BPP MSc Fundamentals of Project Management: AF PLC Case Study Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of project management consulting, focusing on a case study of Automatic Futures (AF) PLC, a manufacturing and outsourcing services firm. The report examines the company's project limitations, identifies potential threats using a risk register, and analyzes project timelines using Gantt charts and network diagrams. It also includes a comprehensive budget evaluation to predict contract revenues and proposes a new project timetable based on current progress and recommendations for improved solutions. The report covers the significance of the Iron Triangle criteria (time, cost, scope) in assessing project goals, identifies risks like health and safety, labor shortages, and financial issues, and illustrates project scheduling with a network diagram and Gantt chart. The study concludes with a reflection on the project's management and offers insights into optimizing project execution and client satisfaction.

Fundamental of project
management

Executive summary
This study report offers a comprehensive and detailed analysis of project-management
consulting that addresses essential aspects and associated different PM issues. Within a
timeframe that is established, the entire work focuses on automation futures (AF) PLC to help
companies meeting their stated objectives. Automatic Futures is a manufacturing and
outsourcing services firm that conducts projects for technology including product creation with
different clients and organisations to improve productivity and infrastructure within a client
structure. A case study of AF PLC is being performed in this project report and covers four
specific parts. The first factor deals with describing the company's project limits and recognizing
threats. Second dimension includes including project timetable analysis with the aid of Gantt
charts as well as network diagram. Throughout the report's third dimension, efforts were made to
evaluate the comprehensive budget throughout order to predict the contract 's revenues. The final
section of the study deals with the creation of a new timetable for the program after reviewing
the current success with the expected progress and making advice to the organization on
selecting an acceptable improved solution.

Contents
Executive summary..........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Part A...............................................................................................................................................4
A Significance of different iron triangle criteria in assessing the general aims and priorities of
the Project...............................................................................................................................4
B. Identify the threats that are expected to occur during AF Plc implementation of the work
with the support of risk register..............................................................................................6
Preparation of a network diagram to show the critical path and planned duration of the project.
..............................................................................................................................................11
Comparison of Gantt chart:..................................................................................................14
PART B..........................................................................................................................................20
Reflection.............................................................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22

INTRODUCTION
Project Management is a way of planning, organizing, implementing and controlling all the
tasks necessary during the implementation of a program (Samset and Volden, 2016). It is also
known as a systematic approach of managing, tracking, scheduling and preparing the projects
and activities of a group of people in order to achieve a project's goals and task specifications
within a specified time period. A case analysis of Automatic Futures (AF) PLC that is
technology consultancy, consulting as well as technology / product creation firm is carried out in
the following project article.
The project summary provides a technical advice structure with analytical analysis for
political. Furthermore, project recognition and risk, planning and expense, performance
monitoring and spending, evaluation and enhancement of value. In addition, reflective research
has been designed in this report.
Part A
A Significance of different iron triangle criteria in assessing the general aims and priorities of the
Project.
Iron Triangle frequently defined as Project Management Triangle concept that seeks to
describe the restrictions correlated with project management. Effective implementation of every
project typically relies on various key variables or criteria of restrictions that are time, scale,
price and time depending on all 3 components. Project management are taking attempts to
navigate the variables that may serve as obstacles in the ultimate implementation and completion
of the project (Usui, 2012). All the variables are intertwined and, in certain aspects, a shift in
some aspect always resulted in development. The key criteria per each Iron triangle scheme are
as follows:
 Each job needs to be finished only within time frame planned.
 Each project should be done under the expense recommended or budgeted.
 Every project will meet the framework or the specifications.
 This will always take note of the price specifications of the consumer.

Cost: It may be described as the overall expense incurred in implementing and executing
a project. A project will be accomplished under the expenditures budgeted mostly during early
preparation of the project (Hall, 2012). However, certain schemes have specific criteria and also
don't define the expense estimate because the primary emphasis is on the development's
scheduling and efficiency. When expenses spent on a project are to be minimized, whether
project duration has to be changed or the period frame has to be moved back. AF Plc's
contribution to the project growing as the organization makes preparations to reach the latest
deadlines. To resolve the same, the complexity of the project is really being reduced and
program's elements are being expanded and moved through phase two in reach the current
deadlines. The major expense limitation for AF Plc is the program's time frame decreasing
project costs often contributes to a decline of efficiency
Time: Each plan has a specific timeline prior of its completion which even the project
leaders will accommodate. It is important to apply deadlines to a project in order to track and
manage the schedule date efficiently (Kivilä, Martinsuo, and Vuorinen, 2017). Either the
expenses accrued are to be raised or the complexity of the project has to be modified to minimize
the period involved in the project. AF Plc's manager has the ability of fulfilling the program's
time constraint, as a consequence of which the expenses generated are rising. AF Plc's major
time limitation for administrators is the project's scale and criteria.
Scope: Project schedule can be specified as the project's mission and objectives, or other
specifications. This is the phase when many project leaders struggle as the complexity of each
and almost every venture that the management needs to execute is not often quite straightforward
and definitive and has the dimension of uncertainty inside it (Klein, Biesenthal and Dehlin,
2015). Savings of a project's scale contributes to product loss and expense savings though as a
consequence time is often moved back. Some of the main obstacles for AF Plc administrators on
project scale are the expense of executing the project.

The project's ultimate goal will be defined by the management after holding a careful
conversation with the customers on the effect of such three obstacles on project management.
Time, complexity and expense limitations relevant project ought to be specifically identified by
the management and concrete qualitative and quantitative targets can be established to ensure an
effective project execution. While the single box strategic planning of AF Plc suits the current
customers' needs, it cannot be deemed appropriate for any customer or project form. The triangle
of software development is a really viable method which indicates the overall significance of 3
important restrictions.
B. Identify the threats that are expected to occur during AF Plc implementation of the work with
the support of risk register.
A risk database is among the most critical resources which every organization's leaders use
to control risk. This is also valuable in the cycle of defining possible vulnerability for any
initiative and aiding with harm prevention reduction (Seymour and Hussein, 2014). All details
including the existence of the danger, the probability of the incidence of the danger, the effects of
the threat as well as the individual responsible for risk assessment are contained in the risk
registry for effective risk identification. Danger assessment allows project managers improve
total project execution productivity and output by predetermining future risk that may serve as a
barrier in the construction projects.
Some of the other biggest threats defined for the administration of the AF Plc venture
involve employee’s safety and wellness, changing of directions, environmental disasters,
operational wastage, incompetence etc. Each of these threats have the ability to serve as an
barrier in the whole cycle and so it is recommended that the management will take a quick safety
measure by assessing the hazards and their effect scores throughout the whole project. The total
risk ranking relies on two main variables that are the conditional probability of danger and the
effect of risk occurrence on the overall project circumstance (Turner, Ledwith and Kelly, 2012).
RISK
(Various risks
that may arise
during the
course of
project)
LIKELIHOOD
(1-5), 1 being
least chances
and 5 being the
highest chances.
IMPACT
(1-5), 1
being the
least
impact
and 5
RATING
(Increasing
order
where an
increased
number
OWNER
(Person who
is
responsible
for
mitigating
MITIGATION
PLAN
(A plan prepared
by the
management to
reduce the

being the
highest
impact
denotes
higher
overall
risk)
the risk.) likelihood and
the impact of a
particular risk)
Health and
Safety risk for
workers
4 4 6 Supervisor
& Managers
Regular
environmental
inspections and
adequate
protection and
security
measures will be
carried out on
the building
ground while
taking into
consideration
the regulatory
specifications.
Labour
Shortages
2 4 8 Human
resource
manager
In the event of
worker scarcity
and the potential
to satisfy
flexible labour
demands, extra
labour will be
given.
Unexpected
increasing
material costs
2 3 6 Purchase
manager
Proper
cooperation with
the manufacturer
for the whole
length of the

project, and
control of the
supply chain
network.
Poorly drafted
contracts
3 4 12 Legal
department
A committee
will be hired to
check the
project's legal
landscape and
contractual
capabilities.
Natural
disasters
1 5 5 Management Insurance
against natural
hazards should
be used to
significantly
reduce the
effects of harm.
Theft of
equipment
3 4 12 Project
Manager
A full protection
plan needs to be
created to
protect the
products and
equipment
throughout the
entire project
duration, such as
increasing
security on
location.
Unknown site 3 3 9 Supervisor Project layout

conditions must be well
known and
adequate site
testing must be
performed prior
to project
launch.
Change in
orders
3 4 12 Project
manager
Project
management
needs to create
reasonable
standards with
the client about
project
specifications
and potential
implications of
order
adjustment.
Nonetheless, a
little aspect of
versatility will
always be
available to
some degree in
order to change
project needs.
Availability of
materials
2 4 8 Purchase
manager
Agreements
ought to be
produced with
the assistance of

daily
transportation of
goods to ensure
smooth
processes and
manufacturing
cycle. To
determine the
efficacy and
client
satisfaction, a
full background
review of the
manufacturer
should be
carried out.
Mismanagemen
t of the project
3 4 12 Project
manager
The whole
project will be
split into minor
activities that
help to measure
project
implementation
performance up
to a specific
time period.
Tools including
the Gantt map
and the work-
breakdown
method may be

utilized to assess
the timetable
and to maximize
project
management
efficiency.
Preparation of a network diagram to show the critical path and planned duration of the project.
A network diagram may be described as a graphical depiction of the various operations,
tasks and obligations to be performed throughout a project. It divides the entire job into specific
projects and events (Turner, 2016). Network diagram is a really helpful method that allows the
administration to visualize the whole project plan and the series of job activities. It is indeed very
useful when monitoring status of the project at different stages alongside achievement levels.
Visual function enhances diagram density and as a result, project management performance can
be increased. The network diagram that indicates AF Plc construction direction and expected
length is as described in the following:
The network diagram described illustrates the different options possible for completing
the project for managing AF Plc as well as the blue rows indicate the direction along which the
period needed to complete the whole task is negligible. The total period needed for completion of
the project is expected to be 58 weeks.
Gantt chart for the project.

A Gantt map is a very critical project management method and is a sort of bar chart
showing a timeline of a project (Bucero and Englund, 2015). Specific tasks within a project are
illustrated in a Gantt map towards the period taken to achieve them. It is a really essential tool
used to monitor the implementation project progress and to boost process improvement
usefulness. Increasing bar on even a Gantt map reflects the frequency and length of the operation
in question. Below is a map for AF Plc initiative Gantt:
Depending on the aforementioned table, the project delivery date is projected to be August
7, 2020 as long as there is no adjustment or adjustment of the program's scheduling and
timetable.
Description of the overall spending expected, including estimate of the contract's
estimated net income.
Budget can be described as a document that includes expected or anticipated revenues or
expense from a business operation over a set duration. It is an essential predicting tool. A
discriptive budget and forecasted financial gains from the AF Plc agreement is as follows: