Reference no: EM132802377

BSBPMG512 Manage project time - Australian Vocational Training Institute

ASSESSMENT 1: WRITTEN QUESTIONS

1. Explain each of the following estimating techniques, and how each can be used to determine task duration and resource effort.
• Analogous Estimating
• Parametric Model Estimating
• 3 Point Estimating
• Expert Judgment Estimating
• Vendor Bid Analysis
• Reserve Analysis
• Bottom-Up Analysis

2. Describe what the critical path of a project is, and explain the steps used to identify it using the Critical Path Method.

3. Explain what a project baseline is.

4. Explain the procedure for establishing project baselines

5. Explain how to manage adjustments to a project baseline due to a major change to scope or cost.

6. Explain how project variance is most effectively managed.

7. Summarise the project life cycle phases and describe each phase.

8. Summarise the following key tools for project scheduling
• Schedule Network Analysis
• Critical Path Analysis
• Schedule Compression

9. Explain three best-practice time management methodologies. For each, summarise their capabilities, limitations, applications and outcomes

10. Explain how a work breakdown structure is used to create project schedules.

ASSESSMENT EVENT 2 - CONFERENCE SCHEDULE PROJECT

Task summary
Students are given a case study scenario and are then required to create a Work Breakdown Structure, and Project Management plan, and a Project Schedule. They are then required to discuss these with the other members of their project team. Students then review their project documents and send them to their team members for confirmation.
This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.
Required
• Computer with Microsoft Office and access to the internet
• Draft Project Management Plan Template
• Draft Project Schedule Template
• Place for a meeting
• Role-play participants
Assessment Task 2 Instructions

Carefully read the following:

Manager Networks is an organisation that provides networking events for businesspeople across Australia. The company runs regular networking events but has now decided to start an annual conference event focussing on an area of business considered to be of key importance. It is hoped that the conference will provide information on cutting edge leadership topics that focus on leadership skills, knowledge, and trends.
It should also promote Management Networks, as well as providing professional development for its clients.

As the Administration Manager for Manager Networks, you have been asked by the CEO to develop and implement a project schedule for the conference. Although the CEO has ultimate responsibility for the conference, you will be responsible for the ongoing development of the congress in cooperation with several other staff members, who will use their expertise in different areas to support your project management.
Donna Chisholm, who is the co-ordinator of the Manager Networks' trainers, will help with contacting and lining up the speakers. She has already drafted a Conference Program, which can be used until the speakers have been finalised.
Dan Streep, the Administration Assistant has had experience with the ground level work required for a conference, and he will help to determine and prepare the venue.
Edith Partridge, the Chief Financial Officer will be in control of the finances of the congress.
Erin O'Donnell, the Manager Networks Marketing Manager, will co-ordinate the marketing material.

The conference will be conducted on 04 October 2018. It will be a one-day event, from 9 am to 4 pm.
For the purposes of this assessment task, assume that the date of the project team meeting is 09 April 2018.

The conference style will be formal, with a balance of conference elements to ensure that outcomes are achieved.

Participant target group is managers in all industries. This group will be targeted by email using the Manager Networks data base and publicised through social media such as LinkedIn.

Conference facilities require a centrally located venue that has a conference room that can accommodate up to 150 people. Invited speakers will want to be accommodated nearby, so there will need to be an appropriate hotel in the vicinity.
The venue will also need to be able to provide onsite catering for the meeting attendees.

Budget: projected attendee numbers will be 150 people, and the suggested conference price for participants is $500 plus GST.
Speakers are to receive $400 each for their participation.

Complete the following activities:

1. Write a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for the conference.
Develop a WBS with sufficient detail to enable effective planning and control of the project.
The WBS may be in the form of a diagram or a list of activities, but it must contain sufficient detail to enable a Project Schedule to be developed from it.

2. Write a draft Project Management Plan (PMP).
Review the case study information, and research conference project management plans in the internet.
It is not possible for the information you are given on the case study to be exhaustive, so feel free to embellish you plan with tips from projects that you have participated in the past, or examples from the internet. The objective is that you demonstrate that you are capable of logically thinking through the issues involved in the case study situation.

Your PMP must include, as a minimum, the following:
• Project scope
• Milestones and mechanisms to measure, record and report progress of activities
• Roles and responsibilities
• Project stakeholders
• Project communication
• Change management
• Cost management
• Risk management
• Issue management
• Management plan approval process.

Use Project Plan Template to guide your work.
Your draft project management plan should be between 2 and 3 pages.
Print out a copy of this document to take to the project team meeting with you.

3. Write a draft Project Schedule (PS)
Use MS Excel to create a Project Schedule Gantt Chart that covers all of the tasks in your WBS.
For each task, estimate its duration and effort, then work out the sequencing and the dependencies between tasks.
Keep in mind that this will be a draft version only, and the baseline PS can only be established after you have incorporated the input from the rest of the project team.

Use Project Schedule Template to guide your work.
Print out a copy of this document to take to the project team meeting with you.
4. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachments, and ask for details of your meeting with the project team.

Attach the following to the email:
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Draft Project Management Plan
• Draft Project Schedule

5. Meet with the project team.
The meeting's objective is to establish an agreed schedule baseline using contributions from your team members.
Begin the meeting by summarising the information in your Project Management Plan. Encourage discussion about the communication frequency and methods, and change management. You can return to these points at the end of the meeting if no agreement has been established yet.

Then ask each team member for their estimates of each task's duration and effort, sequencing and the dependencies.

Also ask each team member to estimate the risks involved with them completing their tasks on time, and what provisions should be made to allow for this. This may involve finding alternative activities, or sequencing changes. Encourage all participants to join in the discussions about resource requirements, costs and risks.

Review also the project's milestones from your PMP with the team, and establish agreement on them.

Take notes at the meeting, as you will be required to adjust your documents to include the input from the other team members.

During the meeting, you will be required to demonstrate effective communication skills including:
• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

6. Review your Project Management Plan
Include the input from the other project team members to revise the plan, establishing baselines for each item.

7. Review your Program Schedule
Use your draft schedule and the input from the other project team members to revise your Program Schedule, establishing a baseline schedule for the project.

8. Send an email to all project team members (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.
It should refer to the recent meeting, then introduce and summarise the contents of the attachments.

It should seek their feedback and approval of the documents, giving them a week to respond.

ASSESSMENT 3: REVIEW PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENT CHANGES

Task summary
In this assessment task, you will need to assess the project's progress, and estimate variances to the baseline. You must then develop and implement actions that will keep the project on schedule.
This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.
Required
• Computer with Microsoft Office and access to the internet
• Project Report Template

Assessment Task 3 Instructions

It is now May 14th, just over one month since the initial project team meeting.

As the project team members are busy on other projects, some of them interstate, meetings have been sporadic rather than regular. Regular email exchanges with the team members, however, have shown that all of the activities have been progressing as scheduled. Today was the first time that the group has met all together. As you asked each team member to give their progress, you were told the following:

• Donna Chisholm reported that she has only received confirmation from two of the speakers. She has tried telephoning them, but hasn't been able to speak to the other two yet. Donna asked for another two weeks, by when she assures you, she will have speaker confirmations and topics finalised.
• Dan Streep booked the Park Royal yesterday after assessing the quotes received, and discussing the choice with Edith Partridge. Unfortunately, he received a most apologetic telephone call this morning to tell him that the Park Royal's Managing Director had already assured a pharmaceutical company that they could book the venue for the whole week-end, including the Friday. Dan will go back to the list of quotes and discuss a new choice with Edith Partridge later that day.
• Erin O'Donnell, the Manager Networks Marketing Manager, is still waiting on the speakers, topics and venue before he can put the promotional material together. He has spoken to the printers, and they are still expecting to receive the brochure soon so they can be printed in time.

Complete the following activities:

1. Write a report on the project's progress.
Your report should include the following:
• A review of the milestone and communication requirements from your Project Management Plan
• Review of feedback from project team members on milestone achievements.
• Review of how the progress of activities measures up to the agreed schedule.
• Forecast the impact of any changes to the baseline Project Schedule
• Identify any baseline Project Schedule variance(s)
• Your responses to the changes, and how these will maintain the project objectives

Use the Project Report Template to guide your work.

2. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, and seek their feedback and approval to move forward with the project.
Attach your Project Report to the email.

3. Review and alter the Project Schedule.
Change the Project Schedule to reflect the changes approved by the CEO.
Save this chart as Revised Project Schedule.

4. Send an email to all project team members (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should set out the changes to the baseline Project Schedule that you have discussed with the CEO.

Each team member should be made aware of changes to the tasks that they must complete, and by when they should be completed.

Attach your revised project schedule to the email.

ASSESSMENT TASK 4: PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT EVALUATION

Task summary
In this assessment task, you will need to review and evaluate how well your project management plan and project schedule served Manager Networks during the planning phase of their conference. A report will be written and sent to the company's CEO, as stipulated in the PMP.
This assessment is to be completed in the simulated work environment in the RTO.

ASSESSMENT TASK 4 INSTRUCTIONS

Carefully read the following:

The congress took place four weeks ago, and it was a great success. All tickets were sold out three weeks prior to the conference beginning, and it generated a profit for Manager Networks of 25% of income through ticket sales, as projected.

Due to your early intervention, new speakers were identified and contacted within days, and the marketing material could be delivered only one week later than the baseline project schedule.

Complete the following activities:

1. Write a project management evaluation report.
This should include a review of the project's scheduling and recommend improvements for the future.
The report should be about one page long.

The report should include, as a minimum:
• A review of the Project Schedule to determine the effectiveness of the project team's time management activities.
• Identify time management issues that arose, and recommend improvements that could be made in the future
• Positive aspects of the Project Schedule, and how these helped ensure that its objectives were realised.

2. Send an email to the CEO (your assessor).
The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style.

It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment, pointing out that the report has been written and sent as part of the communication items set out in the Project Management Plan.

Attach your project management evaluation report to the email.

Attachment:- Manage project time.rar