Ignou Mba Ms-52 Solved 2013
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Transcript of Ignou Mba Ms-52 Solved 2013
Management Programme
ASSIGNMENT
FIRST SEMESTER
2013
MS - 52: Project Management
School of Management Studies
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
MAIDAN GARHI, NEW DELHI – 110 068
MS-52
ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS - 52
Course Title : Project Management
Assignment Code : MS-52/TMA/SEM - I /2013
Coverage : All Blocks
Note : Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 30th April, 2013 to
the coordinator of your study center.
1) a) Distinguish between Project and Production Management.
b) Discuss the critical success factor in Project Management.
2) Discuss the various methods for economic analysis of the project. Also explain the drawback of
the traditional methods.
3) What is an ideal resource profile and how does it get influenced by practical considerations of
project execution?
4) Elaborate the concept of “Earned value of the Budget” in PERT/Cost System.
5) Explain the importance of “Project Review” in the context of Control of a project.
6) Draw a Project Network for the following activities.
Activity : A B C D E F G H I J K
Predecessor : - - - A A B B D, E C G,I F, H, J
Time (Days): 6 3 8 20 18 9 8 7 2 14 10
Calculate the project completion time and Floats and this project.
Q1) a) Distinguish between Project and Production Management.
b) Discuss the critical success factor in Project Management
Ans:a) Distinguish between Project and Production Management.
Difference between product management and project management.
Despite the similar names, there are big differences between product management and project
management. Confusing them is common, even among those experienced in product
development.
Project managers are responsible for the successful delivery of a project — a one-time
endeavor with a goal, scope, deadline, budget, and other constraints. A project manager will
work to align resources, manage issues and risks, and basically coordinate all of the various
elements necessary to complete the project. As they relate to products, projects can be
undertaken to build a product, to add new features to a product, or create new versions or
extensions of a product. When the project is complete, the project manager will usually move
move to a new project, which may be related to a different product.
Product managers are responsible for the overall and ongoing success of a product. Once the
project to build the product is complete and the project manager has moved on, the product
manager remains to manage the product through the entire lifecycle. Other projects related to
the product may be initiated, with the product manager being the one constant stream
throughout, defining the project goals and guiding the team to accomplish the business
objectives that have been defined.
One challenge of the two roles is that they can appear to be at odds with each other. A product
manager may want to add a lot of features to meet observed customer needs, but the project
manager may want to keep scope as small as possible so that the project is delivered on time
and under budget. Traditional definitions (and probably those above, too) often mischaracterize
the project manager as singularly focused on getting the project finished on time and under
budget without any concern as to whether it meets the market or customer needs.
Good product managers and good project managers are able to create a balance of these
conflicts. Good project managers know that the true success of a project is not whether it is on
time and within budget, but whether it meets the defined goals and objectives. Good product
managers know that all the features in the world will not matter if the project is continually
delayed and never makes it to market or if it is too over budget to be completed.
Especially for web-based and technology products, the confusion between project and product
management is common and potentially harmful to organizations who do not acknowledge the
distinction.
There are some important points to keep in mind related to project management and product
management:
• Just like every product needs a product manager, every project needs a project manager.
• Just because product managers think they can manage their own projects does not mean
they should.
• The skills, talents, and traits involved in project management are very different from
those involved in product management.
• Just like it is hard to find one single person who can fill the product management role
and the product marketing role, it is hard to find one person who can be successful at
both the product management and the project management role.
• Project management is not a stepping stone to product management, nor vice versa.
• Good project managers are just as valuable as good product managers.
• Finding a good project manager to manage your projects will help you be an even better
product manager.
• The less time product managers spend on project management, the more time they will
be able to spend on product management.
• To avoid conflicts between product management and project management, product
managers, project managers, and project teams should all agree on shared goals and
objectives as much as possible.
b) Discuss the critical success factor in Project Management
Ans: As project managers we all look for that secret recipe which will make our projects
successful. What are the few key items that we need to be aware and take care of proactively.
We look for those elusive Critical Success Factors that can be managed to create an
atmosphere conducive for the success of the project. There are scores of lists on the web and
dozens of books on this topic but CHAOS success factors (the Standish Group, 2009) stands
out among all of them distinctively.
The CHAOS reports (2009) lists the following Success Factors
1. User Involvement
2. Executive Support
3. Clear Business Objectives
4. Emotional Maturity
5. Optimization
6. Agile Process
7. Project Management Expertise
8. Skilled Resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and Infrastructure.
It is interesting to note that this recent list of Success Factors from the Standish Group is quite
different is many ways from their 1995 report.
The CHAOS reports (1995) had the following Success Factors:
1. User Involvement
2. Executive Management Support
3. Clear Statement of Requirements
4. Proper Planning
5. Realistic Expectations
6. Small Project Milestones
7. Competent Staff
8. Ownership
9. Clear Vision and Objectives
10. Hard working Focused Staff.
While some remained the same, some are no longer in the top ten (clear statement of
requirements, realistic expectations, ownership, hard-working focused staff). At the same time
new factors have moved into the top ten (emotional maturity, optimization, Agile process,
project management expertise, execution, tools and infrastructure).
The identification of Project Management Expertise as a Critical Success Factor responsible
for influencing the final outcome of a project is definitely positive news for project
management discipline to continue receiving attention and executive sponsorship.
Also the mention of “Execution” is important since time and again it has been shown that well
laid plans are of no use if they cannot be executed well. So the focus on Execution is of utmost
importance.
Project Managers need to keep this list in mind during the various phases of the project and
translate it into specific and actionable items for their own projects based on the relevance and
importance of each of the success factor.
There cannot be one single list of top 10 success factors for all projects since projects by
definition are unique. But the CHAOS reports definitely provide a good reference point to start
identifying what are the top 10 critical success factors for your project.
Q2)Discuss the various methods for economic analysis of the project. Also explain the drawback
of the traditional methods.
Q3)What is an ideal resource profile and how does it get influenced by practical considerations of
project execution?
Ans: IDEAL RESOURCES PROFILE
Project Schedules are initially prepared on the simplifying assumption that human
resources will be available as and when required. It is seldom possible to acquire and
release resources in any desired amount even if we are willing to pay the expenses
involved in frequent changes in levels of engagement viz., cost of hiring, training,
unemployment wages etc. It is, therefore, advisable to maintain stable employment
and utilize human resources at a more constant rate.
The ideal profile of resource utilization is as shown below:
Since engagement and release of manpower has to be in concrete steps, the profile
may be modified as shown:
In projects extending over longer duration, there may be two or more stable levels of
engagement of as in Figure:
Q4)Elaborate the concept of “Earned value of the Budget” in PERT/Cost System.
Ans: Earned Value Management
Earned Value Management (EVM) is a systematic project management process used to indicate
variances in projects in an objective manner, based on the evaluation of the work performed compared
to the work planned. When properly applied to a project, EVM provides and early warning indication
of project performance issues.
EVM uses principles of Earned Value (EV), which is a project management tool used to measure
project performance. EV is essentially an approach for project managers to monitor the project plan,
actual work, and work completed to verify if the project is performing as expected.
In simple terms EV compares the actual project performance to the planned performance with respect to
budget and schedule at any point in time during the project.
Why Use Earned Value?
Earned Value can be a valuable project management tool, but the utility of it must be understood for it
to be used correctly. EV indentifies the variances in a project and informs a project manager on what is
occurring in a project, but does not identify the "source" or "cause" for the variance, nor does it address
the required action necessary for the "correction" of the variance.
Earned Value provides an objective assessment of project performance and once introduced can
provided a common understanding and perspective among project mangers regarding the metrics of
project performance.
The other major benefit to using EV is the ability to evaluate the performance of a project at any point
during the project's life cycle, not just at the completion of a project. How many times have you come
to the end of a project and learned that the project performance did not meet expectations? By the end
of the project it is too late to take any corrective action. Earned Value allows project managers to
evaluate and monitor their project through out the project life cycle, which will allow for better project
control.
Key Components to Earned Value
There are three key components to EV that are used when evaluating projects for EVM.
• Project Budget - The budget has two values that are used for EV, which are;
o Budgeted Cost of Work Schedule (BCWS) - BCWS is the baseline cost up to the current date.
o Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) - ACWP are the actual cost required to complete all or
some portion of the tasks to the current date.
o Project Schedule - The project schedule has two values that are used for EV, which are;
Scheduled Time for Work Performed (STWP)♣
♣ Actual Time of Work Performed (ATWP)
o Value of Work Performed - This is the value earned (reported percent complete) by the work
performed and is referred to as the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP).
Earned Value Graph
The final outcome of an EV analysis is a three line graph showing cost over time for a project, which
helps visualizes the key values used in EV. The three lines indicated are the BCWS, ACWP, and
BCWP as described above. From reading the graph you can determine project variances .
Looking at the data date the project is behind where it should be as indicated by the variance between
BCWP and BCWS, and the project is over budget as indicated by the variance between the ACWP and
BCWS.
Responding to Earned Value
Earned Value is great, but they are not more than performance indicators and don't tell the whole story,
make decisions, or take action on a project, so that is where the project manager must intervene and
regain control over the project. The project manager should not only question cost and schedule
overruns, but should also question cost and schedule underruns as identified below.
Cost / Budget Variances
• A positive variance indicates that the project is ahead of schedule or under budget. Positive variances
might enable you to reallocate money and resources from tasks or projects with positive variances to
tasks or projects with negative variances.
• A negative variance indicates that the project is behind schedule or over budget and you need to take
action. If a task or project has a negative CV, you might have to increase your budget or accept reduced
profit margins.
Q5)Explain the importance of “Project Review” in the context of Control of a project.
Ans: IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT REVIEW
The entire aspect of `control' is covered by the concept of project review which must
be carried out from time to time as the project journeys forward during
implementation. Project review meetings are necessary to convince key personnel
that orderly progress is being made on the project. These meetings are held at various
levels as below:
a)Project Team review meetings usually chaired by the project manager.
b)Top management review meeting where project manager reports the status or the
project and highlights problem areas and how the same are being resolved.
c)Customer Review meetings wherein prime focus is to report the status of the
project to the customer or to the end-user, highlighting problem areas and mode
of resolving them. The approach should be to involve them and welcome their
help and input in resolving problems and expediting implementation.
Keeping everyone on the project informed prevents surprises and shocks and builds
up involvement and commitment. This paves a reliable way to secure support from
all quarters when any unforeseen situations arise and require concerted and co-
operative effort around to retrieve the project and put it back on the rails.
Project review meetings are like the practice sessions of a football team. They
improve understanding, enhance team spirit and inculcate understanding among
project personnel. These also remove gags and overlaps, reduce friction and resolve
conflicts with or without external intervention.
Project review meetings set the tone, tenor, speed and momentum of project
execution and should be designed to achieve specific tasks. Calling review meetings
for the sake of it should be avoided at all costs.
Q6)Draw a Project Network for the following activities.
Activity : A B C D E F G H I J K
Predecessor : - - - A A B B D, E C G,I F, H, J
Time (Days): 6 3 8 20 18 9 8 7 2 14 10
Calculate the project completion time and Floats and this project.
Ans:
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