Project Management Exercise -

This is the Project Management exercise with use of MS Project 2013.

You have decided to organize a Project Management Seminar for your department staff. To prove that PM knowledge is useful for any kind of project you are determined to use this very methodology and MS Project tool to organize the Seminar.

Given below is a list of 14 items / activities listed at random that describe To Do List of tasks associated with preparation of the Project

Management Seminar in your company. These tasks are:

Execution of the PM Seminar Contacting the main speaker

Selecting PM specific topic Securing permission for the Seminar

Creating list of possible locations Writing a final Event Report for the CEO

Printing fliers Selecting location

Making travel arrangements Distributing fliers

Determining date for the Seminar Setting/ testing audio equipment

Making hotel reservation Securing funds

Tasks to be completed for this Exercise:

1. Create a general concept for this undertaking using AOA format (show it in the MS Word document using flowchart shapes)

2. Enter activities in the Task Name column in MS Project, possiblyin chronological order (this will make task 4 little easier)

3. Estimate duration for every activity (in days) - no question marks like in "1day?"

4. Define relationship between activities by determining predecessors (use only Finish to Start type relations); you may do it graphically or by putting in a row number in the Predecessor Column

5. Show graphically critical path in the network of activities using a Format tag of the menu

6. Provide list of critical tasks

7. Provide list of non-critical tasks along with available slack time; show the total slack time in the right most column in MS Project file.

8. Provide total duration of the project

9. If Seminar is to take place on May5th, 2016 - what is the latest date when you should start your project?*

You will answers questions 6-9 in MS Word document where you also need to place your AOA chart.

We will discuss some of your submissions in the PB031 lab the following week. Good luck.

Additional hints for MS Project Hwk.#2

1. Please, remember that AOA (Activity on Arrow) format uses nodes ONLY as joints between the arrows (tasks) so make sure that you do not create activity network that looks like Diagram View in MS Project (which is Activity On Node and not AOA).

2. Focus at first ONLY on logical sequencing of activities and do not pay attention to dates and durations for now. You need to create a cohesive graph of activity network, which will be used later to input predecessors into MS Project. For your AOA chart use MS Word graphical features like arrows and circles.

3. Note one additionalactivity called "Execution of the PM Seminar" and give it duration of 1 day. This should prevent you from having some activities (arrows) hanging in there lose and not leading anywhere.

4. For the AOA graph to be done correctly it MUST have ONLY one start and one end node; no arrow can be there without an end node.

5. Sequencing of activities could be confusing and frustrating at times like any logical puzzle. So here are some hints and good check points to guide you through the process:

a. try to divide your activities using some logical stages - e.g. activities that must be completed before gaining approval; between approval and prior to execution of the Seminar, and after the Seminar.

b. Always ask "what is the earliest that this activity can start and what is the latest it can finish" (e.g. testing audio equipment can start as soon as we know the location but must be finished before the Seminar Execution).

c. Sometimes it is easier to draw AOA from the last activity backward by asking the question "what has to be completed for a given activity to start?".

6. Think about question 9 and remember that Execution of the Seminar may not be the last activity on the AOA. As you reverse the direction of planning by MS Project you may need a little adjustment in dates...