Project Management Tools Assignment
1. Define Gantt chart and explain what are its advantages and disadvantages?
Answer:
Gantt chart: It is also one type of chart which is used to display activities against time in a project or which is used to explain and illustrates working schedule of a project.
Advantages of Gantt chart:
• Provides a clear view of the project such that what is going on in execution or performing each and evert step.
• Displays all the tasks or works against their deadlines including their present status of processing
• Provides communication or links for the next status or predecessor task, i.e., what should be done before going to the next step.
• Helps to avoid the confusion in the execution of the project.
• Allocates the resources to each and every task in efficient manner.
Disadvantages of Gantt chart:
• Do not shows detailed description of tasks in a complex or large projects.
• Do not show whole view of the project.
• Critical paths in the project can’t measurable or identified.
• If any changes in the project are required, then the total schedule should be redrawn.
• Continuous process updating is required.
2. What is need of assigning one task to at least one person?
Answer: Every project manager or a person who is in managerial position thinks about getting the work or task to be done and ensuring the efficiency of the respected task, as we all of us know this is very complex or tough assigning multiple tasks to single person. By doing so if that person can’t complete the work on given deadline, then it shows high impact on the overall project,
So if we allocate a single task to at least one person, then that person is able concentrate and complete the work on time. The best way is that to complete a complete a project efficiently at least one person should assigned a single task.
3. What is the Predecessors column? Why and where it is used?
Answer:
Predecessor column is a field used in Microsoft project, which shows the task ID or number such that which task should be done or executed before going forward or to the next step in the project. It shows the order of the task to be done.
For example in the software development process, testing step unless until the design and implementation steps are completed. In this example the testing task has the predecessor, i.e., design and implementation task.
Predecessor column or field is used to avoid the confusion in the task or work execution or processing when the project has multiple tasks or works to be done.
4. Explain about various icons in the Microsoft project 2013 after the Gantt chart icon?
Answer: The different after the Gantt chart icon Microsoft project 2013 are task usage, team planner, resource sheet, and report.
Task Usage: The task usage icon explains about the task, sub tasks, number of hours worked for the task or subtask, duration of the tasks or subtasks starting and ending dates of the tasks or subtasks in the project and also description of the work done for the respected and task and subtask.
Task Planner: The task planner shows total tasks in the project, resource names, unscheduled tasks and unassigned tasks. It also shows which tasks, sub tasks assigned to which person by using resource name and also number of unscheduled and unassigned task or sub task in the project.
Resource Sheet: The resource sheet contains the information about resource names, type of the resource, material label, initials (abbreviation of the resource name), group that the resource belongs to, maximum capacity percentage, standard rate for the payments including regular, over time payments, over time rate, cost per use, etc.
Report: The report icon provides various reports available for the project in the Microsoft project. We can use or prepare several reports based on the project requirement by using Microsoft project software.
5. Explain about 3 reports and detail why you would use those reports?
Answer:
Dash Board Reports: These reports helps to make better decisions by viewing and using dynamic reports in the projects data. The various reports included in the dash board reports are burndown report, cost overview report, project overview report, upcoming tasks report and work overview, etc. of the project .
Cost Reports: These reports are used to control the cost incurred in the project by analyzing project data or information. The various reports contained by cost reports are cash flow report, cost overruns report, earned value report, resource cost overview report, task cost overview, etc.
In progress Reports: These reports are helps to analyze the status or progress of the project. These reports contains several reports critical tasks, late tasks, milestone report, etc.
6. Define PERT? Explain its merits and demerits?
Answer:
PERT: PERT is also known as Program Evaluation and Review Technique, which is used to analyze and review the status of the tasks in the project management.
Advantages of PERT:
• PERT tool is used to identify the critical paths or tasks in the project makes them visible.
• It used to organize the large amount of data.
• It presents or explains data or information of the tasks in the project as diagrams to make efficient decisions in the project.
• It defines or provides a precedence relationships between the various elements or tasks of the project.
• PERT provides the probability for completing a task for a given deadline or time.
Disadvantages of PERT:
• PERT is not useful for smaller projects.
• The network chats in the PERT are very large and they require special sized papers for the purpose of printing.
• Lack of time frame in PERT, makes it very complex to display the status of the project.
• Some or several projects may contains the dependency relationships ranged from hundreds to thousands.
• If the person who is performing the assigned task have the less experience, then it will effects on the activity time of the project.
7. What are you impressions of Gantt chart template?
Answer:
I have opened the Gantt project planner in the Excel, it looks very impressive and it is very easy to use. It shows the pictorial representation for actual plan of the project, present stage in the project, completed Percentage (%) of the project, actual and percentage of project completed beyond the plan.
I have very much impressed with this Gantt project planner because it shows if we had done anything beyond the plan of the project.
8. List 10 other project management tools and explain them?
Answer:
BOSCARD: It also known as Background Objectives Scope Constraints Assumptions Risk Deliverables. It is one of the strategic management tool used to provide the references for the new projects in the project management.
Integrated Master Plan (IMP): It is an event based plan or strategy which consists of order or hierarchy of all events. In this method event is divided in to specific event to obtain the best results.
Event Chain Diagram: These are the diagrams used in project management to show the relationships between task, subtasks and events.
Project Network: It is a type of graph used to display the sequence in which way that the project elements and terminal elements they are completed along with their relationships and dependencies.
Risk Register: It is a tool which is used for the project planning and to assess the organizational risk involved in the project.
Schedules: These are lists which contains the details of the project elements with their starting and ending deadlines.
Project Management Simulators: These are computer based tools, which are used in the project management training programs. It is also used for analysis of the project and supports decision making.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): It’s the order of organized decomposition of deliverables that required to complete a project. It divides the all of the deliverables in the project into manageable scheduled work packages, assigning people to the cost, etc.
Logic Network: It depicts the sequence of the tasks in a project for certain time period. It also displays the logical precedence (order of execution) of the tasks or activities.
Product Breakdown Structure: It a tree structure which consists of all tasks or components in project those can lead the project to be delivered.