Project Management in Practice Fourth Edition Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, and Sutton Prepared by Scott M. Shafer, Updated by William E. Matthews and Thomas G. Roberts, William Paterson University John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introduction to Allocation Projects compete with one another for resources consumed (e.g., materials) non-consumed (e.g., equipment) Goal of resource allocation is to optimize use of limited supply Allocations requires making trade-offs time constrained … completion by a fixed time resource constrained … limited budget or resource Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Critical Path Method Normal duration estimates Normal costs Crash duration estimates Crash costs Crash cost per day Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Activity Slope The activity slope or cost per day is: Crash Cost - Normal Cost _______________________________________________________________________________________ Normal Duration – Crash Duration Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Crashing a Project Two key principles: Focus on the critical path(s) when trying to shorten the duration of a project When shortening a project’s duration, select the least expensive way to do it Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 6-5

An Example of a Normal/Crash Project * Partial crashing allowed ** Partial crashing not allowed Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A PERT/CPM Example of Crashing a Project, AOA Network Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

CPM Crash Cost-duration History Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Fast-Tracking a Project Fast Tracking - an expediting technique in which one phase of the project is started before preceding phases are completed Used in the construction industry when the building phase is started before the design and planning phases are complete This technique is particularly appropriate when large proportion of work is routine Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Loading Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific time It is usually presented in the form of a list or table Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project Plan and Gantt Chart for Production of a Short Documentary Film Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Gantt Chart for DVD Project, Adjusted for Client Availability Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Loading Chart for DVD Production Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Dealing with the Charismatic VP Problem Subordinates have a hard time saying "no" to a well liked boss which can lead to overcommitted subordinates. Problem further compounded because more experienced workers tend to be most over worked. One solution is to set specific limits on amount of overscheduling permitted. Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Overallocation Report for Scriptwriter Showing All Activities Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Graphic Resource Allocation Report for Scriptwriter Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Leveled Report for Scriptwriter Showing All Activities Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Graphic Resource Leveled Report for Scriptwriter Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Daily Resource Loading Chart for DVD Project, Scriptwriter Leveled Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Final DVD Project Gantt Chart Schedule, with Two Scriptwriters and Producer Leveled Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Loading/Leveling and Uncertainty 28,282 Hours Needed Group Capacity 21 (people)  40 (hours/week)  34 weeks = 28,560 labor hours Correction for Holidays 21 (people)  3 (days)  8 (hours) = 504 labor hours Vacations 11 (people)  2 (weeks)  40 (hours) = 880 labor hours Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Resource Loading/Leveling and Uncertainty continued Hours Available 28,560 - 504 - 880 = 27,176 about 1100 less than needed 28,282/27176 = 1.04 Additional Problems Workers getting sick Task not ready when worker is ready Change orders Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Thirty-Four-Week Resource Loading Chart for a Software Engineering Group Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Use of Project Software Begin with PERT/CPM Schedule Examine activities period by period and resource by resource If the demand for a resource exceeds supply, the software consider the tasks one by one ….. resources assigned to these tasks according to the priority rule selected by the project manager Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Allocation Priority Rules As soon as possible As late as possible Shortest task duration first Minimum slack first Most critical followers Most successors Most resources first Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Criteria of Priority Rules Schedule slippage amount project or set of projects delayed by application of a leveling rule Resource utilization extent to which resources are over or underworked In-process inventory amount of unfinished work in the system Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Pseudoactivities Pseudoactivities are those which have duration but require no resources The use of pseudoactivities allows a set of projects to be linked and dealt with as though it were a single project use of MSP’s resource loading and leveling charts and tables Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Multiple Projects Connected with Pseudoactivities Shown on a Time Line Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Impact of Resource Allocation on the Two Types of Project Life Cycles Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project Issues/Problems Issues that trouble people about working on projects regardless of type of project unrealistic due dates too many changes unrealistic budget These issues/problems relate to the need to make trade-offs To what extent are these problems caused by human decisions and practices? Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Three Project Scenarios Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project Completion Time Statistics Based on Simulating Three Projects 200 Times Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Observations Average completion times Implications of assuming known activity times Shape of the distribution Worker time estimates Impact of inflated time estimates Student syndrome Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Multitasking – Two Small Projects Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternative Gantt Charts for Projects A and B Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Common Chain of Events Assuming that activity times are known and that the paths are independent leading to underestimating the time needed to complete the project Project team members inflate time estimates Work fills available time student syndrome early completions not reported Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Common Chain of Events continued Misused safety time results in missed deadlines Hidden safety time complicates task of prioritizing project activities Lack of clear priorities results in poor multitasking Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Common Chain of Events concluded Poor multitasking increases task durations Uneven demand on resources may also occur as a result of poor multitasking More projects undertaken to ensure all resources are fully utilized Adding more projects further increases poor multitasking Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Reversing the Cycle Reduce number of projects assigned to each individual Schedule start of new projects based on availability of bottleneck resources Reduce amount of safety time added to individual tasks and then add some fraction back for the entire project, called the project buffer Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Critical Chain Think in terms of the longest chain of consecutively dependent events consider both precedence relationships and resource dependencies Project buffer added safety time for the entire project Feeding buffer safety time added to chains other than the critical chain because the network’s paths often lead into or merge with the critical chain Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project and Feeder Buffers Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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