1.1 Network Diagram
The activity on node diagram is represented by the node, whereas the direction in which the activities will be fulfilled is represented by an arrow (Field and Keller). The activity on node diagram for Fencefall Limited is as follows:
1.2 Timing of activities and float time
Timing of activity:
The timing of the activities was determined by forward pass and backward pass:
Forward pass
In the forward pass method, every activity is assumed to begin right after the predecessor activity ends, thus, the early start time of the project is zero and the early finish time of an activity is the sum of early start time and duration of completing that activity. Another assumption in calculating the forward pass is that, for activities with more than one predecessor activity, the successor activity will take its EST from the activity with the highest EFT (Field and Keller).
Backward pass
In backward pass method, every activity is assumed to start with the successor activity’s EFT time which will become the predecessor activity’s LFT time and will be positioned on the right-hand side. The formula of calculating the LST will then be LFT minus the duration of activity. Thus, in case of more than one successor, the lowest value amongst the entire predecessor’s EFT is taken to be the successor’s LFT (Field and Keller).
Float Time:
Float or slack time is the time for which activities could be delayed without influencing the completion time of the project (Field and Keller). The total float of the project is computed by adding up the float of all the activities. The total float of this project is:
Total float= 0+0+0+0+0+2+4+0+0+2+0+4+0+0+0+2+4+0=18 days
1.3 Project Duration and Critical path
The project duration is the LFT of the last activity performed which in this case is 76 days as per the network diagram drawn above.
Critical path is the path of all those activities which would have been performed without any delay and will achieve the completion of the project in the shortest possible time (Field and Keller). The critical path for Fencefall Limited is as follows:
Critical Path:
A-B-C-D-E-H-I-K-L-N-O-R
1.4 Earliest completion date of the project
The total project duration for Fencefall Limited is 76 days. If the project is to start on 1st August 2014, keeping in mind a five-day working week without any holidays, the completion date of the project will be:
14th November 2014
The method deployed for the calculation of the date is:
- Duration of the project: 76 days
- 12 weeks starting from 1st August Friday to 14th November Friday
1.5 Effects on the duration of the project:
A delay in the activity will only impact the completion of the project if that activity lies on critical path:
- If activity P would be delayed by one day, it will not impact the completion of the project because the activity does not lie on the critical path. Hence, the total completion time will remain to be 76 days,
- If activity Q would be delayed by one day, it will again not impact the total completion time of the project because the activity doesn’t lie on the critical path. Thus, the total completion time of the activity will remain to be 76 days
- If activity N would be delayed by four days, completion of the project will be impacted because N lies on the critical path and impact the subsequent activities. Thus, the entire project will be delayed by four days and the completion time will increase to 80 days.
1.6 Limitations of the network diagram
As Field and Keller, have described, there are certain limitations in the network diagram which become evident as the complexity of the diagram increases. First of all, complex network diagrams can be established only by trained managers, and users can only understand the diagram if they have background information into how it would be constructed. Then the accuracy of the diagram is highly dependent on the reliability of the data and while gathering it, any vital information missed out will affect the accuracy of results. Finally, the network diagram is a quantitative measurement and evaluation. It does not include the influence of external factors affecting the project, example, activity diagram is of no use if the workers are de-motivated and they do not complete task in the assumed number of days (Stevens).
1. Introduction
Project management involves the development of a project plan that would be incorporated in a manner in which activities will be conducted, and resources will be allocated. The entire project has a project lifecycle and therefore it makes the life of a project finite. Hence, it is necessary to understand that the project at Tennisright Limited has the objective of expanding the storage facility by means of constructing another warehouse, but the project is subjected to certain time and cost bound conditions. Thus, the following report will apply project management tools and highlight activities that have to take place in order to ensure successful implementation of the project. A detailed conclusion highlighting the most important activity in the project management phase has been developed.
2. Project Management
Project management is concerned with the process of measurement of all the activities and management of different processes involved in reaching a certain goal by considering various aspects of a project example the cost, schedule, etc. it is essential in the case of Tennisright Limited because it will provide the organization with a proper plan of the implementation of different activities (Chiniyo). Effective project management will also offer Tennisright with appropriate tools and techniques to identify and analyze potential problems and develop the project within given budget and time requirements (Cleland).
2.1 Project Feasibility
Feasibility study is identified to provide a detailed analysis of the problem, recognize the opportunities available, and then determine whether the selected opportunity fulfils the requirements of clients (Cleland). The objective of Tennisright is to come up with a new storage facility within the given budget and time requirements. This study will then require the project team to determine whether new space is required or not. It will be considered cost effective if the space can be managed in the existing building by reducing order interval, moving around items in the existing warehouse or by outsourcing to other supply chain services. As Tennisright has already decided to open up a new warehouse, therefore, the experience of the past management team will be of help in deciding the design, space dimensions as well as the time and resource requirement in building this new facility. Thus, the project feasibility report of Tennisright will include the following elements:
- A complete description of the new warehouse including the type of design, the space and size requirements.
- List of possible sites for opening up a new warehouse.
- Staff recruitment and training implications
- A budget plan for the completion of the project
- List of all the risks involved in the completion of the project
- Work plan including recommendation for the chosen solution.
2.2 Project Lifecycle
There are four phases in project lifecycle. Their application with respect to a given problem is presented below:
2.2.1 Concept
Concept is the initial stage of the project management plan. Developing the scope of the project is also important to prevent any changes throughout the lifecycle as new requirements arise. Thus, a project manager at Tennisright will have to have a meeting with the management to identify what is expected and how will the operations of the warehouse would be preferred. Together the project manager will decide on the budget and the time frame for the completion of this new venture (Cleland).
2.2.2 Planning
The next step to be followed after the scope of the project would be the planning phase of the project. This phase revolves around breaking goals into achievable objectives (Cleland). Thus, it involves the establishment of a detailed schedule and lists all the activities with their respective time frames. In the case of Tennisright, the project plan will be as follows:
- Work Breakdown Structure: the work breakdown structure incorporates all set of activities that are undertaken to complete the project. Before beginning with any activity, it is also necessary to analyze the feasibility of the completion of activity within cost and time requirement. Hence, the organization should analyze the proposed strategy in a detailed manner to eliminate any mistakes that would cost the company valuable resources and time.
- Resource plan: the resource plan includes necessary resources required to complete the activity.
- Financial plan: it is a budget schedule identifying the amount of money that will be spent in completing a project.
- Quality plan: this will analyze the quality of procured products in order to meet the quality expectations of the stakeholders.
- Risk management plan: it is necessary that all risks must be acknowledged before entering into the implementation phase. Along with the proposed actions, risks in areas such as safety considerations, quality considerations or cost escalation also have to be developed (Berger). Remedial action will then have to be taken up to rectify any mistakes or gaps.
2.2.3 Execution
In the execution stage, the selected strategy for the development of a new warehouse will be implemented in order to accomplish objectives. This execution stage is the phase when plan comes into action and problems, delays or uncertainties crop up. Thus, the implementation stage must be properly planned, and the critical path should be evaluated before the actual implementation takes place. And even during the implementation phase, the activities must be monitored and controlled to avoid the occurrence of any uncertainty (Cleland). This phase includes keeping a check on risks and reviewing the output against the benchmark. Not only the activities but the external aspects relating to the completion of the project must also be evaluated (Jeffrey). The implementation action for Tennisright is as follows:
Recruitment process:
It involves the hiring of a contractor along with other responsible staff members who demonstrate the right motivation for working over the project and completing it within a given period. At present, there is 1 General Manager, 2 Business development managers and five administrative team members at Tennisright and further staff may not be required for the new warehouse. The expertise of the existing staff members will be sufficient in accomplishing the new project. However, it is necessary that the motivation of these existing staff members is sufficient to go ahead with a new project.
Monitor and control:
As mentioned earlier, monitoring and control is a necessary step to ensure that there are no deviations from the established schedule and even if deviations occur, corrective action can be taken in order to control the situation at the right time.
2.2.4 Termination
It represents the end stage of the project lifecycle and is the most crucial stage for the project manager because it is a make or break situation for the reputation of the project manager. If the developed warehouse has not been constructed with the time frame and cost requirements, or there are glitches in the quality of the warehouse when compared against the benchmark, then the project manager will be criticized for his work. At this phase, the warehouse is finally handed over to the parent company, and loopholes are identified for improvement in further planning.
2.3 Role of Project Manager
Often the difference between the project that succeeds and the project that fails is the leadership of the project manager. The entire project management team is a group of followers who have the skills but need the direction to work towards a specific goal. The project management team is in need of motivation and coordination. At this point, planning is considered vital but the ability to adapt to changes and work with people to overcome challenges is more vital. Thus, a project manager with the right skills, mastered is necessary for the successful implementation of the project.
The role of a project manager is to plan and schedule the project activities while also caring about the execution phase. The project manager should also provide direction to the project team and ensure that effective communication takes place so that objectives can be accomplished as smoothly as possible. In short, the role of the project manager is to act as a director, a decision maker, motivator and planner. In order to fulfil each criterion of becoming an effective project manager, it is necessary that the project manager is equipped in the required competencies. These competencies are as follows:
- Interpersonal skills: these skills involve providing direction, communicating, assisting in problem solving and dealing effectively with people.
- Technical expertise: technical expertise gives the project manager the credibility to prove their leadership on a technical project by understanding the different aspects of the project and communicate it to team members (Berger).
- Administrative skills: these skills are a culmination of planning, organization and coordinating skills to maintain the quality of work performed.
Apart from the skills deployed by an effective project manager, there are some characteristics that must be evident in an effective project manager:
- Credibility – credibility is important from the perspective of gaining trust and respect of the project management team. A project manager handling a project will face difficulty if his subordinates do not respect him or do not trust his decision making (Berger).
- Creativity – projects are not routine businesses. They have a cost and time bound condition and any problem that arises will have to be addressed quickly to avoid delay in project completion. That makes creativity at the part of the project manager important in order to solve problems quickly (Berger).
- Tolerance for ambiguity – project manager is a momentary staff of the organization, and there may be many aspects in the organization with which the project manager will be unfamiliar. Hence, an effective project manager may have tolerance for ambiguity and should maintain focus on his project (Berger).
- Flexible management style – a project manager comes across different people in every new project and he must be flexible enough to adjust his management style in line with new staff members to maintain an open environment (Berger).
- Effective communicating – the project management team has the skills to work on the project but needs a direction. Hence, the project manager should have strong communication skills to be able to convey the roles properly (Berger).
3. Conclusion
The above mentioned concepts were an effort to analyze the project management objective of Tennisright Limited in developing a new warehouse for the storage of its products. The objective was subjected to time and cost considerations which made the role of the project manager all the more important. However, based on the above analyses, it is evident that project feasibility is the most important stage in warehouse development at Tennisright limited. B providing an insight into the current problem and likely solutions, the feasibility report fulfilled the purpose of providing a direction into the future. Apart from the feasibility of the project, maintaining the feasibility of the activities is also important to ensure that those activities can be done within the given framework of time and cost and require set resources. However, as emphasized in the last part of the project management report, the role of a project manager is completely irreplaceable and more vital than the planning phase. He must not only be an effective manager, but a good administrator and a leader to be able to give the project management team a direction and communication their roles effectively.
References:
Berger, Alexander, Managing Projects. GRIN Verlag, publications. 2011.
Chiniyo, Ezekiel, Construction Stakeholder Management. John Wiley and Sons. 2010.
David, Cleland, Field guide to project management. John Wiley and Sons. 2004.
Jeffrey, Pinto, Project Management. Pearson Education India publications. 2009.
Mike, Field and Laurie, Keller, Project management. The Open University, Cengage Learning publications. 2007.
Martin, Stevens, Project Management Pathways. Association for Project Management, APM Publishing Limited, 2002.
