1. USE THE INFORMATION ABOUT A NEW PRODUCT DESIGN PROJECT FOR A GLOBAL MARKET IN THE TABLE BELOW TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TASKS.

1. USE THE INFORMATION ABOUT A NEW PRODUCT DESIGN PROJECT FOR A GLOBAL MARKET IN THE TABLE BELOW TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TASKS.

Activity

 

Description

 

Predecessors

 

Duration

 

A

 

Identify product requirements for the global market

 

—

 

16

 

B

 

Preliminary design of the product

 

A

 

7

 

C

 

Select fabrication plant in another country

 

—

 

15

 

D

 

Evaluation of design

 

B, C

 

??

 

E

 

Prepare the contract with the supplier and the fabrication plant

 

A

 

12

 

F

 

Contract negotiation

 

E

 

15

 

G

 

Preparation of fabrication plant

 

D, E

 

17

 

H

 

Final design of the product

 

F

 

10

 

I

 

Fabrication of product

 

G

 

14

 

J

 

Testing of plant and product

 

G, H

 

3

 

K

 

Oversea shipment of product to owner

 

J, I

 

13

 

Estimate the duration of activity D using the PERT method, knowing that it has an optimistic time estimate of 11 days, a most likely estimate of 14 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 23 days.

Draw a Network Diagram of this project (you can use drawings tool in Word or scan in your hand drawings as an image)

Find the critical path and the shortest time to complete this project

Calculate the ES, LS, EF, LF, and Slack time for each task in the network (you can enter such information into the boxes of tasks on the network diagram)

2. See below for this week’s discussion topics. You can discuss any of the following topics (title your thread appropriately to indicate the topic chosen).

Discussion Topics:

 

“The shortest total length of a project is determined by the longest path through the network.” Explain the concept behind this statement. Why does the longest path determine the shortest project length?

Does the critical path contain the most critical and complicated tasks on a project? Does it stay the same throughout the project life cycle? Any implication for project time management?

Discuss factors that influence the scheduling of a global or international project. For instance, the more complex a project becomes, the more time needs to be planned in for communication and co-ordination. Also consider possible additional time for local adaptations, language training, and different calendars, additional public holidays etc.

Discuss methods for shortening a project schedule. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of shortening project schedules?

What is a milestone? Provide a few examples of milestones for a sample project.