Project Management Dr. Ron Lembke Operations Management

What’s a Project? Changing something from the way it is to the desired state Never done one exactly like this Many related activities Focus on the outcome Regular teamwork focuses on the work process

Examples of Projects Building construction New product introduction Software implementation Training seminar Research project

Why are projects hard? Resources: –People, materials Planning –What needs to be done? –How long will it take? –What sequence? –Keeping track of who is supposedly doing what, and getting them to do it

IT Projects Half finish late and over budget Nearly a third are abandoned before completion –The Standish Group, in Infoworld Get & keep users involved & informed Watch for scope creep / feature creep

Pinion Pine Power Plant DOE Clean Coal –Air-blown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle –Kellogg/Rust/Westinghouse gasifier –GE Frame 6FA combustion turbine –$335.9m, half DOE, half SPP

Coal Gasification Coal Gasification (new) –Coal into Low Heat Value (LHV) gas 130 btus / standard foot –Crushed coal and limestone absorbs sulfur –Hot gas desulfirized –Particulate removal Gas Fed into turbine –Tested fine on nat gas

Technology Development Ash created in gasification, collected Hot-gas cleanup (new technology) –SO 2 in collected in calcium sulfate –Hot-gas filter, then to combustion turbine –Fines combustor burns particles bottom of filter Main problem was filter-fines removal Never operated more than 24 hrs. Tried 24 times to start it. Eventually mothballed

Project Scheduling Establishing objectives Determining available resources Sequencing activities Identifying precedence relationships Determining activity times & costs Estimating material & worker requirements Determining critical activities

Project Personnel Structure Pure project “Skunk Works” Functional Project Matrix Project

Work Breakdown Structure Hierarchy of what needs to be done, in what order (exhibits 7.2, 7.3) For me, the hardest part –I’ve never done this before. How do I know what I’ll do when and how long it’ll take? –I think in phases –The farther ahead in time, the less detailed –Figure tricky issues, the rest is details –A lot will happen between now and then –It works not badly with no deadline ? ? General Idea

Mudroom

Mudroom Remodel Big-picture sequence easy: –Demolition –Framing –Plumbing –Electrical –Drywall, tape & texture –Slate flooring –Cabinets, lights, paint Hard: can a sink fit? D W DW

Project Scheduling Techniques Gantt chart Critical Path Method (CPM) Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)

Gantt Chart

Summary Project management is hard –Who is doing what? Critical activities –Determine completion date –Have to stay on top of them Gantt charts show what should be happening –Can show the critical activities –Hard to use them to figure out what is critical