PROGRAM - MBA
SUBJECT CODE & NAME PM 0015 – QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
1 Write short notes on:
(i) Kano model
(ii) Differences between
a sponsor’s view
and project’s view
in a project
balance sheet
(iii) Triangular distribution
(iv) Organisational break down
structure
(i)
Kano model
In comparison to the
previous two models, the Kano model is narrow in its approach. Its
primary focus is
on the customer and his/her requirement of products and services from the business. Unlike
the above-mentioned two models, it focuses on only two factors, namely,
customer perspective and
product excellence.
The perspective of operational
effectiveness, which is considered
in the
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(ii)
Differences between a
sponsor’s view and
project’s view in
a project balance sheet
|
Sponsor’s View
|
Project’s View
|
|
The left side
of the project balance sheet
is the sponsor’s view, akin
to the right
side of the
financial balance sheet (money owed
to creditors and money invested by owners).
|
The right side
of the project
balance sheet is the project side, akin to the left side of
the financial accounting
sheet (assets owned by the business).
|
|
It is resources owned by others and provided to the project.
|
It is estimates
and evaluations of
the project manager.
|
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(iii)
Triangular distribution
A triangular distribution
refers to a
continuous probability distribution
that has a lower limit a, mode c, and upper limit b. This type of distribution is generally used
where the distribution
is only vaguely
known, but like
the uniform distribution, upper
and lower limits are
already known. Triangular distribution is
used when risk
is asymmetrical. A
triangular distribution is used in making
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(iv)
Organisational break down structure
The Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
is a structure similar to the WBS.
The OBS is
prepared for the
organisation undertaking the
project. The structure helps in identifying responsibility,
accountability, management,and authorisation. It also displays organisational
relationship, which helps in assigning resources to project works.
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2. Discuss capital budgeting in
project management.
Capital Budgeting in Project Management
Project
selection is all about identifying a profitable and feasible project out
of all
the available alternatives.
Generally, an organisation
undertakes multiple projects with different capital requirements and
rates of returns. For instance, some projects may need investment over a longer
period of time, whereas others need
investments only in
the initial years.
Since every project requires
an investment, the
project selection decisions
should be taken prudently to ensure
the
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3. Write short notes on:
(i) Rolling wave planning
(ii) Time centric earned value
(i)
Rolling wave planning
Rolling wave planning
is an iterative
planning in which
work to be accomplished in
the near term
is planned in
detail, while the
work in the future
is planned later.
The technique employs
a multi-pass approach
to planning and scheduling, where
each pass or planning cycle builds further detail in the previous output. It
enables a team to draft initial plans for distant future work and facilitate
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(ii)
Time centric earned value
EV is one of the most
trusted tools for project managers. However, it is often viewed as costly and
requires much involvement. Traditionally, EV is a costcentric method, giving
the highest value to the cost. However, time rather than money is the highest
priority for many projects, and
this section describes
a time-centric EV
system, which can
improve project performance and
satisfaction. A consistent
focus on getting
tasks started and (especially) finished stimulates project improvement.
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4. Describe the various cost incurred in a project. Describe the
applications of three - point estimates.
Types of costs incurred in a project
The different types of
cost are as follows:
Direct and indirect costs
Direct costs
are expenses that
directly affect the
budget of a
project. Expenses that are for the express benefit of the project, and
would not be incurred if not for the
project, are usually called "direct expenses." In other words,
direct costs can be
identified with specific project activities with high
levels of accuracy.
For example, if
a project organisation outsources some of its system
development works, the amount paid to the developer for the development work
would be a direct cost. Indirect
costs, also known as overhead costs, are shared
among multiple projects.
Therefore,
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5. Explain the six sigma
methodologies.
Six Sigma Methodologies
Two Six Sigma
methodologies are generally followed for the improvement of the quality
of various products
and services in
an organisation. These methodologies are
DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control) and DMADV
(Define-Measure-Analyse-Design-Verify).
Both the methodologies are based on the
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check and
Act) cycle given by Edward
Deming. You have studied the PDCA cycle in the previous units of the book.
Now, let
us study the
DMAIC and
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6. (i)
Discuss the time and materials contract.
(ii) Solve the following
problem
Consider a the time and materials contract as follows:
Labour is billed according to the following schedule
1 software engineer : $45/hr
1 tester: $ 45/hr
1 senior software engineer: $65/hr
Material is billed according to the following schedule:
Cost of materials + 30 % profit/overhead
Actual cost of the material is $2140
Calculate the material cost, calculate the contract payable
Answer:
(i) Time and materials contract
The time and materials
contract is a cross between FP and CP
contracts. It is opposed to FP
contracts in which the buyer agrees to pay the contractor a lump sum
for performance regardless
of what the
contractors pay their employees, sub-contractors, and
suppliers.
This is
the most risk-free type of contract. In this type of contract, the time
and material used
for the project
are priced. Thus,
the contractor only requires to know the time and material
for the project
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(ii) Calculation
Calculation of material cost
Given that actual
material cost = $2140
Also, Material billed =
Cost of materials + 30 % profit/overhead
Therefore, Material
cost = 2140 + (2140 x 30%) = $ 2780
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PROGRAM - MBA
SUBJECT CODE & NAME PM 0016 –PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
1. Describe the various type of
project risks.
The types of project risks are as
below:
Scope risk:
Scope is the work
that needs to
be carried out. It
affects all other aspects of a project, mainly the cost, resources,
schedule and quality. A well-defined scope is the cornerstone of a successful
project, as majority of the projects suffer from poorly
defined scope.
Cost
risk: It is often observed that
project costs escalate during the course of a project because of poor
estimation of cost and scope creep. Cost has a direct impact on the business
(profitability and viability)
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2. Explain the different types of
probability distributions in risk analysis.
Types of probability distributions used in risk analysis
Normal distribution: This is
the most basic
probability distribution and is also known as “bell curve”. It is a unique
distribution that is symmetrical and has
a peculiar property
of having the
same mean, mode
and median. Examples of normal
distributions are the curves of inflation rates and energy prices.
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3. How is the impact of a
qualitative risk assessed?
Impact assessment
Impact assessment
is a crucial
step in qualitative
risk analysis. The probability of an event is not enough
for analysing a risk
level. Probability only tells one how
likely that event is; it tells nothing
about the magnitude of the loss if the risk event occurs. The goal of impact
assessment is to assess the impact of a risk if it occurs. The impact can be
on a specific aspect of a project or multiple aspects. In
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4. Explain the steps in risk
management planning.
The
steps in the risk management planning are different from the steps in the risk
management process. The steps in the planning help establish and
streamline the risk management process. So,
let us look at the project risk management process steps/flow and then, look at the corresponding steps in the
planning that facilitate those. The flow of risk management is shown in below
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5. What are the sources of
schedule risk?
Below are the
categories are the root causes of
schedule risks, which are further
divided into subcategories as follows:
1. Delay
Decision: Timely
decisions are important
in project execution
during approvals,
escalations and phase
exit. If a
project manager is not
empowered to take any decision and has to approach a decision maker,
it often leads to delays. For example, if there is an additional budget
required to manage a
risk and the
budget approval is
pending with a
sponsor or committee, the
decision to
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6. Write short notes on:
(i) Tools for analysing project
constraints
(ii) Project status report
(iii) Types of project audits
based on method of conducting the audit
(i)
Tools for analysing project constraints
Tools for analysing project constraints
The analysis
of constraints and
assumptions helps not
only in project planning and
execution but also
in identifying the
potential risks if the
assumptions go wrong.
The commonly used
tools for identifying
and analysing the risks
associated with constraints
and assumptions are as
follows:
Checklists: Checklists offer a
powerful means of identifying the risks on the basis of
the historic data,
past experience and
collective wisdom of the
team. A checklist can
be used at
the organisational
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(ii)
Project status report
Project status report
Project
status reports take various forms and shapes and their contents vary depending
on their recipients and their
expectations from the reports. The
contents of status reports can be divided into two categories:
1. Hard
data
This includes
the project core
data that measures
the progress and performance of the project. Some examples
of the hard data are:
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(iii)
Types of project audits based on method of conducting the audit
There are two broad
types of audits based on the method of
conducting an audit:
Internal risk
audit: An internal
risk audit is
done by an
organisation’s internal team, which is not a part of the project.
Usually, it can be a separate team
from the audit
department or people
from the peer
team or other projects. There
is a tendency
that internal audits
are not taken
seriously; however, the project
manager must look at a risk audit as an opportunity to find the gaps
and close
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PROGRAM - MBA
SUBJECT CODE & NAME PM 0017 –PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT
1. Write short notes on :
(i) Plan-Do-Check-Act(PDCA)
cycle
(ii) Benefits of quality
management to an organisation
(iii) Product quality standards
(iv) Inputs to quality
assurance process
(i)
Plan-Do-Check-Act(PDCA) cycle
PDCA cycle: He
developed the Shewhart’s
cycle further and
designed his own version called
the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle.
In his version, he replaced the study phase of Shewhart’s cycle with the
check phase. According to Deming’s
PDCA cycle, organisations can develop
quality by planning a change, executing the change, checking the result,
and acting accordingly.
The four
phases in the PDCA cycle are:
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(ii)
Benefits of quality management to an organisation
Benefits of Quality
There are
several benefits of QM to an organisation.The basis of a quality
organisation is the mutually beneficial customer and supplier relationship.
Quality is important
for any business
because it helps
in maintaining customer
relationship, which results in increased
sales. In addition, it helps in increasing customer loyalty towards
organisational products, which helps
in retaining existing
customers. The satisfied
customers are the
biggest assets to any
organisation. The new or potential
customers are influenced by the satisfied customer (informal marketing is more effective that formal
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(iii)
Product quality standards
An important
outcome of the
project quality planning
process is the identification of
product quality standards
and specifications applicable
to projects. These standards and
specifications are the explicit
targets to be met because they
are the quantifiable definitions of quality requirements.
The requirements documentation might contain this data as specified by
the customer. In case it is not
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(iv)
Inputs to quality assurance process
Quality assurance
process depends on
four main inputs,
as below:
·
PQMP
·
Process improvement plan
·
Quality metrics
·
Quality control measurements
PQMP: The
PQMP documents the outcomes of
project quality planning. It describes
the various quality
planning, quality assurance,
and control activities that are
required for quality management of the project.
Process
improvement plan: The process improvement plan is an output of project quality
planning. It is
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2. Explain the process of quality
control.
The process of quality
control consists of four steps, as below:
·
Control engineering quality
·
Control purchased material quality
·
Control manufacturing quality
·
Take actions that support after manufacturing of
products
Control engineering quality:
In this step, product specifications and quality assurance are planned and
developed. A quality engineer rectifies improper quality control practices and designs proper procedures. This step includesthe following five sub-steps:
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3. Write a note on tree diagram,
an advanced quality management tool.
Tree diagram
The tree
diagram is a
tool that breaks
a category or
factor into smaller categories or
factors to establish
a hierarchical link.
It breaks broad categories into finer details and moves
from general issues to specifics. For example,
a restaurant chain
wants to find
the factors affecting
customer satisfaction. It has
developed a tree
diagram as shown
in below figure to analyse each
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4. Explain the cycle time
flowchart tool that can be used to analyse project processes.
Cycle time flowchart
The cycle
time flowchart is a process
analysis tool that
can be used
for identifying non-value added
activities, blockages, excessive
loops, and delays. It presents a detailed overview of various processes and task times so that the overall cycle time
can be studied.
The cycle time flowchart accounts for all the activities and relative periods, starting from
the process beginning
to its completion.
It is normally constructed by the team that runs the
process. Therefore,
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5. Discuss the role of training
and development in project quality.
Training
Training can be
defined as a
process of enhancing the knowledge,
skills, aptitude, and abilities
of employees so
that they can
better perform their jobs.
The purpose of
training is to
acquaint employees with
their present and prospective
jobs. It helps new employees to develop skills required for performing their
jobs and existing
employees to polish
their skills. Some popular definitions of
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6. What are the issues in quality
control in construction?
Issues in Quality Control in Construction
An organisation can
find it challenging to implement QC because it requires a number
of activities to
be performed and
incurs huge costs
for the organisation.
Following are some main
issues in implementing
QC in construction projects:
·
Poor Planning
·
Employee Resistance
·
Lack of Proper Training
·
Lack of Management Commitment
·
Shortage of Resources
·
High Cost
·
Use of Inaccurate Data
Poor planning: There
should be proper
planning to implement
QC. Any inaccuracy in planning
may have adverse effects on the results of
QC. QC planning involves
identifying quality gaps
in a project,
identifying the reasons of
quality issues, and developing strategies
for quality improvement.
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PROGRAM - MBA
SUBJECT CODE & NAME PM 0018 –CONTRACTS MANAGEMENT IN PROJECTS
1. Explain the essential elements
of a project contract.
These elements of a valid contract are as follows:
1. Proposal (offer) and
acceptance
There
must be a ‘lawful proposal’ and a ‘lawful acceptance’ of the proposal for a
contract. The word ‘lawful’ before offer and acceptance signifies that
the proposal and acceptance must satisfy the requirements of the law of the
contract. There must be at
least two parties
to a contract, i.e.,
one party making the
proposal and the
other party accepting
it. The terms
of the proposal must
be definite and
the acceptance of
the proposal must
be absolute and unconditional. The acceptance
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2. Explain the steps involved in
the contract closure process.
Steps Involved in the Contract Closure Process
1. Collecting
contract documentation: In
order to close
a contract successfully, it
is important to
collect all the
relevant documents for review.
This may include
collecting all the
documents regarding the original contract, variations, schedules
and performance reports.
2. Completing
contractor final review: It
includes a complete review of all contracts
and verifying that
all the requirements
and outputs specified in the
contracts have been met. It also aims to ensure that all the variations to the
contract requirements have been documented with a clear tracking system,
approved and completed.
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3. What is an outsourcing
contract? What are its key content?
Outsourcing Contracts
Outsourcing a
contract implies a
process in which
one party contracts
a work to another party. First,
the outsourcer accepts the tasks
given by the organisation. Then, the contract is and involves key contents such
as scope, conditions, deliverables, etc.
The contracts that are outsourced
include the following:
1.
Scope of work: It explains what
an outsourced organisation will do for the client. In other words, it is
a map of services that will be performed by the outsourced agency.
For example, in
an IT
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4. Discuss the process of procurement.
The steps of the procurement process are as below:
·
Planning purchases and acquisitions
·
Making procurement plan
·
Selecting the contract approach
·
Soliciting bids
·
Negotiation
·
Awarding the contract
·
Purchase
·
Evaluation
1. Planning
purchases and acquisitions:
It involves identifying
the goods or services
that need to
be procured. The
contract type is determined under this step.
2. Making
procurement plan: Procurement team develops a
plan after the appropriate
decision for goods
or outsourced services
has been taken. The plan includes
the following steps:
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5. What is contract management? Describe its important features.
Contract Management
Contract
management refers to the management of contracts by negotiating the terms and
conditions of the contract and ensuring
compliance. It implies systematically managing
the contract creation
and maximising the operational and financial performance of
contracts. An increase in the use of contracts
in organisations requires
growing recognition for
improving contractual processes; thus proper management of contracts is
essential. Contract management is a process that enables both
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6. Write short notes on:
(I) Software development
agreements
(ii) Bill of quantities method
of pricing project contracts
(iii) Reasons for why an organisation uses standard form of contract
(iv) Post bid review
(I)
Software development agreements
Software and IT
projects involve software
testing, software development and software
maintenance. Most of
the organisations use
the services of software
organisations for installing,
developing and maintaining
software products. The contracts
are built among
the organisations and
involve aspects such as project cost, project scope, project initiation
process, etc.The execution of
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(ii)
Bill of quantities method of pricing project contracts
Under this, the contract price is a lumpsum for the stated quantities
of work and not for the entire project. The quantities are stated in the bill
of quantity and
are the accurate
estimation of work.
If greater quantities are used
than the estimated quantities, the
contractor is entitled to be paid extra as per the clause in the contract. This
implies that the client bears the risk,
because quantities used are
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(iii)
Reasons for why an organisation uses standard form of contract
An organisation
chooses a standard
form of contract
because of the following reasons:
• Contracts, such
as bespoke contracts,
vary in terms
of flexibility. The standard
form of contract
has less flexibility.
This is beneficial
for organisations because they can simply explain to their clients that
their contract cannot be
varied, as they
have to preserve
uniformity in the terms of similar deals with other
parties.
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(iv)
Post bid review
After the completion of
the bidding process, it is essential to conduct a postbid review
of the process.
A post-bid review identifies
the errors in
thebidding process so
that appropriate steps
can be taken
to rectify those errors
and avoid them
in future bids.
For instance, a
price analysis is conducted
to know why
the bid was
not appropriately priced.
In addition, some other aspects
that are covered
under the post-bid
review are as follows:
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