Registration Number: 1405004642

Subject Code: PM0011

Subject: Project Planning and Scheduling
Question 1- Write short note on:
Project Rating Index(PRI)
Scope change control

Solution:
Project Rating Index - Once an organization completes the initial screening of project
ideas, it should then focus on evaluating the desirability of the shortlisted project ideas. For
this purpose, an organization can take help of the PRI. The process of the PRI comprises
the following steps:
1. Identifying the appropriate project rating factors.
2. Allocating weights to each factor in such a manner that the sum total of the weight is equal
to 1.
3. Rating each project against each factor (generally, a 5-point scale or a 7-point scale is
used to rate projects against each factor)
4. Obtaining total weighted score for each project by multiplying the score with the weightage
of the factor
Assume that an organization has shortlisted four projects, A, B, C, and D, after conducting
initial screening of project ideas. The organization has identified five factors for these
projects. The factors that are identified are:
o Compatibility with the interest of the promoter
o Market availability
o Risk
o Cost
o Availability of inputs
Scope change control: Indicates the final stage of the scope management, in which, an
organization tries to restrict any unapproved changes in the scope of the project. In other
words, at this stage, an organization tries to ensure that only those changes, which are
approved by the client, are made in the project. Any authorized change in the scope of a
project is denoted by the term scope creep. According to Douglas Brindley, senior vice
president of the consulting firm Software Productivity Research (SPR), Scope creep is a
natural part of every project". Any change in the scope of the project can have an adverse
impact on the overall result of a project. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for an
organization to ensure that there is minimal change in the scope of the project. A change
control indicates an official documentation, which provides information regarding any change
in the scope of the project. The scope change control should be documented as early as
possible in order to minimize the impact of scope change on the overall outcome of the
project. Proper scope management is one of the most important aspects that should be
considered by the project managers while executing a project. The scope of a project can be
managed with the help of various methods such as documenting important happenings in
the development process, ensuring effective communication throughout the process, and so
on. A scope statement is usually developed during the initial stages of a project, and is one
of the vital documents of a project. A scope statement acts as a blueprint of a project, and
provides information regarding characteristics or nature of a project after its completion

Question 2 Budget Estimation of ABC Company Ltd.

1. Which project estimation approach should be used by the company and
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why?
2. What type of project organization structure should be used by the company
and why?

Solution:.
Which project estimation approach should be used by the company and why?
The company should use the bottom-up project estimation approach.This
approach has priority over top-down approach because it evaluates each
activities of the project separately leading to better supervision and reliable data.
This approach is based on WBS.This is also termed as definite estimate or micro
estimate. In this approach, various sub-wok packages associated with a project
are identified. Thereafter, each sub-work package is estimated and aggregated
to form a higher level of WBS.
Though the bottom-up approach consumes a longer time, it is the most accurate
and reliable estimation approach for an organization. The team members who
are familiar and who have relevant experience in similar project work are
expected to have an accurate estimation for resource requirements. Moreover,
the direct involvement of low-level managers in the project estimation increases
the probability of acceptance of the result with minimum confrontation.
What type of project organization structure should be used by the company and why?
The company should use the line and staff project organization structure because
in this structure, the project activities are assigned in accordance to a specific
and supportive line of command. In this structure, the control of the project is in
the hands of line executives, who are responsible for making decisions in the
organization. On the other hand, the staff supervisors who are the functional
experts are responsible for guiding the line executives in decision-making. It is
observed that staff supervisors do not have the decision-making authority and
are merely authorized to render advice to the line executives. For example, in a
marketing project, the project activities are performed under control of a
marketing manager and followed by a market supervisor and supporting staff.
This helps in keeping the control of the project in the hands of the management,
Which in turn improves the communication process among project team
members.

Question 3: What is the importance of operational feasibility? Explain the factors that
affect operational feasibility

Solution: The importance of operational feasibility is highlighted in the following points.

Helps in assessing the capability of the project in fulfilling the desired organizational
goal
Helps in analyzing and tackling any resistance from management, team, and
individuals
Helps in evaluating the probable impact of the project on the Environment
Assists in proper implementation of the project
Helps in periodical review of the implemented project
Assists in analyzing the impact of the project on the end-users
Ensures proper utilization of scarce resources of the economy
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Factors affecting operational feasibility:

Development schedule: Lets suppose you intend to drive to a new destination but you
neither know the way nor the distance and the time required to reach your destination. In
such a situation, it is quite likely that you will be lost in the way or your journey is one fraught
with anxiety and frustration. Undertaking such a journey without having any idea of how to
reach the destination is pretty similar to working on a project without any schedule. A project
schedule is a timetable or more specifically a plan, along which a project is developed. It tells
you when the activities in a project are to be accomplished, and hence, provides a basis to
track progress of the project.
Date of delivery: It is the date, on which a project is to be delivered to a client. The date of
delivery is related to the project schedule. If the activities in a project are achieved according
to the plan, the target delivery date of the project would be met and hence, the project would
be feasible.
Organizational culture: Also known as corporate culture, it represents the common
perception shared by the employees of an enterprise. In other words, organizational culture
consists of norms, values, and unwritten codes of conduct of an enterprise. The culture of
every enterprise is unique and distinct. It guides the behavior of the employees of an
enterprise by defining the standards of acceptable behavior.
Existing business process: It is a method, used by an organization to achieve a large
organizational goal. In other words, if the business process is broken up into smaller ones, it
forms a series of individual events, which are performed in an order.
A project would be operationally feasible if it is in conformity with the project schedule, date
of delivery, organizational culture, and the existing business process of an organization.
Question4 : Write short notes on
Monte Carlo analysis
Work break down structure

Solution:
Monte Carlo analysis
Monte Carlo simulation is a problem-solving technique that is used to represent the
probability of certain outcomes by running a number of trial runs (called simulations) and
using random variables. This technique was introduced by John von Neumann, Stanislaw
Ulam, and Nicholas Metropolis while they were working on the atomic bomb in the 1940s.
Monte Carlo analysis has special importance in the field of project management as itis used
to estimate the total cost and schedule of a project. Moreover, such an analysis helps a
project manager to identify various uncertainties and ambiguities associated with the project
schedule.
The following are some of the most common probability distributions or curves that are used
in a Monte Carlo analysis:
The Normal or Bell curve: In this type of probability curve, the values that appear in the
middle of the curve have the highest probability of occurrence. Such curves are very useful
for indicating inflation rates and energy prices.
The Lognormal curve: In this type of curve, the values are skewed. This type of probability
distribution is usually used in the real estate industry or the oil industry.
The Uniform curve: In this type of curve, all the instances appearing in the curve have
equal chances of occurring. This type of probability distribution is most commonly used to
indicate manufacturing costs and future sales revenues for a new product.
The Triangular curve: In this type of curve, the minimum, maximum, or most likely values
are entered by the project manager. Such type of curve is triangular in shape, and shows
value around the most likely option. This type of curve is usually used to show the level of
inventory.

Work break down structure:

WBS is one of the most crucial components of the project planning process. It provides a
framework to organize and manage project activities. A project with a large number of
activities may result in inaccurate planning, estimation, and scheduling of resources. WBS is
a hierarchical, graphical tool that helps in breaking large, complex projects into smaller
tasks, which, in turn, helps in the efficient planning and allocation of resources. For instance,
a project of 1,00,00,000 can be represented as a combination of twenty projects of 5,00,000
with the help of WBS. WBS is usually represented by a tree-shaped structure, but it can also
be demonstrated in a tabular form.
Some of the objectives of implementing WBS are mentioned below:
Divide the major project deliverables into smaller and more specific components
Develop a framework that ensures the accurate calculation of the actual costs of
deliverables
Ensures accurate performance measurement and control
Provide information on important and risky work efforts
Map the requirements, plans, and outcomes of the project
Provide ownership clarity to managers and task leaders

Question 5: What do you understand by cost of quality? Elaborate on various types of

costs of quality associated with a project.
Solution:
Cost of quality indicates the sum of conformance cost and non-conformance cost.
Conformance means delivering products that meet the quality requirement of the customer;
whereas, non-conformance indicate the products that are rejected for not complying with the
quality norms of the customer.
It should be noted that there are various types of quality costs associated with a project.
These are mentioned below:
Prevention costs: This includes the cost of all activities that are specifically designed to
prevent poor quality in products or services. Some examples of such costs are as follows:
New product review
Quality planning
Supplier capability surveys
Appraisal costs: In order to ensure that the products or services of a project meet the
desired quality standards and performance requirements, organization often conduct
activities such as measuring, evaluating or auditing the products or services of the project.
The costs that are associated with such activities are termed as appraisal costs. The
following are some of the examples of such costs:
Incoming material inspection / testing
In-process and final inspection / testing
Product, process or service audits
Failure costs: Failure costs are those costs that are incurred due to nonconformance of
products or services of a project. Failure costs can be divided into internal and external
costs.
Internal failure costs: These are the costs that occur prior to delivery or shipment of
product or service to the customer. Examples of such costs are:
Scrap
Rework
Re-inspection

External failure costs: These are costs incurred after the delivery of the product to the
customer. Examples of such costs are:
Processing customer complaints
Customer returns
Warranty claims
Total quality costs: Total quality cost refers to the cost that is incurred after adding the
above mentioned costs. Total quality costs indicate the difference between actual cost
incurred in developing/producing a product or service and the cost that would have incurred
in developing/producing a product/service, had there been no possibility of substandard
service, product failure or manufacturing defects.
Question 6: Explain some of ISO standards that should be considered by the project
manager during project execution. List the advantages of project management
software.
Solution:
There are various ISO standards that should be considered by a project manager during the
execution of a project. Some of them are:
ISO 9000 (Quality Management): The ISO 9000 certification was introduced by
International Organization for Standards which aim to bring in consistency in the quality
standards of different countries. The ISO 9000 Standards focus on management and
leadership, especially with regards to quality management and processes. This ISO 9000
series helps organization to meet and exceed the customer expectations by improving the
quality of the products and services on a continuous basis. Moreover, while doing this, they
ensure that the statutory and other regulatory aspects required for the product are met.
ISO 14000 (Environmental Management): It provides guidelines on environmental
management systems, its principles, and applications. ISO 14000 has two variants, namely,
ISO 14001 and ISO 14004. ISO 14001 is based on the Demings Cycle, which is a process
management tool devised by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. ISO 14004 provides guidelines for
establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving environmental management system.
ISO 10006 (Quality Management Systems - Guidelines for Quality Management in
Projects): It imparts guidance regarding the use of quality management in various types of
projects. Irrespective of the size, complexity, duration, and nature of the project, this
standard is applicable to every project.
ISO 21500 (Guidance on Project Management): It is a recent standard, which was
published in September 2012. It provides a high-level description of concepts and
processes. It can be used by both new project managers as well as experienced ones, for
availing guidance regarding the improvement of project results.
Some of the advantages of project management software are
Fast calculation: Implies that project management software enables the user to perform
accurate calculation within a very short span of time. For example, an Excel worksheet helps
in managing a large chunk of data quickly, which is not possible manually.
Editing and modification of data: Implies that the changes in the work progress can be
easily recorded by making necessary modifications in data, whenever required.
Quick updating of project progress: Refers to the automatic updating of project progress
quickly and correctly. This helps in tracking the status of the project to determine its success
or failure rate.
Effective training and education of project team: Implies that the project management
software helps in imparting training to employees. The project management software is used
to provide education to employees regarding the usage of new technology and machines in
the project, which in turn, assists in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the project.