Reference no: EM131570823

Please answer any ten of the following questions. If you complete all eleven, I will credit you for the best ten. Each question you answer will be worth ten percent of your final exam grade. Where a question has multiple parts, each part is equal.

1. For the network shown here, calculate the following:
a. Mean duration (μ)
b. Variance (σ_μ²)
c. Standard Deviation (σ_μ)
d. Probability that the network can be completed in 50 days or less.

2. Given the following project to landscape a new building site:

Activity	Immediate Predecessor	Activity Duration (days)	Resource Used
A	-	2	X,Y
B	A	2	X
C	A	3	X
D	B,C	4	X,Y
E	D	3	W,X
F	D	1	W,X,Y
G	E,F	2	X,Y

a. Draw a Gantt chart using MSP.

b. Assume a 5-day week, find the critical path and project duration in days.

c. Given that each resource is assigned 100% to each task, identify the resource constraints.

d. Using the MSP default, level the resource and determine the new project duration and critical path.

e. Identify what alternative solutions can be used to shorten the project duration without overallocating the resources.

3. How might using software tools to report project information lead to problems with control?

4. Review the case and answer questions that follows: BestSoft Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of electronic devices such as television and handheld computers, is currently in the process of developing its next generation device, the model 2000c. A key feature of the 2000c is its color display. According to the original project schedule, the 2000c is to be released 1 month from now. Because the amount of time required to convert the existing software to capitalize on the color display was significantly underestimated, the project has fallen behind schedule. The project manager estimates that without additional resources, the development project will be 3 months late. He has also estimated that increasing the project's budget of $3 million by 30 percent would permit the project to be completed on schedule. The added budget would be used primarily to staff the project with additional software engineers.

If released on schedule, first quarter demand for the 2000c is forecast to be 200,000 units at an initial price of $450. Demand data for similar products suggest that unit sales will increase 5 percent per quarter over the product's 3-year life. Despite pricing pressures in the market, accounting data indicate that BestSoft is able to maintain a 20 percent contribution margin to profit and overhead through continuous process improvements and efficiencies accruing from producing in larger volumes.

Question 1: What has a larger impact on BestSoft's profits, delaying the 2000c's introduction by 3 months or increasing the project's budget by 30 percent?

Question 2: Are there other factors you would consider in addition to profit?

Question 3: What should BestSoft do? Why?

Question 4: How generalizable do you think the results of your analysis in this particular case are to other situations?

5. You are preparing a project to lay fiber optic cable. The first task is to mobilize the team. You estimate this will take one week and cost $3000. The second task is to lay the cable. This will take three weeks and will cost $45,000. The total length of the cable is 15 miles. The last task, which will take one week, is to Terminate and test the cable. You budget $5000 for this. At the end of the first week, you have completed mobilization, but it cost a total of $4500. At the end of the third week, you have completed five miles of cable at a total cost of $28,000 (installation only). It takes you a total of 10 weeks to complete the entire project, for a total cost of $65,000.

a. At the end of week 1:
i. What is your SPI? What is your CPI? iii. What is your EAC?

b. At the end of week 3:
i. What is your SPI?
ii. What is your CPI?
iii. What is your EAC?

c. At the end of the project:
i. What is your SPI?
ii. What is your CPI?
iii. What is your EAC?

6. Given the network below:
a. Draw and submit the AOA network
b. What is the critical path?
c. What is the duration of the network?
d. What is the normal (without crashing) cost?
e. What is the minimum duration?
f. What is the new price?

Task	Pred	Norm t	Norm $	Crash t1	Crash $
A	-	3	50	2	150
B	A	4	100	2	150
C	A	5	200	3	300
D	B	6	250	4	350
E	C	7	400	4	600
F	D, E	3	300	2	450

7. Identify which of the following statements is true and which is false:
a. The primary purpose of project evaluation is to give feedback to senior management for decision and control purposes.
b. The original criteria for selecting and funding a project are largely irrelevant for project evaluation.
e. The timing of an audit depends on the purpose of the audit.
d. It is best for the project manager and the project team to make the termination decision.

8. A project that cannot go over budget is considered (pick one):
a. Time constrained
b. Schedule constrained
c. Budget constrained
d. Performance constrained

9. A task has a normal duration of 9 days and crash duration (the minimum duration) of 7 days. Its normal cost (total for 9 days) is $4000 and its crash cost is $10000 (total for 7 days). What is the crash cost per day?
a. $14000
b. $7000
c. $5000
d. $4000
e. $3000

10. Identify which of the following statements is true and which is false:
a. The shortest time to complete a network is equal to the duration of the longest path through the network.
b. The actual project duration will be known with certainty when the project is completed.
c. The difference between EST and LFT is called slack.
d. The start to finish linkage is normally used in situations where it is desirable for two or more activities to finish at the same time.

11. A task is expected to take 20 hours of labor at $25 per hour (direct cost). The required material cost is $500. The organization adds a burden of 30% to all direct labor costs to account for overhead. It does not add any burden on top of material costs. The total task cost is:
a. $500
b. $1,150
c. $1,250
d. $1,300
e. $1,500