You are the assistant project man Nichtingale project. Nightingale was the code
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Question
You are the assistant project man Nichtingale project. Nightingale was the code na a handheld electronic medical emergency medical technicians and para to use in emergency situations. ager to Rassy Brown, who is in charge of the reference guide. Nightingale would be designed for medics who need a quick reference guide Rassy and her project team were developing a project plan aimed at producing 30 working models in time for MedCON, the biggest medical equipment trade show each year. Mecting the MedCON October 25 deadline was critical to success All the major medical equipment manufacturers demonstrated and took orders for new products at MedCON. Rassy had also heard rumors that competitors were considering developing a similar product, and she knew that being first to market would have a significant sales advantage. Besides, top management made funding contingent upon developing a workable plan for meeting the MedCON deadline. The project team spent the morning working on the schedule for Nightingale They started with the WBS and developed the information for a network, adding activities when needed. Then the team added the time estimates they had collect for each activity. loingis the preliminary information for activities with ed with dura- tion time and predecessors: Activity Description Duration Predecessor Architectural decisions Internal specifications External specifications Feature specifications Voice recognition Case Screen Speaker output jacks Tape mechanism Database Microphone/soundcard Pager Barcode reader Alarm clock None 15 40 12 13 Computer I/O Review design Price components Integration Document design Procure prototype components Assemble prototypes Lab test prototypes Field test prototypes Adjust design Order stock parts Order custom parts Assemble first production unit 5.6.789,10,11,1213,14,15 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 16,17 20 21 20 20 20 15 23 24 25 25, FS-8 time units 26, FS-13 time units 27 15 Test unit Produce 30 units Train sales representatives 28Explanation / Answer
Answer:
1. With the original schedule it was not possible to meet the deadline. But with some techniques like crashing (incurring some costs) and using start to start lags (no cost incurred). The deadline arrived at is October 13, 2009. This will also add some buffer time in case any activity runs a bit longer.
2. We have the below options at hand:
After careful analysis will propose the below processes for crashing:
1.) Database by 5 days : $35,000
2.) Procure prototype components by 5 days: $30,000,
3.) Order stock parts by 5 days: $20,000.
Total cost is $85000 to shorten the project time.
The concept of slack has been used to arrive at the above solutions. This is illustrated in the table below:
Project Activity
Free Slack in days
Voice Recognition
15
Database
0
Document Design
30
External Specifications
2
Prototype Components
0
Order Stock Parts
0
By crashing Database, Prototype components, Order stock parts, we will be able to minimize the number of days. These processes lie on the critical path of the projects and crashing these activities will not cost any money. We can use start to start lags on Document Design, Adjust Design, Order Stock Parts, Order Custom Stock parts, and Training Sales Reps processes. Using start to start lag on Order Stock Parts process, we can achieve a 21 day reduction in the project duration.
3. The new schedule is drawn the the table below:
ID
Task Name
Duration (days)
Start
Finish
Predecessors
1
Architectural Decisions
10
01/02/09
01/15/09
1
2
Internal Specifications
20
01/16/09
02/12/09
1
3
External Specifications
18
01/16/09
02/10/09
1
4
Feature specifications
15
01/16/09
02/05/09
2,3
5
Voice Recognition
15
02/13/09
03/05/09
2,3
6
Case
4
02/13/09
02/18/09
2,3
7
Screen
2
02/13/09
02/16/09
2,3
8
Speaker output jacks
2
02/13/09
02/16/09
2,3
9
Tape Mechanism
2
02/13/09
02/16/09
2,3
10
Database
35
02/06/09
03/26/09
4
11
Microphone
5
02/06/09
02/12/09
4
12
Pager
4
02/06/09
02/11/09
4
13
Barcode Reader
3
02/06/09
02/10/09
4
14
Alarm Clock
4
02/06/09
02/11/09
4
15
Computer I/O
5
02/06/09
02/12/09
4
16
Review Design
10
03/27/09
04/09/09
5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
17
Price Components
5
03/27/09
04/02/09
5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
18
Integration
15
04/10/09
04/30/09
16,17
19
Document Design
35
04/03/09
05/21/09
16+5days
20
Procure Prototype Components
15
05/01/09
05/21/09
18
21
Assemble prototypes
10
05/22/09
06/05/09
20
22
Lab test prototypes
20
06/08/09
07/06/09
21
23
Field Test prototypes
20
07/07/09
08/03/09
19,22
24
Adjust design
20
07/28/09
08/24/09
23+15 days
25
Order Stock Parts
10
08/04/09
08/17/09
24+5 days
26
Order Custom Parts
2
08/04/09
08/05/09
24+5 days
27
Assemble first Production Unit
10
08/18/09
08/31/09
25,26
28
Test Unit
10
09/01/09
09/15/09
27
29
Produce 30 Units
15
09/16/09
10/06/09
28
30
Train Sales Representatives
5
10/07/09
10/13/09
29, 27+5 days
Thus we are able to complete the project on October 13th 2009.
4. We can try to crash processes like lab and field tests which can save time and money. By having ample buffer time we can end up saving money in the long run by not having to recall and fix products that have been sold already.
Project Activity
Free Slack in days
Voice Recognition
15
Database
0
Document Design
30
External Specifications
2
Prototype Components
0
Order Stock Parts
0
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