Unit 4. Chapter 25. Project Management

Question 1

Project

Answer 1

a specific and temporary activity with a starting and ending date, clear goals, defined responsibilities and a budget

Question 2

Project management

Answer 2

using modern management techniques to carry out and complete a project from start to finish in order to achieve pre-set targets of quality, time and cost

Question 3

The key elements of project management

Answer 3

• Defining the project carefully, including the setting of clear objectives
• Dividing the project up into manageable tasks and activities
• Controlling the project at every stage to check that time limits are being kept to
• Giving each team member a clear role
• Providing controls over quality issues and risks.

Question 4

Consequences of failure to manage projects successfully

Answer 4

• Penalty payments having to be paid to the customer
• Bad publicity in the construction industry
• Loss of future contracts

Question 5

Reasons for project failure

Answer 5

• Customers were not involved in the planning and development process.
• The project had inadequate or no resources that were vital for its completion
• Senior management just did not seem interested in seeing the project through
• The project specification kept changing during the course of the project
• Planning was poor
• The project’s scope had become outdated due to change in business environment
• The project team was technically incompetent.

Question 6

Critical path analysis

Answer 6

a planning technique that identifies all tasks in a project, puts them in the correct sequence and allows for the identification of the critical path

Question 7

Process of using critical path

Answer 7

1. Identify the objective of the project. E.g. learning biology A2 in 6 days
2. Put the tasks that make up the project into the right sequence and draw a network diagram
3. Add the duration of each of activities
4. Identify the critical path - those activities that must finish on time for the project to be finished in the shortest time
5. Use the network as a control tool when problems occur during the project

Question 8

Network diagram

Answer 8

the diagram used in critical path analysis that shows logical sequence of activities and the logical dependencies between them - and the critical path can be identified.

Question 9

Critical path

Answer 9

the sequence of activities that must be completed on time for the whole project to be completed by the agreed date.

Question 10

Network diagram notation

Answer 10

• Arrow indicates each activity
• An activity takes up time and resources
• A node (circle) indicates the end of each activity