Presentation Transcript

1. Project management is about the way to deal with large projects that a business needs to complete. (building a road, building a skyscraper). Because some jobs can only be done after others are completed it is important that businesses manage the times that one job finishes and another starts. Businesses will use network analysis to make sure that they do not have excess stock/labor or not have enough of either. Deadlines are set and expected to be kept so that the business can continue to keep their costs in check. If one part of the project is delayed it could throw off the other parts of a network and cause huge costs in time and money.
2. Network analysis (critical path analysis) is concerned with planning the logical series of tasks to be completed with minimum loss of efficiency. The process of network analysis involves: Identifying all operations or task that need to be done to complete the project Break down the project to smaller tasks Determine how long each task will take Figure out which tasks are dependent on other tasks being done Figure out which tasks can be done at the same time Put all tasks in the right sequence in a network diagram Show the earliest start and finish time of each task Identify the critical path which way needs the least amount of time. Anything that comes on the critical path will delay the whole project if something goes wrong.
3. Key features to constructing networks Nodes – these show the start and finish times of each activity within the project also numbered to show the sequence of activity Arrows – these show the activity and duration of time Earliest start time (EST) is shown in the right top hand part of node. It will depend on the start and finish time of the other nodes as well. Latest finish time (LFT) is shown in the bottom right-hand part of the node. The LFT is the deadline for a task to get done so the project is not delayed Float is the difference between the LFT and EST
4. Things to remember: When doing EST you take the node before it and add in the time the task will take to complete. If two nodes are being completed at the same time the one with the shorter duration to complete will have extra time to complete it’s task so it will not be on the critical path. When doing the LFT you should start with the last node and work backward subtracting the duration from the node before.
5. John Smackface owns a construction company and is figuring out his time frame completing the different tasks he has. Complete a network diagram for him and show the critical path.
6. Marcel and her sister Jane are opening an internet café. They have the following tasks to complete before they can open. Prepare a Network diagram and show the critical path.
7. Free and total float is about how long something can be delayed without delaying the overall project. Any activity/task that has a float has no reason to be sped up. The free float is the amount of time that one activity can be delayed without messing up the time for the next activity The total float is the amount of total time an activity can be delayed without messing up the overall schedule
8. Dummy activities/dummy variable are activities that might seem to be connected but really are not. A dashed line is used to show that there is no correlation between the two.
9. Value of Network Analysis Provides a visual interpretation of a project so that people can better understand it Helps to look forward on a project and also to plan on how to use resources Operational efficiency is very critical when a business uses all it’s resources to the best potential. Understanding the critical path and float time can be critical. Also customers can get deliveries on time. Cash flow management is helped because managers should know when projects will start and stop. Stock management is also helped so that no shortages or stock waiting to be used will happen. Works very well with just in time production
10. Drawbacks of network analysis All sorts of internal and external problems can cause delays on the critical path. (weather, staff, gov’t…..) Garbage in Garbage out Some times steps are missed in the path and that will make the whole analysis worthless Constructing and analysis can be very time consuming.
11. Project management and business strategy Businesses that do project management will usually have a better plan for dealing with large and complex projects in a logical way. (in reality most businesses will use software programs) Critical path analysis is only effective if the workers are motivated to meet deadlines. Managers can use CPAs to come up with contingency plans incase of delays along the critical path. Lean production is encouraged because of minimal lead times which will reduce waste Cash flow and current asset management should be helped because of CPAs.
12. Businesses that do not have proper project management risk having extra waste in unneeded labor and equipment as well as possible delays in production that could raise costs or ruin the reputation of the business. Even with the best planning external forces cannot be always planed for but businesses that are well planned out are better equipped to deal with these unforeseen problems. Homework come up with some project that takes a lot of steps with time in hours, days, weeks, months or years. (going to war, starting a magazine, planning a trip…) Make a network analysis complete with EST and LST, critical path and chart.