Project Management Assessment-2 Multinational Oil Comapny Sandeep Table of Contents 1. Develop an appropriate budget for the Case Study project. 2 2. Prepare a schedule for the Case Study project, identifying the key milestones for the project deliverables. Discuss the relative merits of the methods, tools and techniques used and compare these with any that you chose not to use. 4 3. Finally, estimate the resources required for successful completion of the Case Study project. 9 References 14 1. Develop an appropriate budget for the Case Study project. Budget: Budgeting is regarded as an essential part of project management, appropriate budgets are required to be prepared by the project manager to complete the project successfully and meet the expenditures of a project. The budget is done to ascertain the costs that are involved in a particular project; this helps the project manager in ascertaining the overall costs and also controlling the unnecessary expenditures relating to the project. If the costs are not ascertained before hand, then the same may create obstruct the process of meeting the objectives of a project and also affect the free flow of resources (Fishco and Dembinski, 1977). A budget is considered as a statement that helps in ascertaining the future expenditure and revenues relating to a process or an organisation in advance. Budgeting also helps in providing information relating to the performance of an organisation as it helps in conducting a comparative study of the budgeted performance and the actual performance, in case of ascertaining the expenditure of a project, a budget helps a project manager in understanding the variances between the budgeted and the actual cost incurred for the purpose of meeting the objectives of the project. In this way, the construction of a budget helps in bringing a control, where the expenditures are constantly monitored and compared with the budgeted cost to identify the unnecessary expenditures incurred and to control the costs; this will also facilitate the effective utilisation of resources and reduce wastages (Penning, 2012). In the case of a project, there are various resources that are used for the purpose of completing the project, without a proper budget framed for ascertaining the costs of the project those resources cannot be used in a proper way and the expenditures will enhance considerably. Budgeting also helps in facilitating effective allocation of resources. In regards to the present project a budget has been prepared to ascertain the cost to be incurred for conducting the project (Bakewell, 1991). There are various assumptions that have been made for the purpose of ascertaining the costs of different resources that will be required for the project. The assumptions are specified below: ⦁ It has been assumed that per square meter of steel patches will cost $ 200. ⦁ The cost of each steel anchors has been assumed as $ 300. ⦁ The cost of 1mm of stainless steel valve has been considered as $ 10. Budget Tank 1 Tank 2 Tank 3 Total $ $ $ $ Steel patches 1600 4200 1800 7600 Steel anchors 1200 1200 1200 3600 Cleaning and repainting outside the tank 1000 1000 1000 3000 Cost of replacing main supply valve - - 3000 3000 Expenses relating to emptying tank and sealing pipelines 1200 2000 4800 8000 Pressure Testing Expenses 2400 4000 9600 16000 Corrosion testing 1920 3200 7680 12800 steel coating and steel improvement interior and exterior 6000 10000 24000 40000 Interior gel coating 1200 2000 4800 8000 Exterior painting for corrosion proofing 1440 2400 5760 9600 Pipeline improvement cost including anti corrosion and anti-leakage 3600 6000 14400 24000 Installation of leak detectors 2400 4000 9600 16000 Installation of Exhaust pipes 1440 2400 5760 9600 Trial run cost 1200 2000 4800 8000 Miscellaneous expenses 600 1000 2400 4000 Total 23400 39000 100600 173200 2. Prepare a schedule for the Case Study project, identifying the key milestones for the project deliverables. Discuss the relative merits of the methods, tools and techniques used and compare these with any that you chose not to use. A project schedule helps the project manager in understanding the road map of a project. The project schedule is considered as a key part of the entire project. It is considered as the list of milestones that the project manager intends to complete to finish the project. It is a planned protocol formulated by the project manager to clarify the objectives of the project. Each milestone is projected as a task and there are corresponding time limits assigned for each task. It works as a plan that guides the project manager in completing the project (Maylor, 2010). Project scheduling is exercised in every project, irrespective of its time and size limits. The project schedule generally provides the necessary information to the project manager relating to the time when the tasks of the project should be completed and the sequence that must be followed while meeting the project milestones. The process of scheduling cannot be considered as an exact process, rather, it is based upon estimation and prediction. It will be essential for a project manager to conduct the process of reviewing the project schedule on a regular basis, as the entire process has been constructed on the basis of estimation (Baguley, 2008). Scheduling provides the required support to the project manager, in regards to paving the way for monitoring the progress of the project activities and regulating the same. It also provide the required support to the project manager to understand the most feasible way to allocate the resources in order to get outstanding results relating to project performance. The scheduling process also helps in understanding any delays in regards to the time limits of the activities and how the same can be mitigated. For the present project, Gantt chart has been used as the tool for conducting the process of scheduling the activities of the project. The benefits of choosing a Gantt chart are provided as below: ⦁ This tool helps in projecting each and every individual tasks and subtasks. ⦁ The chart also helps in projecting the time allotted for each task. ⦁ This tool is capable of projecting the calendar dates relating to the initiation of the task and its closure along with the duration. ⦁ This tool is capable for conducting the process of scheduling for bigger and complex project. ⦁ It also helps in projecting the total duration of a project. ⦁ Resources required for the project can also be linked with this chart (Baguley, 2008). There are other tools for project scheduling such as action planning, which has been replaced by Gantt chart for the present project. This is because the present project is vast and complex in nature and action planning can be considered as a tool, which is beneficial for conducting the scheduling process of simple projects belonging to small businesses. Hence, Gantt chart has been selected for the p[resent project instead of action planning (Deeprose, 2002). Task Name Duration Start Finish Creating the project charter 5 days Sat 4/1/17 Thu 4/6/17 developing the charter through discussion with the stakeholders 5 days Sat 4/1/17 Thu 4/6/17 Approval of charter 10 days Fri 4/7/17 Thu 4/20/17 Conducting a meeting with the sponsors 4 days Fri 4/7/17 Wed 4/12/17 Forming the draft proposal 4 days Thu 4/13/17 Tue 4/18/17 Presentation of the charter and getting approval 2 days Wed 4/19/17 Thu 4/20/17 Budgeting and approval 10 days Fri 4/21/17 Thu 5/4/17 Constructing the budget 5 days Fri 4/21/17 Thu 4/27/17 Presentation of the budget and getting approval 5 days Fri 4/28/17 Thu 5/4/17 Purchase of materials 4 days Fri 5/5/17 Wed 5/10/17 completing the process of purchasing 4 days Fri 5/5/17 Wed 5/10/17 Tank Emptying and cleaning 11 days Thu 5/11/17 Thu 5/25/17 Emptying tank 6 days Thu 5/11/17 Thu 5/18/17 Cleaning of tank 3 days Fri 5/19/17 Tue 5/23/17 Sealing of pipelines 2 days Wed 5/24/17 Thu 5/25/17 Pressure testing 6 days Fri 5/26/17 Fri 6/2/17 Arrangement of pressure testing equipment and installation 1 day Fri 5/26/17 Fri 5/26/17 Pressure testing of tanks 3 days Sat 5/27/17 Tue 5/30/17 Identification of all leakages 2 days Wed 5/31/17 Thu 6/1/17 Repairing and improvement of tank infrastructure 15 days Thu 6/1/17 Wed 6/21/17 Leak repairing 3 days Thu 6/1/17 Mon 6/5/17 Steel coating interior 4 days Tue 6/6/17 Fri 6/9/17 Steel coating Exterior 5 days Sat 6/10/17 Thu 6/15/17 Interior Gel coating 3 days Fri 6/16/17 Tue 6/20/17 Pipeline improvement 14 days Wed 6/21/17 Mon 7/10/17 Leak identification 2 days Wed 6/21/17 Thu 6/22/17 Leak repairing 4 days Fri 6/23/17 Wed 6/28/17 Anti-corrosion coating 5 days Thu 6/29/17 Wed 7/5/17 Anti-leak gel coating 3 days Thu 7/6/17 Mon 7/10/17 Other installations 15 days Tue 7/11/17 Mon 7/31/17 Leak detector installation 5 days Tue 7/11/17 Mon 7/17/17 Exhaust pipes installation 3 days Tue 7/18/17 Thu 7/20/17 Trial run 7 days Thu 7/20/17 Fri 7/28/17 3. Finally, estimate the resources required for successful completion of the Case Study project. Resourcing is considered as the process of ascertaining the resources that will be required for the purpose of completing a particular project. There are different types of resources that are required for the purpose of completing a project such as, human resources, technical resources, materials and financial resources. A resource, used for a project can be both an internal or external resource and the same is based upon needs for a particular task. It is essential for the project manager to acquire necessary resources to effectively complete a project, resources can be acquired by two different ways such as, hiring the resources or renting them (Cooke, Tate and Cooke, 2011). Identifying the resources: The resources, which will be required for the present project are provided below: ⦁ Key personnel: Project sponsor, project manager and the head of the finance department. ⦁ Specialists: Quality manager, head of the engineering department. ⦁ The manager of purchase department. Ascertaining the availability of resources: The deployment of the resources has been done by the project manager for different tasks conducted for the completion for the project. The project manager ensured the availability of the resources, as mentioned in the above paragraphs (Williams, 2008). Timing: For the purpose of strengthening the process and the timely completion of the activities, the project manager took the initiative to conduct a discussion session with the project resources and they were deployed accordingly in different activities concerning the project. Resource Type Initials Max. Standard rate Over time Cost Accrue Base Project manager Work P 100% $ 60/hr $ 70/hr Prorated 24 hours Cleaning person Work C 200% $ 20/hr $ 25/hr Prorated Standard time Painter Work P 300% $ 25/hr $ 35/hr Prorated Standard time Technical expert Work T 400% $ 30/hr $ 40/hr Prorated 24 hours Team worker Work T 400% $ 20/hr $ 25/hr Prorated Standard time As mentioned above, the project resources will be integrated with the project schedule. For this purpose the RACI tool will be used for the purpose of projecting the responsibilities taken by each of the resources for conducting the project activities (Williams, 2008). RACI is considered as the responsibility matrix, which projects the responsibilities of the resources, involved in a project. RACI implies Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform. The RACI chart has been presented below: Task Name Sponsor Project manager Finance head Quality manager Head of engineering dept. Head of Purchasing dept. 1 Creating the project charter 1.1 developing the charter through discussion with the stakeholders A R C 2 Approval of charter 2.1 Conducting a meeting with the sponsors A R C 2.2 Forming the draft proposal A R C 2.3 Presentation of the charter and getting approval A R C I I I 3 Budgeting and approval 3.1 Constructing the budget R A 3.2 Presentation of the budget and getting approval A R A/C I I I 4 Purchase of materials 4.1 completing the process of purchasing I R A 5 Tank Emptying and cleaning 5.1 Emptying tank I I R/A 5.2 Cleaning of tank I I C R/A 5.3 Sealing of pipelines I I C R/A 6 Pressure testing 6.1 Arrangement of pressure testing equipment and installation I R C A 6.2 Pressure testing of tanks I I A R 6.3 Identification of all leakages I I A R 7 Repairing and improvement of tank infrastructure 7.1 Leak repairing I I A R 7.2 Steel coating interior I I C R/A 7.3 Steel coating Exterior I I I R/A 7.4 Interior Gel coating I I C R/A 8 Pipeline improvement 8.1 Leak identification I I R A 8.2 Leak repairing I I R A 8.3 Anti-corrosion coating I I R A 8.4 Anti-leak gel coating I I C R/A 9 Other installations 9.1 Leak detector installation I I A R 9.2 Exhaust pipes installation I I A R 9.3 Trial run I I A/R The critical path diagram for the project has been projected below: References Baguley, P. (2008). Project management. 1st ed. London: Hodder Education. Bakewell, K. (1991). Budgeting. 1st ed. Bradford: MCB University Press. Cooke, H., Tate, K. and Cooke, H. (2011). Project management. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Deeprose, D. (2002). Project management. 1st ed. Oxford (UK): Capstone. Fishco, D. and Dembinski, J. (1977). Budgeting. 1st ed. Chicago: Follett. Maylor, H. (2010). Project management. 1st ed. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall is an imprint of Pearson. Penning, A. (2012). Budgeting. 1st ed. Osborne. Williams, M. (2008). Principles of Project Management (SitePoint. 1st ed. Collingwood: SitePoint.