Project Management: Writing a Book (Assignment 1)

This article discusses project management techniques for writing a book, including network diagrams, critical path identification, project failure discussion, project selection methods, and virtual meetings. It also provides a sample network diagram and Gantt chart. The article is relevant for students studying project management or anyone interested in writing a book. No specific course code, course name, or college/university is mentioned.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management: Writing a Book (Assignment 1)
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1Project Management:
Assessment 1
1. Network Diagram
Network diagram is considered as one of the significant tool that assists in
scheduling, controlling as well as monitoring projects. It is identified that for the project
“Writing a book”, network diagram is created in order to reflect the logical relationship
between number of activities. It is identified that the utilization of network diagram within
the project helps in justifying the time for the project and assists in planning, controlling as
well as organizing the project effectively. In addition to this, the use of network diagram for
writing a book assists in providing proper opportunities to compress the schedule of the
project. The network diagram figure for the project is provided below:

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14 5 19 19 7 26 26 8 34
39 25 44 44 25 51 51 25 59
0 4 4 4 5 9 9 5 14 14 45 59 59 5 64
0 0 4 4 0 9 9 0 14 14 0 59 59 0 64
13 6 19 19 8 27
45 32 51 51 32 59
4 3 7 7 6 13
13 4 17
36 32 39 39 32 45
55 42 59
118
14
16
15
17
3 7
10
2 4 6 12
Figure 1: Network diagram
(Source: Created by Author)

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2. Critical Path Identification
Network paths of the project and duration of each of the network paths are shown below,
2>3>7>10>14>17 (4+3+6+6+8+5=32)
2>3>7>16>17 (4+3+6+4+5=22)
2>4>6>8>11>15>17 (4+5+5+5+7+8+5=39)
2>4>6>12>17 (4+5+5+45+5=64)
Hence, the longest path of the project would be considered as the critical path of the project
which is 2>4>6>12>17. Now calculating the slack for each of the task,
Task ID Late Finish Early Finish Slack
2 4 4 0
3 39 7 32
4 9 9 0
6 14 14 0
7 45 13 32
8 44 19 25
10 51 19 32
11 51 26 25
12 59 59 0
14 59 27 32
15 59 34 25
16 59 17 42
17 64 64 0
Hence, from slack calculation it is also evident that the critical path of the project is
2>4>6>12>17.

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ID Task
Mode
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
2 1.1 Development of
business case
4 days Wed 7/4/18 Mon 7/9/18
4 1.3 Estabilishing charter 5 days Tue 7/10/18 Mon 7/16/18
6 2.1 Deciding about the
topic
5 days Tue 7/17/18 Mon 7/23/18
12 3.3 Completing writing 45 days Tue 7/24/18 Mon 9/24/18
17 4.4 Final Documentation 5 days Tue 9/25/18 Mon 10/1/18
M S T T S F W M S
Jul 2, '18 Jul 30, '18 Aug 27, '18 Sep 24, '18
Figure 2: Critical Path on Gantt chart
The critical path is the representation of the information aligning the deployment of
the main tasks for easing the calculation of the network activity development. The critical
path would be developed for easing the simplification of the project for aligning with the
utilization of the final document development. The alignment would be helpful for supporting
the formation of the factors intriguing the utilization of the improved communication and
development. The critical path comprise of all the activities that are required for completing
the project and the summation of the duration of these activities would result in calculating
the final project duration.
The critical path comprises of all critical activities of the project and any delay to any
of the activity would result in delaying the complete project execution and increasing the
project duration.
3. Project Failure Discussion
It is identified by Standish Group study (CHAOS) in 1995 that IT projects generally
have terrible record because of which 16.2% of the IT projects becomes successful whereas
31% of the projects get cancelled before their completion. There are number of reasons that
can be considered as the main reason for the project failure. It is identified that many of the
complex as well as long term projects generally got failed and produces disappointing

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outcomes on the completion of the project. Some of the most common reason of project
failure includes exceeding budget as well as deadlines of the project. The organizations that
make commitments for successfully completing the projects are unable to deliver project
within expected outcome and thus they are not able to determine the vale that they generally
require from their investment. The main reasons of project failures are listed below:
Lack of resources: Lack of resource is considered as one of the main reason of
project failure. Due to the unavailability of project resources, the project manager faces lot of
challenges as well as difficulties in finishing the entire project within the expected time and
budget. The project managers do not receive the resources that are generally required for the
project. To resolve this issue, it is necessary to allocate and arrange the resources that are
needed. For example: The construction projects are largely responsible for being failed due to
the lack of the resources. As the construction of the infrastructure would be based on the
usefulness of the materials required.
Scope creep: As per the research that is conducted by the state of project
management Annual survey 2016, 34% of the projects does not have baseline. It was revealed
by the survey that 55% of the project managers generally does not clear objectives about the
project and due to scope creep, more than 76% of IT managers think that the projects are
generally doomed after their initiation. To reduce the chances of project failure, it is very
much necessary to have appropriate scope for the project which must not get changed
frequently. For example: The website development projects often fail when the client changes
the scope of design in midway of the project resulting in chaos and extra consumption of
resources.
Poor handling of project: Mishandling the projects is considered as another main
reason that takes the entire project one step forward towards failure. There are number of

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reasons that create poor handling of the project. One main reason behind improper handling
of the project is inexperienced project managers who are involved within the project and due
to poor experience they lack innovative skills which further hinder the progress of the project.
For example: the handling of the event project is a major factor that would result in project
success. The execution of the projects would be based on the1 simplification of the activities.
Lack of interest: A research that is mainly conducted by the Ottawa University
reflects that the projects mainly fail due to lack of proper interest from the top level of the
organization. Lack of proper interest as well as involvement and inappropriate feedback from
the stakeholders of the project generally drags the entire project. Keeping the project
stakeholders within dark by not evaluating the objectives and scope is considered as the main
reason that they do not take proper interest within the project. By keeping the stakeholders
informed about all the steps and process helps in bringing improvements within the project
and assists in achieving the involvement of the project managers. For example: It is very
much necessary to conduct frequent meetings with the various stakeholders of the project for
informing them about the progress of the project. The absence of the stakeholder’s interest
might result in lower quality of the end product.
Setting unrealistic: One of the main reason behind the failure of the project is to set a
deadline that is very much tough to meet. It was shown by the study of KPMG that most of
the projects have deadlines less than a year and it is reflected that the projects will less
deadline generally fail. This is because if the deadline of the project is tight then the team
members need to rush towards completion of the project phases and as a result they face lot
of problems and difficulties in achieving the objectives as well as scope of the project quite
effectively. For example: The application design must be coherent for ensuring that the
project of application development would be executed successfully.

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Limitation of
the Project
It is found that lack of commitment helps in missing deadlines as well as
diverging resources that are generally considered as the early warning signs
for which the project managers needs to be vigilant about it for securing the
entire project from disaster.
The problem of information requirements is also a major limitation for the
project.
Authenticate data is also a limit for the project execution
Challenges If the project managers are unable to pay attention then they need to face
failure.
Data collected is authentic or not is also a challenge for the project
Collection of the answers by convincing people for answering them is also
a major challenge for the project
Pros Protective for saving the project from failure
Keeping the project in limited time and scope
Delaying the allowance of the information development
Cons Due to lack of attention to the warning signs, the project managers fail to
finish the project properly within the expected budget and time.
Risk factors would be identified in later stages of the project
Resource exhausted would be higher than expected
4. Project Selection Methods
It is identified that project successes or failure are generally dependent on the types
of projects that are generally selected. The project selection methods are generally
categorized into two categories that mainly include:
Benefit Measurement methods: It is considered as of the project selection method
that is mainly dependent on the PV of the cash inflow and outflow that is estimated. It is
found that the benefits that are associated with the cost are generally calculated and then
compared to other types of project for making appropriate decisions. The techniques which
are mainly used for measuring the benefit are listed below:

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1. Benefit cost ratio: It is considered as the ratio that is present between the current
value of inflow or the cost that is generally invested on a project. The projects which
have higher cost ratio of benefit are mainly selected over number of years.
2. Economic model: It is considered as one of the performance metrics that helps in
calculating the worth of the organization that further assists in defining the return on
the entire capital. It is also considered as one of the ads after all the expenditure as
well as taxes got deducted.
3. Scoring model: The scoring model is considered as one of the objective technique
which is generally selected by the committee who engage in project selection and
generally weighs them as per their significance as well as on their priorities. After the
completion of the scoring, the project which have highest score is mainly selected.
4. Payback period: It is considered as the ratio of the cash to the average as per period.
It is considered as the time that is generally needed for recovering the cost that is
generally financed within the project. In addition to this, it is found that the benefits
that are accrued after payback period are generally not considered and it mainly
depends on the fluidity when the entire effectiveness is neglected.
5. Net present value: It is considered as the modification that exists between the present
value of cash inflow as well as outflow. It is very much necessary for NPV must
always be kept positive. It is identified that NPV with higher value must be picked
while considering the NPV. In addition to this, the NPV does not assists in providing
any representation of loss and profit which organization can generate by embarking
on the entire project.
6. Discounted cash value: It is very much necessary to consider the concept of
discounted cash flow while calculating the cost of investment as well as ROI as it is
considered that the entire value of money does not remain the same.

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7. Internal rate of return: It is considered as the rate of interest at which the net present
value is zero that is generally attained when the present value of outflow is equivalent
to the inflow value. When IIR is generally utilized for the project, the organizations
must not utilize exclusively to judge the entire worth or value of the project.
8. Opportunity cost: It is generally needed to be provided during the selection of
another project. At the time of project selection, it is identified that the project has
very much less opportunity cost.
Constrained optimization methods: This method is considered as one of the
mathematical model for the selection of the project that is mainly utilized for larger
projects that generally needs complex as well as comprehensive calculations of
mathematics. The techniques which are mainly used in constrained optimization are as
follows:
1. Non-financial considerations: There are number of no-financial gains which must
be considered by an organization and this factor must be entirely related with the
overall goals of the organizations. The strategy that is used by the organizations are
considered as one of the major factors in the selection methods of the project that will
generally affect the organizational choice of the organizations goals. Other factors that
are associated with the organization mainly include political issues, changes within
the management, speculative purposes as well as shareholders requests.
5. Virtual Meetings
In modern project management, it is identified that it would be quite difficult
to outsource as well as manage different projects from overseas. This can be achieved with
the help of virtual meetings by adopting steps that are as follows:

10Project Management:
Development of the right team: Virtual team must be started with people who have
good communication skills, intelligence as well as skills for working independently by
developing cross cultural awareness and sensitivity. It is identified that with the help of good
virtual teams, the project team can have the ability of defining the roles with the project team
quite effectively. The operational members of the team must lead the work of the team by
focussing on the activities that are required to be done daily.
Creating right leadership: Proper team leadership generally assists in attracting all
the team leaders with proper skills. This skill is valued in a very much traditional leadership
way. Good virtual team leaders must recognize the significance of trust as one of the key
characteristics for the success of the entire team. Trust as well as relationship are considered
as the foundations for providing permissions to the team members for speaking frankly. It is
the responsibility of the good virtual teams.
Right technology: Good virtual teams must understand the effectiveness of the
technology. Conference calls, video conferencing as well as other important tool helps in
giving a team proper platform for opening communication to enhance the productivity of the
team. It is very much important to remember that simple communication tools are quite
effective for the virtual meetings.
Right touch points: It is very much important for the team members to create proper
milestones and other types of achievements for the virtual team to share the success of the
organizations. This is generally important for making the project successfully by enhancing
trust.
Virtual meetings are executed by the help of telecommunication devices and software
such as video call phone, webcam, screen, and Internet.

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Pros Cons
Time Saving as it is faster for development of the
information collection and allowing the
implication of the effective operations and
development.
Dependent on network server resulting
in major factor that can delay the
execution of the operations
Supportive at any platform as the information
transfer would be helpful for improving the
operations
Avoid Extra Management for the
alignment of the factors depicting the
formation of the operations
Cost Effective is helpful for dealing with the
budget analysis and development of the improved
final execution.
Availability Issues is another major
factor resulting in alignment of the major
factor for the deployment of the issues
Easy in use as the operations would be deployed
for aligning the simplification of the factors.
Quality Problems is another major factor
resulting in forming the major problems
for the execution of the project

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