1. Project Management Students should be able to: 1.Discuss the importance of project management for firms. 2.Define the key project management concepts. 3.Develop a work breakdown structure. 4.Diagram a project. 5.Identify the critical path and activity slacks and use that information for making decisions.

2. Customer Service Initiative Financial services firm was losing clientele to its major competitors. Top management team recommended increasing the variety of the reports it offers, speeding up delivery of services, and reducing the errors in the reports it generates. New strategy, called the Customer Services Initiative, was intended to win customers by providing improved services more quickly than competitors. “New Services Department” head was given the task of developing new reports consistent with market needs. Other department heads were given the tasks of reducing report errors and reduce the lead time of developing the reports within the purview of their respective departments. After two years, the Customer Service Initiative was abandoned.

3. Why Project Management? Because a project is an interrelated set of activities that have a definite starting and ending point, which results in a unique outcome for a specific allocation of resources. Because project management is a systematized, phased approach to defining, organizing, planning, monitoring and controlling projects. Because it facilitates cross-functional interaction.

4. What Do I Need To Get Started? Know who is on the “oversight committee.” A specification of the scope and objectives of the project. A project manager and team. Recognize the organizational structure you will have to work within: Functional Pure Project Matrix

5. Key PM Concepts A work breakdown structure (WBS) is an outcome-oriented structure that defines the total scope of the project. A Gantt chart is a tool for communicating project schedules using a calendar format.

6. More Key PM Concepts A network diagram (also referred to as a PERT chart) shows the sequence in which tasks must be performed. A critical path is the longest path through a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of a project. It has no slack time. Activity slack is the amount of schedule slippage of an activity before the project is delayed.

7. Can Bluebird University finish the project in 40 days?

8. 7178 4 81011 447

9. How Can We Save Two Days? Option 1: W1, currently assigned to Activity B, can be assigned to help W2 with Activity A. Consequences: Activity A time will be 5 days; Activity B time will be 10 days. No additional cost. Option 2: W3, currently assigned to Activity C, can be assigned to help W2. Consequences: Activity A time will be 5 days; Activity C time will be 6 days. No additional cost. Which of these two options would you recommend?