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Assign project resources and costs for budget development. Before a schedule or budget can be finalized, resources such as labor, material, and equipment must be identified and assigned. You will learn about resource loading, resource pools, over allocation, individual calendars, cost types and cost loading. Save a baseline for the project. Now that planning for the project is complete, you will use the project baseline to gain formal approval to move the project into the execution phase. Control the execution of a project. You will learn about gathering information and communicating that information to the stakeholders using tools in Microsoft Project.
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Initiation The problem or project definition. Definition The project plan development and approval. Execution The work that is accomplished. Control The work is measured and status reported. Closure The final stage where outcomes are reviewed, financial obligations, and contracts settled, resources freed up or released.
Dissatisfied customers. Deliverables not understood by project team or customer. Budgets and schedules over or under estimated. Over taxed resources.
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Project alignment with organizations goals. Organization must be process capable of successfully completing the project.
The first phase in the project life cycle is Initiation. In most organizations, this is accomplished by management. However, the outcomes are crucial to the successful completion of the project.
The Project Character is created. The Project Character is an official internal document which identifies the business need and provides a general project description, cost estimates, time estimates, any known risk assumptions, and the Project Manager's authority and responsibilities. The project manager and key project team members are assigned. Authorization to begin the Planning Phase of the project is received. A Scope Document is created. The Scope Document forms a formal understanding of project deliverables for all stakeholders. It becomes the basis for any future project decisions and planning. It contains all project deliverables and project objectives which are used to measure criteria for project success.
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The second type of structure you can use is the linear chart. It lists the steps (tasks) of the project and who is assigned to the task. Figure 1-3 contains a sample linear chart.
Figure 1-3: A linear chart. The third type of structure you can use the Gantt Chart. The Gantt Chart is available in Microsoft Project 2000. Figure 1-4 contains a sample Gantt Chart.
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Standard calendar working times are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with 1 hour for lunch. 24Hours calendar represents working 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. No non-working time is specified. Night Shift calendar represents a grave yard shift of Monday night through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M., with 1 hour for lunch.
Duration
m h d w mon e There are three types of estimates:
Represents
minutes hours days weeks month elapsed duration
Effort Estimates refer to the amount of work, personnel, or equipment required to complete an activity. It's commonly referred to as "billable time." Effort estimates are used for budget development. Duration Estimates refer to the amount of time, calendar or clock, needed to complete an activity. It's a function of the amount of work to be accomplished and the number of resources available to perform the work. Duration estimates are used for schedule development. Elapsed Duration Estimates refer to a continuous activity. For example, a life test which must be run 24 hours per day for 20 continuous days.
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For example, an activity is estimated to require 30 days of work (effort). If there's only one person available to work on the task full time, the duration of that task is 30 days. If there are two people available to work on the task full time, the duration will be 15 days; three people, 10 days.
Relationship
Finish-to-Start Finish-to-Finish Start-to-Start Start-to-Finish
Description
The preceding activity must finish before the successor activity can start. The preceding activity must finish before the successor activity can finish. The preceding activity must start before the successor activity can start. The preceding activity must start before the successor activity can finish.
The proper selection of task dependencies enable Microsoft Project 2000 to incorporate flexibility in your project schedule. The next step in developing a project schedule is to construct a network diagram. Network diagrams are made up of both tasks and events (the start or finish of activities). They provide a picture of the total project which can be used by the project manager to obtain the following information:
The project finish date. Impact of schedule slippage. Activity interdependencies. Performance evaluation and measurement. What if analysis.
There are three network diagramming techniques. The Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) uses arrows to represent activities and they connect to nodes, which represent events. The arrows also show dependencies. Figure 1-5 displays an ADM diagram.
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The Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) uses nodes to represent activities and the connecting arrows to delineate dependencies. Figure 1-6 displays a PDM diagram.
Figure 1-6: The Precedence Diagramming Method. Gantt Charting is another method you can use to diagram. Gantt Charts use activity bars displayed on a horizontal timeline as displayed in Figure 1-7. It's easy to read and can be very helpful in sequencing and resource allocation.
Task
A B C D E F G H Completion
Predecessor
none A B C B D, E D E F, G, H
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Forward Pass Technique - you begin with the start of a project and determine the early start [ES] and early finish [EF] dates for each activity. Using the early finish [EF] of the proceeding activity as the early start [ES] of the succeeding activity, then add the activity's duration estimate to calculate the early finish [EF] date. Figure 1-9 displays a Forward Pass Technique diagram.
Figure 1-9: The Forward Pass technique diagram. To calculate the critical path: Path A[6w]+B[4w]+D[2w]+F[4w]+H[1w] = 17 Weeks Path A[6w]+C[5w]+E[2w]+G[5w]+H[1w] = 19 Weeks The critical path consists of tasks A,C,E,G,H. The project duration is 19 weeks.
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Backward Pass Technique - You begin at the finish date of the project and calculate to the left [backwards] to determine late start [LS] and late finish [LF] dates for each activity. Figure 1-10 displays a backward pass technique diagram.
Figure 1-10: The Backward Pass Technique diagram. To calculate the critical path: Path A[6]+B[4]+D[2]+F[4]+H[1] = 17 weeks Path A[6]+C[5]+E[2]+G[5]+H[1] = 19 weeks
The critical path consists of tasks A,C,E,G,H. The project duration is 19 weeks.
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Field
Resource name or initials Maximum # of Units Available Standard Rate Overtime Rate
Definition
Used to identify the resource. The total number of like units available for the project. The costs charged for regular, non-overtime work. The rate of pay for overtime work. Rate must be entered even if it's the same as the Standard Rate. If nothing is entered, Microsoft Project 2000 will calculate at $0.00 per unit of time. This represents a cost per use fee. An example is a consultants fee that is $1,500.00 per visit. Determines how costs are captured as a resource is used. Costs can be accrued at the start of a task, when the task has been completed, or as the resource is used. The calendar used for the project.
Base Calendar
Replanning a Schedule
From time to time a project will not have adequate levels of resources to successfully deliver on time, within budget, or with original requirements. The project manager must then attempt to shift or add resources. Here are a few techniques used by project managers:
Resource leveling an attempt to shift the use of resources to adjust the project schedule's peaks and valleys. However, this may not be possible without causing changes to the budget or project schedule. Resource allocation an attempt to use available resources to develop schedule relief. However, resources may not be technically qualified to perform more than one activity. Crashing an attempt to accelerate the project schedule by adding additional resources. However, this will increase the cost of the project. Fast Tracking an attempt to accelerate a project schedule by disregarding task dependencies and overlapping sequential tasks. This is a high risk activity.
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Microsoft Project 2000 will identify resource over-allocation and perform resource leveling upon request.
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