INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF

INFORMATICS AND MANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Name- DIXITA JHABAK

Dr. Bharti Sharma Roll No. - M-4031
Enrollment No. - MBA/2018/3856
 SECTION A
QUESTION 1
What are technical aspects of a typical project as distinct from commercial,
financial, economic and managerial feasibility? Discuss three important
issues that managers must consider while conducting technical analysis.
ANSWER:
Dealing with the technical aspects of the project implementation
procedure are often the more amazing area of the implementation plan,
especially for managers who aren't exceptionally familiar with the
technologies supporting the engagement technique. It’s vital that the
program manager have the capacity to use knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques adequately and use them to diminish complexity. Technical
project and program management normally incorporates expertise in
project and program management. When issues arises and technical
aspects of the project are talked about, project manager can't
contribute and will depend upon the technical expertise of his or her
group. Such a strategy could be satisfactory when managing internal
staff, yet it's difficult, best case scenario if the manager is responding to
questions from external stakeholders.
The technical aspects of a typical project:
Technical analysis cares primarily with:

1) Selection of Process/ Technology: 

For manufacturing a product, quite one process/technology could also
be available. For instance, steel are often manufactured either by
the Bessemer process or by the open-health process. Cement are
often manufactured either by the wet process or by the dry process.

The choice of technology also depends upon the number of the

merchandise proposed to be manufactured. It the number to be produced
is large, production techniques should be followed and therefore
the relevant technology is to be adopted. The standard of the
merchandise depends upon the utilization to which its relevant
technology is to be adopted. The standard of the merchandise depends
upon the utilization to which it's meant for. A product of pharmaceutical
grade or laboratory grade should have top quality and hence
sophisticated production technology is required to realize the
specified quality. Products of economic grad don't need such top
quality and therefore the technology can been chosen accordingly.

A new technology that's protected by patent rights, etc., are

often obtained either by licensing arrangement or the technology are
often purchased outright. Appropriate technology: A technology
appropriate for one country might not be the perfect one for an
additional country. Even within a rustic , depending upon the situation of
the project and other features, two different technology could also
be ideal for 2 similar projects found out by two different firms at two
different locations. The selection of an appropriate technology for a
project involves identifying what's called the ‘appropriate technology’.

The term ‘appropriate technology’ refers that technology that's suitable

for the local economic, social and cultural conditions.

2) Scale of operations:
 Scale of operations is signified by the dimensions of the plant. The plant
size mainly depends on the marketplace for the output of the project.
Economic size of the plant varies from project to project. Economic size of
the plant for a given project are often received by an analysis of capital
and operating costs as a function of the plant size. Though the economic
size of the plant for a given for a given project are
often theoretically received by above process, the ultimate decision on
the plant size is circumscribed by variety of things , the most factor being
the promoter’s ability to boost the funds required to implement the
project. If the funds required implementing the project as its economic
size is beyond the promoter’s capacity to rearrange for and if the
economic size is just too big a size for the promoter to manage, the
promoter is sure to limit the dimensions of the project which will suit his
finance and managerial capabilities. Whenever a project is proposed to
be to be found out at a size blow its economic size, it must be analyzed
carefully on whether the project will survive at the proposed size (which
is below the economic size). Performance of existing units operating at
blow economic size will throw some light on this aspect.

3) Raw Material:
 A product are often manufactured using alternative raw materials and
with alternative process. The method of manufacture may sometimes
vary with the staple chosen. If a product are often manufactured by using
alternative raw materials, the staple that's locally available could also
be chosen. Since the manufacturing process and therefore
the machinery/requirement to be used also to a bigger extent depend
on the staple , the sort of staple to be used should be chosen carefully
after analyzing various factors just like the cost of various raw materials
available, the transportation cost involved, the continual availability
of staple , etc. Since the method of manufacture and therefore
the machinery/ equipment’s required depend on the staple used, the
investment on plant and machinery also will to some extent depend
on the staple used, the investment on plant and machinery also will to
some extent depend on the staple chosen. Hence the value of capital
investments required on plant and machinery should even be studied
before arriving at a choice on the selection of staple.

4) Technical Know-How: 
When technical know-how for the project is provided by expert
consultants, it must be ascertained whether thee consultant has the
requisite knowledge and knowledge and whether he has already
executed similar projects successfully. Care should be exercised to avoid
self-styled, inexperienced consultants. Necessary agreement should be
executed between the project promoter and therefore the know-how
supplier incorporating all essential features of the know-how transfer. The
agreement should be specific on the part played by the know-how
supplier (like removing successful trial , acceptable quality of
ultimate product, imparting necessary training to employees within
the production process, removing successful commercial production,
performance guarantee for a specified number of years after the
beginning of economic production, etc). The agreement should also
include penalty clauses for non-performance of any of the conditions
stipulated within the agreement.

5) Collaboration Agreements:
 If the project promoters have entered into agreement with foreign
collaborators, the terms and conditions of the agreement could also
be studied as explained above for know-how supply agreement.
Apart from this, the subsequent additional points the deserve
consideration:
(i) The competence and reputation of the collaborators must be
ascertained through possible sources including thee Indian
embassies and therefore the collaborator’s bankers.
(ii) The technology proposed to be imported should suit to the local
conditions. A highly sophisticated technology, which doesn't suit local
conditions, are going to be detrimental to the project.
(iii) The collaboration agreement should have necessary approval of the
government of India.
(iv) There shouldn't be any subordinate clause within the agreement that
import of equipment/machinery required for the project should be
channelized through the collaborators.
(v) The planning of the machinery should be made available to the
project promoter to facilitate future procurement and/or fabrication for
machinery in India at a later stage.
(vi) The agreement should provide a clause that any dispute arising out
of interpretation of the agreement, failure to, suits the clauses
contained within the agreement, etc., shall be decided only by courts
within India.
(vii) It must be ensured that the collaboration agreement doesn't infringe
upon any patent rights.
(Viii) it's better to possess a buy–back arrangement with the technical
collaborator. This is often to make sure that the collaborator would be
serious about the transfer of correct know-how and would ensure quality
of the output.

6) Product Mix: 
Customers differ in their needs and preferences. Hence, variations in size
and quality of products are necessary to satisfy the varying needs and
preferences of consumers, the assembly facilities should be planned
with a component of flexibility. Such flexibility within the production
facilities will help the organization to vary the merchandise mix as per
customer requirements, which is extremely essential for the survival and
growth of any organization.

For example, a plastic container manufacturing industry are

often produced consistent with the market requirement. This may give
the unit a competitive edge.

7) Selection and Procurement of Plant and machinery:

Selection of machinery: The machinery and equipment required for a

project depends upon the assembly technology proposed to be
adopted and therefore the size of the proposed. Capacity of
every machinery is to be decided by making a rough estimate, as under;
thumb rules should be avoided.

i) Take into consideration the output planned.

ii) Reach the machine hours required for every sort of operation.
iii) reach the machine capacity after giving necessary allowances for
machinery maintenance/breakdown, rest time for workers, found out time
for machines, time lost during change of shifts, etc.
iv) After having received the capacity of the machinery as above, make a
survey of the machinery available within the market with reference
to capacity and choose that capacity which is either adequate to or
simply above the capacity theoretically received .

In case of process industries, the capacity of the

machines utilized in various stages should be so selected
that they're properly balanced.

Procurement of Machinery

Plant and machinery form the backbone of any industry. The standard of

output depends upon the standard of machinery utilized in processing
the staple s (apart from the standard of raw material itself).
Uninterrupted production is again ensured only by top quality machines
that don't breakdown so often. Hence no compromise should be made
on the standard of the machinery and therefore the project promoter
should get on the lookout for the simplest brand of machinery
available within the market. The performance of the machinery
functioning elsewhere could also be studied to possess a primary hand
information before deciding upon the machinery supplier.

Plant Layout

The efficiency of a producing operation depends upon the layout of the

plant and machinery. Plant layout is that the arrangement of the
varied production facilities within the assembly area. Plant layout should
be so arranged that it ensured steady flow production and minimizes the
general cost.

The following factors should be considered while deciding plant-layout:

i) The layout should be such future expansion are often avoided much
alteration of the prevailing layout.
ii) The layout should facilitate effective supervision of labor.
iii) Equipment’s causing pollution should be arranged to be
located faraway from other plant and machinery. For instance,
generator may be a major source of sound pollution.
iv) There should be adequate clearance between adjacent machinery and
between the wall and machinery to enable undertaking of
normal inspection and maintenance work.
v) The plant layout should ensure smooth flow of men and material from
on stage to a different.
vi) The plant layout should be one that gives maximum safety to the
personnel working inside the plant.
vii) The plant layout should provide for correct lighting and ventilation.
viii) The plant layout should properly accommodate utilities like power
and water connections and provisions for effluent disposal.
Important issues that managers must consider while conducting
technical analysis:

• Stop system hopping the maximum amount as possible

System hopping is one among the main problems in technical analysis
which basically means switching from one system or strategy to a
different. Traders do this because they are doing not find profitability in
one system.
“Practice makes a person perfect.”
You must have heard this saying but traders often don't follow this. They
hop from one system/strategy to a different in expectation of take
advantage of that system when ideally; they ought to stick with one
strategy that suits them the simplest, learn it in and out, and follow it
religiously to ignore any possibility of confusion and misleading.

• Technical Analysis is Subjective

Subjectivity means different person may have different
opinions supported their feelings, tastes or opinions. once
we mention subjectivity in technical analysis, it means there are often N
number of opinions a few particular stock counting on the strategy or
system an individual uses, or the time-frame on which he/she sees the
charts.

• The Imperfection of price patterns

Often it's seen that traders, who are in search of the right pattern or
strategy, miss out on the stocks that they think would give them a loss
when actually they're ones yielding profits.
In the stock exchange, it's not always the case that price action patterns
and moves will always form the way it's shown or taught within
the books. In fact, they often behave within the opposite way but
that doesn't mean that they can't yield profits.

Price can move in any direction it wants and it’s important to know that
the traders keep themselves flexible enough to stay up with the
worth action move and not always believe the bookish knowledge.

QUESTION 2
A project is different from routine and regular activities. Draw a list of
characteristics and distinguish the projects from other activities.
ANSWER:
A project is different from routine and regular activities.
“A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and
therefore defined scope and resources. And a project is unique in that it is not
a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a
singular goal.”
 
 
Characteristics of a project:
1.       A single definable purpose, end-item or result. This is usually
specified in terms of cost, schedule and performance requirements.
2.      Every project is unique. It requires the doing of something
different, something that was not done previously. Even in what are often
called “routine” projects such as home construction, the variables such as
terrain, access, zoning laws, labor market, public services and local utilities
make each project different. A project is a one-time, once-off activity, never
to be repeated exactly the same way again.
3.      Projects are temporary activities. A project is an ad hoc
organization of staff, material, equipment and facilities that is put together
to accomplish a goal. This goal is within a specific time-frame. Once the
goal is achieved, the organization created for it is disbanded or sometimes
it is reconstituted to begin work on a new goal (project).
4.      Projects cut across organizational lines. Projects always cut
across the regular organizational lines and structures within a firm. They do
this because the project needs to draw from the skills and the talents of
 multiple professions and departments within the firm and sometimes even
from other organizations. The complexity of advanced technology often
leads to additional project difficulties, as they create task
interdependencies that may introduce new and unique problems.
5.      Projects involve unfamiliarity. Because a project differs from what
was previously done, it also involves unfamiliarity. And oft time a project
also encompasses new technology and, for the organization/firm
undertaking the project, these bring into play significant elements of
uncertainty and risk.
6.      The organization usually has something at stake when
undertaking a project. The unique project “activity” may call for special
scrutiny or effort because failure would jeopardize the organization/firm or
its goals.
7.      A project is the process of working to achieve a goal. During
the process, projects pass through several distinct phases, which form and
are called the project life cycle. The tasks, people, organizations, and other
resources will change as the project moves from one phase to the next. The
organizational structure and the resource expenditures build with each
succeeding phase; peak; and then decline as the project nears completion.
 
Difference Between project and a routine activity:

S.No. Basis Project Routine Activity

1. Meaning A project refers to the Activities are
temporary activity, which everything you do
is undertaken to create a to develop and
distinct product or sustain the
service that has certain business -
objectives. marketing, sales,
production,
distribution,
accounting, and
managing.
2. Time Horizon A project is distinct and is  On the other
for specified Duration. extreme, an
activity is
everlasting
And executed in
the business to
continuously obtain
the results of the
entity.
3. Focus  The project is content- Conversely, an
 specific, which focuses activity is context-
on delivering the specific, which links
required result. different projects
that are related to
each other so as to
achieve the
ultimate goal of the
organisation.
4. Functional  the project works on a While activity
Units single functional unit works on various
functional units.
5. Task It is technical in nature It is strategic in
nature.
6. Produces There is a generation of In contrast, activity
specific output which is produces the
demanded by the general outcomes
project. which are
necessary for the
growth and survival
of the organization
in the long run.
7. Concerned A project deals with Whereas a program
with specific deliverables, is concerned with
the benefits
received, from
implementing it.
8. Success Success can be Success is
measured in terms of measured by the
product quality, extent to which
timeliness, cost activity meets out
effectiveness, the needs and
compliance and degree benefits, for which
of customer satisfaction. it was conducted.

QUESTION 3:
Technology and processes play crucial role in certain projects. What the key
issues are in regards to choice of technology, equipment and processes at
the stage of formulation of DPR?
ANSWER:

It is widely appreciated in the financial technology industry that business

analysts can play a vital role in bridging the specification and
implementation gap between client and technology provider. Clients,
whether treasury or bank users, list requirements in the anticipation of
meeting these ideals through a new solution; while the technology provider
understands the needs and delivers solutions in accordance. Nonetheless,
the whole exchange of requirements and solution between these two
entities is not always straightforward.

The project scope and expectations from both sides can vary and escalate
to a situation where either or both parties decide to end the project
abruptly, or even prosecute each other in the courts. In most circumstances
the misinterpretations are small, but erupt unexpectedly in the final stages
of a project, which can lead to reworking and huge cost overruns.

A third party entity, fulfilling an independent role, can be the business

analyst, who can seamlessly connect these two sides. The analyst should
strive for clear client requirements and a flawless technology solution from
the vendor. Business analysts possess domain knowledge in various
financial products and have a holistic view of the programme by connecting
multiple stakeholders.

Therefore, a business analyst is crucial for a banking technology project

because they can add absolute value in terms of cost savings, quality
assurance, timeline adherence and client satisfaction.

The key issues are in regards to choice of technology, equipment

and processes at the stage of formulation of DPR
Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are the outputs of planning and design
phase of a project. DPR is a very detailed and elaborate plan for a project
indicating overall programme, different roles and responsibilities, activities
and resources required for the project. To be more precise,

A DPR is a final, detailed appraisal report on the project and a blue print for
its execution and eventual operation. It provide details of the basic
programme the roles and responsibilities, all the activities to be carried out
and the resources required and possible risk with recommended measure to
counter them.

The success of project is measured on the basis of:-

 Whether the project was completed on time.

 Whether actual cost of project was within reasonable limits of
escalation.
 Whether after completion of the project it was able to deliver the
products of desired quality and in adequate quantity to client’s
satisfaction at profitable costs.
 Whether the project gestation period was within planned duration.

The design stage is a blue print which on paper gives a great length and
detail what has to be done to convert the corporate investment in a feasible
project idea and ultimately a profit making enterprise. The top management
policy guidelines, its impact on the project life, appraisal in terms of
financial viability are dealt in great detail. The DPR is the basic of
specification, contract drawings, detailed technical feasibility, financial
feasibility, execution of project from practical point of view. The DPR should
also highlight the nature of inherent risks in the project & potential external
risks that will influence the outcome of the project. Also the DPR should give
the measures for risk management and risk mitigation.

QUESTION 4
How interdependencies between events and activities are shown through
the construction of project networks? Define events and activities in the
context of a network analysis. With the help of an example, explain the
critical path and slack in the network
ANSWER:
Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific techniques
which can be used for the planning, management and control of projects. A
fundamental method in both PERT and CPM is the use of network systems
as a means of graphically depicting the current problems or proposed
projects in network diagram. A network diagram is the first thing to sketch
an arrow diagram which shows inter-dependencies and the precedence
relationship among activities of the project.

Activity
Any individual operation, which utilizes resources and has a beginning and
an end is called an activity. An arrow is used to depict an activity with its
head indicating the direction of progress in the project. It is of four types:
a) Predecessor activity: activity that must be completed immediately
prior to the start of another activity.
b) Successor activity: activity which cannot be started until one or more
of other activities are completed but immediately succeed them are
called successor activity.
c) Concurrent:  Activity which can be accomplished concurrently is
known as concurrent activity.
An activity can be predecessor or successor to an event or it may be
concurrent with the one or more of the other activities.
d) Dummy activity: An activity which does not consume any kind of
resources but merely depicts the technological dependence is called a
dummy activity. Dummy activity is inserted in a network to classify the
activity pattern in the following situations:
i)       To make activities with common starting and finishing points
distinguishable.
ii)      To identify and maintain the proper precedence relationship
between activities those
are not connected by events.
Consider a situation where A and B are concurrent activities and activity D
is dependent on B and C is dependent on both A and B. Such a situation can
be handled by use of dummy activity

When two or more activities are exactly parallel such that they would start
at the same node (event) and finish at the same node. A dummy would be
inserted between the end of one of the activities and the common finishing
node.

This is to ensure that each activity has a unique description when refer to by
its start and finish node number. Dummy are often used to improve the
layout of network. When they may not strictly necessary to represents the
logic involved. This often happens at the start or finish of a network where a
number of activities either start from a certain point or converge to
particular point.

Event
The beginning and end points of an activity are called events or nodes or
connector. This is usually represented by circle in a network.

A is known as the activity.

The events can be further classified into three categories:
 a)      Merge Event: When two or more activities come from an event it is
known as merge event.
b)     Burst Event:  When more than one activity leaves an event is
known as burst event.
c)      Merge & Burst Event: An activity may be merged and burst at the
same time.

An event is that particular instant of time at which some specific part of

project is to be achieved while an activity is the actual performance of a
task. An activity requires time and resources for its completion. Events are
generally described by such words as complete, start, issue, approves, taste
etc. while the word like design, process, test, develop, prepare etc. shows
that a work is being accomplished and thus represent activity. While
drawing networks, it is assumed that
a)      The movement is from left to right and
b)      Head event has a number higher than the tail event.
Thus the activity (i-j) always means that job which begins at event (i) is
completed at event (j).
                       

Example of critical path and slack in the network-

QUESTION 5
What are the factors, which control the cost of a project? Discuss briefly on
each. How does time over-run affect the project cost?
ANSWER:
1 - Planning the Project Budget
You would need to ideally make a budget at the beginning of the planning
session with regard to the project at hand. It is this budget that you would
have to help you for all payments that need to be made and costs that you
will incur during the project life cycle. The making of this budget therefore
entails a lot of research and critical thinking.
Like any other budget, you would always have to leave room for
adjustments as the costs may not remain the same right through the
period of the project. Adhering to the project budget at all times is key to
the profit from project.
2 - Keeping a Track of Costs
Keeping track of all actual costs is also equally important as any other
technique. Here, it is best to prepare a budget that is time-based. This will
help you keep track of the budget of a project in each of its phases. The
actual costs will have to be tracked against the periodic targets that have
been set out in the budget. These targets could be on a monthly or weekly
basis or even yearly if the project will go on for long.
This is much easier to work with rather than having one complete budget
for the entire period of the project. If any new work is required to be carried
out, you would need to make estimations for this and see if it can be
accommodated with the final amount in the budget. If not, you may have to
work on necessary arrangements for 'Change Requests', where the client
will pay for the new work or the changes.
3 - Effective Time Management
Another effective technique would be effective time management. Although
this technique does apply to various management areas, it is very
important with regard to project cost control.
The reason for this is that the cost of your project could keep rising if you
are unable to meet the project deadlines; the longer the project is dragged
on for, the higher the costs incurred which effectively means that the
budget will be exceeded.
The project manager would need to constantly remind his/her team of the
important deadlines of the project in order to ensure that work is
completed on time.
4 - Project Change Control
Project change control is yet another vital technique. Change control
systems are essential to take into account any potential changes that could
occur during the course of the project.
This is due to the fact that each change to the scope of the project will
have an impact on the deadlines of the deliverables, so the changes may
increase project cost by increasing the effort needed for the project.
5 - Use of Earned Value
Similarly, in order to identify the value of the work that has been carried
out thus far, it is very helpful to use the accounting technique commonly
known as 'Earned Value'.
This is particularly helpful for large projects and will help you make any
quick changes that are absolutely essential for the success of the project.

Time over-run affect the project cost-

Delay and cost overrun are inherent part of most projects despite the much
acquired knowledge in project management. Although some may argue that
this is negligible It is important to note that physical and economic scale of
projects today is such that it is driven under the platform of profit to the
parent organization, and of national interest (for government projects) by
the degree of success defined within the Iron triangle of cost, time, and
scope.

1. One major factor that has been identified as reasons for cost overrun
in most projects is design errors. It is important to note that proper
representation of client’s requirement and the blue print to
achieving good technical input to project execution are usually
mapped out base on project designs. Thus a design with errors
practically means wrong or insufficient representation of project
deliverables. This will lead to wrong application of techniques in
achieving result, such that as the actual execution phase of the project
unfolds these design errors, attempt to correct it will lead to delay and
cost overrun.

2. Delay and cost overrun in project could be as a result of scope

change. Scope is the term that defines the entire deliverables that is
expected at the end of a project. Logically, it can be said that all
project plans, estimation, schedule, quality and base lines are usually
designed base in the initial project scope. Thus, any change in the
project scope during execution will mean that the entire initial project
plan will have to be reviewed such that a reviewed budget, schedule
and quality will have to be developed.

3. Another major reason for cost overrun and delay in project

is inappropriate and inadequate procurement and faulty
contractual management system. Contracts read out virtually every
aspect of a business correlation, including payment terms, pricing, and
service levels. Therefore a contract that has not highlighted the entire
project scenario may lead to dispute in the contract system. For
instance, if the initial contract does not completely specify every
relevant aspect of the project work, this may lead to long chains of
negotiations, arbitration and/or mitigation due work change orders and
the quest for reviewed contractual agreement with new budgets and
schedule.

4. The complexity of project could also be a contributing factor to delay

and cost overrun. Complexity could be define in terms of the size of
 the project, most mega projects tend to have relatively long
implementation period when compared to small project. This could be
affected by inflation, change in material price and changes in
exchange rates such that the initial budget may need to be
supplemented for the project to be completed. The result could be cost
overrun and long chains of negotiation which will lead to delay.

5. The post execution phase (closure) of a project contains potential

factors that can lead to delays and cost overrun. Being the very last
part of the project life-cycle it is often been ignored even by
organizations, especially in multi-project environments. Slow closeout
could be seen as dragging the various handover activities course by
unresolved disputes linked with client acceptance, contracts and
procurement, change order issues not resolved, final change orders
not issued, poor close out of final account, poor documentation of
project success and lessons learnt, slow client acceptance and failing
to close the work order can allow unexpected delay and stray charges
to be made to the project. 

QUESTION 6

A project comprising of eight tasks (A to H) has the following characteristics:

TASK PREDECES TIME DURATION (WEEKS)

SOR
OPTIMISTI MOST PESSIMISTI
 C LIKEY C
A NONE 2 4 12
B NONE 10 12 26
C A 8 9 10
D A 10 15 20
E A 7 7.5 11
F B,C 9 9 9
G D 3 3.5 7
H E,F,G 5 5 5

A) Calculate the time duration of each activity and the variance.

B) Draw the network diagram, determine the critical path and mark in the
network. What is the total project duration?

C) What is the probability of achieving the project within the deadline of

30 weeks.

ANSWER:
QUES
TION 7
List the activities for erecting a canteen in the factory is given below with
other relevant details. Job A must precedes all other while Job E must follow
all others. Apart from this, jobs can run concurrently also:

COD JOB NORMAL CRASH

E DESCRIPTION
DURATION COST (RS.) DURATION COST
(DAYS) (DAYS) (RS.)
A LAY 5 3000 4 4000
FOUNDATION
AND BUILD
WALLS
B TITLE FLOORING 6 1200 2 2000
C INSTALL 4 1000 3 1800
ELECTRICITY
D INSTALL 5 1200 3 200
PLUMPING
E CONNECT 3 1600 3 1600
SERVICES TO
FINISH

A) Draw the network and identify critical path.

B) Crash the network fully to find out minimum duration.

C) If indirect costs are RS. 300/Day determine the time cost tradeoff for
the project.
ANSWER: