The Family Planning Research Center of Nigeria
Dr. Adinombe Watage, deputy director of the Family Planning Research Center in Nigeria's Over-The-River Province, was assigned the task of organizing and training five teams of field workers as part of a large project to demonstrate acceptance of a new method of birth control. These workers had already had training in family planning education, but must receive specific training regarding the new method of contraception. Two types of materials must also be prepared: (1) those for use in training the workers, and (2) those for distribution in the field. Training faculty must be brought in and arrangements made for transportation and accommodations for the participants.
Dr. Watage first called a meeting of his office staff. Together they identified the activities that must be carried out, the necessary sequences, and the time they would require. Their results appear in Table 1.
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Table 1 The Family Planning Research Center
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ACTIVITY
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MUST FOLLOW
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TIME (IN DAYS)
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STAFFING NEEDED
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A
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Identify faculty and their schedules
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--
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5
|
2
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B.
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Arrange transport to base
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--
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7
|
3
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C.
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Identify and collect training materials
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--
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5
|
2
|
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D.
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Make accommodations
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A
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3
|
1
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E.
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Identify team
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A
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7
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4
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F.
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Bring in team
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B, E
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2
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1
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G.
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Transport faculty to base
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A, B
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3
|
2
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H.
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Print program material
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C
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10
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6
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I.
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Deliver program materials
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H
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7
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3
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J.
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Train team
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D, F, G, I
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15
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0
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K.
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Do fieldwork
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J
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30
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0
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Louis Odaga, the chief clerk, noted that the project had to be completed in 60 days. Whipping out his solar-powered calculator, he added up the times needed given in Table 1. They came to 94 days. "An impossible task then," he noted. "No," Dr. Watage replied, "some of these tasks can go forward in parallel." "Be careful though," warned Mr. Oglagadu, the chief nurse, "there aren't that many of us to go around. There are only 10 of us in this office."
"I can check whether we have enough heads and hands, once I have tentatively scheduled the activities," Dr. Watage responded. "If the schedule is too tight, I have permission from the Pathminder Fund to spend some money to speed it up, just so long as I can prove that it can be done at the least cost necessary. Can you help me prove that? Here are the costs for the activities with the elapsed times that we planned. Also, here are the costs and times if we shorten them to an absolute minimum." Those data are in Table 2.
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Table 2 The Family Planning Research Center
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Normal
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Minimum
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Average Cost
Per Day Saved ($)
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Activity
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Time
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Cost($)
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Time
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Cost ($)
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A.
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Identify faculty
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5
|
400
|
2
|
700
|
100
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B.
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Arrange transport
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7
|
1,000
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4
|
1,450
|
150
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C.
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Identify materials
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5
|
400
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3
|
500
|
50
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D.
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Make accommodations
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3
|
2,500
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1
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3,000
|
250
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E.
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Identify team
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7
|
400
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4
|
850
|
150
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F.
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Bring team in
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2
|
1,000
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1
|
2,000
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1,000
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G.
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Transport faculty
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3
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1,500
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2
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2,000
|
500
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H.
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Print material
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10
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3,000
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6
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4,000
|
250
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I.
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Deliver materials
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7
|
200
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2
|
600
|
80
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J.
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Train team
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15
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5,000
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10
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7,000
|
400
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K.
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Do fieldwork
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30
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10,000
|
20
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14,000
|
400
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Source: Professor Curtis P. McLaughlin, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Final Project Tasks
- Some of the tasks in this project can be done in parallel. Prepare a diagram showing the required network of tasks, and define the critical path. What is the length of the project without crashing?
- At this point, can the project be done given the constraint of having only 10 persons?
- If the critical path is longer than 60 days, what is the least amount that Dr. Watage can spend and still achieve the schedule objective? How can he prove to the Pathminder Fund that this is the minimum cost alternative?
- Utilizing the concepts from this course, prepare the project plan based on the information on this case study. The topics from this class are listed below. Please incorporate each bullet item into your plan.
- Define Project Planning
- Develop the Project Plan
- Scope Planning
- Scope Definition
- Creating the Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS)
- Activity Definition
- Activity Sequencing
- Resource Estimating
- Duration Estimating
- Schedule Development and
- Cost Estimating
- Cost Budgeting
- Quality Planning
- Human Resource Planning
- Communications Planning
- Risk Planning and
- Risk Identification
- Qualitative Analysis
- Quantitative Analysis
- Plan Purchases and Acquisitions
- Plan Contracting