Project Mgmt
Do any 2 questions from Section A, Section B is compulsory
Section A
What is so special about project teams that makes them different from other teams?
What are the main parts of a typical statement of works (SOW) contract pack?
What are the main differences between CPM and PERT and in what sort of project would each type be used?
Sketch a typical time-cost trade-off curve and explain the shape of the curve
Section B
Refer to Table 1. This table shows the optimistic, likely and pessimistic durations of the various activities involved. Column A shows optimistic activity durations, column B shows likely activity durations and column C shows pessimistic activity durations in weeks.
Table 1: Estimated activity durations
Activity
Description
A
B
C
A–B
Wind down
1
2
3
B–C
Decommission
1
2
3
C–D
Install new hardware
2
4
6
C–E
Install new software
1
2
3
C–F
Staff training
2
3
4
D–H
Commission new hardware
4
6
8
E–G
Commission new software
1
2
3
F–G
Staff competency trials
1
2
3
F–J
Staff trials
1
3
5
G–H
Test new software
1
2
3
H–I
Initial system test
2
4
6
I–J
Final system test
4
6
8
J–K
Fire up
1
2
3
A = Optimistic duration (weeks)
 
B = Likely duration (weeks)
C = Pessimistic duration (weeks)
Refer to Table 2. This table shows the estimated cost of crashing each activity by 50%. Where an activity is crashed by 50%, the optimistic, likely and pessimistic durations are reduced by 50% subject to the limitation that no single estimated duration can be less than 1 week.
Note: Assume each activity can be crashed only once, and that each activity that is crashed must be crashed by a full 50%.
Table 2: Estimated crash costs to reduce activity durations by 50%
Activity
Description
Crash cost
A–B
Wind down
10 000
B–C
Decommission
20 000
C–D
Install new hardware
100 000
C–E
Install new software
100 000
C–F
Staff training
120 000
D–H
Commission new…