Class: Quantitative Analysis for Management.
Case Study. Please see cases on the attachment. It will need to use Exel QM for Project Management.
Instructions for PM Case 1: Sager Products (20 Points)
1. Develop a network AND a table showing the activities of the project, the
duration of each activity, the ES, EF, LS, LF and slack times.
2. Determine the expected completion time for the entire process. Show the
variance for each activity and compute for the total project variance.
3. Determine the critical path and identify the activities on the critical path.
4. What is the probability that the total project will take less than 40 weeks?
5. What is the probability that the total project will take between 35 and 38
weeks?
6. Write a comprehensive report addressing the problems of the project duration
and specifying which activities may require very close management attention.
If it appears that the project will not be finished on time, identify the activity or
activities which may be considered for crashing, and explain why.
Project Management Case 1: Sager Products
Sager Products has been in the business of manufacturing and marketing toys for
toddlers for the past two decades. Jim Sager, president of the firm, is considering the
development of a new manufacturing line to allow it to produce high-quality plastic toys
at reasonable prices. The development process is long and complex. Jim estimates that
there are five phases involved and multiple activities for each phase.
Phase 1 of the development process involves the completion of four activities. These
activities have no immediate predecessors. Activity A has an optimistic completion time
of 2 weeks, a probable completion time of 3 weeks, and a pessimistic completion time
of 4 weeks. Activity B has estimated completion times of 5, 6, and 8 weeks; these
represent optimistic, probable, and pessimistic time estimates. Similarly, activity C has
estimated completion times of 1 week, 1 week, and 2 weeks; and activity D has
expected completion times of 8 weeks, 9 weeks, and 11 weeks.
Phase 2 involves six separate activities. Activity E has activity A as an immediate
predecessor. Time estimates are 1 week, 1 week, and 4 weeks. Activity F and activity G
both have activity B as their immediate predecessor. For activity F, the time estimates
are 3 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks. For activity G, the time estimates are 1 week, 2
weeks, and 2 weeks. The only immediate predecessor for activity H is activity C. Time
estimates for activity H are 5 weeks, 5 weeks, and 6 weeks. Activity D must be
performed before activity I and activity J can be started. Activity I has estimated
completion times of 9 weeks, 10 weeks, and 11 weeks. Activity J has estimated
completion times of 1 week, 2 weeks, and 2 weeks.
Phase 3 is the most difficult and complex of the entire development project. It also
consists of six separate activities. Activity K has three time estimates of 2 weeks, 2
weeks, and 3 weeks. The immediate predecessor for this activity is activity E. The
immediate predecessor for activity L is activity F. The time estimates for activity L are 3
weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks. Activity M has 2 weeks, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks for the
estimates of the optimistic, probable and pessimistic time estimates. The immediate
predecessor for activity M is activity G. Activities N and O both have activity I as their
immediate predecessor. Activity N has 8 weeks, 9 weeks, and 11 weeks for its three
time estimates. Activity O has 1 week, 1 week, and 3 weeks as its time estimates.
Finally, activity P has time estimates of 4 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. Activity J is its
only immediate predecessor.
Phase 4 involves five activities. Activity Q requires activity K to be completed before it
can be started. The three time estimates for activity Q are 6 weeks, 6 weeks, and 7
weeks. Activity R requires that both activity L and activity M be completed first. The
three time estimates for activity R are 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Activity S requires activity N to
be completed first. Its time estimates are 6 weeks, 6 weeks, and 7 weeks. Activity T
requires that activity O be completed. The time estimates for activity T are 3 weeks, 3
weeks, and 4 weeks. The final activity for phase 4 is activity U. The time estimates for
this activity are 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks. Activity P must be completed before
activity U can be started.
Phase 5 is the final phase of the development project. It consists of only two activities.
Activity V requires that activity Q and activity R be completed before it can be started.
Time estimates for this activity are 9 weeks, 10 weeks, and 11 weeks. Activity W is the
final activity of the process. It requires three activities to be completed before it can be
started. These are activities S, T, and U. The estimated completion times for activity W
are 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 5 weeks.
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Instructions for Problem 2: Chicago Project (10 Points)
1. Compute the expected time and variance for each activity.
2. What is the critical path and the expected duration of the project?
3. What is the probability that the project will take longer than 58 days to
complete?
4. Your supervisor was told that the client would like to complete the project in
56 days. Which path in the project network has the greatest risk of running
over this new deadline of 56 days?
5. Prepare a report for Susan regarding your findings. Include your
recommended strategy to finish the project in the least possible time.
Problem 2: Chicago Project
You are asked to manage an upcoming project for a client based in Chicago. Your
supervisor, Susan, asked you to determine if the project will be completed in 2 months
(60 days). Susan sent you the estimated time durations (in days) for the project. The
information is given below:
Instructions for Problem 3: Kelly Melford (10 Points)
Based on the information below, prepare a comprehensive report that includes the
following:
1. Normal completion time and accelerated completion time
2. Steps that can be taken to crash the project to the shortest time at
the lowest cost.
â– Hint: Determine each step’s cost and the duration of the
project at that stage.
3. Your insights on the cost-time trade-off for this project.
4. Your recommended strategy for crashing the project.
Problem 3: Kelly Melford
Kelly Melford and her team are working on redesigning a client’s home. The client
requested Kelly for the project to be completed sooner. Kelly asked her assistant to
collect information from her team on the project. Her assistant organized the information
she got into a table. The information is given in weeks.
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Instructions for Problem 4: PERT Cost (10 Points)
Based on the information below, prepare a comprehensive report that includes the
following:
1. The complete budget using ES times.
2. Suppose the project is on its 10th week. Using this information,
determine if the project is on track given that:
â– Activity A is 100% done with a cost of $1,800
â– Activity B is 100% done with a cost of $6,000
â– Activity C is 80% done with a cost of $6,000
â– Activity D is 100% done with a cost of $8,500
â– Activities E and F have not been started
3. Prepare a short report on your assessment of the project including
a recommended strategy on the next steps.
Problem 4: PERT Cost (10 Points)
A project requires these activities to be completed and the table below shows the
expected time and budgeted cost for each activity.
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