PRJ5003 Project Constraint Management Report 3
This assessment is designed to assess technical skills in communicating project status effectively to different stakeholders. Students are expected to work individually on a small new case project under $1million and to come up with some creative and innovative ideas. Students are expected to provide a unique project scenario. Students are required to prepare supporting documents, power point presentation slides that includes adequate information about the project case and present their report (verbal presentation) regarding the project status.
While the main marked assessment requires power point slides and verbal presentation, students should demonstrate a clear understanding, and high-level project management skills. Students need to submit supporting documents and presentation file prior to the submission date in Assessment 3 Canvas submission space. Details of the supporting documents are as follows:
• Project Scope Statement
• WBS structure (minimum of three levels)
• Work packages
• WBS dictionary (minimum 3 detailed)
• Graphical and outline format of WBS
• Control (cost) accounts
• Scope Validation and control
• Scope change control
• Project network
• Gantt Chart
• Critical path(s)
• Estimated Activity Costs
• PERT analysis
• The probability of finishing the project 10% earlier than the original CPM duration
• Time- phased budget
• Development of an Earned Value Cost/Schedule System
Urban Vertical Farming: Sustainable Food Security and Community Empowerment Initiative
- Implement 500m² IoT-enabled vertical farming system in urban food desert area
- Generate 18 tons of fresh produce annually, reducing local food import by 65% (Akintuyi, 2024)
- Create 12 sustainable agriculture jobs and train 50 community members in urban farming
- Reduce carbon footprint by 72 tons CO2 equivalent through localized food production
This unique program in urban farming improves community food security through the application of advanced vertical farming systems. Here we would show example of how technological advancement, people involvement, and sustainability policies radically change food production at the local level and environmental management.
- Construct 500m² vertical farming facility with 6 modular growing zones and advanced IoT integration (Akintuyi, 2024)
- Develop comprehensive urban agriculture ecosystem within $750,000 budget and 12-month project timeline
- Produce 18 tons of fresh produce annually with 95% water efficiency and zero chemical pesticides
- Engage 50 local community members through training, education, and sustainable agriculture skill development
The project scope outlines our project as an innovative plan for urban agriculture which will not be a conventional farming. Incorporating these three concepts, technology, sustainability, and people, we are building a feasible system of periastic agriculture in urban environment coping with several issues.
Due to its characteristics, the WBS helps to structure the urban vertical farming project. It divides complex activities into work packages, which guarantees the accomplishment of both technical, community and sustainability objectives without ambiguity of responsibility or progression.
- Infrastructure Development: 500m² facility construction with 6 modular growing zones (Akintuyi, 2024)
- Technology Integration: Install IoT systems, solar infrastructure, hydroponic growing technologies
- Community Engagement: Develop training program for 50 local agriculture participants
- Sustainability Implementation: Design zero-waste system with 95% water recycling capabilities
The WBS Dictionary offers the project decomposition related to our project at the most basic level of breakdown. This identifies detailed roles for MBA Assignment Expert of deliverables, accountabilities and performance indicators of each work package right through the phases of any project.
- Resource Allocation: Deploy 8 full-time technical experts, 4 community trainers, 6 support staff
- Performance Metrics: Achieve 90% system efficiency, 18-ton annual produce yield, 65% cost reduction (Oh and Lu, 2023)
- Risk Management: Implement 3-tier contingency plan with 20% budget reserve for uncertainties
- Quality Control: Establish 5-stage monitoring system with real-time IoT performance tracking
This section of the WBS Dictionary provides a further level of detail about operation’s complexity of our project. This map illustrates resource allocations, measure for project performance, risk management, and quality assurance strategies to meet project requirements and satisfy stakeholders.
- Project Duration: 12-month timeline with 6 critical project phases
- Key Milestones: 5 major checkpoints from design to full operational capability
- Critical Path: 18 sequential activities with 3 parallel development streams (Saad et al. 2021)
- Time Allocation: 720 total project hours across infrastructure, technology, and community development
Our schedule management approach offers a tactical plan for implementing the vertical farming project. This way every phase is carefully managed and each metric, though considered separately is kept in check to determine resource allocation, time of achieving the respective project goal and subsequent stages of the project.
- Total Budget: $750,000 with 4 primary cost control accounts ($187,500 each)
- Infrastructure Investment: 40% budget ($300,000) allocated to facility and technology development
- Contingency Reserve: 15% ($112,500) designated for risk mitigation and unexpected expenses
- Cost Efficiency Target: Reduce operational expenses by 25% through innovative technology integration
The following is the cost management strategy that will help is setting the financial framework for the vertical farming project. By using strict and effective budgeting controls procedures, proper budget distribution, and constant analyses, we ensure its cost efficacy and economical feasibility.
Time Management and PERT Analysis
- Expected Project Duration: 12 months with PERT calculation of 11.4 months (Zaręba et al. 2021)
- Completion Probability: 65% chance of finishing project 3 weeks ahead of schedule
- Time Variation Range: -2 to +3 weeks from baseline project timeline
- Critical Path Activities: 18 interdependent tasks with 0.5-week float potential
This strategy applied our PERT analysis and avails a complex time management plan embedded with optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely duration. Finally, by adding probabilistic time estimates, we optimize the predictability of projects and generate valuable scheduling options for the organization.
The use of a time-phased budget creates a long-term financial approach for managing a project and Ford, dividing resources throughout the phases of the project. In this way, investments in infrastructure and technologies are made initially, and further, the budgets are spent wiser and the projects reach their milestones much smoother.
• Cost Performance Index (CPI): 0.90
• Schedule Performance Index (SPI): 0.95
• Estimate at Completion (EAC): $833,333
• Budget at Completion (BAC): $750,000
Value management is laid down with a practical performance measurement within our Earned Value Management. Estimate for planned cost, earned cost and actual cost gives valuable information and detail analysis of project cost and scheduling performance for better management and decision making.
EVM forecasting gives an important piece of information about the future activities of our project. From variance, performance indices and projected completion cost we can make strategised changes in turn to support & sustain healthy project financial state.
The specified performance indices give some idea of the efficiency of carrying out projects. This way, we are able to trend, decide, and check on the project’s cost and schedule functions known as Cost and Schedule Performance Indices.
It shows the project timeline on this Gantt chart, scheduling main tasks for weeks in the 12 months period. Conceptualizing the entire project, it highlights the dependencies, the overlaps, so as to allocate your resources adequately and to know when you are supposed to be done. The achievement of sustainable urban vertical farming goals results from each phase.
- Project Management Success 87% milestones completed. Budget stayed 15% under original allocation.
- Technical Innovation Impact Vertical farm spans 3,500 sq ft. Productivity exceeds traditional agriculture by 40%.
- Community Engagement 125 local residents received training. Job placement reached 75% in urban agriculture.
- Sustainability Metrics Carbon footprint reduced by 60%. Annual local produce generation hit 22,000 pounds.
New urban vertical farming style shows change management possibilities. The work is an applied synthesis of technology, community development, and sustainable agriculture. It offers a model that can easily be adapted to handle issues of food security in cities.
- How can this vertical farming model be replicated in different urban contexts with varying socioeconomic conditions?
- What emerging technologies could further enhance the efficiency and productivity of urban vertical farming systems?
- What financial models can ensure long-term economic viability for community-based urban agricultural initiatives?
- Akintuyi, O.B., 2024. Vertical farming in urban environments: a review of architectural integration and food security. Open Access Research Journal of Biology and Pharmacy, 10(2), pp.114-126. https://oarjbp.com/sites/default/files/OARJBP-2024-0017.pdf
- Oh, S. and Lu, C., 2023. Vertical farming-smart urban agriculture for enhancing resilience and sustainability in food security. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 98(2), pp.133-140. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14620316.2022.2141666
- Saad, M.H.M., Hamdan, N.M. and Sarker, M.R., 2021. State of the art of urban smart vertical farming automation system: Advanced topologies, issues and recommendations. Electronics, 10(12), p.1422. https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/10/12/1422
- Zaręba, A., Krzemińska, A. and Kozik, R., 2021. Urban vertical farming as an example of nature-based solutions supporting a healthy society living in the urban environment. Resources, 10(11), p.109. https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/10/11/109