Time and Cost Estimation Reflection Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please review the Weekly Lecture(attached) and assigned page ranges from Chapters 5 and 7(attached t

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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  Weekly Lecture Week 3 – Time and Cost Estimations

The Gantt Chart and the Critical Path

In this week’s Learning Activity, you will be creating and expanding on the work breakdown structure (WBS) in ProjectLibre. You will also be adding/updating the Gantt Chart with predecessors, resources, and costs.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

This week we are continuing in the planning stage of the project and will be working on tools project managers use to help not only plan the project, but to execute, control, and close out the project during the rest of the project lifecycle.

The work breakdown structure (WBS) takes the project and breaks it down into smaller, more manageable pieces (Brenner, 2009). The end-product will be an organized, visual display of the main pieces of your project.

The tasks and subtask in the WBS must stand on their own and be clear to anyone who picks up the document. Project documents are often forwarded to others who are not intimately familiar with the project and they need to be able to understand the tasks.

There are no hard rules on how wide or deep your WBS structure should be. However, the subtasks, need to be small enough to maintain control and visibility and at the same time avoid excess bureaucracy.

A WBS of a project to paint a few rooms in a home is provided in Figure 1 below. Note the tasks for this project are logically grouped into several sections.

Figure 1: Work Breakdown Structure to Paint a Room

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is a set of horizontal lines that provide a visual view of the tasks scheduled over time. The Gantt chart is always paired with the work break down structure (WBS) so the team can see the tasks that go with the timeline.

The Gantt chart is also very helpful in seeing the project’s critical path and creating a timeline. Visuals from the Gantt chart helps the team members identify which tasks must be done in sequence (for example, buy the paint first before painting the wall) and which tasks might be done at the same time (for example, remove the wallpaper and cover the electrical outlets).

Knowing which tasks can be done simultaneously will allow the team members to better plan and coordinate resources for the project.

During this week, you will be adding predecessors to your WBS and determining when different tasks and subtasks in your project should begin. This information will be reflected in your Gantt chart. You are encouraged to play around with duration and predecessors to see the impact on Gantt chart, critical path, and the overall visual.

Figure 2 (below) shows the WBS with the Gantt chart (see blue horizontal lines) for the painting project. This is a good example of what a Gantt chart should look like.

Figure 2: Gantt chart example with key notes

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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Project Resource

Figure 2 (above) also shows project resources, which you will be adding in this week’s learning activity.

In project management, resources are the component needed to complete a project. Project resources can be people, equipment, location, funding, and any other necessary asset that is required to complete a project. Therefore, a lack of resource can be a constraint to complete a project task.

Project resources should be identified, assessed, and allocated before a project starts. Resource are added to help ensure resources are properly scheduled and that no resources are being double booked or overwhelmed. Poor resource planning can have a significant negative consequence on a project, including delayed delivery, cost overrun, and/or inferior project deliverable.

See Figure 3 below for a visual of where to add resources in ProjectLibre.

Figure 3: Adding resources to ProjectLibre

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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In this week’s learning activity, you will be adding resources and costs to your project. See below for where and how to add costs for the various resources that have been assigned to the project. Adding costs to resources is a step in figuring out the total costs of a project.

Many organizations consider internal employee time when calculating the cost to a project. This is particularly true in cross-functional teams (common in projects) where labor resources come from different departments.

Figure 4: Adding costs to ProjectLibre

Let’s Talk Turkey – Why the Critical Path is so Important

The textbook and your course goes over the critical path, so we are not going to cover it in detail here, however, the discussion below will help you bolster your understanding of the critical path and what it means to your project and how it will influence what you do in the Learning Activity.

Think about Thanksgiving dinner and everything that is cooked on that day for the entire family: Turkey, ham, baked potatoes, sweet potato, stuffing, greens, rolls, corn bread, gravy, salads, pies and more.

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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Planning a Thanksgiving dinner takes a great deal of consideration and organization. Project management is no different!

On Thanksgiving Day, it is NOT feasible to start cooking everything at the same time nor it is practical to wait till one dish is finished before starting the preparation for the next dish. Logistically, it is also challenging to ensure that every dish is cooked at the exact the same time (instead you may end up making the salads and desserts early and reheat other things before they go on the table).

Applying project management principles to our analogy of cooking Thanksgiving meal would include tasks like: write down and group the tasks that need to be done (this is your work breakdown structure), estimating the time to complete each task (task duration), resources required to complete each task (Joe, Grandma, the stove, etc.,), and which task(s) must be completed before starting another task(s) (predecessor).

For Thanksgiving dinner, there are few tasks that will take a long time (cooking and thawing the turkey for example), but there are plenty of other things that can be done while the bird is thawing and cooking. Tasks that can be done at the same time are called parallel tasks.

Figuring out the critical path is the key. The critical path will tell us how much time the project will take, when you need to start thawing and cooking the bird, and what time the dinner will start.

The following video (Silverman, 2013) provides a good introduction to the critical path. While the user interface in ProjectLibre may look different, the concept remains the same.

Silverman, P. (November 28, 2013). Microsoft Project Tutorial – Understanding the Critical Path (https://www.youtube.com/n-Mw3l42sgw) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/n-

Mw3l42sgw

Microsoft Project Tutorial – Understanding the Critical PathMicrosoft Project Tutorial – Understanding the Critical Path

The reason for such a high emphasis on critical path is if any of the tasks on the critical path are delayed, then it affects the entire timeline of the project.

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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The critical path for Thanksgiving dinner may be this:

1. Menu prep and shopping list

2. Buy the turkey

3. Thaw 20-pound turkey (using the quick method (10 to 12 hours)

4. Bake unstuffed turkey (4.2 to 5 hours)

5. Rest turkey and carve turkey (40 minutes)

6. Reheat food cooked early (20 minutes)

Nothing can start until the menu prep and the turkey has been purchased /shopping is done. After that the other parts of the meal can be done while the turkey is thawing, baking, or resting.

For those of us with only one oven (limited resources) it is important to include the oven in the list of resources and schedule what the oven is doing at any one time appropriately. Managing the ovens time is key on Thanksgiving. Some dishes may need to be baked (like pies and breads) while the turkey is thawing. The other things can be reallocated to the stove top or rotated in and out of the oven while the turkey is cooking. For example, potatoes for mashed potatoes can be boiled instead of baked. Sweet potatoes can often be placed in the oven with the turkey.

In this week’s assignment, you will set up your work breakdown structure with deliverables, subtasks, and associated dependencies which will allow you to identify your critical path.

The following video (Bradley, 2015) provides an overview of how to set up and use ProjectLibre. This resource may assist you with understanding how you will be using ProjectLibre throughout this course and with your Time and Cost Estimation Exercise Interactive learning activity this week.

Bradley, H (July 11, 2015). Learn the basics of ProjetLibre – Your quick start to project management with ProjectLibre (https://youtu.be/oiVnWX-J5Mo) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/oiVnWX-J5Mo

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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Learn the Basics of ProjectLibre – Your Quick Start to ProjeLearn the Basics of ProjectLibre – Your Quick Start to Proje……

Stand on its Own

Remember every time you write anything it must stand on its own. Meaning the documents must have the information and background necessary for others to understand them. If others have to guess what you mean or have to make jumps in logic, then you have not accomplished your goal.

As a manager or project manager, a lot of your documents will be forwarded as is and even someone not familiar with the project needs to be able to read and understand what your project is from the project name, to the project scope, what tasks they need to do (the work breakdown structure and WBS dictionary) and what is going on in the project and what the project manager has done about it (the milestones, issues, and overall status report).

Since we will be sharing your project and your work in the classroom writing clearly is also key since the class needs to be able to understand your project and the work breakdown structure.

FSBT Project Management Club

Want to learn more about project management and connect with others? The Forbes School of Business and Technology™ (FSBT) at University of Arizona Global Campus has a Project Management Club.

The FSBT Project Management Club is dedicated to the personal and professional growth of its members by sharing and discussing methodology, leadership, and career opportunities about project management. The Project Management Club is open to University of Arizona Global Campus and FSBT students, faculty, staff, alumni, and anyone who has a strong interest in the area of project management.

The direct URL to join the FSBT Project Management Group is: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13536418 (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13536418)

9/1/22, 9:47 AM Week 3 – Weekly Lecture: PRM300: Introduction to Project Management (PRM2234A)

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References

Bradley, H. (2015, July 11). Learn the basics of ProjectLibre—Your quick start to project management with ProjectLibre (https://youtu.be/oiVnWX-J5Mo) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/oiVnWX-J5Mo

Silverman, Paul (November 28, 2013). Microsoft Project Tutorial – Understanding the Critical Path (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Mw3l42sgw) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Mw3l42sgw

How to cite this lecture

Milligan, S., Parikh, R. & Ardolino, E.(2019). PRM300: Time and Cost Estimations to Project Management

Materials in this lecture are based on the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017. Copyright and all rights reserved. PMBOK® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.