Project Management

Project Management

Dr. Ron LembkeOperations Management

What’s a Project?• Changing something from the way

it is to the desired state• Never done one exactly like this• Many related activities• Focus on the outcome• Regular teamwork focuses on the

work process

Examples of Projects

• Building construction• New product introduction• Software implementation• Training seminar• Research project

Why are projects hard?• Resources:

– People, materials• Planning

– What needs to be done?– How long will it take?– What sequence?– Keeping track of who is supposedly doing

what, and getting them to do it

IT Projects

• Half finish late and over budget• Nearly a third are abandoned before

completion– The Standish Group, in Infoworld

• Get & keep users involved & informed• Watch for scope creep / feature creep

Pinion Pine Power Plant• DOE Clean Coal

– Air-blown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle

– Kellogg/Rust/Westinghouse gasifier

– GE Frame 6FA combustion turbine

– $335.9m, half DOE, half SPP

Coal Gasification• Coal Gasification (new)

– Coal into Low Heat Value (LHV) gas 130 btus / standard foot

– Crushed coal and limestone absorbs sulfur

– Hot gas desulfirized– Particulate removal

• Gas Fed into turbine– Tested fine on nat gas

Technology Development• Ash created in gasification, collected• Hot-gas cleanup (new technology)

– SO2 in collected in calcium sulfate– Hot-gas filter, then to combustion turbine– Fines combustor burns particles bottom of filter

• Main problem was filter-fines removal• Never operated more than 24 hrs.• Tried 24 times to start it. Eventually

mothballed

Project Scheduling

• Establishing objectives• Determining available resources• Sequencing activities• Identifying precedence relationships• Determining activity times & costs• Estimating material & worker

requirements• Determining critical activities

Project Personnel Structure• Pure project “Skunk Works”• Functional Project• Matrix Project

Work Breakdown Structure

• Hierarchy of what needs to be done, in what order (exhibits 7.2, 7.3)

• For me, the hardest part– I’ve never done this before. How do I know what I’ll do

when and how long it’ll take?– I think in phases– The farther ahead in time, the less detailed

– Figure tricky issues, the rest is details– A lot will happen between now and then– It works not badly with no deadline

? ? General Idea

Mudroom

Mudroom Remodel• Big-picture sequence easy:

– Demolition– Framing– Plumbing– Electrical– Drywall, tape & texture– Slate flooring– Cabinets, lights, paint

• Hard: can a sink fit?

D

W

DW

Project Scheduling Techniques

• Gantt chart• Critical Path Method (CPM)• Program Evaluation &

Review Technique (PERT)

Gantt Chart

J F M A M J JTime Period

Activity

Design

Build

Test

J F M A M J JTime Period

Activity

Design

Build

Test

ACTIVITY9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 1

permit applicationpermit in handfoundationroll floor joistunder floor - plumbunder floor - hvacunder floor - insulationframing roughdoors-exteriorroof joist - deliverroof joist - installroof penetrations - plumbroofingHVAC rough

9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 1plumb roughelectric roughshinglinginsulation dryw all installdryw all tape & texturefinish carpentrypaint interiorlinoliumcabinetsHVAC finishelectric finishplumb finish

9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 1carpetcleaningstuccopaint exteriorrain guttersdecksstair padstairsconcrete utiliity mainsasphaltutilities tie-intemp c of o

9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 1

JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBERBUILDING 19 -- BUILDING SCHEDULE

Summary• Project management is hard

– Who is doing what?• Critical activities

– Determine completion date– Have to stay on top of them

• Gantt charts show what should be happening– Can show the critical activities– Hard to use them to figure out what is critical