Engineering Project Management: Triangle, Phases and Delays

This report provides a comprehensive overview of project management, focusing on the project management triangle, which encompasses cost, time, and scope. It details the phases of project management, including project definition, initialization, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. The report also addresses project delays, their causes (inadequate communication, poor planning, scope changes, and resource issues), and mitigation strategies such as project crashing, effective communication, resource allocation, and risk analysis. Furthermore, it includes a practical example reconfiguring a project plan, analyzing cost and duration variances before and after delays. The report emphasizes the importance of balancing the project triangle's constraints to ensure quality and project success, drawing on various project management concepts and techniques.

Engineering Project Management 1
Engineering Project Management
Student’s Name
Course Code
Professor
University
City
Date

Engineering Project Management 2
1. Information Triangle for Project Management
The project management triangle is a tool that is employed by project managers to
help them understand or in analysing the constraints that normally arise because of project
execution and implementation. In general irrespective of the project size constraints will
never fail. While there are numerous such project constrictions, which does not mean that it
should be an obstacle for the success of executing the project as well as for the effective and
efficient process of making decision (Abuwarda, and Hegazy, 2016). As a result, there are
three key interdependent constrictions in any project: these are cost, time, scope; what is
referred to as Project Management Triangle.
Components of the Project Management Triangle
The project management triangle entails three major elements cost, time and scope of
the project.
Time: A project activity can either take a short or longer period to achieve. To achieve a
project task it depends on several aspects such the number of individuals working on a
project, their skills as well as experience (Leach, 2014). Accordingly, time is an essential
necessity that is uncontrollable, however failure to achieve the project’s deadlines can lead to
adverse effects. The main reason for failure to attain the project deadlines is because lack of
assets.
Cost: Cost is imperious both to the side of the project leaders as well the company to have an
approximate charge when conducting a task. Resources play a significant role in ensuring that
the project being developed meets the initially specified costs (Hu, Cui, and Demeulemeester,
2015). However, in some cases project supervisors and clients do come up with changes in
the course of the project which makes it difficult for the project managers. As a result, the

Engineering Project Management 3
project manager has to allocate extra resources so that to be in apposition to realize the
deadlines but this comes with a penalty for the inconvenience of the additional project costs.
Scope: The scope is mainly concerned with the outcomes of the project carry out. Therefore,
it comprises a list of deliverables that have to be considered by the project managers and their
teams.
Quality: Despite the fact that superiority is not part of the project management triangle, it is
the ultimate gaol of each deliverable. That is the reason as to why the project management
triangle representation advocates for quality.
Phases of Project Management
A project goes through several stages during its life cycle as highlighted below:
Definition of the project: project definition refers to the description of the project objectives
as well as the various factors that are supposed to be put under consideration in order to make
a project successful (Newton, 2016).
Initialization of the project: It refers to the planning in addition to the resources that are
figured out before the commencement of the project.
Project planning: Project planning highlights the project’s plan that is the manner in which
the project should be carried out. At the time of project planning, project management
triangle play a critical role thus it is very much vital at this phase (Heagney, 2016). The
project management triangle figures out the time, cost, as well the project’s scope.
Project execution: Project execution involves putting the project into application to see to it
that it is in the position of delivering the projected project requirements.
Project monitoring and control: This stages entails making the necessary measures so as to
make sure that the project operations run in a smooth manner as initially desired.

Engineering Project Management 4
Project closure: Project closure comes in after the project has attained all the anticipated
deliverables. Therefore, it is at this phase that that the project deliverables are accepted and at
the same time when the project’s resources are discontinued from running.
2. Project crashing to meet the Project Deadline
Project delays are a characteristically part of any project. Project delays happens as a
result of inadequate communication, poor planning, changes in the course of scope of project
and diminishing resources (Sears, Sears, Clough, Rounds, and Segner, 2015). Furthermore,
project delays can also be due to the project team’s poor morale. In case of a project delay,
project managers are supposed to apply the idea of project crashing so that the project does
not go past the initial specified time. To achieve this, project crashing has to be factored in
with the intent to minimize and shorted the project period by reducing on the time of either
one or more critical project activities than it its normal activity time.
Project Crashing Steps
Understanding the critical path of the project and then calculating the expected time needed
to accomplish the project.
 Identification of the critical events with the least cost rise and then making a
calculation of the crash cost for all the practices using the following formula.
Crash Cost per unit = (Crash Cost) – (Normal Cost) / (Normal Time – Crash Time)
 Once the crash cost is calculated, the project manager then chooses the project
activities on the critical path that has the least cost slope or that have the least crash
cost and crash this activities to the minimum amongst all the events till the desired
crash time is attained.
 Reduction of the activity time of the event until it reach the crash time.
How to mitigate the Problem of Project Delay in Project Management

Engineering Project Management 5
It is always a necessity that as a project manager one has to strive and make sure that
they overcome the challenges that are related to the project triangle at the time of project
execution. It is therefore the responsibility of a project manager to ensure that they are well-
vast in terms understanding as far as the project triangle is concerned so as to makes
adjustments to the three key project management restrictions. The most significant part in this
case is that the project leaders is supposed to strike an equilibrium between the three
constrictions to see to it that project quality does not stand to be compromised whatsoever.
Accordingly, to overcome this constraint of delay as well as the other constraints the project
managers can take several approaches so as to keep the project moving in the right course.
Consequently, the project manager can minimize the negative impacts of project delays in the
following ways.
Holding with project teams members and skilled employees. Despite the project team
members as well as skilled workers may at time not aware of the existence of project delays
(Harrison, and Lock, 2017). Thus, through constant and strong communication level with
skilled employees and project team members is essential in making sure that project delays
do not happen to result in project failure. Holding meetings on a regular basis helps the
project manager to receive feedbacks from the teams regarding the likely options to be
undertaken to reduce the impacts of the delay. Staying while connected as a team of workers
help to maintain a positive relationship within all the affected areas.
Reassessing the present state of the project for scrutiny of other delays. Delays acts as an
indicator for forthcoming problems in the project. When delays happen it is significant that
the project manager reassess the present state of the project.
Diverting Resources to non-delayed tasks and activities. In case a delay focuses on a
particular task or activities, the project manager can decide to shift teams as well as

Engineering Project Management 6
assignments to non-affected tasks. Despite that fact that it may distract the schedule of
activities, it plays a significant role as it allows the project teams to stay productive when a
project suffers delays.
Reviewing data entry in risk analysis. At time delays can be as a result of the project
management team as well the supervisor’s incapacity to attain impractical deadlines
(Kerzner, and Kerzner, 2017). When delays happen minus an input from the external
management level, the project manager should make a review of the data and elements in
their risk analysis. Conducting extra risk analysis management helps to define the how and
why the problem may have taken place. In case the problem is from the within the project
team members, then the management should consider taking administrative measures by
offering further training to rectify the matter.
Conducting a quality inspection of both complete and incomplete work progress.
There are specific project delays that are likely to hamper the capability of the project team
from achieving the project within the specified period (Pearlson, Saunders, and Galletta,
2016). While such delays cannot be run away from, the team has to stay connected and
productive all along the project course. Therefore, the project manager can ask their team
members as well as project staff to carry out quality inspections and review the completed
work for any flaws. While this step comes last in the project, the project manager can reduce
the overall effect of the delays by going on with quality with quality inspections.
3. Reasons for Reconfiguring John’s Work Plan
As a project manager I would reconfigure John’s work plan because it does not shows the
efforts to emphasis on time as a crucial commodity in in the delivery of a project.
Accordingly, time in project management is the most essential resources. Without a good
time management it will result in failing to meet the set out deadlines for the project. Time

Engineering Project Management 7
management is significant since it is the fundamental capacity used to organize as well as
plan the time used on activities in a day. Consequently, the outcome of good management of
time is intense effectiveness and productivity. Thus time is a key element of project
management as it involves skills like setting goals, planning and giving priority for a better
performance. Therefore by John spending very little time on the project it can lead to project
failure which is a great mistake that is unacceptable by any project manager as it tarnishes the
name of the project development company.
Reconfigured John’s project management activities
Task Duration (Days)
Task A (Defining Project ) 1
Task B (Project Initiation) 2
Task C (Project Planning) 2
Task D (Project Execution) 10
Task E (Project Monitoring) 7
Task F (Project Control) 4
Task G (Project Closure) 1

Engineering Project Management 8
4. Project implementation with a delay
Task Duration
Project Initiation
 Business case documentation
 Feasibility study
10
5
5
Project definition 4
Project design 10
Project execution 30
Project implementation 10 + 10 (delay)
Project control and monitoring
Control
Monitoring
15
15
7
Project closure 2

Engineering Project Management 9
Instead of the project to be accomplished in ten week as it was originally scheduled
which the same as 70 days the delay in the project lengthens the project by ten extra days as
indicated in the table such that instead of the project coming to completion 6th August 2018.
The ten days delay makes it end on 20th August, 2018 due to the additional ten days of delay
in the implementation phase of the project. This shown in the screenshot below where the

Engineering Project Management 10
delay takes an additional 10 days in the implementation phase.
Cost and Duration Variance before Imposing Delay
The variation in the project real schedule as compared to its planned schedule, is
measured by its schedule variance (SV), which measures the dissimilarity between the earned

Engineering Project Management 11
values (EV). Therefore, schedule variance (VS) is given by earned value (EV) minus the
planned value (PV). The SV is expressed as a monetary unit for instance in dollars
Cost and Duration after Imposing Delay on Implementation
The most significant result is that the above formulas that show the cost and schedule
variances evolve with time. That means that it demonstrates the way in which ES performs
over the life of a project and explaining how it behaves. These formulas also allows the
Actual Costs, Earned Value and Planned Value over time. With such formulas it makes it
easier to calculate the cost performance index CPI (t), as well as performance index, SPI (t)
since they operate as time functions.

Engineering Project Management 12
Bibliography
Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt
Assn.
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information
Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Leach, L.P., 2014. Critical chain project management. Artech House.
Newton, R., 2016. Project management step by step: how to plan and manage a highly
successful project. Pearson UK.
Sears, S.K., Sears, G.A., Clough, R.H., Rounds, J.L. and Segner, R.O., 2015. Construction
project management. John Wiley & Sons.
Abuwarda, Z. and Hegazy, T., 2016. Work-Package Planning and Schedule Optimization for
Projects with Evolving Constraints. Journal of Computing in Civil
Engineering, 30(6), p.04016022.
Hu, X., Cui, N. and Demeulemeester, E., 2015. Effective expediting to improve project due
date and cost performance through buffer management. International Journal of
Production Research, 53(5), pp.1460-1471.

Engineering Project Management 13