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MB 0049 - Project Management

Q1. Describe the project planning process and explain it in detail? Ans: What is planning and why you need to plan Planning is one of the most important project management and time management techniques. Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal. A plan is like a map. When following a plan, you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination. Knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next. One more reason why you need planning is again the 80/20 Rule. It is well established that for unstructured activities 80 percent of the effort give less than 20 percent of the valuable outcome. You either spend much time on deciding what to do next, or you are taking many unnecessary, unfocused, and inefficient steps. Planning is also crucial for meeting your needs during each action step with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid or smoothen a coming crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected. Action plan techniques Learn to plan efficiently. Simple and powerful techniques to convert your goals and ideas into an effective action plan. Get Organized Now! Ideas, tips, tools and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life! Time management skills and techniques main page Time management lessons with an in-depth discussion of the important time management skills, techniques, and activities. Personal time management and goal setting guide main page Practical information and advice on various personal time management and goal setting topics. Q2. a. Explain the life cycle of a project

Ans: The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the projects goals or objectives. Regardless of scope or complexity, any project goes through a series of stages during its life. There is first an Initiation or Birth phase, in which the outputs and critical success factors are defined, followed by a Planning phase, characterized by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks, an Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed, and lastly a Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project. Diverse project management tools and methodologies prevail in the different project cycle phases. Lets take a closer look at whats important in each one of these stages: 1) Initiation In this first stage, the scope of the project is defined along with the approach to be taken to deliver the desired output. The most common tools or methodologies used in the initiation stage are Project Charter, Business Plan, Project Framework (or Overview), Business Case Justification, and Milestones Reviews. 2) Planning The second phase should include a detailed identification and assignment of each task until the end of the project. It should also include a risk analysis and a definition of a criteria for the successful completion of each deliverable. The governance process is defined, stake holders identified and reporting frequency and channels agreed. The most common tools or methodologies used in the planning stage are Business Plan and Milestones Reviews. 3) Execution and controlling The most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities are properly executed and controlled. During the execution phase, the planned solution is implemented to solve the problem specific set of product requirements is created. The most common tools or methodologies used in the execution phase are an update of Risk Analysis and Score Cards, in addition to Business Plan and Milestones Reviews. 4) Closure In this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is brought to its proper completion. The closure phase is characterized by a written formal project review report containing the following components: a formal acceptance of the final product by the client, and a formal project closure notification to higher management. No special tool or methodology is needed during the closure phase.

b. Describe the need for feasibility studies Ans: Feasibility studies address things like where and how the business will operate. They provide in-depth details about the business to determine if and how it can succeed, and serve as a valuable tool for developing a winning business plan. Why Are Feasibility Studies so Important? The information you gather and present in your feasibility study will help you: List in detail all the things you need to make the business work; Identify logistical and other business-related problems and solutions; Develop marketing strategies to convince a bank or investor that your business is worth considering as an investment; and Serve as a solid foundation for developing your business plan. Even if you have a great business idea you still have to find a cost-effective way to market and sell your products and services. This is especially important for store-front retail businesses where location could make or break your business. For example, most commercial space leases place restrictions on businesses that can have a dramatic impact on income. A lease may limit business hours/days, parking spaces, restrict the product or service you can offer, and in some cases, even limit the number of customers a business can receive each day. Q3. Describe the CPM model. Explain network cost system? Ans: The critical path method (CPM) is a step-by-step technique for process planning that defines critical and non-critical tasks with the goal of preventing time-frame problems and process bottlenecks. The CPM is ideally suited to projects consisting of numerous activities that interact in a complex manner. Project managers often use Gantt charts, PERT c... A PERT chart is a project management tool used ... In applying the CPM, there are several steps that can be summarized as follows:

Define the required tasks and put them down in an ordered (sequenced) list. Create a flowchart or other diagram showing each task in relation to the others. Identify the critical and non-critical relationships (paths) among tasks. Determine the expected completion or execution time for each task. Locate or devise alternatives (backups) for the most critical paths.

The CPM was developed in the 1950s by DuPont, and was first used in missiledefense construction projects. Since that time, the CPM has been adapted to other fields including hardware and software product research and development. Various computer programs are available to help project managers use the CPM Network Cost System Q4.Explain the project cost estimate and budgets? Ans:

Q5. a. Discuss the relationship between project manager and line manager. Ans: A Project Manager manages the work taken up by a single project whereas the Line Manager will be managing the work taken up by a line of projects. Usually projects in organizations are aligned based on the line of business, catered to, by the project. Hence, they will have a Line Manager who manages all those projects The Line manager will interact/liase with the Project Managers who manage the projects that fall in his line b. What are the strategies used to reduce risk?. Ans: Whether it's small or large, complex or simple, every project has risk Inventory The first step to managing the risk of a project is to inventory the situation. That is, identify all of the risks that you think are possible in the project. The inventory should include all internal factors for the project such as resource changes, assumption failures, and sponsor availability. It should also include all external factors such as a change in company direction or a change of technology direction. Evaluate Once you have a complete list of potential risks, its time to evaluate them. Each risk should be evaluated based both on its probability and on the impact that it

would cause if it happens. The loss of a key team member may have a low probability; however, the impact to the project can be great. Prioritize Now that you have a single risk quotient for the various risks, it's possible to prioritize the risks for the project. It can give you a clear vision of what the risks are and which ones you'll ultimately need to be concerned about. This is also a part of the process that typically helps validate the estimates made above. For instance, if your greatest risk is personnel turnover (as it usually is) you may want to more objectively evaluate the probability Control and mitigate Once the risks are prioritized you can go through the list and identify which risks are controllable, which risks are things that can be mitigated, and which risks must be accepted. For instance, the risk of loosing key personnel can be mitigated by providing completion bonuses or even just monitoring their happiness more closely. Technical risks can be controlled by moving them forward in the project so that they are proven out nearly immediately.

Q6. Discuss the concept of quality and project quality management. Ans: Quality is an important factor when it comes to any product or service. With the high market competition, quality has become the market differentiator for almost all products and services. Therefore, all manufacturers and services providers out there constantly look for enhancing their product or the service quality. In order to maintain or enhance the quality of the offerings, manufacturers use two techniques; quality control and quality assurance. These two practices make sure that the end product or the service meets the quality requirements and standards defined for the product or the service. There are many methods followed by organizations to achieve and maintain required level of quality. Some organizations believe in the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) and some others believe in internal and external standards. The Project Quality Management Plan is an essential part of project management, which is required for the effective management of project quality from the initial stage of project planning to the final delivery. An effective project

quality management defines project's quality policies, procedures, criteria for and areas of application, and roles, responsibilities and authorities. The Project Quality Management Plan is created during the project-planning phase of the project management and is important for the project manager, project team, project sponsor and any senior executive who are involved in the project. Quality Management (QM) on projects is a management policy to maintain the standard of quality through the application of established procedures, standards, and tools throughout the project life cycle. Project quality management ensures the consistent and timely delivery of work product and reduces delivery risk. The domain of project quality management includes various organizational processes that help in determining the quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities. Basically, there are three steps involved in a project quality management:

Quality Planning Quality Assurance Quality Control

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