Project Mgmt

1. Question :

(TCO 2) What is "lag" and why would you need to use it in your network? How is "lag" different than "slack"?

Instructor Explanation: A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end. They occur during laddering and avoid delays and they are also used to constraint the start and finish of an activity. Slack is the time a task can be delayed without delaying the completion of the project.

2. Question :

(TCO 2) What are the purposes of Gantt charts and Network diagrams?

Instructor Explanation: Gantt charts show the tasks in relationship to time, whereas network diagrams show task dependencies - the tasks relationship to each other.

3. Question :

(TCO 2) In the network computation process what is a backward pass and what four things does it determine?

Instructor Explanation: Starting with the last activity, each path is traced backward through the network, subtracting times until the beginning of the project. This determines

how late each activity can start,

how late each activity can finish,

the critical path, and

how long can each activity be delayed without changing the completion date.

4. Question :

(TCO 2) What is the Concurrent Engineering Approach and why should project managers be aware of it?

Instructor Explanation: The chainlike sequence of finish-to-start relationships is replaced by a series of start-to-start lag relationships as soon as meaningful work can be initiated for the next phase. The resulting overlap of tasks slightly increases risk but results in a much shorter schedule. Concurrent Engineering also manages the handoff of tasks from one group to another as the project work proceeds. By necessity, since 2 tasks work somewhat in parallel, the people need to work together. For example from Design to Manufacturing, the design work overlaps some with the manufacturing and so the 2 areas must work together in cooperation to complete their tasks....