Assessment item 2 — Individual case study
Due date: 1:00pm AEST, Thursday, Week 10
All students are to submit electronically – max file size is 2Mb. ASSESSMENT
Weighting: 35%
Length: No set length 2
Introduction and Student Guide
This assessment item is to be completed individually.
The case study simulates a project management scenario where the student takes on the role of project manager. The case information is not complete so where necessary students will have to argue the pros and cons of any assumptions they make. If necessary, students are expected to find relevant information in the academic literature to justify their answers and provide appropriate references.
The following information is provided to assist students to develop their assessment solution:
• Product development case description
• Specific assessment questions that must be answered
• Information regarding the submission of the assessment
• Marking guide
Product Development Case Description
Background
PMcomp is a new, small sized company that has won their first contract to develop and manufacture Meteor Monitoring Devices (MMD). You are an employee of PMcomp and work as the project manager on the MME project. The newly recruited key people involved in this case are:
• You are Mr. Project, the project manager.
• Mr. Product works in the field of Product Development.
• Ms. Marketing looks after Marketing and Portfolio Management.
• Ms. Resource is the Human Resource Manager.
• Functional line managers in the fields of research and development. • Engineers and members of your project team.
Prior to the company’s inception, you have been a member of a small team of experienced engineers conducting a technical feasibility study to investigate the tracking of Near Earth Objects. Your study was successful and you have won a government contract to manufacture a small number of MMDs. A few of your colleagues have formed a company and appointed you as the project manager.
PMcomp’s intention is to use this first contract as a stepping stone to launch their manufacturing business in high-tech remote monitoring technology. Ms Marketing has reviewed ways to take advantage of the design and manufacturing processes to further advertise PMcomp’s services. Other staff in the company asked questions and requested information before the project commences. This has prompted you to develop the milestone review checklist provided below.
The Project Management Milestone Checklist for S1
1. Are the marketing requirements agreed?
2. Are project targets agreed (e.g. schedule, features and quality)?
3. Is the product concept selected and well understood?
4. Are user product mock-ups circulated and reviewed with marketing?
5. Are the product and production technologies selected?
6. Have key components and suppliers been identified?
7. Has the supply chain impact of a new product been reviewed?
8. Is the project organisation agreed?
9. Is the project team established and operational?
10. Is any project teambuilding and leadership development required?
11. Is any technical training of project members required?
12. Is the project plan document reviewed within the project?
13. Is the MS project schedule reviewed?
14. Is the project budget established and approved?
15. Have the project risks been assessed, mitigated and reviewed?
16. What are the key risks and how are they mitigated?
17. Are the appropriate resources identified and allocated to the project?
18. Are key stakeholders identified?
19. What are the quality assurance activities required?
20. What are the quality metrics you propose to monitor and what are the control methods you plan to use in your project?
Your team have come up with a unique and novel product concept based on your feasibility study. The concept satisfies the requirements of the contract perfectly. The feasibility work carried out showed that the user requirements were sound and that the technical complexity of the development was relatively low. The contract requests 5 MMDs to be provided with the option to purchase an additional 5 at a later date. The contract allows for MMDs to be manufactured and sold to consumers, depending on demand. To minimise production and financial risks, PMcomp has decided to produce only 10 MMDs in the first production run.
Your team also estimates that there might be a reduction in the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the new product from those previously provided during the feasibility study, although you have not assessed this at this stage.
You and your team believe that you can develop the product with limited resources and within the timeframe requested in the contract. The sales launch deadline for the consumer market is to be advised (TBA).
Milestones
The milestones your team will use are:
A. S1 Project start (At this point the system architecture and feasibility study will be complete).
B. D1 Design review complete (At this point the overall design will be complete. A go/no-go decision for procurement will be made at this milestone).
C. P1 Proto build start (An internal project review confirming that the product prototype is able to be manufactured with the quality level expected.).
D. P2 Proto build start (An internal project review confirming that the product prototype is able to be manufactured with the quality level expected).
E. D2 Final Design review complete (At this point the product quality is verified based on the product validation testing carried out on the last prototype. A go/no-go decision for production ramp-up is made).
F. L1 Launch review (A go/no-go decision depending if all business areas are ready for market launch and 10 units are in stock). This is to be the end of the project schedule, i.e. when the 10 units are in stock.
The MMD system architecture has been used as the basis for the project organisation and the work breakdown structure. As the project manager you have accepted the tasks of creating the compiled project schedule and allocating resources.
From discussions with Mr. Software, Mr. Mechanics, Mr. Electronics, Mr. Production and Mr.
Validation, very experienced managers and engineers, you have obtained the following information:
1. A partially complete work break down structure (WBS), resource estimates and some dependencies provided in Table 1 below.
2. In addition, Mr. Production provided you with the Activity-In-the-Box (AIB) network diagrams in Figure 1. You will need to interpret the AIB network diagram to complete the WBS.
Note that the following abbreviations are used in the table:
• Electronic Engineer (EE)
• Software Engineer (SE)
• Mechanical Engineer/Industrial Designer (ME)
• Test Engineer (TE)
• Production Engineer (PE)
• Technical Writer (TW)
• Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
• Electromagnetic Compliance (EMC)
Table 1- Work Breakdown Structure
Activity Description Predecessor(s) Relationships Person days/weeks of effort (and type of resource required.) To be completed at the following milestone
1 Product development
1. 1 Electronics
1.1.1 PCB design PCB design S1
3 person-weeks of EE.
1.1.2 Component selection Selection of electronic components. 1.1.1 1 person-week of EE. D1
1.1.3 P1 circuit design improvements Electronic improvements to circuit diagram, component selection and layout. 1.1.1 3 person-weeks of EE. D1
1.1.4 P1 electronics verification tests Electronic verification tests with the use of the P1 prototypes. 1.1.3 2 person-weeks of EE. P2
1.1.5 P2 circuit design improvements
Electronic improvements to circuit diagram, component selection and layout. 1.1.4 1 person-week of EE.
1.1.6 P2 electronics verification tests Electronic verification tests with the use of the P2 prototypes. 1.1.5 2 person-weeks of one EE. D2
1.1.7 Thermal verification tests Verification that electronic heat generation and heat transmission through covers is acceptable. 1.1.5, P1 build complete, P2 build complete 6 person-days of EE. D2
1.1.8 EMC verification tests Verification of compliance with electromagnetic compliance regulations. 1.1.7, P1 build complete, P2 build complete 6 person-days of EE. D2
1.2. Software
1.2.1 Software specifications and design Specification of the software functionality based on user requirements. S1 14 person-days of SE. D1
1.2.2 User interface additions Software additions due to modified menus and functional keys. 1.2.1 12 person-days of SE.
1.2.3 Data storage additions Software additions for data storage. 1.2.1 7 person-days of SE.
1.2.4 Device to PC protocol
additions Software additions to the communication protocol between the device and the PC. 1.2.1 7 person-days of SE.
1.2.5 PC software additions Software additions/modifications to the PC software functionality to support the device functionality. 1.2.3, 1.2.4 9 person-days of SE.
1.2.6 R1 release creation Creation of the R1 software release used for the P1 prototype build. 1.2.2, 1.2.3,
1.2.4, 1.2.5 2 person-days of SE.
1.2.7 R1 release tests Testing of the R1 release and identification of errors. 1.2.6 18 person-days of SE.
1.2.8 R1 error correction and user interface improvements Creation of the R1 software release used for the P1 prototype build. 1.2.6 21 person-days of SE. P1
1.2.9 R2 release creation Creation of the R2 software release used for the P2 prototype build. 1.2.8 2 person-days of SE.
1.2.10 R2 release tests Testing of the R2 release and identification of errors. 1.2.9, P1 build complete 18 person-days of SE.
1.2.11 R2 error corrections Correction of errors 1.2.10 21 person-days of SE.
1.2.12 R2 interoperability tests Testing of interoperability with 3rd party accessory 1.2.11 16 person-days of SE.
devices.
1.2.13 R2 interoperability error correction Correction of errors 1.2.12 16 person-days of SE. P2
1.2.14 R3 release creation Creation of the R3 software release. 1.2.13 2 person-days of SE.
1.2.15 R3 release tests Testing of the R3 release 1.2.14 18 person-days of SE.
1.2.16 R4 sales release creation Creation of the software sales release 1.2.15 9 person-days of SE. D2
1.3. Mechanics
1.3.1 Industrial design Design of the industrial housing for the device. S1, Must be started in parallel with
1.1.1 4 person-weeks of a ME/industrial designer.
1.3.2 Design testing Design and material testing for housing 1.3.1 3 person weeks of ME
1.3.3 PCB outline modifications Modifications of the PCB to
fit the industrial design, new components and usability requirements. 1.3.1 3 person-weeks of ME.
1.3.4 P1 mechanical CAD design CAD design of mechanical plastic parts and metal parts for the device. 1.3.1 2 person-week of ME.
1.3.5 Tolerance stack analysis Analysis of the mechanical tolerance stacks compared to part tooling and moulding capabilities. 1.3.2, 1.3.3,
1.3.4 2 person-week of ME. D1
1.3.6 P1 mechanical part analysis Physical analysis of moulded plastic parts and sheet metal parts. P1 build complete 2 person-week of ME.
1.3.7 P2 mechanical part modifications Modification of moulding and sheet metal tools used for P2 parts. 1.3.6 5 person-weeks of ME. P2
1.3.8 Mechanical tool approval Evaluation of P2 mechanical parts and approval of moulding and sheet metal tools used in part manufacture. P2 build complete 3 person-weeks of ME. D2
1. 4. Verification
1.4.1 Test plan creation Creation of a plan documenting what is to be tested. S1 1 person-days of TE. D1
1.4.2 Component tests Test of key component reliability to various standard tests like drop and humidity.
After delivery of
components
(for P1) i.e.
1.5.1 ,1.4.1 16 person-days of TE P1
1.4.3 Module tests Test of module functionality after assembly. P1 build complete,
1.4.2 4 person-days of TE.
1.4.4 System integration tests Test of integration of modules. 1.4.3 9 person-days of TE. P2
1.4.5 Product validation tests Test of product against reliability to various standard tests like drop and humidity and end user requirements. 1.4.4, P2 build complete 18 person-days of TE
1.4.6 Technical Construction File compilation Creation of documentation for regulatory approvals. 1.4.5 15 person-days of TW.
1.4.7 Type approval and regulatory approval tests Approvals from regulatory authorities. 1.4.6 21 days by regulatory authorities. D2
Figure 1 - Activity in Box Network Diagrams for Production
General Information
In addition to the work breakdown structure and AIB network diagram you have collected the following information.
• Assume that at the S1 concept review approval will be given to start the project and that the start date of the project schedule will be 8/12/14. (S1 milestone can be 8/12/14.)
• The company has a general holiday period between 26/12/14 to 2/1/15 and the 26th of January is the designated Australia Day holiday. For the purposes of the assignment, assume that there are no other holidays.
• Production ramp up to manufacture 10 units is estimated to take four (4) weeks after the D2 milestone. The production engineer is required for this task. Include this task as 1.8 on your schedule above the milestones. It should be a predecessor for L1.
Booking dates: (There is no need to include the booking on your schedule initially.)
• The project booking of the proto builds (task 1.5.5 and 1.6.5) will have to be done at the latest four (4) weeks in advance of the build. This is the lead time required to include builds in the manufacturing’s master production schedule.
• The booking of the Type Approval (TA) test house (task 1.4.7) has to be done seven (7) weeks prior to type approval.
Available Resources
The maximum full time resources available for your project are:
Resource $/hour Number Available
Electronics Engineer $130.00 1
Software Engineer $95.00 2
Mechanical Engineer $130.00 2
Test Engineer $105.00 1
Production Engineer $145.00 1
Technical Writer $80.00 1
All staff work a 40 hour week from Monday to Friday (i.e. a 5 day week with 8 hour days). All engineers are able to do all the tasks within their engineering field (i.e. there are no differences in the abilities of the 2 software engineers compared to one another and similarly no difference between the abilities of the 2 mechanical engineers).
If the project is resourced as requested your team is committed to producing only two prototype iterations to develop and validate the design.
You know that there are items you did not address at the project workshop and that you may need to make some assumptions to complete your schedule and budget. Make sure that you list any
assumptions you make at the beginning of your assignment submission and explain why you believe your assumptions are valid.
Assessment Part A
For part A of the assessment you must complete the following tasks and questions. Read all the questions before you commence the tasks. The schedule is to be developed in an appropriately named Microsoft Project 2010 file (see below) and the questions are to be answered in a Word document. As stated above, any assumptions must also be listed at the beginning of the Word document.
1. Ms. Marketing has asked you to use Microsoft Project to develop the project schedule. Note that she has also asked you to include the milestones at the end of the task list in your schedule.
Based on the information in the case study description above, use Microsoft Project 2010 to produce a “Part A” schedule. Make sure that you:
a) Include the milestones at the end of the task list.
b) Include the resource allocation details on the schedule.
c) Have an appropriate project name as the top of the task list and have all other tasks indented below this heading.
d) Make sure that the holidays described in the “general information” are not included in the available working days for your project.
e) Use the Microsoft Project software to make sure that the critical path(s) are automatically highlighted as red bars on the Gantt chart view of your schedule.
At this point there may be resource over allocation issues. Do not attempt to resolve these before answering question 2. Save this version of your schedule in PMcompPartA1.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.
2. List the tasks that are on the critical path(s) of the project.
3. Create a copy of PMcompPartA1.mpp and rename the copy to PMcompPartA2.mpp. If there were any resource over-allocation issues resolve these in this new PMcompPartA2.mpp file. Note that you must resolve any resource over-allocation issues without the addition of any additional resources. Save the “modified” version of PMcompPartA2.mpp. You will also be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.
a) How did you/would you resolve any resource over-allocation issues without adding additional resources?
b) What impact did the resource constraints have on your schedule?
c) List any tasks that have changed on the critical path.
4. Include the booking dates (found in the general information section of this assignment) as additional “milestones” (tasks with 0 duration) in your schedule to show the latest date when you need to contact:
a) the production manager to ensure that the facilities are booked for the first prototype build.
b) the type approval test house to ensure that the facilities are booked for the type approval.
c) According to your schedule when is the latest date that you need to contact:
? The production manager to book the facilities for the first prototype build? ? The type approval house to book the facilities for the type approval? Note that these additional milestones should be listed at the end of the milestones list at the end of the project task list and should be highlighted in the task list in yellow using the “background colour” icon on the task ribbon. This is to allow your marker to locate them easily.
5. Write a memo to the director of product development, Mr. Product outlining:
a) the expected completion date of the project and the total project duration;
b) an explanation of the main factors that cause the project to require that length of time;
c) the estimated labour cost of the project after the S1 concept review. Present the costs in a table showing the costs for the following:
? Electronics
? Software
? Mechanics
? Verification
? Prototype 1 build
? Prototype 2 build
? Documentation
? Production ramp up to 10 in stock
? Total for the Project
Assume that you will send the project schedule as an attachment to the memo.
6. Accurate cost estimates are critical for effective project management. Provide an explanation on the influence of learning curves on cost estimates. Describe the process of two estimation methods you could use to account for this effect? Provide examples with your explanation. (maximum 500 words)
7. In your own words, define what is meant by a contingency reserve? Classify two different methods that can be employed to estimate the contingency reserve for your project? Which method would you select and provide a detailed example of your solution. (maximum 500 words)
8. You have been asked to recommend an organisational structure for the new company.
a) Compare the ‘pros and cons’ of each structure type listed in the course textbook (You may use a table format similar to the one below. I have started you off with some project characteristics);
Organisational Structures
Functional Matrix Projectised
Project characteristics Weak
Matrix Balanced Matrix Strong Matrix
Project manager’s authority
Resource availability
Who controls the project budget
Project manager’s role
Project management administrative staff
b) Referring to the table above, discuss the ‘pros and cons’ of each structure type. (maximum 500 words)
c) Select a structure would you recommend for your company and explain why you selected this structure. (maximum 500 words)
9. Organisational culture is very important for a successful company. What steps would you take to create a company culture that promoted project success? Provide examples of your solution. (maximum 500 words)
10. External organisations and internal staff have proposed new projects to be implemented by PMcomp. Combined, the number of these proposed projects has grown to over 100 and the nature of these projects is very diverse. For example, some projects are designed to improve the company’s exposure in the industry while another project might improve safety performance. You have been asked to evaluate, classify and select which projects the company should pursue. Describe the process you would create to evaluate and select appropriate projects? Provide an example of your solution describing each step in the process
(consider making a flowchart for this part). (maximum 500 words)
Assessment Part B
Mr. Production reviews your project schedule and requests that build participation of one engineer from each of the following functions is required at the P1 and P2 builds: production, electronics, software and mechanics. These additional resources will not change the task durations. You will have to update your schedule as you agree with this proposal.
You are now 1 week after the S1 milestone and the Chinese mechanical servo supplier for task 1.5.3 has had to revise the delivery time. The delivery time has now greatly increased to 7 weeks, which is longer than the time required for the other components in the P1 build.
In addition the mechanical engineer has completed the mechanical specification. However, this has meant that the estimated time for the “P1 mechanical part analysis” has had to be revised. This task is now estimated to require an extra two weeks.
Based on the additional information given above complete the following tasks:
1. Create a copy of PMcompPartA2.mpp in another file called PMcompPartB.mpp. Amend the project schedule in PMcompPartB.mpp incorporating the request from Mr. Production, the change to the delivery time for the servo and the new estimated times for the software tasks. If necessary resolve any resource over-allocation issues without adding any resources. You will also be required to submit this file (PMcompPartB.mpp ) as part of your assignment submission.
2. Describe the impact(s) of each the following on the project schedule:
a. The additional resources required for the prototype builds.
b. The change in duration of the delivery time for the servo component.
c. The change in time for the P1 mechanical part analysis.
Explain your answers.
3. Describe the impact(s) of each the following on the project budget:
a. The additional resources required for the prototype builds.
b. The change in duration of the delivery time for the servo component.
c. The change in time for the P1 mechanical part analysis. Explain your answers.
4. These changes may have increased the total project budget. Are there any ways that the overall budget of this project can be reduced without removing any tasks or reducing product quality? (Justify your answer. Be specific and describe any tasks that you would target and what you might do that could reduce the cost of the project.) (maximum 500 words)
Assumptions
You are free to make any assumptions necessary to complete the assignment. However, each assumption must be justified and stated clearly in your assessment Word document. Marks will be deducted for any unreasonable assumption or for stating an assumption and then ignoring it in your assignment.
Submission of Assessment
The assignment is to be submitted as four separate files using the electronic assignment submission system that can be accessed from the assessment item 2 link on the course website. The four files to be submitted are:
1. The Word document with the assumptions and solutions to the questions for Part A and Part B.
2. The Microsoft project files created for Part A and Part B. Please ensure that the Microsoft
Project files are named according to the instructions in the assignment specification (PMcompPartA1.mpp, PMcompPartA2.mpp and PMcompPartB.mpp).
Marking Guide for Assessment item 2 – Individual Case Study
Assignment Question Criteria Marks
available Marks awarded
Part A
Q1 The adequacy of the Project Schedule
• Tasks; correct WBS; overall summary task; auto scheduling
• Durations/effort
• Resources allocated
• Milestones
• Predecessor relationships
• Holidays
• Critical path highlighted
(may have resource over allocation at this point) 7
Q2 List tasks on the critical path 1
Q3 (a-c) – dealing with resource constraints 2
Q4 Dates of bookings (+ milestones) 1
Q5 Appropriateness of the Written Memo and all information included and correct according to the schedule 3
Q6 Cost estimates 3
Q7 Contingency cost estimation 3
Q8 Organisational structure 3
Q9 Organisational culture 3
Q10 Project selection 3
Sub Total Part A 29
Part B
Q1 The adequacy of the amended Project Plan (+ ensure no resource over-allocation) 2
Q2 Discussion of the impact of each of the changes on schedule + explain 1.5
Q3 Discussion of the impact of each of the changes on budget + explain 1.5
Q4 Reduce the project budget 1
Sub Total Part B 6
TOTAL 35