MB0049 Answer Sheet

MB0049 –Project Manegment( 4 credits )

( Book Id , B1138 ) ASSIGNMENT – Set - 1

Note each question carries 10 marks answer all the Question

1 . Define Project Management Discuse the nead for Project Management

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables),[1] undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives,[2] typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations),[3] which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals[4] and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints.[5] Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget.[1] The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.

The traditional approach

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional approach", five developmental components of a project can be distinguished (four stages plus control): Typical development phases of an engineering projectinitiationplanning and designexecution and constructionmonitoring and controlling systemscompletion

Not all projects will have every stage, as projects can be terminated before they reach completion. Some projects do not follow a structured planning and/or monitoring process. And some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries use variations of these project stages. For example, when working on a brick-and-mortar design and construction, projects will typically progress through stages like pre-planning, conceptual design, schematic design, design development, construction drawings (or contract documents), and construction administration. In software development, this approach is often known as the waterfall model,[17] i.e., one series of tasks after another in linear sequence. In software development many organizations have adapted the Rational Unified Process (RUP) to fit this

methodology, although RUP does not require or explicitly recommend this practice. Waterfall development works well for small, well defined projects, but often fails in larger projects of undefined and ambiguous nature. The Cone of Uncertainty explains some of this as the planning made on the initial phase of the project suffers from a high degree of uncertainty. This becomes especially true as software development is often the realization of a new or novel product. In projects where requirements have not been finalized and can change, requirements management is used to develop an accurate and complete definition of the behavior of software that can serve as the basis for software development.[18] While the terms may differ from industry to industry, the actual stages typically follow common steps to problem solving—"defining the problem, weighing options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation."

Processes The project development stages[22]

Traditionally, project management includes a number of elements: four to five process groups, and a control system. Regardless of the methodology or terminology used, the same basic project management processes will be used. Major process groups generally include:[23]initiationplanning or developmentproduction or executionmonitoring and controllingclosing

In project environments with a significant exploratory element (e.g., research and development), these stages may be supplemented with decision points (go/no go decisions) at which the project's continuation is debated and decided. An example is the stage-gate model.[edit]Initiating Initiating process group processes[22]

The initiating processes determine the nature and scope of the project.[24] If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’ needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiating stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goalsreviewing of the current operationsfinancial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budgetstakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the projectproject charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule

[edit]Planning and design

After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of detail (see example of a flow-chart).[22] The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project's chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.

Project planning generally consists of[25]determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or rolling wave);developing the scope statement;selecting the planning team;identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure;identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence;estimating the resource requirements for the activities;estimating time and cost for activities;developing the schedule;developing the budget;risk planning;gaining formal approval to begin work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management, identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

[edit]Executing Executing process group processes[22]

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan and other frameworks that might be applicable to the type of project at hand.[edit]Monitoring and controlling Monitoring and controlling process group processes[22]

Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling includes:[26]Measuring the ongoing project activities ('where we are');Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be);Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on track again);Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented.

In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and control process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:[23]Continuing support of end-usersCorrection of errorsUpdates of the software over time Monitoring and controlling cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change. Change is a normal and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This is referred to as change management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or more simply, “as built.” The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project.

Project managers

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, engineering, architecture, computing, and telecommunications. Many other fields in the production engineering and design engineering and heavy industrial have project managers.

A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which is cost, time, and scope.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.[edit]Project management triangle The project management triangle

Like any human undertaking, projects need to be performed and delivered under certain constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as "scope," "time," and "cost".[1] These are also referred to as the "project management triangle", where each side represents a constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further refinement of the constraints separates product "quality" or "performance" from scope, and turns quality into a fourth constraint.

The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to what must be done to produce the project's end result. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.

The discipline of project management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team (not just the project manager) to organize their work to meet these constraints.[edit]Work breakdown structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tree structure that shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective—for example a program, project, and contract. The WBS may be hardware-, product-, service-, or process-oriented (see an example in a NASA reporting structure (2001)).[31]

A WBS can be developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages), which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.[18]

The work breakdown structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established.[31][edit]Project management framework

The Program (Investment) life cycle integrates the project management and system development life cycles with the activities directly associated with system deployment and operation. By design, system operation management and related activities occur after the project is complete and are not documented within this guide[22] (see an example of an IT project management framework).

For example, see figure, in the US United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the program management life cycle is depicted and describe in the overall VA IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEwork to address the integration of OMB Exhibit 300 project (investment) management activities and the overall project budgeting process. The VA IT Project Management Framework diagram illustrates Milestone 4 which occurs following the deployment of a system and the closing of the project. The project closing phase activities at the VA continues through system deployment and into system operation for the purpose of illustrating and describing the system activities the VA considers part of the project. The figure illustrates the actions and associated artifacts of the VA IT Project and Program Management process.[22]

2 . What is meant by risk Management ? Explane the Components of risk

Risk management:-

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives, whether positive or negative) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events[1] or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks can come from uncertainty in financial markets, project failures (at any phase in design, development, production, or sustainment life-cycles), legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as deliberate attack from an adversary, or events of uncertain or unpredictable root-cause. Several risk management standards have been developed including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards.[2][3] Methods, definitions and goals vary widely according to whether the risk management method is in the context of project management, security, engineering, industrial processes, financial portfolios, actuarial assessments, or public health and safety.

The strategies to manage risk typically include transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect or probability of the risk, or even accepting some or all of the potential or actual consequences of a particular risk.

Certain aspects of many of the risk management standards have come under criticism for having no measurable improvement on risk, whether the confidence in estimates and decisions seem to increase.

INTRODUCTION:-

The vocabulary of risk management is defined in ISO Guide 73, "Risk management. Vocabulary."[2]

In ideal risk management, a prioritization process is followed whereby the risks with the greatest loss (or impact) and the greatest probability of occurring are handled first, and risks with lower probability of occurrence and lower loss are handled in descending order. In practice the process of assessing overall risk can be difficult, and balancing resources used to mitigate between risks with a high probability of occurrence but lower loss versus a risk with high loss but lower probability of occurrence can often be mishandled.Intangible risk management identifies a new type of a risk that has a 100% probability of occurring but is ignored by the organization due to a lack of identification ability. For example, when deficient knowledge is applied to a situation, a knowledge risk materializes. Relationship risk appears when ineffective collaboration occurs. Process-engagement risk may be an issue when ineffective operational procedures are applied. These risks directly reduce the productivity of knowledge workers, decrease cost effectiveness, profitability, service, quality, reputation, brand value, and earnings quality. Intangible risk management allows risk management to create immediate value from the identification and reduction of risks that reduce productivity.

Risk management also faces difficulties in allocating resources. This is the idea of opportunity cost. Resources spent on risk management could have been spent on more profitable activities. Again, ideal risk management minimizes spending (or manpower or other resources) and also minimizes the negative effects of risks

Explanation

Risk assessment consists of an objective evaluation of risk in which assumptions and uncertainties are clearly considered and presented. Part of the difficulty in risk management is that measurement of both of the quantities in which risk assessment is concerned - potential loss and probability of occurrence - can be very difficult to measure. The chance of error in measuring these two concepts is large. Risk with a large potential loss and a low probability of occurring is often treated differently from one with a low potential loss and a high likelihood of occurring. In theory, both are of nearly equal priority, but in practice it can be very difficult to manage when faced with the scarcity of resources, especially time, in which to conduct the risk management process. Expressed mathematically,

Risk assessment from a financial point of view.

Financial decisions, such as insurance, express loss in terms of dollar amounts. When risk assessment is used for public health or environmental decisions, loss can be quantified in a common metric such as a country's currency or some numerical measure of a location's quality of life. For public health and environmental decisions, loss is simply a verbal description of the outcome, such as increased cancer incidence or incidence of birth defects. In that case, the "risk" is expressed as

If the risk estimate takes into account information on the number of individuals exposed, it is termed a "population risk" and is in units of expected increased cases per a time period. If the risk estimate does not take into account the number of individuals exposed, it is termed an "individual risk" and is in units of incidence rate per a time period. Population risks are of more use for cost/benefit analysis; individual risks are of more use for evaluating whether risks to individuals are "acceptable"....[edit]Risk assessment in public health

In the context of public health, risk assessment is the process of quantifying the probability of a harmful effect to individuals or populations from certain human activities. In most countries the use of specific chemicals or the operations of specific facilities (e.g. power plants, manufacturing plants) is not allowed unless it can be shown that they do not increase the risk of death or illness above a specific threshold. For example, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food safety through risk assessment.[1] The FDA required in 1973 that cancer-causing compounds must not be present in meat at concentrations that would cause a cancer risk greater than 1 in a million lifetimes. The US Environmental Protection Agency

provides basic information about environmental risk assessments for the public via its risk assessment portal.[2][edit]How the risk is determined Food risk assessment nomogram

In the estimation of risks, three or more steps are involved that require the inputs of different disciplines:Hazard Identification, aims to determine the qualitative nature of the potential adverse consequences of the contaminant (chemical, radiation, noise, etc.) and the strength of the evidence it can have that effect. This is done, for chemical hazards, by drawing from the results of the sciences of toxicology and epidemiology. For other kinds of hazard, engineering or other disciplines are involved.Dose-Response Analysis, is determining the relationship between dose and the probability or the incidence of effect (dose-response assessment). The complexity of this step in many contexts derives mainly from the need to extrapolate results from experimental animals (e.g. mouse, rat) to humans, and/or from high to lower doses. In addition, the differences between individuals due to genetics or other factors mean that the hazard may be higher for particular groups, called susceptible populations. An alternative to dose-response estimation is to determine an effect unlikely to yield observable effects, that is, a no effect concentration. In developing such a dose, to account for the largely unknown effects of animal to human extrapolations, increased variability in humans, or missing data, a prudent approach is often adopted by including safety factors in the estimate of the "safe" dose, typically a factor of 10 for each unknown step.Exposure Quantification, aims to determine the amount of a contaminant (dose) that individuals and populations will receive. This is done by examining the results of the discipline of exposure assessment. As different location, lifestyles and other factors likely influence the amount of contaminant that is received, a range or distribution of possible values is generated in this step. Particular care is taken to determine the exposure of the susceptible population(s).

Finally, the results of the three steps above are then combined to produce an estimate of risk. Because of the different susceptibilities and exposures, this risk will vary within a population.[edit]Small subpopulations

When risks apply mainly to small subpopulations, there is uncertainty at which point intervention is necessary. What if a risk is very low for everyone but 0.1% of the population? A difference exists whether this 0.1% is represented by *all infants younger than X days or *recreational users of a particular product. If the risk is higher for a particular sub-population because of abnormal exposure rather than susceptibility, there is a potential to consider strategies to further reduce the exposure of that subgroup. If an identifiable sub-population is more susceptible due to inherent genetic or other factors, there is a policy choice whether to set policies for protecting the general population that are protective of such groups (as is currently done for children when data exists, or is done under the Clean Air Act for populations such as asthmatics) or whether if the group is too small, or the costs to high. Sometimes, a

more specific calculation can be applied whether it is more important to analyze each method specifically the changes of the risk assessment method in containing all problems that each of us people could replace.[edit]Acceptable risk increase

The idea of not increasing lifetime risk by more than one in a million has become common place in public health discourse and policy. How consensus settled on this particular figure is unclear. In some respects this figure has the characteristics of a mythical number. In another sense the figure provides a numerical basis for what to consider a negligible increase in risk. Some current environmental decision making allows some discretion to deem individual risks potentially "acceptable" if below one in ten thousand increased lifetime risk. Low risk criteria such as these provide some protection for a case where individuals may be exposed to multiple chemicals (whether pollutants or food additives, or other chemicals). However, both of these benchmarks are clearly small relative to the typical one in four lifetime risk of death by cancer (due to all causes combined) in developed countries. On the other hand, adoption of a zero-risk policy could be motivated by the fact that the 1 in a million policy still would cause the death of hundreds or thousands of people in a large enough population. In practice however, a true zero-risk is possible only with the suppression of the risk-causing activity.

More stringent requirements (even 1 in a million) may not be technologically feasible at a given time or may be prohibitively expensive as to render the risk-causing activity unsustainable, resulting in the optimal degree of intervention being a balance between risks vs. benefit. For example, it might well be that the emissions from hospital incinerators result in a certain number of deaths per year. However, this risk must be balanced against the available alternatives. In some unusual cases, there are significant public health risks, as well as economic costs, associated with all options. For example, there are risks associated with no incineration (with the potential risk for spread of infectious diseases) or even no hospitals. Further investigation often identifies more options such as separating noninfectious from infectious wastes, or air pollution controls on a medical incinerator that provide a broad range of options of acceptable risk - though with varying practical implications and varying economic costs. Intelligent thought about a reasonably full set of options is essential. Thus, it is not unusual for there to be an iterative process between analysis, consideration of options, and follow up analysis.[edit]Risk assessment in auditing

For audits performed by an outside audit firm, risk assessment is a very crucial stage before accepting an audit engagement. According to ISA315 Understanding the Entity and its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, "the auditor should perform risk assessment procedures to obtain an understanding of the entity and its environment, including its internal control."<evidence relating to the auditor’s risk assessment of a material misstatement in the client’s financial statements. Then, the auditor obtains initial evidence regarding the classes of transactions at the client and the operating effectiveness of the client’s internal controls.In auditing, audit risk includes inherent risk, control risk and detection risk.

Risk assessments performed by internal auditors are entirely different. They are usually designed to facilitate the annual audit plan. Using various elements, such as changes in volume of business, management, technology, and the economy, coupled with the knowledge and experience of management regarding the particular area, plus the previous rating of the area and the time since the last audit, the audit department determines which areas have more risk and should be a priority within the audit plan. These risk assessment are different than those prepared by the department. Those should be evaluated as part of the internal audit risk assessment process, but should not be the sole basis. Only internal audit department generated risk assessments should used for audit planning purposes. Likewise, internal audit should not be preparing risk assessments for the various departments. They should prepare their own. They are responsible for establishing policies and procedures designed to mitigate the risks identified by the risk assessment. It is internal audit's responsibility to evaluate the effectiveness of the departmentally prepared risk assessments and make recommendations for improvement.Risk assessment and human health

There are many resources that provide health risk information. The National Library of Medicine provides risk assessment and regulation information tools for a varied audience.[3] These include TOXNET (databases on hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases),[4] the Household Products Database (potential health effects of chemicals in over 10,000 common household products),[5] and TOXMAP (maps of US Environmental Agency Superfund and Toxics Release Inventory data). The United States Environmental Protection Agency provides basic information about environmental risk assessments for the public.[6]Risk assessment in information security.

3 . Discuse the Various step in project monitoring and control

Project Monitoring and Control (PMC)A Project Management process area at Maturity Level 2

Purpose

The purpose of Project Monitoring and Control (PMC) is to provide an understanding of the project's progress so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when the project's performance deviates significantly from the plan.

Specific Practices by GoalSG 1 Monitor the Project Against the Plan SP 1.1 Monitor Project Planning ParametersSP 1.2 Monitor CommitmentsSP 1.3 Monitor Project RisksSP 1.4 Monitor Data ManagementSP 1.5 Monitor Stakeholder InvolvementSP 1.6 Conduct Progress Reviews

SP 1.7 Conduct Milestone ReviewsSG 2 Manage Corrective Action to Closure SP 2.1 Analyze IssuesSP 2.2 Take Corrective ActionSP 2.3 Manage Corrective Actions[edit]Project Planning (PP)A Project Management process area at Maturity Level 2

Purpose

The purpose of Project Planning (PP) is to establish and maintain plans that define project activities.

Specific Practices by GoalSG 1 Establish Estimates SP 1.1 Estimate the Scope of the ProjectSP 1.2 Establish Estimates of Work Product and Task AttributesSP 1.3 Define Project Lifecycle PhasesSP 1.4 Estimate Effort and CostSG 2 Develop a Project Plan SP 2.1 Establish the Budget and ScheduleSP 2.2 Identify Project RisksSP 2.3 Plan Data ManagementSP 2.4 Plan the Project's ResourcesSP 2.5 Plan Needed Knowledge and SkillsSP 2.6 Plan Stakeholder InvolvementSP 2.7 Establish the Project PlanSG 3 Obtain Commitment to the Plan SP 3.1 Review Plans that Affect the ProjectSP 3.2 Reconcile Work and Resource LevelsSP 3.3 Obtain Plan Commitment[edit]Process and Product Quality Assurance (PPQA)A Support process area at Maturity Level 2

Purpose

The purpose of Process and Product Quality Assurance (PPQA) is to provide staff and management with objective insight into processes and associated work products.

Specific Practices by GoalSG 1 Objectively Evaluate Processes and Work Products SP 1.1 Objectively Evaluate ProcessesSP 1.2 Objectively Evaluate Work ProductsSG 2 Provide Objective Insight SP 2.1 Communicate and Resolve Noncompliance IssuesSP 2.2 Establish Records[edit]Quantitative Project Management (QPM)

A Project Management process area at Maturity Level 4

Purpose

The purpose of the Quantitative Project Management (QPM) process area is to quantitatively manage the project to achieve the project’s established quality and process performance objectives.

Specific Practices by GoalSG 1 Prepare for Quantitative Management SP 1.1 Establish the Project’s ObjectivesSP 1.2 Compose the Defined ProcessesSP 1.3 Select Subprocesses and AttributesSP 1.4 Select Measures and Analytic TechniquesSG 2 Quantitatively Manage the Project SP 2.1 Monitor the Performance of Selected SubprocessesSP 2.2 Manage Project PerformanceSP 2.3 Perform Root Cause Analysis

Project planning, monitoring and control

The purpose of project planning is to identify the scope of the project, estimate the work involved, and create a project schedule. Project planning begins with requirements that define the software to be developed. The project plan is then developed to describe the tasks that will lead to completion.

The purpose of project monitoring and control is to keep the team and management up to date on the project's progress. If the project deviates from the plan, then the project manager can take action to correct the problem. Project monitoring and control involves status meetings to gather status from the team. When changes need to be made, change control is used to keep the products up to date.[edit]Issue

In computing, the term issue is a unit of work to accomplish an improvement in a system. An issue could be a bug, a requested feature, task, missing documentation, and so forth. The word "issue" is popularly misused in lieu of "problem." This usage is probably related.[citation needed]

For example, OpenOffice.org used to call their modified version of BugZilla IssueZilla. As of September 2010, they call their system Issue Tracker.

Problems occur from time to time and fixing them in a timely fashion is essential to achieve correctness of a system and avoid delayed deliveries of products.[edit]Severity levels

Issues are often categorized in terms of severity levels. Different companies have different definitions of severities, but some of the most common ones are:

CriticalHighThe bug or issue affects a crucial part of a system, and must be fixed in order for it to resume normal operation.MediumThe bug or issue affects a minor part of a system, but has some impact on its operation. This severity level is assigned when a non-central requirement of a system is affected.LowThe bug or issue affects a minor part of a system, and has very little impact on its operation. This severity level is assigned when a non-central requirement of a system (and with lower importance) is affected.CosmeticThe system works correctly, but the appearance does not match the expected one. For example: wrong colors, too much or too little spacing between contents, incorrect font sizes, typos, etc. This is the lowest severity issue.

In many software companies, issues are often investigated by Quality Assurance Analysts when they verify a system for correctness, and then assigned to the developer(s) that are responsible for resolving them. They can also be assigned by system users during the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase.

Issues are commonly communicated using Issue or Defect Tracking Systems. In some other cases, emails or instant messengers are used.

4 . What is project management information system (PMIS)? What are the major aspects of PMIS ?

A project management information system (PMIS) is a part of management information systems (MIS) and manages information of a project centric organization. These electronic systems "help [to] plan, execute, and close project management goals."[1] PMIS systems differ in scope, design and features depending upon an organisation's operational requirements.

Relationship between a PMS and PMIS

A project management system (PMS) could be a part of a PMIS or sometimes an external tool beside project management information system. What a PMIS does is to manage all stakeholders in a project such as the project owner, client, contractors, sub-contractors, in-house staff, workers, managers and etc.[1] PMIS pmbok 4th edition definition Project management information system (PMIS) [Tool]. An information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all

aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems.

Advantages

The following are some of the benefits that can be attained for different types of management information systems.[5]Companies are able to highlight their strengths and weaknesses due to the presence of revenue reports, employees' performance record etc. The identification of these aspects can help the company improve their business processes and operations.Giving an overall picture of the company and acting as a communication and planning tool.The availability of the customer data and feedback can help the company to align their business processes according to the needs of the customers. The effective management of customer data can help the company to perform direct marketing and promotion activities.Information is considered to be an important asset for any company in the modern competitive world. The consumer buying trends and behaviours can be predicted by the analysis of sales and revenue reports from each operating region of the company.

Developing Information Systems

"The actions that are taken to create an information system that solves an organizational problem are called system development"[6]. These include system analysis, system design, programming/implementation, testing, conversion, production and finally maintenance. These actions usually take place in that specified order but some may need to repeat or be accomplished concurrently.

Conversion is the process of changing or converting the old system into the new. This can be done in four ways:Direct cutover – The new system replaces the old at an appointed time.Pilot study – Introducing the new system to a small portion of the operation to see how it fares. If good then the new system expands to the rest of the company.Phased approach – New system is introduced in stages.

5 . What is PERT chart ? What are the advantages of PERT chat?

Definition of 'PERT Chart'

A project management tool that provides a graphical representation of a project’s timeline. PERT, or Program Evaluation Review Technique, was developed by the United States Navy for the Polaris submarine missile program in the 1950s. PERT charts allow the tasks in a particular project to be analyzed, with particular attention to the time required to complete each task, and the minimum time required to finish the entire project. Investopedia explains 'PERT Chart'

A PERT chart is a graph that represents all of the tasks necessary to a project’s completion, and the order in which they must be completed along with the corresponding time requirements. Certain tasks are dependent on serial tasks, which must be completed in a certain sequence. Tasks that are not dependent on the completion of other tasks are called parallel or concurrent tasks and can generally be worked on simultaneously. PERT charts are preferable to Gantt charts because they more clearly identify task dependencies; however, the PERT chart is often more challenging to interpret. As such, project managers frequently employ both methodologies.

A PERT chart is a project management tool used to schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a project. PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique, a methodology developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s to manage the Polaris submarine missile program. A similar methodology, the Critical Path Method (CPM) was developed for project management in the private sector at about the same time.

According to punmia and khandelwal PERT chart is the network technique of project planning. PERT stands for programme evaluation and rewiew techniques. This method basically develop for NAVY project purposes in 1956. PERT charts use to show oder of the process and activities. (Punmia B.C., Khandelwal K.K., n.d)Elements of the PERT chart· Activity· Event (Punmia B.C., Khandelwal K.K., n.d)According to Mukhopadhyay a network model that allows for randomness in activity completion times.PERT planning involves the following steps:Identify the specific activities and milestones. Determine the proper sequence of the activities. Construct a network diagram. Estimate the time required for each activity. Determine the critical path. Update the PERT chart as the project progresses. (Mukhopadhyay.I, 2012) Analysis According to Mukhopadhyay there are many advantages of creating PERT charts.Expected project completion time.Probability of completion before a specified date.The critical path activities that directly impact the completion time.The activities that have slack time and that can lend resources to critical path activities.Activity start and end dates.(Mukhopadhyay.I, 2012) Conclusion According to Mukhopadhyay he shows the process of creating PERT chart. All areas of the project will be covered through this PERT chart method such as cost, time and activities ect. Main advantage of this PERT is showing the path of the project. It is very useful to project team because they can work according to that path.A PERT chart presents a graphic illustration of a project as a network diagram consisting of numbered nodes (either circles or rectangles) representing events, or milestones in the project linked by labelled vectors (directional lines) representing tasks in the project. The direction of the arrows on the lines indicates the sequence of tasks. In the diagram, for example, the tasks between nodes 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10 must be completed in sequence. These are called dependent or serial tasks. The tasks between nodes 1 and 2, and nodes 1 and 3 are not dependent on the completion of one to start the other and can be undertaken simultaneously. These tasks are called parallel or concurrent tasks. Tasks that must be completed in sequence but that don't require resources or completion time are considered to have event dependency. These are represented by dotted lines with arrows and are called dummy activities. For example, the dashed arrow linking nodes 6 and 9 indicates that the system files must be converted before the user test can take place, but that the resources and time required to prepare for the user test (writing the user manual and user training) are on another path. Numbers on the opposite sides of the vectors indicate the time allotted for the task.

The PERT chart is sometimes preferred over the Gantt chart, another popular project management charting method, because it clearly illustrates task dependencies. On the other hand, the PERT chart can be much more difficult to interpret, especially on complex projects. Frequently, project managers use both techniques. Getting started with PERT chartsHere are some additional resources for learning about how PERT charts and other project management tools are used in the enterprise:Project management tools and strategies: The Gantt chart and the PERT chart are probably the two best known charts in project management. Each of these can be used for scheduling, but because Gantt charts don't illustrate task dependencies and PERT charts can be confusing, PMs often use both.Project management charts: Beyond Gantt: Gantt charts are good for certain purposes, explains project management expert David Christiansen, but there are other charts PMs have at their disposal.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Pert

PERT charts are used to plan large complex projects.

The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) involves charts that display scheduled tasks for project completion. This type of flow chart is a common method used by project managers, and is part of the critical path analysis that focuses on essential tasks for project completion. Project managers often design PERT charts for specific parts of complex projects. Each chart begins with one node that branches out into networks of activities, emphasizing relationships among tasks. PERT has both advantages and disadvantages.

some tasks can have some slack time without affecting the project completion time. they are used to determine and avoid surprises and minimize wastage.

cons it can be expensive to develop,update and maintain. it can be complicated and confusing with multitudes tasks.

6 . Write brief notes on the following (i) Re-engineering and (ii) Re-structuring

Introduction

Business process re-engineering is the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering is the basis for many recent developments in management. The cross-functional team, for example, has become popular because of the desire to re-engineer separate functional tasks into complete cross-functional processes.[citation needed] Also, many recent management information systems developments aim to integrate a wide number of business functions. Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, knowledge management systems, groupware and collaborative systems, Human Resource Management Systems and customer relationship management.

Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management.

Overview

Business process re-engineering (BPR) began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. A key stimulus for re-engineering has been the continuing development and deployment of sophisticated information systems and networks. Leading organizations are becoming bolder in using this technology to support innovative business processes, rather than refining current ways of doing work.[1] Reengineering guidance and relationship of Mission and Work Processes to Information Technology.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is basically rethinking and radically redesigning an organization's existing resources. BPR, however, is more than just business improvising; it is an approach for redesigning the way work is done to better support the organization's mission and reduce costs. Reengineering starts with a high-level assessment of the organization's mission, strategic goals, and customer needs. Basic questions are asked, such as "Does our mission need to be redefined? Are our strategic goals aligned with our mission? Who are our customers?" An organization may find that it is operating on questionable assumptions, particularly in terms of the wants and needs of its customers. Only after the organization rethinks what it should be doing, does it go on to decide how best to do it.[1]

Within the framework of this basic assessment of mission and goals, re-engineering focuses on the organization's business processes—the steps and procedures that govern how resources are used to create products and services that meet the needs of particular customers or markets. As a structured ordering of work steps across time and place, a business process can be decomposed into specific activities, measured, modeled, and improved. It can also be completely redesigned or eliminated altogether. Re-engineering identifies, analyzes, and re-designs an organization's core business

processes with the aim of achieving dramatic improvements in critical performance measures, such as cost, quality, service, and speed.[1]

Re-engineering recognizes that an organization's business processes are usually fragmented into subprocesses and tasks that are carried out by several specialized functional areas within the organization. Often, no one is responsible for the overall performance of the entire process. Re-engineering maintains that optimizing the performance of subprocesses can result in some benefits, but cannot yield dramatic improvements if the process itself is fundamentally inefficient and outmoded. For that reason, re-engineering focuses on re-designing the process as a whole in order to achieve the greatest possible benefits to the organization and their customers. This drive for realizing dramatic improvements by fundamentally re-thinking how the organization's work should be done distinguishes re-engineering from process improvement efforts that focus on functional or incremental improvement.[1]

(i) Re-engineering

Definition

Different definitions can be found. This section contains the definition provided in notable publications in the field:"... the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical modern measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed."[5]"encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions."[6]

Additionally, Davenport (ibid.) points out the major difference between BPR and other approaches to organization development (OD), especially the continuous improvement or TQM movement, when he states: "Today firms must seek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of improvement – 10x rather than 10%." Finally, Johansson[7] provide a description of BPR relative to other process-oriented views, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-in-time (JIT), and state:"Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM ”toolboxes” as enablers, while broadening the process vision."

In order to achieve the major improvements BPR is seeking for, the change of structural organizational variables, and other ways of managing and performing work is often considered as being insufficient. For being able to reap the achievable benefits fully, the use of information technology (IT) is conceived as a major contributing factor. While IT traditionally has been used for supporting the existing business functions, i.e. it was used for increasing organizational efficiency, it now plays a role as enabler of new organizational forms, and patterns of collaboration within and between organizations[citation needed].

BPR derives its existence from different disciplines, and four major areas can be identified as being subjected to change in BPR - organization, technology, strategy, and people - where a process view is used as common framework for considering these dimensions. The approach can be graphically depicted by a modification of "Leavitt’s diamond".[8]

Business strategy is the primary driver of BPR initiatives and the other dimensions are governed by strategy's encompassing role. The organization dimension reflects the structural elements of the company, such as hierarchical levels, the composition of organizational units, and the distribution of work between them[citation needed]. Technology is concerned with the use of computer systems and other forms of communication technology in the business. In BPR, information technology is generally considered as playing a role as enabler of new forms of organizing and collaborating, rather than supporting existing business functions. The people / human resources dimension deals with aspects such as education, training, motivation and reward systems. The concept of business processes - interrelated activities aiming at creating a value added output to a customer - is the basic underlying idea of BPR. These processes are characterized by a number of attributes: Process ownership, customer focus, value adding, and cross-functionality.

(ii) Re-structuring

Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. Other reasons for restructuring include a change of ownership or ownership structure, demerger, or a response to a crisis or major change in the business such as bankruptcy, repositioning, or buyout. Restructuring may also be described as corporate restructuring, debt restructuring and financial restructuring.

Executives involved in restructuring often hire financial and legal advisors to assist in the transaction details and negotiation. It may also be done by a new CEO hired specifically to make the difficult and controversial decisions required to save or reposition the company. It generally involves financing debt, selling portions of the company to investors, and reorganizing or reducing operations.

The basic nature of restructuring is a zero sum game. Strategic restructuring reduces financial losses, simultaneously reducing tensions between debt and equity holders to facilitate a prompt resolution of a distressed situation.

Corporate debt restructuring is the reorganization of companies’ outstanding liabilities. It generally a mechanism used by companies which are facing difficulties in repaying their debts. In the process of restructuring, the credit obligations are spread out over longer duration with smaller payments. This allows company’s ability to meet debt obligations. Also, as part of process, some creditors may agree to

exchange debt for some portion of equity. It is based on the principle that restructuring facilities available to companies in a timely and transparent matter goes a long way in ensuring their viability which is sometimes threatened by internal and external factors. This process tries to resolve the difficulties faced by the corporate sector and enables them to become viable again.

Steps:ensure the company has enough liquidity to operate during implementation of a complete restructuringproduce accurate working capital forecastsprovide open and clear lines of communication with creditors who mostly control the company's ability to raise financingupdate detailed business plan and considerations[1]

Valuations in restructuring

In corporate restructuring, valuations are used as negotiating tools and more than third-party reviews designed for litigation avoidance. This distinction between negotiation and process is a difference between financial restructuring and corporate finance.[1]

Restructuring in Europe

The “London Approach”

Historically, European banks handled non-investment grade lending and capital structures that were fairly straightforward. Nicknamed the “London Approach” in the UK, restructurings focused on avoiding debt write-offs rather than providing distressed companies with an appropriately sized balance sheet. This approach became impractical in the 1990s with private equity increasing demand for highly leveraged capital structures that created the market in high-yield and mezzanine debt. Increased volume of distressed debt drew in hedge funds and credit derivatives deepened the market—trends outside the control of both the regulator and the leading commercial banks...

CharacteristicsCash management and cash generation during crisisImpaired Loan Advisory Services (ILAS)Retention of corporate management sometimes "stay bonus" payments or equity grantsSale of underutilized assets, such as patents or brandsOutsourcing of operations such as payroll and technical support to a more efficient third partyMoving of operations such as manufacturing to lower-cost locationsReorganization of functions such as sales, marketing, and distributionRenegotiation of labor contracts to reduce overheadRefinancing of corporate debt to reduce interest paymentsA major public relations campaign to reposition the company with consumersForfeiture of all or part of the ownership share by pre restructuring stock holders (if the remainder represents only a fraction of the original firm, it is termed a stub).

Improving the efficiency and productivity through new investments, R&D and business engineering.[edit]Results

A company that has been restructured effectively will theoretically be leaner, more efficient, better organized, and better focused on its core business with a revised strategic and financial plan. If the restructured company was a leverage acquisition, the parent company will likely resell it at a profit if the restructuring has proven successful.