MB0049-PROJECT MGT.doc

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Project Management Manasa Ranjan Patnaik

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Q.1) Providing adequate resources are key to productivity Comment.

Explain the relevance of Work Breakdown Structure in determining

responsibility area. What do you understand by Resource Smoothing?

Ans : To encourage productivity, the researchers must be provided with

adequate resources in terms of personnel, equipment, facilities and time.

It is extremely frustrating to a professional to be given a challenging,

interesting assignment, but not the necessary resources to complete it in

an effective manner. Stable financial support is a major factor in

sustaining the researchers commitment and enthusiasm for a project and

in encouraging creativity. Resources should also be available to follow

up on unplanned ideas as they evolve during a project. Creative workers

must be provided with sufficient time for reading, discussion and

thought and creative reflection. While pressure in the form of deadlines

is thought to encourage creativity, the deadline should be set in

consultation with the staff, otherwise it is counterproductive. More time

can be made available for creative people to conduct their research byreducing their administrative burdens.

The aim of this productivity management guide is to provide small

business owners and managers with an overview of how company

productivity can be improved. It covers what productivity is, how it is

measured, and what a company can do to increase it.

Why should productivity management growth be a national concern?

It is because, if too low, the Nation can neither improve its standard of

living at home nor compete successfully abroad. Productivity growth

affects wage negotiations, inflation rates, business decisions, exchange

rates, a host of other economic, political and social conditions, and,

therefore, every small business owner and manager.

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The factors affecting both National and individual firm productivity are

many and diverse. Nationally, changes in employment, hours worked,

the educational, age and sex composition of the work force, levels of

capital investment and savings, government regulations, capacity

utilization, inflation, among others, all can affect, favorably or

unfavorably, productivity rates.

There are many productivity factors the firm can manage. How well

does the firm utilize new knowledge; is it working at an economy-of-

scale level; are the employees highly motivated and loyal or is there

labor unrest and high worker turnover; is the resource (human and

capital) allocation maximizing established goals; and finally, what is the

overall quality of the company's management? And, if management sees

productivity as a problem, is there a commitment to establish a

company-wide Productivity Improvement Program?

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The entire process of a project may be considered to be made up on

number of sub process placed in different stage called the Work

Breakdown Structure (WBS). A typical example of a WBS of a

recruitment process is indicated in following diagram.



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WBS is the technique to analyse the content of work and cost by

breaking it down into its component parts. Project key stages form the

highest level of the WBS, which is then used to show the details at the

lower levels of the project. Each key stage comprises many tasks

identified at the start of planning and later this list will have to be

validated.

WBS is produced by identifying the key elements, breaking each

element down into component parts and continuing to breakdown until

manageable work packages have been identified. These can then be

allocated to the appropriate person. The WBS does not show

dependencies other than a grouping under the key stages. It is not time

based there is no timescale on the drawing.

The WBS is organized around the primary products of the project (or

planned outcomes) instead of the work needed to produce the products

(planned actions). Since the planned outcomes are the desired ends ofthe project, they form a relatively stable set of categories in which the

costs of the planned actions needed to achieve them can be collected. A

well-designed WBS makes it easy to assign each project activity to one

and only one terminal element of the WBS. In addition to its function in

cost accounting, the WBS also helps map requirements from one level of

system specification to another, for example a requirements crossreference matrix mapping functional requirements to high level or low

level design documents.

Resource Smoothing Resource smoothing is part of the resource

leveling process. In itself, resource smoothing is the process that, not

withstanding any constraints imposed during the leveling process,

attempts to determine a resource requirement that is "smooth" and where

peaks and troughs are eliminated. For example, even if 7 units of a given



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resource are available at any one time, utilizing 5 of these units each

week is preferable to 4 one week, 7 the next, 2 the next and so on. Even

if there is no limit to the amount of any one resource available, it is still

desirable that resource usage is as smooth as possible. Given that the

resource requirements of those activities on the critical path are fixed,

some order or priority needs to be established for selecting which

activity and which particular resource associated with this activity

should be given priority in the smoothing process. In determining which

activity should be given priority, a subjective judgment should be made

about the type of resource (or resources) associated with each activity;

priority should be given to the activities whose resources are considered

to be most important. Beyond this consideration, activities should be

ranked in order of total work content and total float or slack available for

that activity. A useful device for prioritizing is to consider the ratio of

total work content/total float remaining and give priority to activities

with the highest value of this ratio.

Solving the resource scheduling problem for optimal solutions is

extremely complex, particularly for large project networks with many

different resource types. However, several heuristics are available to

solve such problems. These heuristics allocate resources to activities to

minimize project delay based on certain priority rules. The two mostcommonly used heuristics are the serial and the parallel methods. In the

serial method of resource allocation, activities are sorted into a list and

resources are allocated to each of these activities one at a time until

resources are allocated to all activities. In the parallel method, however,

resources are allocated on a period by period basis rather than each

activity. In this method only those activities whose preceding activities

have been completed will be considered. If two or more activities

compete for the same resources, then allocation of resources is based on



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certain prescribed priority rules. Compared to the serial method, the

parallel method has been the most widely used heuristic. The following

priority rules, in the order presented, have been found to be the most

effective in minimizing project delay.

Minimum slack

Smallest duration

Lowest activity identification number

Regardless of the scheduling heuristic used, the primary impact of

resource constrained scheduling is the loss of flexibility due to the

reduction in slack. Furthermore, the reduction in slack also increases the

number of critical or near-critical activities

Q.2) Explain the concept of concurrency in High Technology Development.

What are the main utilities of an ERP package? What is the

significance of reviewing ROI ?

Ans:Concurrency in High Technology Development - As the application of

technology has become critical for the survival of organization it has

become imperative for organizations to initiate measures for the

development of high technology to be ahead of competition. No doubt,

there are many specialized Research and Development firms which offer

their expertise to their clients problems. However, their services are

available to the competitors and many technologies developed by the

companys own research personnel cannot be shared with outsiders. So

the strategy would be utilize the services of external resource to the

extent they are suitable for our purpose, but with a strong base of R and

D of our own. This will really differentiate the best companies from

other ordinary ones.



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The following give some guidelines in the form of rules which would

help organization to be strong in this area. Building concurrency into

every activity is essential to reduce the development cycle time and to

counter the technology obsolescence. Many of the tasks that are

normally done in a serial fashion can be done in parallel by

synchronizing the flow of information. The practices of the concurrent

engineering where the design of the product and all its associated

processes are carried out simultaneously based on team work and

participation. Would not only help in reducing the development cycle

time, but also improves the product functionality with regard to

requirements. Concurrency can be accomplished in many ways both for

product development as well as technology transfer, user evaluation and

production.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an integrated computer-based

system used to manage internal and external resources including

tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is

a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of

information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the

organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built

on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing

platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a

uniform and enterprise wide system environment.

An ERP system can either reside on a centralized server or be distributed

across modular hardware and software units that provide "services" and

communicate on a local area network. The distributed design allows a

business to assemble modules from different vendors without the need

for the placement of multiple copies of complex, expensive computer

systems in areas which will not use their full capacity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_networkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network


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The main Utilities of ERP Components are

i) Financials

ii) Distribution

iii) Human Resources

iv) Product lifecycle management

v) Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

vi) Supply chain management

Purchasing

Manufacturing

Distribution

vii) Warehouse Management System

viii) Management Portal/Dashboard

ix) Decision Support System

All the above modules can exist in a complete system or utilized in an

ad-hoc fashion.

Commercial Applications

Manufacturing Engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity,

workflow management, quality control, cost management,

manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, and manufacturing flow

Supply chain management Order to cash, inventory, order entry,

purchasing, product configurator, supply chain planning, supplier

scheduling, and inspection of goods, claim processing, and commission

calculation

Financials General ledger, cash management, accounts payable,

accounts receivable, fixed assets

Project management Costing, billing, time and expense, performance

units, activity management

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Human resources payroll, training, time and attendance, roistering,

benefits

Customer relationship management Sales and marketing,

commissions, service, customer contact and call center support

Data services Various "self-service" interfaces for customers,

suppliers, and/or employees

Access control Management of user privileges for various processes

In the absence of an ERP system, a large manufacturer may find itself

with many software applications that cannot communicate or interface

effectively with one another. Tasks that need to interface with one

another may involve:

ERP systems connect the necessary software in order for accurate

forecasting to be done. This allows inventory levels to be kept at

maximum efficiency and the company to be more profitable.

Integration among different functional areas to ensure proper

communication, productivity and efficiency

Design engineering (how to best make the product)

Order tracking, from acceptance through fulfillment

The revenue cycle, from invoice through cash receipt

Managing inter-dependencies of complex processes bill of

materials

Tracking the three-way match between purchase orders (what was

ordered), inventory receipts (what arrived), and costing (what the

vendor invoiced)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_services&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_controlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_services&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_control


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The accounting for all of these tasks: tracking the revenue, cost

and profit at a granular level.

ERP Systems centralize the data in one place. Benefits of this include:

Eliminates the problem of synchronizing changes between

multiple systems - consolidation of finance, marketing and sales,

human resource, and manufacturing applications

Permits control of business processes that cross functional

boundaries

Provides top-down view of the enterprise (no "islands of

information"), real time information is available to management

anywhere, anytime to make proper decisions.

Reduces the risk of loss of sensitive data by consolidating

multiple permissions and security models into a single structure.

Shorten production lead-time and delivery time

Facilitating business learning, empowering, and building common

visions

Some security features are included within an ERP system to protect

against both outsider crime, such as industrial espionage, and insider

crime, such as embezzlement. A data-tampering scenario, for example,

might involve a disgruntled employee intentionally modifying prices to

below-the-breakeven point in order to attempt to interfere with the

company's profit or other sabotage. ERP systems typically provide

functionality for implementing internal controls to prevent actions of

this kind. ERP vendors are also moving toward better integration with

other kinds of information security tools



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ROI - Return on Investment (ROI) is the calculated benefit that an

organization is projected to receive in return for investing money

(resources) in a project. Within the context of the Review Process, the

investment would be in an information system development or

enhancement project. ROI information is used to assess the status of the

business viability of the project at key checkpoints throughout the

projects lifecycle.

ROI may include the benefits associated with improved mission

performance, reduced cost, increased quality, speed, or flexibility, and

increased customer and employee satisfaction. ROI should reflect such

risk factors as the projects technical complexity, the agencys

management capacity, the likelihood of cost overruns, and the

consequences of under or nonperformance. Where appropriate, ROI

should reflect actual returns observed through pilot projects and

prototypes. ROI should be quantified in terms of dollars and should

include a calculation of the breakeven point (BEP), which is the date

when the investment begins to generate a positive return. ROI should be

recalculated at every major checkpoint of a project to see if the BEP is

still on schedule, based on project spending and accomplishments to

date. If the project is behind schedule or over budget, the BEP may

move out in time; If the project is ahead of schedule or under budget the

BEP may occur earlier. In either case, the information is important for

decision making based on the value of the investment throughout the

project lifecycle. Any project that has developed a business case is

expected to refresh the ROI at each key project decision point (i.e., stage

exit) or at least yearly.

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Exclusions If the detailed data collection, calculation of benefits and

costs, and capitalization data from which Return on Investment (ROI) is

derived was not required for a particular project, then it may not be

realistic or practical to require the retrofit calculation of ROI once the

project is added to the Review portfolio. In such a case, it is

recommended that a memorandum of record be developed as a substitute

for ROI. The memorandum should provide a brief history of the

program, a description of the major benefits realized to date with as

much quantitative data as possible, and a summary of the process used

to identify and select system enhancements.

Some of the major benefits experienced by sites that installed the

information system that would be important to include in the

memorandum are:

Decommissioning of mainframe computers

Reduction/redirection of labour

Elimination of redundant systems

Ability to more cost effectively upgrade all sites with one standard

upgrade package.

In each case above, identify the specific site, systems, and labour

involved in determining the cited benefit. Identify any costs or dollar

savings that are known or have been estimated.

The memorandum will be used as tool for responding to any future audit

inquiries on project ROI.

For the Project Management Review, it is recommended that the project

leader replace the text on the ROI document through


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1) A note stating which stage of its cycle the project is in;

2) A bulleted list of the most important points from the

memorandum of record; and

3) A copy of the memorandum of record for the Review repository.

In subsequent Reviews of the information system, the ROI slide can be

eliminated from the package. There is one notable exception to this

guidance. Any internal use software project in the maintenance phase of

its lifecycle that adds a new site or undertakes an enhancementor

technology refresh that reaches the cost threshold established by

Standard will need to satisfy capitalization requirements. It requires all

agencies to capitalize items acquired or developed for internal use if the

expected service life is two or more years and its cost meets or exceeds

the agencys threshold for internal use software. The standard requires

capitalization of direct and indirect costs, including employee salaries

and benefits for both Federal and Contractor employees who materially

participate in the Software project.

Program managers are considered to be the source of cost information

for internal use software projects. If capitalization data is collected for

the project in the future, the project would be expected to calculate and

track its ROI.

Q.3) Explain three levels of SCMo documentation. Explain PILIN.

Explain in detail GDM and its key features.

Ans: Supply Chain Monitoring (SCMo) is a multi-level SCM concept

supporting the fulfilment/execution process. It is possible today to

establish a monitoring system aligned with an organisations supply


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chain. Supply Chain Monitoring (SCMo) can be an add-on to existing

ERP systems. The main objectives of SCMo are as follows.

i) Prevention of stock-out and over supply.

ii) Early warnings, elimination of bull-whip effect.

iii) Optimized allocation in bottleneck situations due to network-wide

inventory and demand transparency.

The intent of this document is to define the structure of the

documentation system, its content, and the method generation and to

attain common documentation of all standard process of Odette. The

documentation is valid for the SCM-group of Odette. The

Documentation system is internet based to provide immediate access to

current, up-to-date process documentation. The system allows users to

manage through graphical structures to relevant documentation and

process which were created with the ARIS Toolset.

The process pro-document action system serves the following

objectives:

Present standard process to be adhered to across the industry and in so

doing secure their correct application.

1. Offer a central location of all process and system related

information from customizing documentation to working

guidelines.

2. Allow flexible and quick adaptation in case of process changes or

enhancement and provide the update information immediately.

3. Present the standard process in the intranet, where users can look

up the current process whenever necessary.


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PILIN Persistent Identifiers and Linking Infrastructure

There has been a growing realisation that sustainable identifier

infrastructure is required to deal with the vast amount of digital assets

being produced and stored within universities.

PILIN is a particular challenge for e-research communities where

massive amounts of data are being generated without any means of

managing this data over any length of time. The broad objectives are to:

1. Support adoption and use of persistent identifiers and shared

persistent identifier management services by the project stakeholders

2. Plan for a sustainable, shared identifier management infrastructure

that enables persistence of identifiers and associated services over

archival lengths of time

3. Deploy a Worldwide Site Consolidation Solution for Exchange Server

2003 at Microsoft

4. Add Picture

5. Use Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to consolidate more than 70

messaging sites worldwide into seven physical locations

GLOBAL DELIVERY MODEL (GDM) is enables an industry or

business to plan, design and deliver products and services to any

customer worldwide with speed, accuracy, economy and reliability.

GDM enables its customer to leverage varied locations across the globe


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that provides optimised value for every component of delivery. The key

features of GDM are shown in below figure.

Let us discuss each key feature of GDM.

a. Standardisation It includes ingenious design and development of

components and features which are like to be accepted by 90% of world-

wide customers. GDM heavily depends on Global Standards of Designfocusing on highly standardised methods and processes of manufacture

or development. It adopts plug-and-socket concepts with minimum

adaptable joints or connections.

b. Modularisation GDM requires product or solution to be split up

into smallest possible individual identifiable entities. These entities will

have limited individual functioning capability but they can become

powerful and robust in combination with other modules.

c. Minimum Customisation GDM mandates only minimum changes

or modifications to suit individual customers. Customization, inmarketing, manufacturing, call centers and management, is the use of

flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom

output. Those systems combine the low unit costs of mass production


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processes with the flexibility of individual customization. Many

implementations of mass customization are operational today, such as

software-based product configurations which make it possible to add

and/or change functionalities of a core product or to build fully custom

enclosures from scratch. This degree of mass customization has only

seen limited adoption, however. If an enterprise's marketing department

offers individual products (atomic market fragmentation) it doesn't often

mean that a product is produced individually, but rather that similar

variants of the same mass-produced item are available.

d. Maximum Micro Structuring GDM encourages splitting of the

Product Modules further into much smaller entity identifiable more

through characteristics rather than application features. These Microbial

Entities are standardised even across Multiple Modules. Application of

these Microbial Entities rest within multiple Projects or Products or even

as add-on to suit customer needs later.

Special Features of GDM

In addition to the features discussed above, some of the special features

of GDM are:

A global presence with a knowledge of the local language and culture

(it helps in better understanding of customer requirements)

A global access implying that the organisation has access to

resources of varying costs (it helps in delivering services to its

customers at an optimal cost, typically a mix of costlier on-site

resources combined with cheaper offshore resources)


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A global delivery model implying that potentially, a firm can work

round the clock for its customer, handing off work from one location

to another at the end of the day shift

Unimaginable speed of response and introduction

Common pool of Microbial Components

Largely independent of skill sets required at delivery stages

Highly automated processes

Quality Assurance as a concurrent rather than a controlled Process

Near-Shore development, manufacture and delivery for better

logistics

Mapping of economical zones rather than geographic zones

Continuous floating of virtual inventory to save time and efforts


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