Homework Crashing And Earned Value Problems In This Homework

Homework Crashing And Earned Value Problemsin This Homework Assignmen

Use the network diagram below and the additional information provided to answer the corresponding questions. (15 points) a) Give the crash cost per day per activity. (10 points) b) Which activities should be crashed to meet a project deadline of 10 days at minimum cost? What is the cost impact of crashing these activities? (3 points) c) Find the new budget (or cost of the project). (2 points) PROBLEM 2 Use the network diagram below and the additional information provided to answer the corresponding questions. (13 points) a) Give the crash cost per day per activity. (10 points) b) Which activities should be crashed to meet a project deadline of 13 days at minimum cost? What is the cost impact of crashing these activities? (3 points) PROBLEM 3 (8 points) Month AC PV EV 22 $540 $523 $535 a) Calculate the cost variance (CV). (2 points) b) Is the CV over or under budget? (2 points) c) Calculate the schedule variance (SV). (2 points) d) Is the SV ahead of or behind schedule? (2 points) PROBLEM 4 (8 points) Month AC PV EV 5 $34 $42 $39 a) Calculate the cost performance index (CPI). (2 points) b) Is the project cost efficient or not efficient? (2 points) c) Calculate the schedule performance index (SPI). (2 points) d) Is the schedule efficient or not efficient? (2 points) PROBLEM 5 (8 points) Day AC PV EV 65 $550 $735 $678 a) Calculate the cost variance (CV). (2 points) b) Calculate the cost performance index (CPI). (2 points) c) Calculate the schedule variance (SV). (2 points) d) Calculate the schedule performance index (SPI). (2 points) e) Given these data, what should a project manager do with respect to this project? PROBLEM 6 (8 points) Day AC PV EV 65 $760 $735 $678 a) Calculate the cost variance (CV). (1 point) b) Calculate the cost performance index (CPI). (1 point) c) Calculate the schedule variance (SV). (1 point) d) Calculate the schedule performance index (SPI). (1 point) e) Explain the project performance in terms of efficiency, budget, and schedule. What should the project manager do for the project? (4 points)

Paper For Above instruction

This homework addresses crucial concepts in project management, including project crashing and earned value management (EVM). The assignment involves solving problems related to crashing activities to meet specific project deadlines at minimum costs and evaluating project performance through various EVM metrics such as cost variance (CV), schedule variance (SV), cost performance index (CPI), and schedule performance index (SPI). Accurate analysis of these metrics is vital for effective project control and decision-making.

Crashing Activities for Time and Cost Optimization

Project crashing refers to accelerating project timelines by allocating additional resources to specific activities, often incurring extra costs. The objective is to shorten project duration at the least possible expense, balancing schedule compression against budget constraints. To perform crashing effectively, project managers calculate the crash cost per day for each activity, which is the additional cost required to reduce the activity duration by one day. This cost metric guides decisions about which activities to crash, prioritizing those with the lowest crash cost per day until the project deadline is achieved.

Analyzing Crashing Scenarios

In Problems 1 and 2, the process involves calculating crash costs, selecting activities to crash, and determining the total cost increase. For example, given a project deadline of 10 days in Problem 1, the project manager would select activities with the lowest crash costs that lie on the critical path. Crashing on the critical path directly reduces the total project duration, and the cost impact is the sum of additional costs incurred from crashing these activities.

Earned Value Management (EVM) Metrics

Problems 3 through 6 exemplify the use of EVM for assessing project performance. EVM provides quantitative measures to compare planned progress against actual performance.

- Cost Variance (CV) indicates whether the project is under or over budget (CV = EV - AC).

- Schedule Variance (SV) reveals if the project is ahead or behind schedule (SV = EV - PV).

- Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI) measure cost efficiency and schedule efficiency, respectively (CPI = EV/AC; SPI = EV/PV). Values above 1 denote efficiency, while values below 1 suggest issues.

Practical Implications for Project Management

If the CV is negative and CPI is below 1, the project is over budget and not cost-efficient, requiring corrective actions such as cost control or scope adjustment. Similarly, negative SV and SPI below 1 indicate schedule delays, prompting schedule recovery strategies. Project managers must interpret these metrics collaboratively to make informed decisions to keep projects on track regarding both time and budget.

Conclusion

This assignment provides practical application of project management techniques, emphasizing the importance of cost analysis in crashing activities and real-time performance monitoring via earned value metrics. Successful project control depends on accurately calculating crash costs, judicious activity crashing, and interpreting EVM metrics to guide effective decision-making. These skills are essential for maintaining project scope, schedule, and budget integrity in complex projects.

References

  • Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Wiley.
  • PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) — Sixth Edition. Project Management Institute.
  • Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2014). Project Management: A Managerial Approach. Wiley.
  • Fleming, Q. W., & Koppelman, J. M. (2016). Earned Value Project Management. Project Management Institute.
  • Hilson, P. (2009). Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products. CRC Press.
  • Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2017). Project Management: The Managerial Process. McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information Technology Project Management. Cengage Learning.
  • Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (2011). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Penguin.
  • Heagney, J. (2016). Fundamentals of Project Management. AMACOM.
  • PMI. (2021). Practice Standard for Scheduling. Project Management Institute.

Related Assignments