Master of Architecture

SEMESTER 1, 2017/2018
AAR 6451 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR ARCHITECTS

ASSIGNMENT 2

1. MUHAMMAD IHSAN SHAHARIL G1617813

2. BADIUZZAMAN BIN MUHAMMAD G1613903
3. MOHAMMAD AFIQ BIN ROSALI G1613099

Lecturer: Prof Dato Sri Ar Asiah Abdul Rahim

Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design,

International Islamic University
 Contents

QUESTION 1............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Explain how project control using computer can assist in terms of: ........................... 1
1.1.1 Monitoring project ............................................................................................... 1
1.1.2 Adjusting of schedule and resources to meet target............................................. 2
1.1.3 Producing reports ................................................................................................. 4
QUESTION 2............................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Explain the usage of project management software of the followings: ...................... 5
1.1.1 Comparison with manual process ........................................................................ 5
1.1.2 The project network ............................................................................................. 7
1.1.3 Start finish relationship ........................................................................................ 8
1.1.4 Activity slack (float) .......................................................................................... 10
2.1 You are requested to study an existing project scheduling using computer for
example project hospital, housing scheme, an office or a mixed development or any project
of your choice. ...................................................................................................................... 11
Please explain the following from your case study: ............................................................. 11
A project manager of design and /or construction work needs to develop leadership ......... 11
1.1.1 Benefit of application of Microsoft project software ......................................... 11
1.1.2 Importance application of primavera project planner ........................................ 11
1.1.3 Working with project ......................................................................................... 11
1.1.4 Schedule task and allocate time ......................................................................... 11
1.1.5 Establish links between tasks ............................................................................. 11
REFERNCES ....................................................................................................................... 11

Table of Figure

Table 1 Different Roles for Team Members ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 2 Probability of Risks .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 3 Potentials outcome of a risks event............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 4 Ranking for Consequence of a risks ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table 5 Actions to reduce the risks .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
QUESTION 1

1.1 Explain how project control using computer can assist in terms of:

1.1.1 Monitoring project

Controlling a project using computer undoubtedly juggle a number of tasks, with a solution that
helps keep them organized. In addition, it can be accessible from any location using web-based
applications. Thus, the monitoring task can be easily done and viewed by everybody.

Collaborate on projects. Employees are often assigned individual tasks that are a part of
a larger project an entire team is working to complete. By controlling project using
computer gives employees a way to collaborate on projects by sharing documents,
timelines and status updates. It will help everybody in monitoring each other.
Delegate tasks. In the past, the boss must weigh the knowledge, skills and abilities of
employees before delegating tasks to them. The possibility of giving the wrong task to
the wrong employees is high. Currently, controlling project using computer offers project
management software to easily delegate tasks to the appropriate employees. By assigning
roles in the system, each employee has access to necessary information and knows who
they should contact if they have questions or concerns, or need information about a
particular topic. Thus, computer will monitor and assign the task accordingly.
Stay on schedule. Project management software lets project managers add a start and
expected completion date to projects and tasks they include in the system. This
information alerts employees to upcoming deadlines, allowing them to manage their time
appropriately to complete tasks before or on the listed due date.
Track projects. Keep track and monitor the progress of projects using computer
management software. The software will inform what's been completed, as well as by
whom, and what still needs to be done. Everybody can provide updates as to what they're
working on and share the updates with the project manager and team members. The
software eliminates the need for status update meetings and emails.
Provide snapshot. As the company grow bigger, new staffs are required to deliver the
tasks. When training new staff members and introducing them to projects of the
company works on, project management software offers a snapshot of the project to get

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 new staff up-to-speed. The snapshot is to show employees the project from start to finish,
give them background information and let them know how the project will move forward.
Communicate with client and vendors. Controlling project using computer enables
businesses to monitor the communication between both party. It can be used to share and
collaborate with clients and vendors in addition to employees. Companies using project
management software can provide their clients with usernames and passwords giving
them access to project files. Clients can give feedback, make edits and review progress.
CNN Money asserts that, because businesses need to be connected to vendors and clients,
project management technology is essential. Thus, by providing them the necessary
details can make the client happy and will boost their confident for the next project.

1.1.2 Adjusting of schedule and resources to meet target

After the project plan has been build, the is needed to review the scheduled finish date. If the
plan does not meet the targeted finish date, and the finish date is important to the project's
success, the schedule and resources can be optimized to meet due date. As the is a change is the
aspects of the plan that relate to the finish date, however, remember that there are likely to
change the costs and scope.

Specify and review the project dates. Reviewing the project dates will help to see
whether the projects are meeting the targeted finish date and whether there are the needs
to make any further adjustments to meet that date.
Adjust the plan to meet the finish date. There are variety of strategies, including
adjusting the calendars, scope, tasks, and assignments, in order to meet the targeted finish
date. Specify a project start date or finish date that begins or finishes on a date that is
earlier than the date of the current plan.
a. Modify calendar. Create a task calendar if the task calendars that are applied to
the critical path tasks are unnecessarily delaying the finish date. Modifying or
removing a task calendar may have the least effect of any changes to the three
types of calendars (task, resource, and project). Modify a resource calendar if the
resources are actually working more than their calendar reflects. For example, if
the resource calendar for a resource that is assigned to critical path tasks indicates

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 a four-day workweek, but the resource actually works five days, the project will
probably meet the finish date. Modify the project calendar if the project is being
worked on for more hours or days than your project calendar reflects. For
example, if the project calendar indicates that weekends are nonworking time, but
you actually are running weekend shifts, changing the project calendar will
probably meet your finish date.
b. Reduce the project scope. There is needed to reduce the scope to meet the finish
date or the budget. After building project plan, there are more time or money than
expected. In either case, the scope of the project can be changed between
changing the deliverables of the product or changing the scope of the project.
For example, you decide to remove a market research task from a project, and you
also reduce the duration of product testing in order to meet the finish date or
budget. In this case, the end product and deliverables don't change. However, you
changed the method for providing this end product by reducing the scope of the
project.
c. Adjust a task on critical path. To see why a project is starting or finishing on a
specific date, view the critical path. The critical path is the series of tasks (or even
a single task) that dictates the calculated start date or finish date of the project.
Viewing project information in this way is sometimes referred to as the critical
path method of project management.
d. Adjust an assignment to meet the finish date. Assign an additional resource to
decrease the duration of a task on the critical path. Assigning more resources to
decrease a task duration works as long as the task is effort-driven and not fixed-
duration. Adding more resources to tasks is called "crashing" or "compressing"
the project. Taken to an extreme, crashing can be a risky way to complete a
project because of the extra costs and inefficiencies that can result. If you add too
many tasks, the length of the project can increase rather than decrease because of
the extra complexity. Replace a resource assignment to help meet the finish date
if the resource (person, equipment, or material) can work faster or more
efficiently or can be assigned more units for tasks on the critical path. Adjust the
time a work resource spends on a task by changing the resource's assignment units

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 on a critical task or by having the resource start on the assignment at an earlier
date.
Adjust the plan to take advantage of additional time. After the plan has been build and
calculates the schedule and cost for the project, there might have more time or an
increased budget. It is a choice to make either choose to end the project ahead of schedule
or under budget, Or increase the scope and add quality to the project deliverables. If
appropriate, check with the customers or stakeholders to see how they prefer to use the
time or budget. They might prefer to leave the plan as is and have the project come in
ahead of schedule or under budget. See whether there are contractual incentives (or in
some cases, even penalties) for coming in ahead of schedule or under budget. The type of
contract you have (fixed price, cost reimbursable, or unit price) can help to determine
how to take advantage of available time or budget. If extra time or budget available, tasks
or phases can be added so that the additional idea can be implemented. In addition,
increasing the duration on existing tasks will give resources more time to complete them.
Surplus in time or budget can raise the standard of quality. Either providing more time to
existing tasks, or higher highly skilled staff with more efficient equipment and higher-
grade materials.
Enter a note about schedule change. Log information about changes that you made to
meet the finish date. Such notes can be helpful when you are tracking actual progress,
closing the project, or collecting data for the next project.
Evaluate the results of schedule optimization. This evaluation is to ensures that the
project indeed meet the finish date and that costs, workload and other projects were not
adversely affected by the changes. It is very crucial to have a look into the optimization
made into the plan that affected the finish date and critical path. This will help to identify
whether the goals were achieved at the end of the project date line. Review resource
workload can give the picture of any assigned resources who are overloaded or
underutilized in order to meet the dateline.

1.1.3 Producing reports

Stakeholders and team members better understand project performance when they can actually
see the project plan and how work is progressing. A report gives an overview of completed
project either meeting the objectives and the dateline.

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 Tracking. Reporting will allow everybody to track the project.
Identifies risks. Identifying the risks is a key step to the success. Reporting will give
heads up on anything that might interfere in the project.
Cost management. Cost management is essential for the project success. Project
reporting will be able to view all the cost clearly and manage the budget with full
visibility.
Visibility. Reporting will increase the visibility into the projects and will give full
insight into how the project is performing.
Control. The reports will put Project Manager in control of the project. It allows PM to
see the progress, stagnation, regress of certain elements and aiding in decision making.
Learning. Information provided the project report are the guide for future projects. By
having the report, it will reduce the same mistakes in different projects.

QUESTION 2
2.1 Explain the usage of project management software of the followings:

2.1.1 Comparison with manual process

Project management software is one of the most helpful tools that can assist project managers in
being as effective as possible compared to manual process. While incorporating project
management software can certainly improve processes, there are distinct advantages and
disadvantages to using it, which require careful evaluation.

By using project management software, the project can be:

Collaborate with team members in real-time. Project management software

commonly offers communication tools that can assist teams in discussing issues in real
time. The benefit is that each team member can be kept up to date, quickly dealing with
issues as they arise. Compared to manual process, the team members need to be update
manually too.
Document sharing. For projects that require the use of significant documentation,
document sharing tools allow individuals to edit, update the status of reports and create
systems that allow for transparency and communication. Compared to manual process,

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 the project hard to shared documents directly, the process may need to be met up with the
team and it may take a longer time.
Manage project costs. Controlling costs is one of the most important benefits of project
management. Project management software generally includes tools that can assist in
managing project costs. Compared to manual process, the project hard to foreseen the
cost and need to be directly detailed up with every process of the phases.
Ability to manage risks, forecasting, and budgets. Knowing project risks, creating
forecasts and tracking budgets are some of the biggest advantages of project management
software. This is unlikely to be made up from manual process.
Reporting capabilities. With flexible report formats and the ability to quickly access
needed data, project management software can keep tasks on schedule. Compared to
manual process, the project report will be slower and take a lot of time.
Intuitive to use. Dashboard-based software requires little training to implement. Simple
to use and easy to install, new project management software allows for quick ramp-up
times.

Some programs can be very costly with very little ROI. While project management
software can provide great solutions, many times those solutions need to be custom
designed or solved by purchasing multiple software programs. These can be costly
options and can be difficult to implement. Compared to manual process, it could be
avoided using extra expenditure on the project software.
Project management software may complicate simple projects. While using project
management software is a popular option for many organizations, simpler projects may
not need project management software. When project management software is used
inappropriately it can unnecessarily complicate matters. Compared to manual process,
any unnecessary distraction can be avoided settle on the spot.
Execution issues when relying on automated alerts. While alerts are helpful to remind
team members that tasks are due, a problem develops when more time is spent on setting
up the alert than the task itself.

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 2.1.2 The project network
Project scheduling tools, also known as project management software, are designed to help you
organize and manage projects more efficiently.

It allows for interchangeability. One of the major benefits of a project scheduling tool
is that once all the project information, including deadlines and project phases, are
inputted into the software, the program manages the notifications and organizes the tasks
for you. This is can be a great advantage if your main project manager leaves the
company, as his replacement can be brought up to speed very quickly. Another benefit is
that the project management tool will remind you about small details and items that can
be easily overlooked or forgotten.
It provides tracking. When you have several employees working on one project using a
collaboration tool, you will actually be able to see who is doing what and when they are
doing it. This allows you to see if someone is constantly missing deadlines, as well as can
help you identify your top performers. While you want to promote a team atmosphere,
project management tools can help you figure out your weak links.
It affects the cost. The cost of project management software can be an advantage or a
disadvantage depending on the type of tool you purchase. Project management software
is available in two main ways: web-based and desktop software. Web-based project
scheduling tools, also known as Software as a Service or SaaS, do not require an upfront
investment, such as purchasing a software license. You can simply pay a monthly
subscription fee based on the number of users. Desktop software is installed on your
network server or on a single user's hard drive. It requires a licensing fee and may cost up
to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the necessary features and scope of the
software.

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 It gives complications. The idea of software is supposed to ease on the flow of the
project. However, to rely on the software, could give some disadvantage of project
scheduling tools which they tend to make even simple projects very complicated. The
software may recommend 10 steps, but you really only need three to get the job done
properly. They also do not allow much room for flexibility, which is necessary in the real
world. Projects will inevitably have delays that are out of your control, and you need to
be able to make changes and tweaks as necessary.

2.1.3 Start finish relationship

The process of directing and controlling a project from start to finish may be further divided into
5 basic phases:
1. Project conception and initiation

An idea for a project will be carefully examined to determine whether or not it benefits the
organization. During this phase, a decision making team will identify if the project can
realistically be completed.

2. Project definition and planning

A project plan, project charter and/or project scope may be put in writing, outlining the work to
be performed. During this phase, a team should prioritize the project, calculate a budget and
schedule, and determine what resources are needed.

3. Project launch or execution

Resources' tasks are distributed and teams are informed of responsibilities. This is a good time to
bring up important project related information.

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 4. Project performance and control

Project managers will compare project status and progress to the actual plan, as resources
perform the scheduled work. During this phase, project managers may need to adjust schedules
or do what is necessary to keep the project on track.

5. Project close

After project tasks are completed and the client has approved the outcome, an evaluation is
necessary to highlight project success and/or learn from project history.

Based from the phase of the real time from start to finish, project management software help to
achieve goals for each phase. For example, software Teamwork is a powerful and full-featured
project management software tool that competes with Basecamp, Asana, Mavenlink and Liquid
Planner. It helps:
A suite of tools to manage a project from brief through to invoicing.
Software tools cover project management, collaboration, time tracking, team
management, timesheets, and accounting. With a pricing model thats based on
projects, not users, it can be a very cost-effective solution if youre looking for an end-
to-end agency powering platform.
Financial management and project reporting are very rich and the integration with
invoicing is very simple.
Can set a project budget and measure an outcome against that budget and include
tracking of expenses for a project or work item enabling you to
View the financial health of a project in terms of estimate vs actual budget. Reports
can be exported and downloaded with the ability to create reports to show the time
allocated and/or spent on certain tasks or projects or users within projects.
Integrations that cover everything from file storage, accounting, help desk, CRM,
time tracking, communications, productivity, forms, project management, dev tools,
charts, marketing, social and collaboration.

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 3.1.1 Activity slack (float)

Calculating slack time and presenting it on the projects PERT chart is crucial to preventing
delays in the project completion. Knowing how much float, or slack time, your team has on
certain deadlines can help in better and more efficient allocation of resources

Slack time, used in Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), denotes how
much an activity can be delayed beyond its earliest start date, without causing any problems in
the completion of the project by its due date. Also known as float, slack time is applicable only
to those activities which do not lie on the critical path of the PERT chart. For all activities that lie
on the critical path the earliest start time will be the same as latest start time and the earliest
finish time will be the same as latest finish time.

On the other hand, all activities that lie along other paths of the PERT chart will have
some difference between the earliest start time and the latest start time, and between the earliest
finish time and the latest finish time. This difference in time is used to determine how much an
activity can be delayed while still allowing the subsequent activities and the overall project to get
completed as per schedule. The activities that lie on the critical path of the PERT chart are the
most significant and must be started and completed strictly without any delay, as any delays in
these activities will result in an overall delay in finishing the project.Calculating Slack Time

Calculating the slack time for an activity in a PERT chart is very easy and does not involve any
complex calculations. There are two things that are needed to calculate the slack time:

1. ES the earliest time when an activity can be started

2. LS the latest time when an activity must be started

Slack time is a very integral part of the project process and it must be clearly shown on the PERT
chart. Ignoring slack time can lead to consequences that may compromise the overall
performance and efficiency of the project. Only when the slack times have been identified will it
be possible to use them to the projects advantage.
Activities which have some slack time can be delayed if resources need to be diverted
elsewhere for critical activities.

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 Devising strategies to reduce slack time brings about an overall improvement in the
productivity.

The process of allocating resources to shorten the critical path and thus remove or reduce
slack time from the PERT chart is termed as crashing.

Crashing a project should be done with caution as it is a cost intensive way of speeding
up the process and involves heavy overhead costs, which could radically affect the total
project budget.

QUESTION 3
3.1 You are requested to study an existing project scheduling using computer for
example project hospital, housing scheme, an office or a mixed development or any
project of your choice.

Please explain the following from your case study:

A project manager of design and /or construction work needs to develop leadership

3.1.2 Benefit of application of Microsoft project software

3.1.3 Importance application of primavera project planner

3.1.4 Working with project

3.1.5 Schedule task and allocate time

3.1.6 Establish links between tasks

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