Impact of Duration Changes on Project

This assignment analyzes the consequences of altering project duration, specifically focusing on the impact on resources, cost, and the triple constraint theory. It examines two scenarios: an increase in the overall project duration and a change in the lag between specific tasks. The analysis highlights how adjustments to duration inevitably influence both resource allocation and project cost according to the principles of the triple constraint theory.

COIT12208
Assessment Item 2 Term 2 2017
Name of the Student
Student ID
Tutor
17Name of the university

Part A: Developing the Schedule
Solution 1
a) Holidays entered
b) WBS codes modified
c) WBS columns modified
d) Milestones added at end
e) Customized WBS Code entered
f) Resources with 100% Max. Units allotted
g) Critical path displayed as red color
Solution 2
a) Revised duration of ‘1.1’ = 10 days. Yes this change has impacted the overall duration by 20 days. This
change has happened because the ‘1.1’ is a critical path activity and any change in duration always
impacts the overall duration too (Stelth, 2009).
b) Additional cost in adding these extra resources = $, because the overall man-hours remained the same
as previous. 3 ( AN ) x 10 days=1 ( AN ) x 30 days
Solution 3
There are various options to level the resources, either by increasing the resource or by extending the
activities. Bust MSP also has a unique features which allows the resource to level itself up to the free slack
(Singh, 2017) available with the task. I did the same by unchecking the “split tasks” & “adjust individual
assignments on a task” and checked “Level only within available slack” in Resource Leveling tab.
Solution 4
To: Mr. Chris Parsons
From: Project Manger
Subject: Brief summary of the project
Dear Mr. Parson,

This is for your kind notification regarding the project and its brief summary in bullet points are as follows:
a) Start Date = 7 / August / 2017
End Date = 17 / July / 2018
b) Overall Duration = 239 days
c) Because, as per the available resources the activities need minimum 239 days to complete the project
by maintaining the given relationships between them. The longest path (Lepage, 2013) or the chain
formed by this relationship and duration of task is 239 days. This proves that if we increase the
resources, it may help in decreasing the overall duration up to certain extent.
d) Estimated direct labor costs:
Resource Name Cost
Operations $22,800.00
Analysts $80,000.00
Database $58,800.00
Software Engineers $130,200.00
Telecommunications $21,600.00
Installation Team $33,320.00
Total direct labor costs: $346,720.00
___________________
(Signature)
Project Manager
Enclosed: PartAQ3_resources.mpp
Solution 5
Some salient features of the project which we need to consider for deciding the type of the organization
are:
Project Manager cannot take all decisions related to purchase of hardware
Project Manager needs to just provide information about the option of buying, can’t buy
Overall control of the project is not there with Project Manager, like budget & cost

The team members report to Project Manager
Project Manager reports to Mr. Parson (client) & own administrative boss too, so there is horizontal
reporting.
So, by looking at the features above, it is confirmed that it is not projectized (Pradip, 2017) and even
functional (Rowley, 2013). So the left option is Matrix Organization (Usmani, 2012).
Solution 6
Project Risks
Risk
No. Description Impact Likelihood of
occurrence
Degree of
impact
1 As soon as we can complete the project,
the more is profitable for Mr. Parson & he
may also give our company bonus over and
above the cost-plus contract
Positive Impact
(Opportunity) (Harrin,
2013)
Medium High
2 There is also risk of not getting the required
number and skill of people required for the
job
Negative impact Low High

Part B: Modifying the schedule
Solution 1
File copied and name changed
All the changes are highlighted in yellow color in MS Project file ‘PartB.mpp’.
Solution 2
Impact of each below change on project duration:
Change Impact on
Project duration
By how
much
Explanation
Change in ‘5.6.1’ & ‘5.6.2’
duration from 3 person-weeks to
6 person-weeks
Change in ‘5.6.3’ duration from 2
person-weeks to 4 person-weeks
No impact 0
The total slack present in the activities
are +5 after the increase in duration. The
activities with +ve slack don’t impact the
overall duration (Lepage, 2013).
Addition of 1 more resource ‘DB’
to ‘5.6.1’, ‘5.6.2’ & ‘5.6.3’ No impact 0
As soon as the additional DB is added
MS Project automatically adjusted its
duration again to its old duration, so no
change occurred. It has happened
because MS Project directly distributes
the work load equally
Change in ‘3.4’ duration from 1
person-week to 2 person-weeks No impact 0
The total slack present in the activities
are +90 after the increase in duration.
The activities with +ve slack don’t impact
the overall duration (Lepage, 2013).
Change in duration of lag from 6
person-weeks to 4 person-weeks
between task ‘6.2’ & ‘6.3’
Shorter 10
days
Since both the tasks are in critical path,
so the lag impacts the duration. It could
only happen because ‘6.2’ & ‘6.3’ are in
the critical path.

Solution 3
Impact of each below change on project direct labor cost:
Change Impact on Direct
Labor Costs
By how
much
Explanation
Change in ‘5.6.1’ & ‘5.6.2’
duration from 3 person-weeks
to 6 person-weeks
Change in ‘5.6.3’ duration
from 2 person-weeks to 4
person-weeks
More
$12,600
+
$12,600
+ $8,400
=
$33,600
As per the triple constraints theory of
project management, any change in
duration will have impact on resource
and cost (Program Success, 2011). So
addition in duration resulted in increase
in resources and so the cost.
Addition of 1 more resource
‘DB’ to ‘5.6.1’, ‘5.6.2’ & ‘5.6.3’ No impact 0
As soon as the additional DB allocated,
MSP adjusted the duration and as we
know
1 ( DB ) x 30 days=2( DB ) x 15 day
Change in ‘3.4’ duration from
1 person-week to 2 person-
weeks
More $3,600
As per the triple constraints theory of
project management, any change in
duration will have impact on resource
and cost. So addition in duration resulted
in increase in resources and so the cost.
Change in duration of lag from
6 person-weeks to 4 person-
weeks between task ‘6.2’ &
‘6.3’
No impact 0
Lag is just a method of providing +ve
delay in relationship between the
activities. It doesn’t consume any
resources, so there is no increase in cost
of the project.

References:
Harrin, E. (2013). What is Positive Risk on Projects? Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
www.projectmanager.com: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/whats-positive-risk-on-projects
Lepage, M. (2013). Critical Path vs Longest Path. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
www.planacademy.com: https://www.planacademy.com/critical-path-vs-longest-path/
Pradip. (2017). Understanding Organization Types: PMP Study. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
www.simplilearn.com: https://www.simplilearn.com/types-of-organization-article
Program Success. (2011, May 2). Scope, Time and Cost – Managing the Triple Constraint. Retrieved
August 20, 2017, from programsuccess.wordpress.com:
https://programsuccess.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/scope-time-and-cost-managing-the-triple-
constraint/
Rowley, J. (2013). 5th Edition PMBOK® Guide—Chapter 2: Organizational Structures. Retrieved
September 24, 2017, from https://4squareviews.com: https://4squareviews.com/2013/01/22/5th-
edition-pmbok-guide-chapter-2-organizational-structures/
Sahu, K., & Sahu, M. (2014). Cost & Time and Also Minimum Project Duration Using Alternative Method.
International Review of Applied Engineering Research, 4(5), 403-412.
Singh, H. (2017). Total Float vs. Free Float in Critical Path Method (CPM). Retrieved September 24, 2017,
from www.deepfriedbrainproject.com: https://www.deepfriedbrainproject.com/2009/08/total-float-vs-
free-float-cpm-network-diagram.html
Stelth, P. (2009). Projects’ Analysis through CPM (Critical Path Method). School of Doctoral Studies
(European Union) Journal, 10-51.
Usmani, F. (2012). Types of Organization Structure. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
https://pmstudycircle.com: https://pmstudycircle.com/2012/08/type-of-organization-structure/