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DRIVE WINTER 2013

PROGRAM MBADS/ MBAFLEX/ MBAHCSN3/ MBAN2/ PGDBAN2

SEMESTER II

SUBJECT CODE & NAME MB 0049 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT

BK ID B1632

CREDIT & MARKS 4 CREDITS , 60 MARKS

Q.No Criteria Marks Total Marks

1 Write short notes on

• Project break-even point

• Need for project planning

• Project type organization

• Rules for network construction

• Project break-even point

• Need for project planning

• Project type organization

• Rules for network construction

10 (2.5 marks each) 10

2 Describe and compare the project appraisal methods NPV and IRR with example? Which

one is better method in estimating returns on investment in a particular project?

Description and comparison of NPV and IRR

Analysis and inference of which is a bettermethod

5

5

10

3 Microsoft Project AMS

The company

AMS is a global business and IT consulting firm to the government, financial services, andcommunications industries. AMS applies both proprietary and partner technologies andprovides solutions through business consulting, system integration, and outsourcing.Founded in 1970, AMS is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, and has offices worldwide.The company has approximately 6300 employees.

The challengeSeveral years ago, AMS developed an internal project management system called Projectin a Box. Based on Lotus Notes, the homegrown system was becoming inefficient andcostly to operate, particularly because it was designed as a standalone, non-collaborative

product. When a new consulting project was set up, a new instance of the database was

created, leading to a chaotic system with literally hundreds of separate databases.

Without any kind of centralised information sharing, it was difficult to use information fromRQH SURMHFW RQ DQRWKHU SURMHFW. 7KH V\VWHP DOVR SUHYHQWHG $06¶V PDQDJHUV IURP YLHZLQJ

companywide metrics, such as project completion rates and whether projects were beingFRPSOHWHG RQ WLPH DQG RQ EXGJHW. $06¶V H[HFXWLYHV QHHGHG D V\VWHP WR DOORw them to

KDYH D SRUWIROLR YLHZ RI WKH KHDOWK RI WKH FRPSDQ\¶V SURMHFWV LQ SURJUHVV. $ FROODERUDWLYHproject management system would allow AMS managers to:

• Measure project performance and Earned Value Metrics (EVM) allowing forimprovements in on-time and on-budget delivery to customers

• Standardise processes

• Understand the impact of task dependencies within complex projects

• Share information across different product lines

The strategy

Many AMS project managers were already using Microsoft Project as a desktopapplication, developing project plans and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) on theirindividual PCs. However, these individual installations were not networked together anddid not feed critical project performance information to executives.

Therefore, in October 2002, when AMS began the vendor selection process for acompany-wide project management solution, Microsoft Project was the natural choice,

ERWK EHFDXVH PDQ\ LQWHUQDO XVHUV ZHUH DOUHDG\ H[SHULHQFHG ZLWK WKH DSSOLFDWLRQ¶Vscheduling and planning functionality and because Microsoft offered the best price point.

In March 2003, AMS chose Microsoft as its project management software vendor andbegan a pilot programme. In June 2003, AMS selected the public sector productengineering group as the first department to begin the pilot programme. AMS divided thisinitial pilot programme into four distinct phases:

• Phase 1: In early July, AMS installed Microsoft Project for and trained 15±20 projectmanagers working on a common product line.

• Phase 2: In late August, AMS expanded the installation to 170 people in another

product line within the same group.

•Phase 3: ,Q ODWH 6HSWHPEHU, $06 UROOHG RXW 3URMHFW¶V GHFLVLRQ VXSSRUW FDSDELOLWLHV WRten executives, allowing them to mine data for reporting purposes.

• Phase 4: If the pilot is successful, AMS will expand the Project programme to 4,000

users company wide in a staged rollout.

Key benefit areas

With the pilot programme well under way, AMS is already seeing benefits from MicrosoftProject. The system has helped AMS to meet its goal of creating a more collaborativeproject management system that allows managers to view metrics and create scheduleswith a view of resources across projects and across the entire organisation. Thecollaborative nature of Microsoft Project Server allows team members, team leaders, andproject managers to complete EVM reporting more quickly, leading to more available time

for billable hours. The quantifiable benefits from the Microsoft Project deployment include:

• Productivity gains from automated weekly reporting process. Consultants anddevelopers now spend less time each week creating weekly status and performancereports, leading directly to more time available for billable hours.

• Productivity gains from automated EVM analysis. Team leaders and project managersnow spend less time processing and analysing status and performance reports fromteam members, allowing them to also have more time available for billable hours.

• The Microsoft Project deployment also allows AMS project managers to get a bettersense of project status metrics in real time. This leads to fewer project budget and costoverruns, because project managers can quickly make adjustments to keep projectsprofitable.

Key cost areas7KH ODUJHVW FRVW DUHD IRU $06¶V GHployment of Microsoft Project was the software licensecost, making up 63% of the total cost of the project. Other cost areas over the 3-yearperiod included consulting, training, ongoing maintenance, and personnel costsassociated with the everyday use of the system.

Lessons learnt2YHUDOO, $06¶V 0LFURVRIW 3URMHFW LPSOHPHQWDWLRQ ZHQW VPRRWKO\. $06¶V PDQDJHUV

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implementations should not underestimate the change management necessary to makeMicrosoft Project work effectively. Project managers, especially those without PMI

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conditions.

A successful Microsoft Project implementation also requires a high level of communicationbetween team members and project managers. This is especially important with regard tocommunicating the inputs, steps, expected output, and dependencies of complexbusiness processes.

$06¶V PDQDJHUV DOVR UHFRPPHQGHG WKDW FRPSDQLHV FDUHIXOO\ ORRN DW WKHLU LQWHUQDOSURFHVVHV IRU EXLOGLQJ :%6¶V, HVSHFLDOO\ WKH RQHV IRU FRPSOex projects that require more

WKDQ 500 WDVNV.6RPH RI $06¶V SURMHFWV FRQWDLQHG XSZDUGV RI 2500 WDVNV, ZKLFK ZDVZHOO DERYH 0LFURVRIW 3URMHFW¶V SUDFWLFDO OLPLW RI 500 WDVNV IRU D VLQJOH SURMHFW.

Calculating the ROINucleus Research analysed the costs of software, personnel, consulting, and training over

a 3-\HDU SHULRG WR TXDQWLI\ $06¶V LQYHVWPHQW LQ 0LFURVRIW 3URMHFW. 'LUHFW DQG LQGLUHFWbenefits were also quantified over a 3-year period. Direct benefits quantified includedproductivity gains for both team members and team leaders when creating EVM reports.Because AMS was an early adopter and because it agreed to participate in trade showsand in marketing ventures, the company received consulting services from Microsoft at nocost, though AMS did use internal consultants for a portion of the implementation.

Companies currently considering Microsoft Project for similar enterprise implementationsmust take consulting costs into account when evaluating potential ROI. Benefits not

quantified beFDXVH RI WKH HDUO\ VWDJH RI $06¶V 3URMHFW GHSOR\PHQW LQFOXGHG UHGXFHG

project budget and schedule overruns. However, Nucleus recommends that companies

considering Microsoft Project evaluate this potential benefit.

Source: http://nucleusresearch.com/ li brary/m i crosoft-roi/d134.pdf

What difficulties were encountered by AMS while dealing with information transferproblem in the company? What strategy is used by AMS for dealing with thisproblem?

• Listing of difficulties encountered

• Evidence of the strategy used

• Analysis of the strategy

• conclusion

• 3

• 2

• 3

• 2

10

4 Form the above case how did the solution help the managers, project teams and the

company.

Benefits of the solution to managers ,

project team and company

Conclusion

9 (3 marks each)

1

10

5 What are the key steps involved in purchase cycle?

Definition of purchase cycleListing of the steps involved in the purchasecycleSummarisation of each step

1

2

7

10

6 Discuss the concept of quality and project quality management.

• Definition of quality

• Overview of project quality management

• Summarization of project quality

management process

1

3

6

10

*A-AnswerNote ±Please provide keywords, short answer, specific terms, specific examples and marksbreak - up (wherever necessary)

Note ±Answer all questions. Kindly note that answers for 10 marks questions should beapproximately of 400 words. Each question is followed by evaluation scheme

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