Fundamentals of Project Management Consultancy Report for AF PLC

This report presents a detailed analysis of project management principles applied to a case study involving Automation Futures (AF) PLC, a technology contracting and consultancy company. The report is divided into two parts: Part A is a project management consultancy report, and Part B is a reflective essay. Part A focuses on managing a train manufacturing automation project using the iron triangle parameters (scope, time, cost, and quality) and developing a risk register with ten risks. It includes preparing a network diagram, Gantt chart, project budget, and performing earned value analysis. The report also compares planned versus actual progress and calculates a projected completion date. Part B reflects on the challenges faced during the project and identifies characteristics of a good manager. The report provides valuable insights into project planning, execution, and control, demonstrating the application of project management techniques in a real-world scenario.

Fundamentals of Project
Management

Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMARY.................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Part A - Project Management Consultancy Report..........................................................................1
Project Definition/Parameters and Risks (Question 1)....................................................................1
Importance of the iron triangle parameters in setting the Overall Project objectives and inter
relations between these parameters.............................................................................................1
Risk register with ten risks..........................................................................................................1
Planning and costs (Question 2)......................................................................................................2
Preparing a network diagram showing the critical path and planned duration of the project
along with computing the float on the non-critical tasks.............................................................2
Preparing a Gantt chart and determining the planned completion date.......................................2
Developing overall Project Budget and calculating projected Net profit for the contract..........2
Managing progress and spending (Question 3)...............................................................................2
Comparison between the planned progress against the actual progress using a Gantt chart.......2
Producing a revised Gantt chart and identifying the new completion date.................................2
Earned Value Analysis and Acceleration (Question 4)...................................................................3
Creating an Earned Value Analysis table....................................................................................3
Creating a projected completion date..........................................................................................3
Recommendations........................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4
Part B - Reflective Essay.................................................................................................................5

EXECUTIVE SUMARY
The project report summarizes about detailed information regards to different types of
aspects regards to effective project management. The complete project is based on a
company which is automation futures (AF) PLC. This report also gives an exhaustive
description of the project's problems and difficulties and factors for total assessment.

INTRODUCTION
Project management is a process of planning and executing a plan which is required to be
controlled and directed effectively (Burke, 2013). This procedure is based on a set of aims which
are directly aligned with the completion of the project. The main aim of this report is to develop
an understanding regarding project management and various challenges which can be faced
while managing a project. For this purpose, a case study scenario is selected which is related to
an extensive project management task. The case study is based upon a fictional organisation
“Automation Futures”. This company is a technology contracting and consultancy company
which specialises in Automation and New products. This company is planning to undertake a
project a Train manufacturing process.
This report is divided into two sections, part A will be a consultancy project and on the other
hand part B will be a reflection report. In part A, project of the selected company will be
managed using iron triangle parameters and developing risk register. In this section, costs of the
project will also be planned along with development of Gantt chart and project budget. Lastly, in
this section Earned value of the project will also be computed. In the second section of this
report, a reflection is developed which will include challenges faced while completion of part A
of this report along with identifying characteristics of a good manager.
Part A - Project Management Consultancy Report
Project Definition/Parameters and Risks (Question 1)
Importance of the iron triangle parameters in setting the Overall Project objectives and inter
relations between these parameters
AF PLC is a large scale company which is planning to develop a construction and
automation plan of TTF, a train manufacturer. As a project manager of AF PLC, it is important
to analyse the various iron triangle parameters while setting the overall project objectives. These
iron triangle parameters are scope, time, cost and quality. Each of these parameter or constraint
plays an important role while managing project and its objectives. All these parameters are
analysed below along with their importance:
1

Figure 1
Cost:
The first parameter of iron triangle is the cost. This parameter is considered as the financial
constraint of a project management which is related with the budget of a project. This parameter
of costs is related with the resources which are needed to be procured for the completion of
project. These resources can be both employees for the project and raw materials. In a project,
such costs can be variable, semi fixed and fixed, depending upon the nature of project. The
project AF Plc. is related with developed factory plant for TTF. As a project manager of AF Plc.,
it is important to ascertain all the costs which will be engaged in the completion of this project.
The constraint of cost is important as it project a budget restriction following which project
is required to be completed. Also, this parameter provides the lowest and highest ranges
available so that appropriate can be selected. This also helps in managing the cost fluctuations
throughout the project.
Time:
Time or schedule is the estimate amount of time which will be required to complete the
project. This parameter of the project management helps in ensuring that the project is either
completed before time or on time. As a project manager of AF Plc. handling the project of TTF,
it becomes even more crucial to manage the schedule as, if the project of TTF is not competed on
given estimated time then AF Plc. has to pay a penalty. For this Gantt chart and networks
diagram techniques will also be used (Slack, 2015).
2

Scope:
This is the third parameter of project manager which defines the tasks and activities
which are required to be done by the employees of project. This parameter is important to
manage a project as it helps prioritising the task and also assist in optimally utilizing the
resources.
Quality:
The fourth and most important parameter is quality. It is important to ensure delivery of
promised quality in the process of project management (Kerzner, 2017). As a project manager of
AF Ltd., it becomes even more important to maintain the quality of the project otherwise
rectification of any faults will levy additional cost for the company.
All the above parameters are related to each other. As in situation of elimination of time no
other parameter can be done and in case of elimination of quality, no parameter will be worth
delivering. By this way, each constraint is related to each other.
Risk register with ten risks
Risk Category of
the risk
Likelihood
of
occurrence
of the risk
(Out of 5; 5
being high
likely
occurrence)
Impact of
the risk
(Out of
5; 5
being
high
impact)
Causes Mitigation
strategies
1 Increased
costs rate of
labour
Financial 3 3 Changes in labour
wage government
policy and
variation in
labour rate by
trade union.
Hire labour on
contract basis
with a uniform
labour rate
(Ojiako and
et.al, 2011).
2 Increased cost
of raw material
Financial 3 3 Environmental
factors, higher
Store all
required raw
3

price demand
from suppliers
and lack of
available
resources in
market.
material in
warehouse.
3 More wastage
of raw material
than anticipated
Financial 1 2 Negligence of
supervisor and
technical issues in
machinery.
Ensure monthly
audit of the
project.
4 More utility
cost than
anticipated
Financial 2 2 More usage of
water, electricity,
gas etc.
Keep a reserve
for additional
utility expenses
(Portny, 2017).
5 Labour strike Operational 1 5 Trade union
discussions and
high demands of
labours.
Hire employees
with a contract
involving a no
strike clause.
6 Layoffs Operational 1 5 Political
emergency and
change in
government
regulations.
Procure pre
approved
permission
from
governmental
authorities.
7 On site
accident
Human
resource
1 5 Negligence of
labour,
employees or
supervisor and
technical issues in
machinery.
Ensure
emergency
equipment at
site and
medical
insurance of all
4

the staff.
8 Resignation
of multiple
employees
Human
resource
2 4 Lower retention
history of the
company and low
satisfaction of
employees.
Develop
strategies of
reward and
recognition so
that satisfaction
of employees
can be
maintained.
9
Communication
issues
Technical 4 2 Inability of
employees,
unskilful
technicians and
network errors
Hire additional
staff to
maintain
constant
communication.
10 Issues in
automation
Technical 4 2 Lack of
knowledgeable
employees.
Before hiring
employees for
automation,
ensure their
skills and
capabilities to
match with
requirements
for this project
(Chatterji and
Fabrizio, 2014).
From the above analysis, it has been analysed that the issue of communication is most
likely to occur but it will not impact highly on the project operations. It has been also analysed
that the issues related with human resource will levy high impact on the organisation as in
absence of employees, project cannot be completed on time. For additional mitigation, AF Plc.
must develop reserves of money and employees for such type of contingencies.
5

Planning and costs (Question 2)
Preparing a network diagram showing the critical path and planned duration of the project along
with computing the float on the non-critical tasks
Network diagram is a technique of analysing time (schedule) parameter of a project
(Heagney, 2016). A network diagram assist in analysing which activities are critical to be
completed and in what amount of the time, project will be completed. As a project manager of
AF Plc, a network diagram for the project of TTF is developed which is new engineering
Automation plant.
From the above image, the tasks which are marked in red are critical tasks which together
form a critical path. A critical path of a project is the longest distance between start task and end
task. It is important in a project to calculate critical path as it provides the maximum time which
can be taken to complete the project. The critical path for this project includes tasks (1, 3, 6, 7, 8,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18). In order to complete all the tasks, AF Plc. will require 92
weeks.
In addition of the critical tasks, there are few non critical tasks as well which has the float
of; Task 2 with 3 weeks float, task 4 with 1 week, task with 8 weeks, task 9 with 9 weeks and
task 10 with 8 weeks float. This value of float is calculated by subtracting early finish time with
late finish time.
6

Preparing a Gantt chart and determining the planned completion date
A Gantt chart is tool of recording tasks according to their durations. Such type of chart
includes start date and finish dates (Walker, 2015). As it can be seen in below Gantt chart, AF
Plc. has started the project of TTF Limited that is new engineering Automation plant. The first
activity of this project is the project initiation which is planned to be started at 8 July, 2019 and
will require one week to be completed. Preceding to this activity, various activities are planned
to be competed one by one. According to the below developed Gantt chart the project of TTF
will be completed by 6 July 2020.
7

8

Developing overall Project Budget and calculating projected Net profit for the contract
Project budget refers to an estimation of all the expenditures which company will spend in
order to complete the project (Pinto, 2013). AF Plc. has total of 58.5 million pounds to complete
the project of TTF’s automation plant. As it can be seen in below budget, the total of all costs is
48.7 million. If the project is completed on time that on 25 September then company will earn
profit of 13.85 but according to the planned schedule using Gantt chart, this project will be
completed 81 days earlier, leaving an additional profit of 4.05 million.
Due to contingencies and other issues, there is a high possibility that company will face the
issue of delayed work due to which they have to pay penalty as 100k for each delayed day or part
day (Leach, 2014). There are certain activities or tasks which can result into delay in overall
completion of the project. These activities or budget constraints are Manufacture Automation
equipment, Transport Automation equipment to New Factory and Transport and Construct
Modular Factory on site in Germany. The reason behind including these activities is their nature
which can easily be impacted due to external factors. Internal factors are in control of the
company but external factors can only be controlled up to a limit.
Particulars
All amount in
million pounds
Initial investment 58.5
Project Initiation 0.2
Commission Design of Factory 2.8
Commission outline Design of Automation Equipment 1.6
Commission outline Design - Inverter Product 1.5
Detailed design of Factory 3.8
Detailed design of Automation Equipment and Inverter Product 5.4
Commission and develop Software for Automation equipment and Inverter
Product 3.4
Manufacture Automation equipment 6.5
Manufacture Modular Factory Units 4
Transport and Construct Modular Factory on site in Germany 3.5
Test Automation equipment 2.2
9