Essay on Resource Planning: Crashing Goal is to Drive Cost

Submitted By anas_orfali
Words: 1356
Pages: 6

Ch9- Resource Planning
Crashing goal is to drive cost

Crashing projects:
1- Use AOA network
2- Identify CPM
3- Define crash time and cost
4- Calculate slope to achieve desired duration

To Fast track a project:
1- Run tasks in parallel
2- Reduce the time allowed for each activity
3- Minimize time float

Resource leveling advantages:
1- Less management effort
2- Fewer personnel problems
3- Improves morale
4- Maybe able to use JIT

Time limited: A project must be finished by a certain time
Resource limited: A project must be finished without exceeding some specific level of resource usage
System-constrained: A project has fixed amount of time and resources

What is Resource loading?
Describes the amount of resources a schedule requires for a specific project

How to level resources:
- Move activities with slack to shift resources usage
- Alter sequence of activities to level resources
- Small projects can be leveled by hands
- For Large projects use software

Heuristic approach: An approach used relying on experience and historical events maybe a good solutions but not necessarily optimal.

Optimization approach: such as Linear programming that yields to one best solution

Heurtisti methods:
Shift resources around based on priority rules
Takes PERT as baseline
Go through sequential activities
Can be used in small or large projects

Constrained Resources priority rules:

Organization type
Priority Rule
Start-ups
As soon as possible (Early start)
R&D
Most critical followers (from CPM)
Contracting
Shortest task first (duration wise)

Other priority rules:
-As late as possible: delay all activities without delaying overall project (cashout flow management)
- Most resources first
- Minimum slack first - find Slack and assign
- Most successors- identify succeeding activities and assign
- Arbitrary

Optimaztion methods:
- Use techniques such as linear programming
- Finds one optimum solution
- Not all projects can be optimized

Goldratt’s critical chain addresses the following CPM issues:
1. Thoughtless optimism
2. Capacity should be equal to demand
3. The “Student Syndrome”
4. Multitasking to reduce idle time
5. Network complexity makes no difference
6. Management cutting time to “motivate” workers
7. Game playing
8. Early finishes not canceling out late finishes

How to use Critical chain:
Identify critical chain - resource constrain
Crash durations slacks and accumulate buffer
For waiting times add feeding buffer (50% of the length of feeding chain)
Add all remaining accumulated buffer as safety at the end of the project (50% of the length of the critical chain)

Ch 10- Project Execution
Monitoring - Collecting, recording, and reporting information concerning any and all aspects of project performance
Controlling - Uses the data supplied by monitoring to bring actual performance into compliance with the plan
Evaluation - Judgments regarding the quality and effectiveness of project performance

Golden rules of PM Execution:
1. Measure to Control
If you cannot measure, you cannot control
2. Team information is extracted not offered
Use systems and automation when possible
Walk-throughs
Add value to get value
Select info that matters
3. Target Reports to the Audience
Update team members
Update senior management
4. Focus on the Issues (not the Person)

Reporting process:
- Reports must contain relevant data
- Must issued frequently
- Should be available in time
- Distribution list differs

The meeting process:
1- Define meeting type
2- Prepare for the meeting (schedule and invite)
3- Conduct
4- Conclude with action
5- Keep minutes

Earned value calculation methods:
Subjective: by milestone or from experience
50-50 rule: for each started 50% and finished 50%
0-100 rule: Give 100% to finished tasks only

SC=EV-PV
CV=EV-AC
CPI=EV/AC
SPI=EV/PV
EaC=(BaC+EV)/CPI
Favorable (+) unfavorable (-)
Cost Schedule index (CSI)=CPI*SPI

CSI>1 means:
Progress is greater than actual expenses vs planned

If project progresses linearly then