QUESTION:
Cruise International Inc. wants to launch a new onboard telemedicine procedure and the project is time-critical. You need to provide project management assistance to Susan Petersen in Cll's Marketing Department as well as to Dr. Janelle Black at Corporate Medical Services. Comments from your meeting with Susan follow.
"Hello, I'm Susan Petersen. Here's the project I have in mind for you. We have a new telemedicine procedure ready to be introduced onboard our fleet of ships. This is part of Cll's efforts to make passengers feel more comfortable with the onboard medical care and will be featured in our next publicity blitz. It is also much needed help that we have promised the medical personnel working onboard.
The procedure requires the acquisition, installation, and marketing of a new telemedicine communications system. Dr. Janelle Black is responsible for its implementation. She has given me a list of activities that need to be completed before the new system can be implemented. There are four stages:
1. Develop the Criteria and Systems
2. Write the Simplified Operating Instructions for using the System
3. Order the Hardware to Support the System
4. Install the System
5. Training of Staff
At that time, the training of the medical personnel needs to be completed. When the equipment has been installed onboard the Friendly Seas I and the medical personnel are sufficiently trained, we will have a four-week test period before launching the new system and beginning installation in all of our ships. Take a look at Activities for Telemedicine Systems Implementation."
"Since we are anxious for the project to be completed as soon as possible, we have the option of paying additional costs to speed up some of the activities. For example, the normal time required for the communications contractor to finalize criteria can be reduced by one week at an additional cost of $1500.
Another example is that equipment could be shipped by UPS Ground and save one week. This would cost an additional $2,000. Using FedEx would save two weeks but cost an additional $4,500. The training period for the nurses can be reduced by one week if Human Resources allows the nurses to work overtime at an additional cost of $1,200. For the criteria development, $3,500 in overtime can be saved if this activity is allowed to take five weeks to complete."
1. Determine the absolute shortest length of time in which the telemedicine project can be completed if none of the activities are crashed.
2. Determine the shortest length of time the project can be finished if activities on the critical path are crashed.
3. Calculate the additional cost resulting from crashing all the activities possible.
4. Explain how you can minimize the additional cost of crashing the project while completing the project in the same amount of time as determined in question 2.
Activities for Telemedicine System Implementation
Time Estimates for Ship Board Telemedicine System Project