Free Essay About Project Management

Introduction 3

Project Scope 3
Project Work Breakdown Structure 4
Cost Estimations using Ratio Method 10
Project Potential Risks 12
Risk Assessment Matrix 13
Conclusion 17
Introduction
This project management project is aimed at building a new house for Mr. Rashid and family at location of Al Karamu, Abu Dhabi. The client requires residence for one family having two floorings design, each built on 200 sq. m. This project requires at least six months for completion. It will be built using the best building materials, latest codes and advanced technology. The construction of the building will be carried out under supervision of XYZ Home Builders. XYZ contractor has signed 11 contracts of house buildings in the year 2015. Therefore, the management team will schedule other building projects in a pipeline. Mr. Sheikh Rashid is currently employed in North America; however, he will be transferring to Abu Dhabi until August 2015. He plans to take his family along to Abu Dhabi from North America and shift in his new home. Therefore, project should be completed until July 2015.

Project Scope

Landscaping
Garage
Ground work with basement
Two floor building
As discussed earlier, the XYZ Home Builders must complete project of Mr. Rashid within 6 months or by 31 July 2015. Before starting the construction of each project phase, it is good to prepare progress milestones list and the time duration of each so that each activity can be performed at right time.

Complete architectural drawings and get them approved by the client

Get the building permit approved by the authorities
Prepare the area for construction
Complete ground excavation
Pour and set foundation, and complete block construction
Set footings
Prepare garage exterior part and home for weather
Fix exterior wiring
Fix interior wiring
Set up exterior plumbing
Set up interior plumbing
Complete HVAC
Set up exterior finishing
Set up interior finishing
Review of project plan acceptance with the client
The detailed schedule of the project milestones and timelines will be prepared by the contractor and delivered to the client before starting construction work.

Project Work Breakdown Structure

The process of work breakdown structure divides project work and deliverables into sub modules that are easier to manage. In case of this home building project, the big activities will be broken down into small modules so that each activity can be completed in an appropriate manner and on time .
The process of work breakdown structure is applied by splitting the project into modules. The division starts from the top level and then subdivided into further modules. In case of this project, the primary modules of the house building will be internal phase, foundation, and external phase deliverables. These modules are further divided into sub modules and again into sub-sub-modules. Later, they are assigned to each person in the home building team. Similar kind of project deliverables grouped together that helps in speeding up the process. Time for each module is also decided and scheduled as according to the requirements.
In case of home building project, first, activities will be divided into sub modules. There are three main modules of the house construction project, including internal, foundation, and external. Internal phase work refers to the initial planning phase that has to be started before the construction of house. Foundation is the intermediary stage of construction when basic structure of the building is constructed. In an external phase, finishing work is completed. Each main module is further divided where the budget and percentage of work is also divided depending upon the requirements of each task.
There are different mind mapping software tools available that can help managers in the project management activities. Such software programs translates the work breakdown structure to advance level schedules. Duration and budget estimates translated through mind mapping software can also be moved to Microsoft Excel for additional analysis. The work breakdown structure of the house building is given below .
Network diagram is the systematic method of exhibiting complete project schedule and interdependent activities. It helps in identifying critical path activities and thus, adjusting scheduled activities accordingly. Network diagram of the small or medium projects can be developed manually; however, it can be difficult for bigger projects. Professionals make use of project management software tools and programs to develop project network diagrams.
For drawing the network diagram of the house-building project, the project manager first plans by defining inputs through the project scope statement and then divide activities. This WBS defines task durations, dependencies, predecessor, successor relationships, and resources. It is important to analyze the process of project and activities so that network diagram can exactly represent the scheduled activities. During this process, first all inputs and activities are defined then time is allocated to each task. In the end, sequence of tasks is defined. All these tasks are connected together that represents sequence of activities. Outputs of each activity are shown through arrows.
In every project, there are certain tasks that are more important than the other is. Some are dependent on the other processes and cannot be initiated without other processes backup or certain processes take more time than others do. Project managers use two different types of methods to find the critical path of the project that is forward pass and backward pass. Critical Path represent set of activities that are most critical for the project completion. In addition, critical path help project managers identifying the time in hand and minimum time to complete the project .
Through forward and backward pass, early start, early finish, late start and late finish have been found. Slack is found through subtracting late finish of early finish. Slack with zero is counted as an activity on the critical path. Therefore, the critical path is found to be, A-B-D-E-H-J-L-M.

Cost Estimations using Ratio Method

The overall cost of the project is calculated through different methods. In a top down approach, overall project cost is targeted. Project manager estimates the maximum project cost of the project and then further divides the project activities using process of work breakdown structure. The management team of each group estimates the expected cost to be incurred on the project. Top down estimates are usually used during the project conceptual phase. Top down approach is best for the rough estimates and help in prioritizing and selecting projects.
Top down approach usually apply ratios to estimate project costs and time. In case of home building project in Abu Dhabi, ratio method will be applied to make rough estimations of the cost and time duration for the project. The total cost to be incurred on the project is estimated as $180,000. By using the ratio method, the cost of the sub activities individual materials has also been listed down in the table .
The above estimations for the tools have been made using general details of the building construction materials. For further exploring, the cost of each material an approach of bottom up is used; however, the method of quantitative ratio is used for bottom down approach. In this method, the cost of each product is multiplied with other products required to estimate the total and individual costs. In addition to past information and market trends, project manager may also take information through project team members, and other resources like through similar kinds of project.

Project Potential Risks

Construction work in Abu Dhabi has greatly been increased after 2012. Because of high construction rate, the competition among the contractors has also been raised. Contractors must provide timely and best services to reach at the top position. Therefore, it is important for the contractors to consider all risks, limitations, and issues when planning the project. They must first plan the schedule considering all the risks and situations and then present final proposal to the client. The contractor must review all details and designs, and avoid revisions as they may give negative impression.
Project activities may come across certain risks and unforeseen circumstances that may delay the process. It depends on the project manager, how well he/she controls and manage the project and make estimations. Project manager must focus on completing the project in less time. Even if any unforeseen situation or problem occurs, still project manager should be able to tackle it. It is the point, where the skills and expertise of the project manager are shown. The better is the plan for the project, better it is able to complete the project in time.
It is therefore, usually recommended to keep margin for these type of risks in terms of cost and time. Each level of the project must first be approved and then contractor should move to the next level. It is necessary to follow this process as it would keep the contractor safe from any loss. Various kinds of risks related to the home building in Abu Dhabi are discussed as follows:

Damages occurring due to flaws in material casting, workmanship, and design

Fire or lightning
Earthquake
Strike or subsidence
Collision, burglary, malicious damage, or theft of the construction material
Some specific risks related to home building project are as follows,
Cement Mixer
Painting
Carpentry
Electrical Installation
Concrete blocks laying
Risk Assessment Matrix
Conclusion
The preplanned report help the client getting the general picture of their project. Similarly, in case of this home building project, this report will help Mr. Shaikh Rashid making better decisions regarding the choice of materials and tools to be used in the construction of building. It will also provide details of each task and assure the client that his assigned contract will be completed in time. There are several other benefits of the project management report for both, the contractor itself and the client. Like, it will help the contractor focusing in the right direction by following the plan. Contractor would prepare, execute, monitor, and manage projects in the way as documented. The report will also help the client knowing about risks in prior. Thus, the contractor will remain conscious of the potential risks.

References

Gray, L. (2011). Estimating Project Times and Costs. Retrieved from Project Management: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073403342/student_view0/chapter5/
Larson, E. (n.d.). Project Management: The Managerial Process (Special Indian Edition). Mc-Graw Hill.
PMBOK Guide. (n.d.). Project Management Body of Knowledge. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute Inc.
Portny, S. E. (2010). Project Management for Dummies. United States: Wiley.
Work Breakdown Structure. (2012). Work Breakdown Structure. Retrieved from Work Breakdown Structure: https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/