Assignment 3: Project time and cost management
Assessment Weighting Marks Due date
Assignment 3 70% 100 9 June 2014
Length: 3000–4000 words approximately, exclusive of the executive summary, tables, figures, appendices, etc.
Reminder:
? Assignments 2 and 3 should be attached to the specific electronic mark sheet for this assignment.
? Assignments 2 and 3 are to be submitted through EASE (Electronic assignment submission environment).
? Check the file types and maximum file sizes that can be submitted through the EASE website.
? MS Office 2003, 2007, 2010 files are acceptable. Save copies of your files before submission.
? Assignments 2 and 3 submissions that do not include an Originality Report generated by Turnitin will not be marked (refer previous instructions).
Download the electronic mark sheet now from the UConnect StudyDesk. This also acts as a template for your assignment.
1 . Software requirement to complete assignment
To carry out this assignment, it will be necessary to utilise a project management software program (such as Microsoft Project, Micro Planner, or Primavera Suretrak). This will allow students to produce the assignment material below, including activity lists, milestone charts, Gantt charts, networks etc. Academic versions of software can be purchased from retailers at a reduced cost. Students enrolled in this course receive a copy of Microsoft Project software and may use this software at no charge. Conditions apply to the use of the software. Return the signed declaration to USQ to receive an electronic key.
2 . Assignment requirements
Refer to the Assignment guidelines for assistance in completing this assignment. Remember to integrate academic theory into your assignment to support your arguments and proposals.
In the context of your selected project, prepare an assignment in the format of a professional report that contains the sections listed below. Minimum suggested word counts are provided for those sections that count to the overall word count. Provide the following:
Assignment 3 mark sheet
Ensure that you have a mark sheet with full details. This assignment is a formal report so should be presented as one.
Executive summary (note this comes before the table of contents) (250–500 words, but this does not form part of the assignment word count).
Read the guidelines and provide a formal Executive summary with details of why the report was prepared, how it is structured, what the important findings and conclusions are, and what the major recommendations are. (NOTE: this should be written last after you have finished the report.)
Table of contents
This should be a full comprehensive listing with respective page numbers of executive summary, introduction, main sections, references, individual appendices, and full listing of all figures and tables.
1. Introduction (250 words)
Briefly state why the report has been prepared, what project is being analysed, and how the report is structured. Provide a brief background of the project.
(Note – this will be similar to the introduction in assignment 2 if you have used the same project. This is a new report, and you need to provide the information your reader needs to understand the report.)
2. Project life cycle (500 words) From module 1:
? Discuss the overall time frame for the project from original conceptualisation through to project completion. If appropriate, also consider the operational and termination phases of the project.
? Provide a simple diagram illustrating the project life cycle (as described in module 1 of your study materials).
3. Time planning (500 words) From module 6:
? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of milestone charts, Gantt charts and networks.
? Using your project management software, provide a simple milestone chart to illustrate the major milestones of your project.
? Similarly, provide a simple table of activities (about 25 activities) indicating approximate duration, start date and finish date for each activity. Try to relate this to your WBS from assignment 2 and use the software to indicate the WBS code for each activity in the table.
? Using your software, provide a simple Gantt chart of your project illustrating the activities in your list and indicating the critical path (preferably in a different colour to non-critical activities). This will require you to determine the relationship between activities and identify predecessors, etc.
4. Time definition (500 words) From module 7:
? Discuss the issues relating to estimating activity duration, the causes of poor time estimates, the effects of resources on activity durations, and the techniques available for estimating time.
5. Network analysis (250 words) From module 7:
? Discuss the types of networks available, the principles of network analysis, what issues should be considered in project scheduling, and the value of determining the ‘critical path’.
? Using your software, create a network of your project (this should be produced automatically by the software from your activity listing).
6. Cost planning (500 words) From module 8:
? Discuss the strategic financial issues related to cost management of your selected project.
? Indicate the likely source of funding and whether leasing is an option for part or all of the project financing.
7. Cost definition (500 words) From module 9:
? Discuss the types of estimates that might be required for your project at the various stages, and the cost estimating methods appropriate for each type.
8. Cost monitoring and control (250 words) From module 10:
? Discuss appropriate steps to establish cost monitoring and control procedures for your project.
? Using the activity listing table from section 3 of this assignment 2, add budget estimates for each of the activities with a total budget for the project (these figures may be hypothetical). This will give you your budget at completion (BAC).
? Using the budget estimates and activity data, produce a cost histogram (in the form of a vertical bar chart) for the project, showing the distribution of the project budget over the time periods of your project (weeks, months, years, etc.).
9. Earned Value analysis (250 words)
? Using the cost data, activity data and schedule, carry out a simple Earned Value (EV) analysis. You may wish to use the spreadsheet provided with the study materials for the Earned Value (EV) analysis.
? Allocate the project budget for each activity along the horizontal row for each project time period. This will give you your Planned Value ( PV ).
? Assume that you are reasonably well advanced along your project schedule, for example half way (this is your project status date).
? Allocate your Actual Costs (AC) for the respective activities and time periods up to your status date. (For this exercise, you may wish to assume that some of your critical activities have been delayed, and as a result, your project is significantly behind schedule.)
? Allocate your Earned Value (EV) for the respective activities and time periods up to the status date – many of your activities will not yet have reached their planned value. (For this exercise, you may wish to show your EV lagging behind the PV). Note that your earned value for any activity cannot exceed your planned value for that activity.
? Complete the earned value analysis on your project as per the example provided, showing the PV, AC and EV. Provide charts showing the comparison of PV, AC and EV.
10. Conclusion (250 words)
Discuss the findings of the analysis carried out above in relation to your project in terms of significant ‘lessons learned’. What findings are important and likely to be a threat to the project success?
11. Recommendations (250 words)
Provide recommendations in response to the specific conclusions and lessons learned.
List of references
Provide a complete list of references providing full details of all citations used in the body of the assignment. For a postgraduate assignment, there should be a minimum of 15 references, many of which will be cited more than once.
Appendices
If you have any appendices, they should be attached to the report after the list of references.
3 . Marking criteria for assignment 3
Marks will be allocated as indicated in the marking criteria included in the Assignment 3 mark sheet.