Assignment: Project

Management

By
Harsh Kaushalya
TSO, Electronics and
Instrumentation
BARC Training School, IGCAR
Kalpakkam-603102

1. Define project
A project is defined as a combination of inter-related activities all of
which must be executed in a certain order for its completion. It is the
discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring
about

the

successful

completion

of

specific

project

goals

and

objectives. It is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a new

product, service or result.

2. What is project triangle?

The Project Triangle is a model of the constraints of project
management. It is a graphic aid where the three attributes show on
the corners of the triangle to show opposition. It is useful to help
with intentionally choosing project biases, or analyzing the goals of
a project. It is used to illustrate that project management success is
measured by the project team's ability to manage the project, so
that the expected results are produced while managing time and
cost.

3. What do you mean by success of a project?

In a project, performance and quality are of paramount importance.
Both of these should be achieved within the time/schedule and
cost/budget. Then the project is said to be fully successful.

4. What are the characteristics of a project?

The characteristics of a project are 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Non-repetitive activity and unique in nature

Low volume and high variety
Temporary endeavor
Has start time and a finish time
Coordinated interrelated activities undertaken by an organization to
meet a specified performance objectives within defined schedule,
cost and parameters.

5. What are the phases of project?

The phases of project are given belowI. SOW(Scope of Work) formulation
II.
Project Approval
III. Project Initiation
IV.
Project Execution
V.
Project Control
VI. Project Closure
6. What are the qualities of a project manager?
I.

Team leader

II.

Technocrat

III.

System integrator

IV.

Decision maker, good listener, communicator

V.

Risk taker

VI.

Result oriented

VII.

Preferably trained in project management

7. Briefly give the roles and responsibilities of a project

manager.

I.

Defining and maintaining the integrity of a project

II.

Development of project execution plan

III.

Organization for execution of the plan

IV.

Setting of targets and development of systems and procedures for

accomplishment of project objective and targets

V.

Negotiation for commitment

VI.

Direction, co-ordination and control of project activities

VII.

Contract management

VIII.

Non human resource management including fiscal matters

IX.

Man management

X.

Problem solving

XI.

Satisfaction of government, customer and public

XII.

Achievement of project objectives

8. What are W B S &SOW in a project? Benefits of

WBS.
Benefits of W B S
I.

Breaking down of large activities into small manageable units

II.

WBS helps in fixing responsibility for people

III.

It facilitates financial control

IV.

Progressing and monitoring activities becomes easy through logical

sequencing

V.

Role of WBS is to create a linked, hierarchical series of activities

forming part of the whole

9. What is project charter?

I.

CEO issues project charter which contains project goals, scope,

name of the project manager

II.

Project reviewing authority also will be included in the project

charter

III.

A project manual will be prepared based on these inputs

IV.

Coordination, communication and direction aspects will be covered

in charter

10. What are the use of a Gantt chart?

I.

Tool to manage small projects

II.

Prepared in advance to plan the project activities

III.

What must be done and when it must be done?

IV.

Start date and finish date

V.

Easy to understand and modify

VI.

As project progresses the chart is updated

11. What are the elements of project feasibility?

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

Technical-TRL(Technology Readiness Level)

Commercial/Economical
Operational
Political
Legal
Environmental
Supplier Base/Industry support

12 .What are pre-project activities to be completed

before zero date?

a) Identification of project
b) Obtaining the required clearance from authorities
c) Raw material arrangement and feed stock
d) Finance agreement
e) Identification of market
f) Plant capacity determination
g) Getting licensed
h) Site selection
I) Pre capital cost and investment determination
j) Technology package finalization
k) LOI for project
l) Recruitment of key project personnel and finalization of man power,
fabrication and workload
m) Conducting contour survey and benchmarking, survey for ground
water and acquisition of land

13.What is zero date?

The zero date of a project signals the effective start of the project. It is an
important part of the project planning and establishment. The completion
of projection will be counted from this point of time. It is important to
ensure that all activities that effect project performance like
arrangement of finance, infrastructure facilities, formation of new
company, division, government and clearance etc. beside time, cost and
technical parameters are fully dealt /designed / established / started by
this time.

14. Distinguish between PERT and CPM.

1. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a project
management technique or tool which is suitable for projects that have
unpredictable activities while the Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project
management tool which is suitable for projects that have predictable
activities.
2. CPM uses a single estimate for the time that a project can be completed
while PERT uses three estimates for the time that it can be completed.
3. CPM is a deterministic project management tool while PERT is a
probabilistic project management tool.
4. CPM allows project management planners to determine which aspect of
the project to sacrifice when a trade-off is needed in order to complete the
project while PERT does not.

15. Draw network diagram and find the critical path.

Task
Time
(Days)
Precedi
ng
Activity

10

10

16

17

18

14

B,D

F,G

Paths
A---->E
A--->D-->F-->I

No. of days
24
44

<--CRITICAL
PATH

B-->F-->I
C-->G-->I
C-->H

36
35
22

16. There are three estimation times involved in PERT;

Optimistic Time Estimate (TOPT), Most Likely Time Estimate
(TLIKELY), and Pessimistic Time Estimate (TPESS).
In PERT, these three estimate times are derived for each
activity. This way, a range of time is given for each activity with
the most probable value, TLIKELY.
Following are further details on each estimate:
1. TOPT
This is the fastest time an activity can be completed. For this,
the assumption is made that all the necessary resources are
available and all predecessor activities are completed as
planned.
2. TLIKELY
Most of the times, project managers are asked only to submit
one estimate. In that case, this is the estimate that goes to the
upper management.
3. TPESS

This is the maximum time required to complete an activity. In

this case, it is assumed that many things go wrong related to
the activity. A lot of rework and resource unavailability are
assumed when this estimation is derived.

17. Project crashing is a method for shortening the project

duration by reducing the time of one (or more) of the critical
project activities to less than its normal activity time. This
reduction in the normal activity time is referred to
as crashing. Crashing is achieved by devoting more resources,
usually measured in terms of dollars, to the activities to be
crashed.

18. Three organizational structures:

1. Project Structure
2. Product structure
3. Hybrid structure
19. Challenges faced by project manager:
Scope changes-QRs are frequently changed by customers
Critical components do not come in time
Quality issues crop up enroot
International competition
HR is not in the hands of the P.M

 No prior experience
Learning while doing

21.

Who are stake holders in a project?

Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that

are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be
affected as a result ofproject execution or project completion.
They may also exert influence over the project's objectives
and outcomes. For Example-

1) Suppliers
2) Manufacturers
3) Assemblers
4) Warehousing/Distributors
5) Retail Outlets
6) Customers and finally
7) Consumers

22.

Define quality and reliability?

Quality is defined in terms of:1) Conformance to standards

2) Ability to satisfy stated or implied needs

3) Fitness for use of a product
4) Relative measure of performance
5) Totality of features and characteristics of a product or
service which satisfy the stated or implied needs

Reliability:-The probability that equipment will perform its

intended function for specified duration of time under specified
environmental conditions.

23.

What are the various costs in a project?

1. Cost of Time: Direct input of labor into activity
2. Cost of R.M and Consumables
3. Capital Equipment including depreciation, plant
running costs and maintenance
4. Indirect Expenses; Transportation, Training
5. Overheads: Provision of project office, financial and
legal support, and other indirect staff

24.

What are the three types of tests?

1) Reliability Assurance Tests

2) Design verification Tests

3) Life Cycle Tests

4) Product Qualification Tests
5) Process Validation Tests
6) Stress Screening Tests to remove manufacturing defects

25.

Distinguish between QC and QA?

QC:1) Aims at product only

2) Finds defects and tries to correct
3) Relies more on inspection and testing
4) Extensive ESS needed
5) No quality audit is done
6) Line function and reactive approach
7) No focus on quality at any stage of design and
development
QA:1) Focus on both process and product
2) Prevention of defects is the goal
3) Proactive approach
4) Quality culture exists
5) Defining and improving process

6) Selection of tools
7) Training the people

26. What are the three costs of a quality?

The three costs of quality are given belowFailure cost:
External failure cost:
costs associated with defects found after customer receives the
product or service, e.g. customer returns, warranty claims
Internal Failure cost:
costs associated with defects associated before customer
receives the product or service; e.g. re-testing, material review
etc.
Appraisal cost:
Costs associated with measuring, evaluating or auditing
products or processes to assure conformance to quality
standards;e.g. inspection,testing etc.
Prevention cost:
cost incurred to prevent (keep failure failure and appraisal cost
to a minimum) poor quality; e.g.quality planning, supplier
surveys

28. What are the tools for quantifying risks?

a) Sensitivity Analysis
b) Monte Carlo Simulation
c) FMECA: Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis
d) PERT
Of these, PERT and sensitivity analysis are more popular and
FMECA is used mostly in trouble shooting and problem solving

29. Discuss the various risk mitigation techniques ie risk

response.

a) Work around/quick fix (unplanned)

b) Avoidance: Eliminate the cause/Alt. Strategy
c) Mitigation: Reduction of risk impact
d) Deflection: Transfer risk to third party
e) Acceptance: Provide contingency/reserve (which is active
acceptance) or ignore the risk (passive acceptance)
27.What are the risk areas in the project?
a) Procurement/contracts
b) HR

c) Technology
d) Suppliers
e) Customer side risks
f) Finance
g) Industry/Govt. policies
30. What is RPN?
A technique used for analyzing the risk associated with
potential problems identified during a Failure Mode and Effects
Analysis (FMEA). RPN utilizes three rating scales:
1. Severity - rates the severity of the potential effect of the
failure
2. Occurrence - rates the likelihood that the failure will occur
3. Detection - rates the likelihood that the problem will be
detected before it reaches the end-user/customer
Risk Priority Number = severity x occurrence x detection

31.

What are the activities done in cleanup phase

(Project closing)

Handing over of Product/System

Documentation

Changes and fine tuning

Technology transfer

ATP/QTP

Manufacturability Assessment

Training to both Production Agency and customer

32.

What are the essentials of an effective

communication
Simple language
Accurate message-figures and facts
Important points in paragraphs
Clarity of information
Use consistent grammar
33.

What are the elements of a communication?

Ans Business letters

Reports-Technical and others
Meetings
Minutes of the meetings
Contracts
Technical Manuals

34.

What are the Principles of purchasing?

Maximization of CompetitionSpecifications are written to allow the

purchasing process to be as open as possible to a number of
qualified vendors.

Equal and Fair CompetitionEach vendor is provided the same

information regarding product or service needs/specifications.

Best Value at the Lowest PriceThe purchase must be made at the

lowest price for the product or service that best meets the needs of
the requisitioner.

36.What is RFP?
ANS. While many projects are completed using internal resources there
are often times when an organization needs to reach out for additional
resources. In this case they often issue a Request for Proposal (RFP).
Although each RFP is unique, they should all contain enough information
so that bidders can fully understand what is required and expected. In the
RFP it is helpful to include information about your organization, relevant
information for the project, the project scope, bidder qualification
requirements, timeline and guidelines for the proposal. Our Request for
Proposal Template provides you with a good starting point for developing
your project specific Request for Proposal.

37.What are the roles of purchase manager?

ANS. a) Ensure the item is essential for project
b) Check fund availability
c) Check product specifications
d) Prepare RFP/Tender enquiry

e) Carry out tender evaluation-technical and commercial aspects

f) Do proper price negotiation
g) Place supply order/sign contract
h) Contract monitoring

38.Discuss ethics in purchase and contracts

management?
ANS.
Ethics in purchasea)Wise spending and companys reputation
b)Higher moral standards
c)Accepting gifts from vendors
c) Corruption
d)Social rules and honesty
e)Awareness of business laws
f)Co-operation with vendors
g)Good relationship with vendors
Ethics in contracts managementa) RFP
b) Receipt of tenders
c) Techno-Commercial Evaluation
d) Short listing of vendors
e) Price negotiation

f) Contract/Supply Order
g) Follow up till delivery
h) Inspection, Acceptance & Payment
39. Discuss project execution plan
The project execution plan (PEP) is the governing document that
establishes the means to execute, monitor, and control projects. The
plan serves as the main communication vehicle to ensure that everyone is
aware and knowledgeable of project objectives and how they will be
accomplished.
The project execution plan might include:

Project definition and a summary of the strategic brief or later

the project brief.

Drawings insofar as they are developed at this stage.

Project programme.

Cost plan, cost management and accounting procedures.

Contracting and procurement strategy.

Roles, responsibilities and authorities. This might be set out in

a responsibility matrix (or project roles table), supplemented by
a contractual tree and then used to develop a schedule of
services for each appointment.

Monitoring and reporting strategies.

Potential consultations / stakeholder management.

Communications strategy and standards.

Technology strategy.

Risk assessment and risk allocation.

Strategy for obtaining planning permission and other permissions.

Health and safety strategy.

Sustainability strategy

Quality assurance strategy.

Soft landings strategy, including business change and staff training

requirements, commissioning, handover, migration, aftercare
and post occupation evaluation strategy.

Operational strategy.

Equipment requirements (inside or outside of the building contract).

Unusual or long-lead items.

It is likely to be presented as a report, however, where possible,

information and requirements should be scheduled in a database or
spreadsheet format that will be easy to expand and will be easy to use to
test whether proposals satisfy requirements later in the project
The progress of the project should be assessed against the project
execution plan throughout the project and the project execution
plan should be amended and developed as necessary.
40. Close monitoring and control of project is essential

for achieving the project goals. Discuss.

The project is observed and measured regularly against the project plan to
ensure that the project is within acceptable variances of cost, schedule
and scope, and that risks and issues are continually monitored and
corrected as needed. The main purpose of monitoring and controlling
activities is to be proactive in finding issues ahead of time and taking
corrective action. Corrective action can require revisiting Planning Process
Group and updating the Project Management Plan as needed with the
ultimate goal of bringing the project back in line with project objectives

and constraints and improving future execution to avoid repeating the

same issues.