Tutorial 3 - ICT712 Information Technology Project Management
The following content is sourced from: Larson, E 2021, Project Management : The
Managerial Process, McGraw-Hill US Higher Ed ISE, NY. Available from: ProQuest Ebook
Central. [2 July 2021].
Exercises
1. Mrs. Tolstoy and her husband, Serge, are planning their dream house. The lot for the house
sits high on a hill with a beautiful view of the Appalachian Mountains. The plans for the house
show the size of the house to be 2,900 square feet. The average price for a lot and house similar
to this one has been $120 per square foot. Fortunately, Serge is a retired plumber and feels he
can save money by installing the plumbing himself. Mrs. Tolstoy feels she can take care of the
interior decorating.
The following average cost information is available from a local bank that makes loans to local
contractors and disperses progress payments to contractors when specific tasks are verified as
complete.
24 % Excavation and framing complete
8% Roof and fireplace complete
3% Wiring roughed in
6% Plumbing roughed in
5% Siding on
17 % Windows, insulation, walks, plaster, and garage complete
9% Furnace installed
4% Plumbing fixtures installed
10 % Exterior paint, light fixtures installed, finish hardware installed
6% Carpet and trim installed
4% Interior decorating
4% Floors laid and finished
a. What is the estimated cost for the Tolstoy’s house if they use contractors to complete all of
the house?
Answer:
Estimated total cost for the house is $348,000 (2,900 sq. ft. x $120 per foot).
b. Estimate what the cost of the house would be if the Tolstoys use their talents to do some of
the work themselves.
Answer:
Estimated savings of Serge’s plumbing work and Mrs. Tolstoy’s interior decorating:
Plumbing roughed in 6% x $348,000 = $20,880
1
Plumbing fixtures installed 4% x $348,000 = $13,920
Interior decorating 4% x $348,000 = $13,920
Total saving = $48,720
Estimated total cost for the completed house using their talents is $299,280 ($348,000 -
$48,720).
2. Below is a project WBS with cost apportioned by percents.
a. If the total project cost is estimated to be $600,000, what are the estimated costs for the
following deliverables?
• Design
• Programming
• In-house testing
Answer:
a. Design? $240,000
b. Programming? $120,000
c. In-house testing? $240,000
b. What weaknesses are inherent in this estimating approach?
Answer:
a. Requires good, realistic historical data.
b. If total cost estimate is off, all other costs will be off.
c. Project must be very similar to past projects for subdeliverables to be useful.
2
3. Draw a project network from the following information. What activity(s) is a burst activity?
What activity(s) is a merge activity?
Answer:
Activity C is a burst activity. Activity G is a merge activity.
3
4. Draw a project network from the following information. What activity(s) is a burst
activity? What activity(s) is a merge activity?
Answer:
Activity A is a burst activity. Activities F, G, and H are merge activities.
4
5. From the following information, develop an AON project network. Complete the forward
and backward pass, compute activity slack, and identify the critical path. How many days
will the project take?
Answer:
The project will take 14 days.
5
6. The project information for the custom order project of the Air Control Company is
presented here. Draw a project network for this project. Compute the early and late activity
times and the slack times. Identify the critical path.
Answer:
12
The early and late activity times and the slack times are shown on the diagram above. The
critical path is A-D-F-G-H. The project takes 45 days to complete.
6
7. You are creating a customer database for the Hillsboro Hops minor league baseball team.
Draw a project network given the information below. Complete the forward and backward
pass, compute activity slack, and identify the critical path.
How long will this project take? How sensitive is the network schedule? Calculate the free
slack and total slack for all noncritical activities.
Answer:
3 9
7
Early start, late start, early finish, late finish, and slack are shown on the diagram above. The
project is expected to take 10 days. The project is very sensitive with three interrelated
critical paths. None of the activities have slack.
8. You are completing a group term paper. Given the project network that follows, complete
the forward and backward pass, compute activity slack, and identify the critical path. Use this
information to create a Gantt chart for the project. Be sure to show slack for noncritical
activities.
Answer:
8
Early start, late start, early finish, late finish, and slack are shown on the diagram above. The
Gantt chart is shown below.
9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Identify topic
Research topic
Draft paper
Edit paper
Create graphics
Reference
Proof
Final draft
The completion time is 13 days. The critical path is A-B-C-D-G-H.
10
