1. Three-point estimate:
The SuperFlyer Corporation is developing a revolutionary flying disc. The new toy can fly straight over a great distance, which is exciting by itself. However, this disc will also return to the owner in response to their voice! Because this is an advance over anything that this company has done before, estimating the amount and cost of the hi-tech materials are difficult. The project manager recommends using a range estimating process to develop an estimate. The values below are submitted by the project team.
(a) What is the expected price of the material per pound?
(b) What is the expected amount of material needed for 100 units?
(c) What is the expected cost for 100 units using the Simple Method?
2. Single-project budgeting must fit into the overall budgeting process of the organization and the company as a whole. As a project manager for one of your company's projects, you have been asked to provide a brief description of the top-down approach to the budgeting process.
Explain the three basic steps in the top-down budgeting approach by identifying the organizational level (Upper Management, Functional Management, and Project Management) and type of budget prepared at each step. For each type of budget, explain why it is used at its level.
3. You have been requested to provide a contingency estimate for a project involving the manufacturing of a new television. You are provided with the following component and labor estimates, together with the type of estimate:
The target retail price for the new TV is $4,995.00. New products are targeted for 130% markup on introduction, so that price and cost reductions can be taken as required by competitive pressure and still keep the product profitable.
Your estimating department currently defines estimate accuracy as follows:
a) What cost budget do you recommend for the product?
b) Will the project be approved?
c) What would you recommend to reduce or eliminate any contingency from the budget?
4. We have discussed the project plan and are taking considerable time developing processes for creating it. This seems to be in conflict with the description of the course, which is Monitoring and Control. Why are we taking so much time to develop the project plan, and how does it fit with monitoring and control? For full credit you must provide specific reasons and justifications and not just generalities.
5. A company intends to establish a manufacturing facility by buying an existing factory from a company in the same industry. A state-of-the art manufacturing line with supporting utilities will be established in the refurbished factory.
Securing the building will involve negotiating the purchase and refurbishing and upgrading the building structure.
Utilities that have to be upgraded and new systems installed include: upgrade of the electrical system, installation of a new compressed air system, and increase in the capacity of the plant wastewater treatment system.
Establishing the manufacturing line will require development of production equipment specifications, procurement, and installation of machines and materials handling systems. A systems test plan will be developed concurrently with preparation of the equipment specifications. To check out the manufacturing line, a systems test of the complete line will be performed by operating it to produce product. A separate project team is handling procurement and stocking of components and materials that will be needed for the systems test of the new line as well as when it becomes fully operational.
Prepare a work breakdown structure listing for this project with activities corresponding to a two-level task and sub-task hierarchy. Format the WBS listing with activity item indents and WBS codes (such as a numbering scheme) that will clearly identify the level of each activity. Provide columns showing the WBS code and activities.