Case Study Information and Prompt The R&D project that Theta Corporation is executing is now into its tenth month.  The project manager, Jeff Brown, is taking a look at the latest data from the Project Management System – and shaking his head.

Case Study Information and Prompt

The R&D project that Theta Corporation is executing is now into its tenth month.  The project manager, Jeff Brown, is taking a look at the latest data from the Project Management System – and shaking his head.

“And I thought it was going so well at Month 4.”, he mutters to himself.  “That Omnibus legislation really threw us for a loop!”.

This is the data that has Jeff so concerned:

Month	EV	AC	PV	BAC
0	0	0	0	1450
1	135	140	130	1450
2	310	320	300	1450
3	400	420	370	1450
4	460	480	440	1450
5	480	550	600	1450
6	590	660	720	1450
7	700	760	830	1450
8	800	900	920	1450
9	930	1030	1050	1450
10			1190	1450
11			1300	1450
12			1450	1450

           EMV Metrics Table

 

Month	CV	SV	CPI	SPI	ETC	EAC (Most Optimistic)	EAC (Most Likely)	EAC (Most Conservative)
0	0	0
1	-5	5	0.96	1.04	1364	1455	1504	1453
2	-10	10	0.97	1.03	1177	1460	1497	1459
3	-20	30	0.95	1.08	1103	1470	1523	1440
4	-20	20	0.96	1.05	1033	1470	1513	1468
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

                                                                  EMV Calculations Table

 

Jeff knows that there are only three months left in the project and some action needs to be taken to successfully complete the project.  He considers the current situation, evaluates the project plan, and starts formulating a plan for the rest of the project.

 

The remaining tasks in the project look like this:

 

 

Task #	Task	Duration	Budget	Predecessor
46	Finish Development	2 weeks	$89K	–
47	Testing	6 weeks	$161K	46
48	Final Validation	1 month	$119K	47
49	Regulatory Filing	1 month	$15K	48 ff
50	Regulatory Approval	1 month	$1K	49
51	Transfer to Factory	1 month	$15K	47

 

There is one component that was planned as a purchase.  The information for that component is as follows:

 

Purchase:

           Cost:                                   $100K

           Delivery Time:                     2 months

          

Build:

           Cost (if no issue):                $85K

           Cost (if issue occurs):           $170K

           Probability of issue:            20%

           Build Time:                          1.5 months

 

There is a management reserve of $50K for the project.

 

Jeff takes this all this information into consideration and decides on how to pull this project out of the fire.

 

Prompts:

 

Prompt 1:      Calculate the EVM calculations for the gray cells in the attached EVM Calculations Template document (see attached EVM Calculations Template.docx) which is identical to the EVM Calculations Table above.  Discuss the results and what they indicate about the status of the project.  Consider what trends are present and what outcomes are forecast.

 

Prompt 2:      Using the information above, discuss what cost containment and compression techniques could Jeff consider using.  Explain why they would be appropriate, how they might be implemented, and what the benefits and drawbacks of using them might be.

 

Prompt 3:      Re-examine the component that was planned as a purchase.  Perform a Bayesian analysis on the component and evaluate whether the decision should be changed.  Support your conclusion.

 

Prompt 4:      Reflect on the process of managing a troubled project.  Consider the value of risk planning, project monitoring, risk/benefit decisions, and the application of management techniques.  Discuss the role of communications.  Extrapolate to situations in your own experience.