What Is Project Management - Assignment Example

Identify the following Terms

PERT vs. CPM:- PERT is a tool in statistics which is used in project management by analyzing and presenting the various tasks which are involved in accomplishing a given project (Indelicato, 2009). CPM on the other hand is a tool in project management used in the identification of both critical and non-critical paths

Poka-yoke is a phrase from Japan which means unintentional avoidance of error or mistake-proofing

F-O-C-U-S: - In project management, this acronym involves framing the problem, organizing the team, collecting data, understanding the data and solving the problem.

Overbooking is the process of accepting more reservations than the actual capacity.

Bottleneck Process vs. System capacity:- Bottleneck process is a single process in a chain of processes whose limited capacity decreases the capacity of the entire chain while system capacity is the product of maximum of the product of the number of users in each cell by the user spectral efficiency outage probability.

Yield Management is a variable strategy of pricing which according to understanding, anticipation and influencing the behavior of consumers to maximize the profits and revenues from time-limited resource which is fixed.

Network Diagram: - is a tool in management which is used in presenting the flow of activities between different tasks graphically (Indelicato, 2009).

SKU (Inventory Management):- Stock keeping unit is an identification code used in identifying products and services for tracking items for the inventory.

Probabilistic Project Management is the management of a project based on possible resources.

Pareto chart/diagram:- a statistical technique used in making decisions for the assortment of limited number of tasks that generate major ultimate effect. This chart employs Pareto principle which states that 80% of benefit of doing the whole job can be realized by doing 20% of the work.

D-M-A-I-C:- This is an acronym of define, measure, analyze, improve and control which a data motivated improvement series which is used improving, boosting and making business processes and designs stable.

Six sigma is a set of methods and tools used for improving processes. It is an approach driven by data and methods for removing faults in a process. These are used by organizations to improve their business capability.

Return on Quality

This is a tool used in measuring and assessing the expenses on improving quality as an investment and not costs thereby assisting managers in finding elements of quality.

PDCA

PDCA is a four step tool of management that is used in business for control and repetitive development of processes and products. These are plan, do, check and act or adjust.

Halo/Pitchfork effect

This is the tendency of people to be biased in making their judgments. This is by passing their feelings and emotions about a particular characteristic to other qualities

II. Short Essay & Calculation

The main steps in constructing any process simulation

Simulation process involves a number of steps. The basic step in simulation is defining the problem. This involves defining the objectives and the problem which should be solved.

Project planning

Under this stage, various tasks and duties required for completing the project are defragmented into work packages and a responsible individual is allocated to every package.

System definition

This is basically classifying the various constituents of the system which needs to be modeled and the measures of performance to be examined. This usually requires an experienced simulator because of the complexity of the system.

Model formulation

When formulating the model, it is important to clearly understand how a given system operates. This is instrumental in finding out the requirements of the model. This is achieved through development of a flow chart of the operation mechanism of the system. This helps in understanding the variables that are used in the system and how the variables interrelate.

Input data collection and analysis

Data to be collected is determined after the model is formulated. Both new and existing data are then collected and fixed to hypothetical distributions.

Model translation

In this step, the model is decoded into programming language ranging from general purpose language like FORTRAN or arena which is a simulation language.

Verification and validation

Verification involves the confirmation that the model operates as intended through debugging or animation. Validation on the other hand ensures there are no variances between the real system and the model and that reality is reflected by the model.

Experimentation and analysis

In this step, alternative models are established, performing simulation run and statistically relating the other performance of the system to that of the actual system.

Documentation and implementation

At this stage, a written report is presented and the outcomes of the study are discussed in details. After the discussion, the suitable course of action is selected, proposed and justified.

The advantages that a simulation can provide 10%

Simulation is flexible because it can be used in solving various research problems that are complex. This enhances changing the variables of the system can be carried out quickly to find out the most ideal option. In solving complex problems, simulation is suitable in analyzing complex problems that are practical that cannot be mathematically solved. Building a simulation is simple because it uses limited except for validating simulation where multiple data is required. This therefore makes simulation is less costly and requires less time and resources compared to the cost incurred in experimenting in the actual world. Additionally, many ideas arise after building a simulation and this allows room for testing many “what if” scenarios. Simulation exercise is very innovative and helps in solving many problems in organizations through social simulation. Besides, there is a great forecasting power in simulation because it permits prediction of events that have never been seen once a theory and a pivotal hypothesis on how the system of interest works are developed.

The benefits of creating a) process flow and b) Gantt diagrams 10%

Gantt chart is used by project managers in coordination by sequencing events and reducing the possibility of overworking the team members. In certain cases, Gnatt charts are used in breaking down tasks by project managers into simple task which are manageable. Secondly, both Process flow and Gnatt charts are very clear once the tasks are broken down thereby making it easier for the stakeholders to understand where the teams are when carrying out their tasks within the process. The stakeholders can similarly identify processes and steps that are not necessary and make adjustments. The Gnatts and process low charts chart can as well make the teams to effectively understand how to perform the tasks through the visual presentation thus limiting the meetings. Both process flow and Gnatt diagrams list every step which is to be performed thus enhancing high levels of efficiency. Moreover, steps that are necessary within the process are eliminated thereby executing only the necessary steps to accomplish the final process.

The difference(s) between customer expectation and customer needs

Customer expectations are the overall supposed benefits that a customer anticipates from a product or a service offered by a company while customer needs is the desires which drive a customer to purchase a product or service.

The difference(s) between service value and service quality

Service value is the anticipation in a product or service or the benefit that a customer gets after purchasing a product. Service quality on the contrary is the examination of how a service delivered meets the expectations of a customer.

Service quality model

The kinds of gaps existing based on the model and how to improve them

In healthcare organization, there exists a big communications gap. For instance patients are made to believe in certain states that hospital insurance fund caters for all the medical expenses and therefore they do not need to pay for anything. However, this changes when the patients are made to pay admission fees in the hospitals when they go to seek services.

The customer gap: the gap between customer expectation and customer perception

This is the difference between customer expectation and customer perception. The expectation of the customers is pegged on the resources which are at their disposal. In regards to this, the customers background, level of education, income, society status, lifestyle, personality and demographics affect the expectation. The engagement of the customer with the service or product on the other hand determines the customer’s perception hence more personal. Understanding the needs of a customer closes this gap.

The knowledge gap: the gap between consumer expectation and management perception

This is the variation in what the customers expect and the provision of the service by a company. This difference comes when the management wrongly interprets what the customers expects from the services and products offered. This gap can be improved by the management carefully interpreting the customers’ expectation and providing exactly what the customers expected. This is achieved through comprehensive market research to effectively understand the customers’ expectations and needs.

The policy gap: the gap between management perception and service quality specification

Policy gap mirrors the wrong interpretation of the service policy rules by the management to the employees. Wrong interpretation of the service specifications often leads to poor service design, lack of standardization and failure to satisfy the customers. This is a key gap in service quality because consumers can resort to purchase alternative products if this gap arises. It can be closed through right interpretation of policies regarding a particular service or product specifications.

The service delivery gap: the gap between service quality specifications and service delivery

This gap shows the weakness and incompetence the performance of employees of an organization is. This gap arises when the employees have no product knowledge hence cannot efficiently handle questions asked by customers. Similarly, lack of teamwork and human resource policies lead to the gap. The gap can be closed by training and developing employees on the product knowledge.

The communications gap: the gap between service delivery and customer expectations

This is the difference between what is actually delivered and what is communicated to the customers through advisement and product promotion. When customers are overpromised and what they received does not match the communicated service or product, this gap arises. This therefore is closed through integrity, delivering what is communicated to the customers.

5a. the project network for the project.

• Calculate the ES, EF, LS, and LF for each activity

ES= 6EF= week 72LS= week 15LF= 26 weeks

• How long it will take to complete this project

72 weeks

• the critical path(s) are weeks 2,5,8 12,14, 16 and 21.

6a. Draw the project network diagram for this project

b. The minimum time duration of the project is 3 weeks

c. the critical path(s) of the project are 6 and 13

d. the most economical way to complete the project in 25 weeks is £6460

7a. the project network

b. the expected completion time of the project

15th week

• The path is non-critical because despite being long, the activities are carried out effectively, faster and economically.
• the variances for each activity

A=3B=1C=-2D=1E=0F=-2G=2H=1I=-1J=-1

• probability of completing the project in 26 weeks is

10 / 26 weeks = 0.36

• the probability of completing the project in 22 weeks is 10 activities / 22 weeks = 0.45