path.
For this lab, we will be using the MS Project Lab, MyLab5_XXX (where
XXX are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 5. You may use your
previous file or download MyLab5_XXX.mpp from Doc Sharing.
Applying Flexible
Constraints
The following table lists the flexible constraints
and when they are flexible:

Constraint

Description

Flexible
for

As
Soon As Possible (ASAP)

Starts
the task as soon as possible based on other constraints and dependencies

All
projects

As
Late As Possible (ALAP)

Starts
the task as late as possible based on other constraints and dependencies

All
projects

Finish
No Earlier Than (FNET)

Finishes
the task on or after an entered date

Projects
scheduled based on a start date

Start
No Earlier Than (SNET)

Starts
the task on or after an entered date

Projects
scheduled based on a start date

Finish
No Later Than (FNLT)

Finishes
the task on or before an entered date

Projects
scheduled based on a finish date

Start
No Later Than (SNLT)

Starts
the task on or before an entered date

Projects
scheduled based on a finish date

The As Soon As Possible constraint is the default constraint
for projects that are scheduled from a start date. Therefore,
our project’s tasks all currently are assigned the ASAP constraint. (If project
is scheduled from a finish date, As Late As Possible is the default
constraint.)

1. Log onto Windows.
2. Open your completed file MyLab5_XXX.mpp. Check
the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure your beginning file is
correct.
3. Save asMyLab6_XXX.mpp, where XXX are
your initials.
4. Make sure you are in Gantt chart view, with the
Entry table appearing.
5. Click on task #6, Proposal To Accounting.
6. Double click to open the Task Information dialog
box.
7. Be sure that the General tab is
selected and view the currently scheduled start and finish dates for this task.
(The task is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 21 and
finish on Wednesday, October 23).
8. Click the Advancedtab.
9. Click the Constraint type down
arrow and select Finish No Earlier Than.
10. Click the Constraint date down
arrow and select Wednesday, October 23, 2013. (See Figure 1).

Due Week 2: Project CharterProvide a project charter of
your selected project in accordance with the charter template found in Doc
Sharing. The project will be the project your team will use for the remainder
of this course.For your new project, please develop a
project team (citing names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers).Be certain to include the following.1. Project Objectives2. Project Statement of Work3. Milestones4. All other sections as required in the project charterPlease put this in proper business
writing format. Consider me to be your boss.If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.Deliverables:
Project charter (in MS Word)
If working in a group, include a statement
of participation, describing how each person contributed to this project
deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.
Due Week 3: Scope StatementPrepare a scope statement using either
the model on pages 144-145 in the text as a template or the scope template in Doc Sharing.
Remember to be tangible, measurable, and specific. Be sure to include all
sections required in the Practitioner section of the Week 2Lecture.Deliverables:
Project scope statement (in MS Word)
If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.Due Week 4: Work Breakdown Structure
and Network DiagramAccording to the PMBOK Guide,
“the WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work
to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and
create the required deliverables.” In other words, it lists the project’s
tasks, the subtasks, the sub-subtasks, and so on.For this phase, you will create a work breakdown structure
(WBS) for the project you selected during phase one. Remember that the WBS
starts with your major deliverables (that you stated in your scope management
plan) at the highest level. The lower levels have the tasks required to
complete those deliverables. You should have at least three tasks under each
deliverable, but you may have as many tasks as needed to ensure that the
deliverables are complete. Review the textbook (and the PMBOK Guide, if you
have it) for some suggestions on how best to create a WBS. From your work
breakdown structure, develop a project task list with dependencies, add
durations, and then submit a network diagram (using MS Project) and a
project schedule.Develop the Work Breakdown Structure
Your WBS should have a minimum of 2530
tasks and be three subtasks deep.
Make sure to use verb-object task names
(for example, “Develop software”).o Enter tasks in MS Project.o Create the predecessor relationships to create a
network diagram.o DO NOT LINK SUMMARY TASKS!o In the Gantt Chart Tools tab, check the box marked
Outline Number in the Show/Hide group.Deliverables:
In MS Project, print the following.o Gantt Chart Entry Table on no more than three pages
[View > Tables > Entry] Include Task Name, Duration, Start, Finish, and
Predecessor columns with Gantt Chart.o Schedule Table on one page [View
> Tables > Schedule] Include only the default columns (Task Mode, Task
Name, Start, Finish, Late Start, Late Finish, Free Slack, Total Slack) and do
not include the Gantt Chart. Make sure that all columns are wide enough to read
completely.o Network Diagram ononepage [Task tab >
View group > Network Diagram] Highlight Critical Path and Circle Milestones. Justify why you chose your milestones. (Hint: use
milestones from the scope statement or look for key merge or burst activities.) Also print out the network diagram on two to three
pages so that task information can be read.o Using the Resource Sheet (View > Resource
Sheet), develop and print a list of resources required for your project.
Include Max.Units and Costs (Std. Rate, Ovt. Rate, Cost/Use).
If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.DO NOT ASSIGN RESOURCES AT THIS TIME!Due Week 5: Risk Management Plan1. Establish the project’s priority matrix (constrain,
enhance, accept).2. Identify a minimum of 10 project risks and when each will
occur in the project life cycle, and then determine their impact and
probability of occurrence.3. Create a matrix similar to the one from the your
text (Pinto, Figure 7.5 Classifying Project Risk on page 222), making
sure that it is consistent with your priority matrix, or use the risk
management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.4. Justify the use of your risk scoring matrix or use
the risk management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.5. Assess your risks according to your matrix.6. Rank the risks according to their total risk score.7. Prepare the Risk Response Matrix for each
riskRisk, Response, Contingency, Trigger, Responsible PersonUsing the Risk
Management Analysis Template in doc shrDeliverables:
Use the Risk Management Analysis
Template spreadsheet (risk management analysis template.xls) found in Doc
Sharing (there is a separate tab for each portion of the risk management plan)
or use the risk management process in the Practitioner section of Week 3.
If working in a team, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.Due Week 6: Resource Management PlanA project plan cannot be considered
complete until the resources have been assigned (including the bottom-up cost
estimate) and leveled, ensuring that the resources are available to complete
the work.Tasks:1. Assign resources to tasks.2. Print out
the resource sheet.3. Identify resources that are over-allocated.4. Print the
Gantt chart and entry table.5. Print reports
(or tables) showing the costs of the resources and the cost by work package. Is
this an acceptable cost for your project? That is, is it within the budget
proposed in the scope statement?6. Level the project within available slack.7. Print the
new entry table (do not include the Gantt chart).8. Identify resources that remain over-allocated.9. If resources are still over allocated, clear
leveling and then re-level without the slack constraint.10. Identify how this has affected the project duration
(the number of days and the new completion date).11. Assume that no other resources are available. What
will your team do to complete the project on time? Instead of assigning
overtime, add a new resource for a cost 1.5 times the normal labor cost. What
is the cost for the additional resource and the total project? Is this revised
cost within the amount developed in the scope statement? If you choose notto
add a resource, your project completion may be delayed. Is a delay in the
project due date acceptable? Why or why not? Submit supporting documentation
from MS Project as needed.Deliverables:1. A journal of project activity. Describe what you
did on each step, and the results of your actions.2. MS Project printouts (as above). Please indicate on
the printouts which step they support.3. Final time and cost results. Describe how these
meet the needs as defined in the scope statement. If your team believes that
the original scope statement needs to change, describe the changes, why the
changes were necessary, and include the modified scope statement in the
deliverables.4. Include a copy of your original (and revised, if
necessary) scope statement with the deliverables.5. If working in a team, include a statement of
participation, describing how each person contributed to this project
deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.Due Week 7: Communication PlanAccording to the PMBOK Guide,
“the Communications Planning process determines the information and
communications needs of the stakeholders; for example, who needs what
information, when they will need it, how it will be given to them, and by
whom.” In other words, it lists the general communication requirements for
the project.This week, you will create a simple
communication plan for the execution of your project. This plan should have the
following information: contact information for all affected parties, major
deliverables and how progress on the deliverables will be communicated to the
affected parties (as well as who the affected parties are and when
communication will take place), and any other miscellaneous information about
communication on the project (see the Communications Plan template in
Doc Sharing).Deliverables:
Business memo summarizing the
submission for the week
Communication planIf working in a team, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.Due Week 8: Final Project PackageYou will need to create a project plan.
This plan should be completely integrated and presented in a logical order. It
should be written professionally and should be mistake-free in terms of
spelling and grammar. The final project plan should incorporate any changes
that occurred along the way, including corrections and advice given by
colleagues or your professor.Any tables and/or graphs should be
labeled correctly. Your final project plan should consist of the following
items.
Table of contents
Project charter
Scope statement
Work breakdown structure
Network diagram
Risk management plan
Resource management plan
Communication management planDeliverables:Project plan consisting of the
following items
Business memo summarizing the
submission for the week
Complete project plan, including
the project charter
Lessons learned document (to be
completed individually, even if the balance of the project was performed as
part of a team)o 1. What went well in the project? What could have
gone better?o 2. If working in a group What did you learn from working in a project group?
How did the interpersonal dynamics affect your participation? If there were conflicts, how were they resolved?o 3. What did you learn in completing this project
about yourself and how you work in a team environment?o 4. What could have made this project a better
learning experience?If working in a group, include a
statement of participation, describing how each person contributed to this
project deliverable. Please have each person sign the statement.week 1
discnnCase Study: The Keflavik Paper
Company (graded)Read the
case study 3.1 on pages 103104 of the text.The
Keflavik Paper Company is a case with the problem of determining a project
management process for new product development. Answer the following questions:What does
this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening methods on a
firms ability to manage projects effectively?How would
project portfolio management help to improve the situation at Keflavik?If you
think about it, all business problems are case studies. To effectively evaluate
the situation, you must approach the problem in a methodological manner. A
proven technique to do this is toSo when
you read and prepare to respond to this case, please follow the above guidelines.
I don’t necessarily expect you to perform steps 46, but I do expect your
response to be based on the facts and your knowledge.Rememberyour
first impressions may not be correct!Case Study: Widgets ‘R Us (graded)Read the
case study 2.4 on pages 6566 of the text.

The Widgets R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the company is set
up and how the company will handle operations with its projected growth. Answer
the following questions:

What structural design changes might be undertaken to improve the operations at
the company?

This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.week 2
discnnProject Scope (graded)The
project scope defines what will be delivered as part of the project, and in
some ways, it can be likened to the term vision. That said, whose
view and needs should be expressed in a project’s scope? What items need to be
addressed in defining the scope? Why are these items important to define?Case Study: Project Management at
Dotcom.com (graded)Read the
case study 5.3 Project Management at Dotcom.com in the text on pages 166167.

Discuss how you would begin redesigning dotcom.coms project management
processes to minimize the problems it is experiencing with poor scope
management.

Why do you think configuration management and project change control are
difficult to perform in the middle of a complex software development project,
such as those implemented at dotcom.com? Share any experiences you have with
project change requests.week 3
disnProject Schedule (graded)To
develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a project network,
which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown structure and
organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships governing
when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work activities
with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the activities, we
can create a schedule for the project work. What types of information can we
learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule and all the
information used to generate it?This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.Risk Management (graded)Assume
you have just been assigned to a project risk team of five members. Because
this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a
project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on
all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team
member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much
detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should
proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out their
proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include
but not be limited to the following information:Please
post your outline and comment on at least two other posts.week 4
discnnCase Study: The Problems of
Multitasking (graded)Read the
case study 12.1, The Problems of Multitasking in the text on pages 405406.
Answer the following questions:Reducing Project Duration (graded)In your
own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope reduction as means of
schedule compression. When would each be appropriate? Which methods are
considered better first-choice methods by most project sponsors?week 5
disvnnnProject Baseline (graded)We have
now moved from the planningstage to the doingpart of
project management. Following good project management practices, we have set
a baseline. How is a project baseline used to guide the execution of the
project’s work, to evaluate progress and performance, and to control the
project?

Also, as you continue to think about monitoring and controlling the project,
specifically consider the question: How can the project baseline and the earned
value approach for variance analysis be used to monitor and report project
progress?Project Communication (graded)Discuss
the importance of communication and information exchange to project success.
What are the crucial features and elements of effective communication and
information exchange in successful projects?week 6
discnnCase Study: Finding the Emotional
Intelligence (graded)Read the
case study 4.2 Finding the Emotional Intelligence in the text on pages 130.Quality Management Processes
(graded)Read
about the Quality Management Process on page 25 of the text.week 7
discnnCase Study: The Project that
Wouldn’t DieReview
case study 14.2 on page 471. Answer the three questions at the end of the case.
Your answers must be supported by the facts of the case. You will be graded on
the content of your answers as well as your feedback to other responses.Case Study:Judys Hunt for
AuthenticityReview
case study 11.1 on page 375. Answer the three questions at the end of the case.
Your answers must be supported by the facts of the case. You will be graded on
the content of your answers as well as your feedback to other responses.This
section lists options that can be used to view responses.all weeek
i labsObjectives –
MS Project 2010q
Understanding Project Schedulingq
Introduction to Microsoft Projectq Working
with Project Tasksq Basic
views, time scales and reportsWhether
you are a project manager or not, project management techniques are extremely
helpful in meeting goals and objects. Project management techniques define a
path to a specified goal and then supervise the implementation.MS
Project can help you establish your initial plan as well as monitor progress.
MS Project can quickly produce reports and other information that will help
keep management, customers, and your project team informed. To get the most
from MS Project, not only do you need to understand project management
terminology, you also need to be familiar with the software itself. Therefore,
do not attempt to quickly finish the lab, but take your time and read
all instructions carefully.Understanding
Project SchedulingA typical
project is composed of tasks and resources. After
tasks are identified, you organize the tasks in a logical hierarchy, also
called aWork Breakdown Structure (WBS). Eventually, this sequence will
show the interdependencies of each task. Then each task is given aduration.
In MS Project, this can be in weeks, days, hours or minutes. You can also
specify a milestone, which will represent an event that marks the
completion of a group of related tasks.To
accomplish any task, you need resources. Resources can include
people, equipment, material or special facilities necessary to complete a task.
Resource availability and scheduling are
important constraints to completing a task.Once you
establish a plan, complete with tasks and resources, you will often need to
refine the plan before saving it as a baseline. The baseline is
your guideline to help manage the project.MS Project
BasicsWhen you
first start MS Project, a blank project file is displayed in Gantt
Chart View. (If you need to open an existing MS Project file, the file
extension is .mpp.) Let’s take a look at the main window:The above
image is the default screen for MS Project 2010. The right side of the screen
consists of the area for the Gantt Chart. The left side of the screen is the
Entry table where tasks, durations, and other task information is entered. The
Entry Table and Gantt Chart are separated by a moveable DividerPay
particular attention to this layout. The Entry table is where
we enter our tasks and durations. The Gantt chart will
eventually show our tasks and durations in a graphical bar chart. The other
part of significance is the divider. This allows you to show more or less of
the Entry table/Gantt chart.In
Project 2010 the menu bar is set up into Ribbons. To access the various
ribbons, Tabs are selected across the top of the menu bar. Within the ribbon
the various sections are divided into groups: TABSGROUPSThe above
image displays the Microsoft Ribbon in the top of the window. The ribbon is
navigated via Tabs. Within each tab are Groups and within each of the Groups
are individual commands.Objectives
– Microsoft 2010q Create
a list of resourcesq Assign
resources to tasksq Enter
resource informationq Assign
costs to resources and tasksq Assign
variable resource pay rates and costs rate tablesResources
are the people, equipment, and materials necessary to complete a task. MS
Project focuses on two aspects of resources: availabilityand cost.
Availability determines when a specific resource can work on a task and how
much work they can do and cost refers to how much money will be required to pay
for that resource.MS
Project works with two types of resources: work resources and material
resources. Work resources are the people and equipment that do the work of the
project. These can be a single individual, a group of people who have common
skills (such as electrician), or equipment (such as a truck or diagnostic
tool). Equipment resources need not be portable; they can be fixed, such as a
conference room or lab. Material resources are consumables that you use up
during the project, such as cabling or bricks.We will
be creating our resources and assigning them to tasks. Please follow all
instructions carefully!Adding
Resources1. Log
onto Windows.2. Open
your completed file MyLab1b_XXX.mpp (or download the MyLab1b_XXX.mpp file from
Doc Sharing.) Check the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure that
your beginning file is correct. If it is not, then correct your file as needed
or download the completed MyLab1b_XXX.mpp file from Doc Sharing.3. Save
as MyLab2_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.It is
important to note, that when entering resources in MS Project to NEVER add
resources to a summary task. ONLY ADD RESOURCES TO THE WORK PACKAGES.
When adding resources to summary tasks, MS Project will add the value of that
resource to each work package below the summary and add that time to the
resource’s usage. This will affect both cost and potentially cause resource
over-allocations. Also, MS Project does not add the value of the cost on some
reports, when the resource is assigned at the summary task level.Resources
can be entered into Project in several different locations. The Assign
Resources dialog box is one method. The Resource Sheet is another method and
the Task Information box is a third method.4. Make
sure you have not clicked or highlighted any of the tasks in
your project!5. On the
Resource tab, click on the Assign Resources button. It is the one with the
“faces” on it.The
Assign Resources dialog box appears.6. In the
first Name field, type Project Manager and press enter.
(Do not press Assign!) See Figure 1Objectives –
MS Project 2010q Change
the task type settings to control how resources affect task assignmentsq Apply a
preset resource contour to change work value distributionq Working
with task information formsWhen
planning a project schedule, adjustments are often needed to reflect necessary
changes in project scope, assignments, etc. In MS Project, when an assignment
is changed, the schedule is recalculated to display the
changes. You can work with the scheduling method and the task
type settings when making changes to the initial resource assignment.In the
previous lesson, the initial resource assignments were made
for our project. But we need to learn how to make adjustments to how those
resources are used. It is important that you read every part of this lab
carefully, if not twice.Working with
Effort-Driven SchedulingHow a
task reacts to the addition and removal of resources is defined by the
scheduling method and the task type settings. In MS
Project, the default scheduling method is effort-driven scheduling.
Effort-driven scheduling extends or shortens the duration of a task to
accommodate changes to resources but doesn’t change the total work for
the task.Work is the amount of effort, or
number of hours, resources put into a task.The total
work for a task is determined by the duration estimate for the task and the initialresource
assignment using the following formula:Work =
Duration * UnitsFor
example, say you give a task the duration of one day (or eight hours based
upon a normal working day). If the initial resource assignment
is two units (200%) of a particular resource, the total work for
the task will be 16 hours.16 hours
= 1 Day (8 hours) * 200%As
resources are added or removed after the initial assignment,
the amount of work is notrecalculated, but redistributed
among the resources. In other words, the duration is recalculated, not the
work:Duration
= Work / UnitsSo if you
assign two more units of the previous resource or two different resources, the
total work remains 16 hours; however, the 16 hours is now redistributed among
the four resources (16 hours divided by 4 units equals 4 hours of work per
resource). The duration is now .5 days (4 hours)..5 Day (4
hours) = 16 hours / 400%Effort-driven
scheduling assumes that the more (or fewer) resources you assign to a task will
decrease (or increase) the duration of a task. “If I can use more people,
I can get done faster”. The key to effort-driven schedulingis
when you make that first assignment (when you press assign or press enter when
entering resource assignments), that is when the amount of work is calculated
and never changes when you make additional assignments or
subtract resources. This effect is very important to understand!Let’s
demonstrate this effect.1. Log
onto Windows.2. Open
your completed file MyLab2_XXX.mpp. (or use the MyLab2_XXX.mpp file from Doc
Sharing) Check the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure your
beginning file is correct.3. Save
as MyLab3_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.4. Make
sure you are in Gantt chart view and your table is the task entry table.5. From
the View tab and the Task Views group, click Other Views and then More Views.6. The
More Views dialog box appears (figure 1). Select Task Entry and
then press Apply.Figure 17. You
will notice that your screen “splits” into two separate windows or
panes again.8. The top window
or pane is your Gantt chart view with the entry table.The bottom pane
is known as the task form window and contains many different
formats. The default format you are looking at is known as the resources and
predecessors detail view. We will use different detail formats in this window
in coming labs. For now, remember this is the task form window.9. In the top pane, click on
task #3, Inventory Current Equipment. Notice in the lower pane, the
resource assignment you made from the previous lab, Systems Administrator.
Remember that you initially assigned two units of this
resource. The duration you gave this task was 3 days (or 24 hours). When you
made the assignment, the initial scheduling then calculated
the work. Given the formula, work equals duration times units, 24
hours times 2 units equals 48 hours of work and that is what is in the work
column for that resource.10. Also
notice the box Effort driven (next to the Previous button) is checked.
That means that this task is using effort-driven scheduling. Also notice the
textbox below it labeled Task Type and the phrase Fixed
Units. We will be returning to this box shortly.Again,
making sure you have clicked on task #3, open the Assign Resources dialog box
from theResource tab (the one withweek 4
ilabbObjectivesq View
resource workloadsq Locate
resource conflictsq Use
automatic leveling to resolve resource overallocationsq
Manually resolve resource overallocationsWhen
making resources assignments to tasks, MS Project tries to schedule the
appropriate work for that resource; however conflicts can arise if a resource
is scheduled to perform more work than the resource can accomplish. These
conflicts can occur as a result of a single or multiple task assignment and are
often a case of overallocation of the resource. (You can also underallocate a
resource). The problem then becomes how to resolve those conflicts. With MS
Project, some of these conflicts can be solved automatically or manually.For this
lab, we will be using the MS Project Lab, MyLab4_XXX (where
XXX are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 4. Included with
this lab is an Addendum, where you can quickly check your project information
prior to starting this lab.Viewing
Resource WorkloadsViewing
resource workloads helps to identify to what extent a resource is overallocated
or underallocated. When a resource is overallocated, the resource text is
highlighted in red and a leveling indicator is displayed.To view
the workloads:1. Log
onto Windows.2. Open
your completed file MyLab4_XXX.mpp. Check the addendum at the end of this
lesson to make sure your beginning file is correct.3. Save
asMyLab5_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials4. From
the Task tab and the Resource Views group, select Resource
Usage.This view
shows each resource, total assigned for the entire project, each task the
resource is assigned and total hours for each task, and on the right, a time
graph showing the detail of how the work is divided up. (You may need to expand
the columns and move the time graph to see all details).5. Notice
the resource, Systems Administrator, is highlighted in red. This
resource is overallocated.Also
notice the icon to the left of Systems Administrator. This is the leveling indicator.Work Detail6. Select the Systems Administrator resource
name.7. On the
Task Tab and the Editing group, click the Scroll To Task button.8. The
right pane timescale scrolls to the first work values for the resource.9. Scroll the
timescale (at the bottom of the scale) until you see work values highlighted in
red. In the week of November 17, the timescale shows this resource
working a total of 40 hours on Friday of that week. The breakdown is 16 hours
on Install Hardware and 24 hours on Install Software. (Figure 1).Figure 110. From
the View tab and the Resource Views group, select Other Views, the select More
Views and apply the Resource Allocation View.11. The
resource allocation view is now displayed. The tasks for the selected resource
are displayed in the bottom pane along with the Leveling Gantt view, showing
you the first conflict in the schedule (Figure 2).Figure 212. By
viewing this screen, we notice that the two tasks, Install Hardware and Install
Software are occurring at the same time. Install Hardware was
initially scheduled for 2 units of Systems Administrator for 3 days for a total
of 32 hours. The 32 hours were distributed over the three working daysat 16
hours the first day, 8 on Saturday and 8 on the following Monday. Install
Software was initially schedule for 3 units of Systems Administrator for 3 days
(or 48 hours total). The 48 hours were distributed over the
three working days at 24 hours the first day, 12 on Saturday and 12 on the
following Monday. Unfortunately, we only have 3 units of resources total for
these three days, and 3 units can only do 24 hours of work in one day (3 * 8 is
24 hours). At this point, we have to decide what we want to do to alleviate
this situation.week 6i labObjectives – MS
Project 2010q Use constraints to set date limitationsq Set a project schedule baselineA task constraint is a restriction
or limitation that you or MS Project set on the start or finish date of a task.
During the course of a project, limitations may have to be placed upon a start
or finish date of a task. For example, while you can start doing your income
taxes at any time, you must complete them by April 15 (assuming you do not file
for an extension). Do not confuse task constraints with task
dependencies. While you may schedule two tasks to start at the same time
(dependency), you may not specify a certain starting date (constraint).All tasks are assigned constraints. A constraint is either flexible or inflexible. A
flexible constraint is not tied to a specific date; whereas an inflexible
constraint is tied to a specific date.Task constraints can help create a more accurate
schedule by using detailed information to control start and finish dates of
important tasks. But they can restrict your flexibility in scheduling. You
should make sure that any constraint for a task is necessary before assigning
that constraint, particularly if the task is part of the critical path.For this lab, we will be using the MS Project Lab, MyLab5_XXX (where
XXX are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 5. You may use your
previous file or download MyLab5_XXX.mpp from Doc Sharing.Applying Flexible
ConstraintsThe following table lists the flexible constraints
and when they are flexible:ConstraintDescriptionFlexible
forAs
Soon As Possible (ASAP)Starts
the task as soon as possible based on other constraints and dependenciesAll
projectsAs
Late As Possible (ALAP)Starts
the task as late as possible based on other constraints and dependenciesAll
projectsFinish
No Earlier Than (FNET)Finishes
the task on or after an entered dateProjects
scheduled based on a start dateStart
No Earlier Than (SNET)Starts
the task on or after an entered dateProjects
scheduled based on a start dateFinish
No Later Than (FNLT)Finishes
the task on or before an entered dateProjects
scheduled based on a finish dateStart
No Later Than (SNLT)Starts
the task on or before an entered dateProjects
scheduled based on a finish dateThe As Soon As Possible constraint is the default constraint
for projects that are scheduled from a start date. Therefore,
our project’s tasks all currently are assigned the ASAP constraint. (If project
is scheduled from a finish date, As Late As Possible is the default
constraint.)1. Log onto Windows.2. Open your completed file MyLab5_XXX.mpp. Check
the addendum at the end of this lesson to make sure your beginning file is
correct.3. Save asMyLab6_XXX.mpp, where XXX are
your initials.4. Make sure you are in Gantt chart view, with the
Entry table appearing.5. Click on task #6, Proposal To Accounting.6. Double click to open the Task Information dialog
box.7. Be sure that the General tab is
selected and view the currently scheduled start and finish dates for this task.
(The task is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 21 and
finish on Wednesday, October 23).8. Click the Advancedtab.9. Click the Constraint type down
arrow and select Finish No Earlier Than.10. Click the Constraint date down
arrow and select Wednesday, October 23, 2013. (See Figure 1).