Background to a new Program:

Many motorcycle riders who are severely injured in motorcycle-related accidents desire to return to riding motorcycles. The Vice President of Marketing within your business is one such injured motorcycle enthusiast. Two years ago while riding his motorcycle, the marketing vice president suffered injuries from a hit-and-run accident that left him paralyzed below the waist. However, he desires to ride again. In his desire, he also sees a marketing opportunity for other injured motorcycle enthusiast. The VP envisions a motorcycle stabilization devise attached to a motorcycle that allows a paraplegic to safely operate a motorcycle again.

A long-time rider, the VP understands that a paraplegic rider requires a means to stabilize a motorcycle at low-speeds and stopped conditions. At cursing speeds, a stabilization devise is not needed, however at cursing speeds, the devise must retract. Additionally, for this stabilization devise to reach a wider range of customers, the design of the stabilization devise would need to meet the design configurations for a variety of motorcycles. The VP of Marketing made a marketing presentation of the stabilization devise to corporate executives. The Corporate CEO approved building eight prototype devises and marketing these devises at the 2015 Progressive International Motorcycle Show, at Long Beach, California, November 20-22. The stabilization devise program is name "Easy Rider".

The primary objective of Program Easy Rider, research, design, and produce a universal motorcycle stabilization devise that modifies a motorcycle for a paraplegic rider. This program offers one solution that will be applicable to a variety of motorcycle designs and models. The VP will use one of the stabilization devises for a road trip from Dallas, Texas to Long Beach, California for the November 20-22, 2015 Progressive International Motorcycle Show. The program manager, in coordination with five project teams, oversees research, design, and testing of a stabilization devise for six major motorcycle companies: Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, Hero MotoCorp, Baja Auto, and Harvey Division.

The stabilization devise must simulate what a rider's legs do to stabilize a motorcycle. The specifications for the stabilization devise include a manual extendable and retractable stabilization devise that stabilizes a motorcycle at low speeds and at a stop. The stabilization devise will fit on the top 10 on-road motorcycles produced. The program manager envisions five phases in creating and marketing a functional stabilization devise. Phase one begins with a research project team. This project team will research current designs, potential material, and mounting options for the top 10 on-road motorcycles.

Phase two involves design project team. This team will construct various design options that meet the internal State of Work (SOW) specifications. Phase three will be the project test team. This team will test the various design options in a variety of motorcycle driving scenarios to design function and safety. Initial tests will analyze the various stabilization devise performance. Phase four will be the operations phase. In this phase the operations project team will produce eight functional, and aesthetically pleasing stabilization devises for the November 20-22, Progressive International Motorcycle Show. Phase five is the marketing phase of the stabilization device at the show.

1. In addressing requirement 1, you are the project manager for the design project team. The business uses a matrix organizational structure. Discuss the authority you have as a project manager. Second discuss three challenges you face as you interact with functional managers for people and resources within this organizational structure.

2. Phase one of Program Easy Rider is the Research Project Team. The Research Project Team will research current stabilization devise designs, potential devise materials, and mounting options for the top 10 on-road motorcycles As the Design Project Team leader at what point do you need to form your team to prepare your team members to for the data the Research Team will hand-off to your team? Justify your response in terms of time and costs.

3. In preparation for forming your new Design Team members, discuss what actions you will take to plan and control team members' roles and responsibilities, build an effective team, and deal with intra team conflict.

4. For this requirement, your role is that of the Program Manager. In Program Easy Rider, you identified five phases. Each phase is designed to develop data that feeds to the next phase. The final phase, marketing, markets eight stabilization device, per the internal SOW, at the November 20-22 Motorcycle Show. This is a two part requirement:

Part 1: Discuss the importance "assumptions" play in program and project planning for producing eight stabilization devises.

Part 2 : Using the information provided in the case study above, develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to level 3 (tasks) for Program Easy Rider using the activities provided below:

5. Given the PERT Network Schedule below for the Design Project Team phase, compute the information requested in items a. through e. below.

Use the table below to compute:

a. Identify the Early Start (ES) Early Finish (EF) in weeks, and Late Start (LS) Late Finish (LF) in weeks.

b. Identify the critical path

c. For each activity's Optimistic time (t0), Pessimistic time (tp) and the most likely time" (tm), to compute each PERT activity's Mean Expected Time (te) and Standard Deviation (σ).

d. What is the expected time (te) for 68% (1σ), 95% (2σ) and 99% (3σ) competition limits?

e. If activity B is extend by one week, what impact does this extension have on the PERT Network diagram, and the project team?

6. As the design project team leader, you operate from the budget shown below, which is broken-down by each week. Your team has just completed week 11. The VP of Marketing wants to know status of your team's progress. Using the Design Team Budget information below, complete the progress report below. Note the value of "k" stands for $1000.

Total CV ($) = total of Column 4 - total of Column 5 _____________________

Total SV ($) = total of Column 4 - total Column 3_____________________

Time-to-Complete = _____________Weeks

Cost-at-Completion = Rate of Spending X Total Budget = [Col 5 divided by col 4] X Total budget =________________

Cost-to-Completion = Cost-at-Completion - Total AWCP = ___________________

Your analysis of data: From the progress data developed what will you tell the VP of Marketing about the project's schedule and the project's cost?

7. The Marketing project team conducted a risks analysis with four strategies. Use the table below to provide responses to a. through c

a. (5) Using the concept of "expected value", what risk (strategy) would you recommend?

b. (4) If you adopted a "go-for-broke" attitude, what strategy would you recommend?

c. (4) If the VP of Marketing asks for your pessimistic recommendation, which strategy would you recommend?

8. The final requirement computes the cost to produce eight (8) stabilization devices. The time to produce the first stabilization device measured 160 man-hours. The cost, at $55 per man-hours, for the first stabilization devise came to $8,800. Production Project Manages assessed that since this was a new product, a learning curve 70% will be applied. Respond to requirements a. through c. below.

a. (5) Based on a learning curve of 70%, how many man-hours will be required to produce the 8th stabilization devise?

b. (5) What is the cost to produce the 8th stabilization device?

c. (5) What is the accumulative cost to produce all 8 stabilization devises?