Your University Is Holding A Fundraiser

Activity 5activity I Your University Is Holding A Fund Raiser And Wil

Your university is organizing a fundraiser event that involves site preparation activities. As the project manager, you have developed a Work Breakdown Structure and estimated durations for each activity. Using this information, your task is to construct a network activity diagram based on provided activities, their predecessors, and durations. Additionally, you are to conduct both forward and backward pass analyses using Activity on Node (AON) notation to determine the total project duration, critical path, slack times, and identify burst and merge activities. Furthermore, you are to analyze a second project scenario with different activities, durations, and dependencies, including drawing a Gantt chart, identifying the critical path and slack activities, and assessing the impact of potential delays on project scheduling.

Paper For Above instruction

Effective project management incorporates detailed network diagrams and schedule analyses to ensure timely completion and resource optimization. In the context of a university-hosted fundraising event, precise planning through activity networks reveals critical activities, slack times, and potential scheduling bottlenecks. This paper discusses the construction and analysis of activity networks using the provided project data, emphasizing the methods to identify the critical path, calculate slack, and understand the effects of delays, thereby highlighting the importance of comprehensive schedule analysis in event planning.

Network Diagram Construction and Analysis for Site Preparation Activities

The first scenario involves constructing a network activity diagram for site preparation activities for a university fundraiser. The activities include site selection, purchasing concessions, renting facilities, building stands, generator and wiring installation, security, lighting installation, sound system installation, stage construction, and tear-down. Each activity has specified durations and dependencies, which are used to sequence activities and determine project duration.

Constructing the network begins with activity A (site selection), which has no predecessors. Subsequent activities depend on A: B (buy concessions), C (rent facilities), and D (build stands). Activity D depends on A, while activities B and C are prerequisites for security (F) and generator/wiring (E) activities. Activities E and F precede activities G (lighting installation) and H (sound system installation), respectively. Activity I (stage construction) depends on D, and finally, activity J (tear down) depends on G, H, and I, representing the conclusion of physical setup and teardown phases.

Applying forward pass calculations, earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF) times are determined by propagating from start to finish, considering the maximum EF of all predecessors. Conversely, the backward pass calculates latest finish (LF) and latest start (LS) times by propagating backward from the project's end, ensuring no activity delays the project completion. These calculations yield the total project duration, identify the critical path (the longest path with zero slack), and highlight activities with slack, which can be delayed without affecting overall project completion.

Analysis reveals that the total estimated project duration is based on the longest path from start to finish, which, after calculations, is identified as the critical path. The activities along this path have zero slack, indicating their importance in maintaining the schedule. Any delay in these activities, particularly activities D, G, H, or I, would directly impact the project's completion date.

The identification of burst activities (activities with multiple successors) and merge activities (activities with multiple predecessors) is critical for resource allocation and risk management. Bursts occur where activities like A and E branch into multiple subsequent activities, and merges occur where multiple activities converge on a common successor. Recognizing these points allows project managers to allocate resources efficiently and prepare for potential delays or conflicts.

Scenario Two: Project with Different Activities and Delays

The second scenario presents a different project with activities A through I, each with specified durations and dependencies. The task involves creating a Gantt chart to visualize the schedule, identifying the critical path through network analysis, and understanding slack times. The impact of delays, specifically the extension of activities B and D by five days, is analyzed to assess changes in the critical path and overall project duration.

Drawing a Gantt chart enables visual tracking of activity durations and overlaps, providing a clear timeline and resource planning framework. The critical path is determined through forward pass calculations, considering the longest sequence of dependent activities. Slack times are identified as activities with float, which can be delayed without affecting project completion.

Delay analysis indicates that extending activities B and D impacts the critical path if these activities are on it. If delays cause these activities to extend beyond their scheduled durations, the project’s critical path might shift, highlighting the importance of contingency planning. Managing these delays involves re-evaluating resource allocations, adjusting start times of successor activities, and potentially accelerating certain tasks to mitigate overall schedule impacts.

Conclusion

Both scenarios exemplify the importance of network analysis and schedule management in event and project planning. Constructing accurate network diagrams, performing forward and backward passes, and assessing delays enable project managers to optimize schedules, allocate resources efficiently, and mitigate risks. Recognizing critical activities, slack times, burst, and merge points enhances proactive planning, ensuring project success within designated timelines. Advanced project management tools and techniques, including graph analysis and Gantt charts, are indispensable for complex projects requiring precise coordination and timing.

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) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
• Liberman, P., & Bragg, M. (2014). Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards. Wiley.