WEEK 6 (25.MAY.2010) - PROJECT LIFE CYCLE - SCHEDULLING

Microsoft Project is a software that being used widely for the purpose of prject scheduling framework. Most of us in the class is not very familiar with this application, and also there are numbers of the students that never come across of this application software before.

We are applying last week lesson, which is the network diagrams, from manual method to a computerised system method using this microsoft project application.

We went through the lesson on how to use this microsoft application by using example as below.

1. set the project title
2. set the calender

- must understand how to use micforsoft office to gant chart
- must know how to convert microsoft office to microsoft excel

it is so tough tough tough..not easy to do if we do not pay full attention in class about how to use this microsoft program. but it is fun and something new to most of us in class as not everyone is fully participate in real working project management. :)





how is our tutorial 2 progress? :) ..so far so good...on this week we continue to do on the work duration schedule and costing. We link these 2 factors into our WBS.

WEEK 5 (18.MAY.2010) - PROJECT LIFE CYCLE - NETWORK DIAGRAMS

This week lesson is all about calculation on the scheduling time plan.

Activity is an element of the project that requires time, either while people working or while people waiting. It is a time from the starting of the project until the end of the project.
Critical path, is the longest path through the network. If an activity on the critical path is delayed, the entire project will be delayed.

We did a lot of exercises in class to ensure that all of us really understand on how to work on the network diagrams...finding the start and finish date of a project scheduling.

Here are the progress of our tutorial 2 (weekly update)..

• brainstorming on the WBS...the main activity, and subtask. We have came out with 7 main activities. Each of us are responsible on each of the activity. So, we are all come out with possible acitvities...
• we meet up to run through on the sub-task that we have think of. From here we are filtering every subtask and pick the ones that we think are the best to be put into our project assignment.

• we are using mind-map software to adapt the above mind-mapping.
  
  

WEEK 4 (11.MAY.2010) - PROJECT LIFE CYCLE - WBS

Task for this week - comlepletion and submission of Tutorial 2.

With the completion identifying the project objectives and scope in terms of costs, duration, responsibility, and etc..this week we are looking into the work breakdown structure (WBS) and mind-mapping of the project objectives and this will lead to the tasks and responsibility that every team members have to focus on.


What is WBS? WBS is ...is work breakdown structure in project management, is a tool used to define and group a project's work discrete elements or tasks in a way that help organize and define the total work scope of the project (source: wikipedia).
From the WBS, we convert it into a mind-mapping concept by using the application of free web-based mapping tool, http://www.mindmeister.com/.

Here is the example of mind-mapping that we have done in class.

The psychologists say our brains can normally comprehend around 7-9 items simultaneously. A project with thousands or even dozens of tasks goes way over our ability to grasp all at once. The solution is to divide and conquer. The WBS helps break thousands of tasks into chunks that we can understand and assimilate. Preparing and understanding a WBS for your project is a big step towards managing and mastering its inherent complexity.

The WBS is commonly used at the beginning of a project for defining project scope, organizing Gantt schedules and estimating costs. It lives on, throughout the project, in the project schedule and often is the main path for reporting project costs.


WBS design should try to achieve certain goals:

1. Be compatible with how the work will be done and how costs and schedules will be managed,

2. Give visibility to important or risky work efforts,

3. Allow mapping of requirements, plans, testing, and deliverables,

4. Foster clear ownership by managers and task leaders,

5. Provide data for performance measurement and historical databases, and

6. Make sense to the workers and accountants.

Reflection:
This week we learnt a lot about project. To be truth, this is the first time that our team members really heard of the work WBS, except for our leader Boo Wei Chong as he is an engineer which involved a lot in project management at his work place. Aside from WBS, we are also exposed to new knowledge of doing a gantt chart using Microsoft Project Solver.

We had a lot of fun adding the various pictures and icons as well as struggled with the various functions and keys necessary to set up the gantt chart correctly to reflect our project. As 3 of us in the group do not have Microsoft Project Solver in our offices or personal computers, we had to depend on our leader Wei-Chong to do this gantt chart. However, it was not easy as he only had this program in his office.

In the end, one of our team members, Regina, managed to get hold of this Microsoft Project Solver, from her sister's laptop and we could now do it at our own time during the weekend. It was a mad rush, but we managed to meet up and discuss the criterias, managed the basic workings of this program and finally came up with the gantt chart. It was real challenging ! Phew....

WEEK 3 (04.MAY.2010) - PROJECT LIFE CYCLE & INITIATING PHASE

Third week has come....time passes very fast. We are all very happy that we have finished our first task, Tutorial 1, just in time.

We have assigned responsibility of each of team member, clearly defined on the objective that we are going to achieve, discussing on the issues that we are expecting to face, and most importantly is the costing budget.






Based on the project management cycle process we are currently in the stage of developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion.

We are given a task to complete in class. This is a group work which we are given a question paper about the project life cycle of implentation of MRP (manufacturing resource planning) system. This class activity assignment is a guide for us to understand better about our project management assignment. We work as team and each of us are given a task to come out with an idea on each of the project cycle phase. It wasnt that easy..but we managed to complete it within an hour and submit to lecturer in time! :)