PROJ6002 Project Planning and Budgeting Report 4 Sample

PROJ6002 Project Planning and Budgeting. Ass 4

Management – Report

Assessment Task

Devise project schedule and cost management plans that articulate the schedule and cost approaches for a project using the assigned project case study provided by your Learning Facilitator. Please refer to the Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context

The backbone of a project manager’s work is the Project Management Plan. This plan is the document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled. It integrates and consolidates all of the subsidiary plans and baselines from the planning processes. In this assessment, you will create subsidiary cost and schedule components of a Project Management Plan for your assigned Case Study.

Project Schedule Management includes all the processes of planning, estimating, sequencing, managing, and controlling the schedule for a timely completion of the project. Project Cost Management includes the processes of planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget.

Instructions

1. Study the assigned Case Study provided on Blackboard by your Learning Facilitator.

2. Analyse the project from your own perspective as an up-and-coming project manager

3. Devise your own, individual set of subsidiary Project Management plans for Schedule and

Cost based on the assigned Case Study.

a. Although all students will receive the same case study, you are expected to complete this  task individually.

b. These project schedule and cost management plans and supporting documentation must contain, but are not limited to, the following components:

• Description of Estimation Methods, and Tools and Techniques for managing Schedule/Budget

• Overview of Schedule and Budget Methodology

• Network Diagram using the Critical Path Method

• Project Schedule

• Cost Baseline

• Project Budget, including detailed estimates and cost control methods.

4. Write 1500 words and describe the processes, tools and techniques applied in your schedule and cost management plans, as well as a justification of your budget and schedule.

5. You can use the templates in this subject’s Learning Resources or create your own templates to devise the subsidiary cost and schedule project management plans.

6. Submit a schedule and a network diagram using the critical path method (CPM).

Scheduling software such as ProjectLibre or Microsoft Project can be used to design your schedule. Alternatively, you can hand-draw and scan your network diagram.

Solution

Introduction

Project management involves various aspects. The two most important aspects are cost and schedule management. The elements like the ability to plan, monitor as well as control the schedule of the project and its cost can have a huge impact when it comes to the success acquired by the project. As per the MBA Assignment Expert, If the schedule is well-planned and executed efficiently along with a proper cost management plan then it makes sure that the entire project is completed on time and that too under an apt budget. In order to garner these various elements it is extremely important that various processes, tools, and techniques are applied appropriately. This assignment will provide a description of the processes, tools, and techniques that have been applied in the presented schedule and cost management plans. The justification for the prepared schedule and budget will also be provided. The aim of the assignment is to provide a clear understanding regarding the management of the project’s schedule and costs as well as the reasoning used for the approaches.

Schedule Management Plan

The Schedule Management Plan is defined as the set of approaches and methods that are applied to formulate, manage as well as control the project schedule in place (Albikatiu, 2022). This plan will define the manner in which the project schedule will be monitored. The processes, tools, and techniques that have been applied in the presented Schedule Management Plan are-

Define Activities- In accordance with this process, the entire project gets broken down into smaller elements known as activities (Crawford, 2021). These activities are always manageable. The objective is achieved through the usage of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). This method helps in identifying the involved deliverables as well as the work that is needed in order to complete each activity that has been broken down from the whole process. 
 

Figure 1: Project Planning Management 
(Source: Developed on Microsoft Project)

Sequence Activities- In this process the order in which the activities involved in the entire process will be done is determined (Müller et al. 2019). Sequencing is an extremely important tool that can be used to identify any kind of dependency or constraint associated with the project that may impact its whole schedule. 

Estimate Activity Durations- In this process, the amount of time that will be taken to complete each step of the process is calculated. This process depends on a lot of factors like the scope of the work, the resources required for the whole project, and the historical data associated with the project. 

Develop Schedule- In this process, the project manager formulates a project schedule. This schedule outlines the starting date as well as the ending date of each and every activity. The scheduling can be done with the help of software like Microsoft Project or Primavera.

Control Schedule- In this process, the entire schedule is monitored and it is ensured that every activity starts on time and also ends on time. The schedule is compared constantly to the actual progress made during the entire process, and adjustments need to be made wherever necessary for the smooth functioning of the project. 

Tools and Techniques

Gantt Chart- The Gantt Chart gives a visual representation of the entire project schedule. It provides the start as well as end dates of each and every activity. 
Critical Path Analysis- The technique basically points out the sequence of activities that need to be completed one after the other and on time, so that the project stays on schedule and can be completed accordingly.

Resource Levelling- In this technique the project schedule is adjusted in such a manner that the resources allocated to the project are utilized in an efficient manner. 

Cost Management Plan

The Cost Management Plan involves a lot of elements. These elements are the approaches and methods that are adopted by the project manager through which they can estimate, allocate as well as control the costs associated with the project (Hansen et al. 2021). The plan outlines many things like the manner in which the project budget is formulated as well as monitored. There are various processes, tools, and techniques that have been applied in the presented Cost

Management Plan -

Estimation of Costs- In this process, the cost associated with each activity is estimated (Venkataraman & Pinto, 2023). This estimation is done by keeping a lot of factors in mind like labor needed, materials, and equipment being used in the entire project. 
 

Figure 2: Critical Path Method of the planning 
(Source: Developed on Draw.io)

Determination of Budget- In this process, the entire budget that will be allocated to the project will be determined (Cerezo-Narváez et al. 2020). This objective is achieved by the summation of the estimated costs associated with each and every activity. 

Controlling of Costs- In this process the project cost is monitored and makes sure that the entire project is conducted within the project budget. This process can be facilitated with the comparison of actual costs against the planned budget. This comparison also helps the project manager in making the required adjustments. 

Tools and Techniques

Cost Estimating Software- The Cost Estimating Software aids in providing an accurate estimate of the costs that will be related to each and every activity of the project.

Earned Value Management (EVM)- Earned Value Management is defined as the technique in which project performance is tracked in comparison to the budget assigned to the project. Through this technique, the project manager can successfully identify any kind of variances taking place in the project processes and take action in order to correct these variances.

Resource Optimization- Through the usage of this technique alignment is brought between the project schedule and the resources that have been provided to the project. This helps in minimizing the overall cost associated with the project and at the same time ensures that the project is being conducted effectively. 
Justification provided to the Budget and Schedule

The budget and schedule related to the project were developed keeping all the essential factors under consideration. The proposed budget for the J.P-Red Bank project seems to be reasonable. The budget reflects the cost associated with the required resources and activities in a successful manner. The project takes place in five phases. Each and every phase has a requirement for specific resources as well as activities that have been reflected and accounted for in the proposed budget.

JP Consultancy has a great talent pool and there are several capable staff members that can be assigned to the project. This could lead to a reduction in the overall cost. The available Staffing Mix for the project implies that there is an opportunity with which JP can make use of the internal resources and available expertise to complete the project in hand in a successful manner. This significantly reduces the requirement for external resources which can lead to be expensive.

The proposed budget takes into consideration factors like potential risks and uncertainties. The budget also has a contingency cost. This contingency cost can be utilized in order to provide for any unexpected expenses that may arise during the course of the project. The budget has been prepared with the aim of achieving a minimum of 30% profit (before tax) for J.P. This aim seems to be reasonable and is a standard industry profit margin.

Justification for Schedule

The schedule proposed for the project seems to be both reasonable as well as achievable. The schedule has been created keeping in mind the scope and activities involved with the project. The project is to be completed in five phases. Each and every phase has particular elements like deliverables, activities, and timelines. The critical path associated with the project is determined, and the application of a 3-point estimate is done to formulate a project schedule.

The schedule takes into consideration any risks or uncertain circumstances. The buffer time has been incorporated to take into consideration any kind of delays. The schedule has been created with the factor of efficiency related to the team as it would accelerate the critical activities by at least 15%. It has been noted that if the team does not have proper collaboration or monitoring, the duration in Phase 3 might see a creep by 30%. 

Conclusion

The effective management of cost and schedule related to the project is important in order for a project to be successful. The effective cost and schedule management is done through breaking down the entire project into small constituents, putting those constituents in a proper sequence, doing an estimate of the time needed for each constituent to be complete, formulating a proper schedule for the project, and conducting monitoring of the project to make sure that the project is done in such a way that everything is on schedule. The various tools and techniques that are used in this are Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and cost estimating software. The Cost-Management Plan also involves many steps like an estimation of the cost related to each constituent in the entire project. The steps are estimation, allocation, and monitoring of expenses associated with the project. The tools and techniques used in this case are earned value management, resource optimization, and cost estimating software. The justification of the proposed schedule and budget is that is that it takes into consideration the risks, uncertainties and has achievable objectives.

References

Albikatiu, S. (2022). Project schedule management using modern technologies (Master's thesis, Altınbaş Üniversitesi/Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü).

Cerezo-Narváez, A., Pastor-Fernández, A., Otero-Mateo, M., & Ballesteros-Pérez, P. (2020). Integration of cost and work breakdown structures in the management of construction projects. Applied sciences, 10(4), 1386.

Crawford, J. K. (2021). Project management maturity model. CRC Press.

Hansen, D. R., Mowen, M. M., & Heitger, D. L. (2021). Cost management. Cengage Learning.

Müller, R., Drouin, N., & Sankaran, S. (2019). Modeling organizational project management. Project Management Journal, 50(4), 499-513.

Venkataraman, R. R., & Pinto, J. K. (2023). Cost and value management in projects. John Wiley & Sons.