Project Management — Summer 2019

Multiple Choice Questions: Resources refers to 1. a. Manpower b. Machinery c. Materials d. All of the above In the _____________ stage of the project life cycle, a major portion of the physical project work performed 2. a. Identifying b. Defining c. Execution d. Controlling Which of the following choices is NOT one of the driving forces behind the increasing demand for project management a. Compression of b. Knowledge explosion 3. product lifecycle c. Declining need for d. More sustainable business product customization practices Which dimension of project management centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment that combines the 4. talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the project a. Communication b. Sociocultural c. Social d. Technical Which of the following elements is not normally common in projects? 5. a. An objective b. Uniqueness c. Uncertainty d. No defined end point The Critical Path is an activity (or series of activities) that if delayed will delay 6. the whole project. a. True b. False

Explain the following terms: i. Perpetual closure ii. Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies iii. Project Finance iv. PERT

Briefly describe the role of SIDBI towards project financing.

Depict your understanding for “Work Breakdown Structure”. Develop WBS for a project of making an electric car suitable for Indian environment.

Discuss the trade-off between the activity duration and the associated cost. Why is it said that all such activity duration reduction may not be desirable? Elaborate.1

What is the meaning of Resource Constrained Project? Explain the types of Resource Constraints.

Some of the organizations outsource their projects, due to the shortage of resources and expertise. Which are the key points that an organization should consider while outsourcing?

Depict your understanding for negotiation in project partnering.

Suppose you are appointed as project manager to build a high-rise building with a financial limit of Rs. 20 Crores and within two year time limit. Assume other necessary things and develop the scope statement including all the elements.

Compare and Contrast Preference Shares and Debentures as a source of long term fund.

Explain different three types of matrix structures for organizing a project.

Discuss various types of project terminations with examples.

Write a note on project team pitfalls.

Why team work is important in Project Management? Describe the Five Stage Team Development Model.2

Global Green Books Publishing was started two years ago by two friends, Jim King and Brad Mount, who met in college while studying in Philadelphia, USA. In the new business Jim focused on editing, sales and marketing while Brad Mount did the electronic assembly and publishing of books for Global Green Books. Their business was successful and profitable in the first two years, largely due to contracts from two big businesses. In their third year they got very busy thanks to their third major customer, a local college that needed customized eBooks. They hired several part time employees to help them with their publishing business. But by the end of third year of operation, Global Green Books started experiencing critical problems. They were:  unable to leverage all the new employees effectively  unable to deliver eBooks to their customers on schedule  unable to provide quality texts—time and money was being spent fixing defects in their products  Unable to control costs—their business was not profitable in the third year. Global Green Books saw a significant rise in issues, a lot of unpleasant “surprises” were cropping up; business was down as new resources were hired, also some of the projects were poorly estimated. The local university was unhappy as their eBook products reached campus late for use by professors and student. In some cases, the books were a week or two late. Since the courses must start on schedule and students need their books at the beginning of their courses, the new lucrative college customer was unhappy. One of the new part-time employees hired by Jim and Brad, Samantha, had taken a project management course at college. Samantha was excited about the discipline of project management and had intentionally selected a job with Global Green Books Publishing as she saw an opportunity to polish her project management skills. One fine day, Jim invited Samantha, for a lunch meeting. He was aware that Samantha was familiar with project management, and wanted to hear what she had to say about the problems he and Brad were facing. Over lunch he questioned why their small business which had operated and implemented projects so successfully over the first two years was being challenged significantly now. He specifically listed the problems they were facing and asked for input to solve them. Samantha asked for more time to research all the issues but noted that Global Green Books, while being innovative, completed projects without a roadmap or a project plan and lacked a disciplined approach to project management. She noted that Jim and Brad did not use any project software for scheduling and they did not use tools or techniques to estimate, budget or to communicate with stakeholders. Finally, they had no processes in place to manage project risks and quality. Impressed with this and other conversations, Jim King asked Samantha if she would consider joining them as a project associate or project manager on a full- time basis to help them introduce project management practices and help them tide over their current crisis. Samantha accepted the offer! She has several key skills—she is an excellent communicator with very good interpersonal skills and detail-oriented. Within the first three months in her new role as PM, she introduced formal project management processes, created a PM manual and trained the employees to get the work done well. Within nine months Samantha had fully turned things around. Due to proactive risk analysis and risk response planning, surprises and issues reduced. Communication with stakeholders was enhanced. Brad and Jim noted that the company was delivering projects on schedule, the quality processes worked—and customers were happy with the products!3 Comment on the following aspects of the case study: