Project Management 1

Project management

Name

University/college
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Actions to avoid current length of critical path

Project management is a complex venture that relies on various variables. The critical

path is considered as one of the variables in project management. It is applicable when trying to

manage time during project management. Primarily, it determines the minimum duration of a

project. To establish the critical path, it is important to know the duration of the project, the

local dependencies and the due dates (Ducros & Fernet, 2010). Every activity in the project is

defined based on the day that it will begin and the date it is predicted to end or the latest date that

it should have been completed. Linking all the elements of the project will define where and the

amount of buffer time that is integrated into the project. This would mean that any project can

have more than one critical path. In this case, the activities that should not be delayed are part of

the critical path (Barker & Cole, 2012). If these activities go beyond their time frame, then the

planned duration of the project will have to be revised. In this case, installing the doors is an

important part of the project. Due to the delays, the entire project will complete at a later date.

In the current case, there is a delay of 3 days meaning that the critical path has passed. It

is imperative that the critical path is not delayed. The current length of the critical path can be

avoided by preventing delays, especially when allocating the resources required (Dunne &

Dunne, 2011). In the present case, the essential resources are doors, and their delivery was a

major issue that led to the deal. If the doors were delivered on time, then the project would have

competed at the expected time (Brechner & Waletzky, 2015). In this content, it would have been

better to allocate all the required resources to ensure that the current activities are completed

successfully.

The next step would entail carrying out tasks in parallel instead of completing them

sequentially. It would have reduced the time required to install the doors. Considering the
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magnitude of the project, the doors could have been installed on a given day by different

individuals or professionals (Heldman, 2011). This would have reduced the time required to

install the doors, and the length of the critical path would have reduced.

The product can also be increased to avoid the current duration of the critical path. This

would increase the supply of the doors, and it will ensure that the project will finish on time. The

current door installation activities can be intensified to reduce the amount of time required. The

employees will also have to work for extended hours to recoup the lost time, and this would

ensure that the project is finished on time (Kogon, Blakemore, & Wood, 2015). The working

process should also be improved. This can be achieved through engineering motivation where

individuals on the site have sufficient skills and are motivated. These strategies will apply in

avoiding the current length of the critical path, and the project will complete on time.

Factors for project success

There are myriad of factors that make a project a success. A successful project will rely

on different variables, and these factors rely on distinct variables in the project such as timelines

and budget.

Stakeholder satisfaction

In many projects, there is a myriad of stakeholders with vested interests. There is a high

chance that the client represents another individual whom they report to. The project relies on a

multitude of departments. It is vital to meet the needs of different stakeholders, and they have to

be consulted to ensure that the project is a success (Kutsch, 2011). However, it can be difficult to

make all the stakeholders happy. It is common to have stakeholders who have opposing views.

If the project relies on external consultants, then the project will not suffer from feuds among
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stakeholders (Leal, 2014). However, if it is internal, then there would be difficulties in delivering

the project. It is hard to make all stakeholders happy, and it would be better to make just a single

stakeholder happy such as the users of the final project or the financers. This will ensure that the

project is a success.

Project objectives

It is imperative to meet the aims of the project. These entail the goals or the outcomes of

the project. Mostly, achieving these goals would signify the success of the project. Statistics

show that over 35% of the features that are built in the project were not used, and only about

26% of the features are always used. Essentially, a large part of the work done in the project

would not be beneficial. The client would often request features that will not be used, but are

part of the objectives of the project. Mostly, the features do not matter even if they are not used

(Nicholas & Steyn, 2008). During the project, some features can be ignored if there is a need to

reduce the scope of the project, or the original features can be ignored to ensure that the project

is on track. It is common for clients to make suggestions about everything they want, but it is up

to the project manager to ensure that the overall objectives will be met. If all the needs of the

client are met even though they are not applicable, then there is a higher chance of success

(Staples, 2010).

Budget

The budget used in the project is a critical variable for success. If the project does not

have the require finances, then it can quickly fail. It is imperative that the stakeholders have

provided sufficient finances to ensure the success of the project (Snyder, 2013). If there is a lack
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of funds, then the scope can be reduced to ensure that the overall objectives of the project is

achieved.

Time

The project managers have to deliver the project on time. This is the main variables of the

project, and it is a critical success factor. The project can be a failure if the time is not managed

correctly. It is imperative to determine the deadline of a project and whether it is fixed (Young,

2013). If the deadline is fixed, then the project has to be financed before the end of the project.

Time also relies on other variables such as budget and objectives of the project. They can affect

the time used for the project and its success.

Value

Finally, the value is an important aspect of the project. It is important that the project has

value to the stakeholders. This is possible by achieving a possible outcome of the project. If the

outcome is not valuable, such as loss of revenue, then the project is a failure (Heldman, 2011).

Essentially, the project, upon completion, should be profitable for the stakeholders. It should add

value, and this will ensure that it is successful.

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References

Barker, S., & Cole, R. (2012). Brilliant project management: what the best project managers

know, do and say. Harlow, England: Pearson.

Brechner, E., & Waletzky, J. (2015). Agile project management with Kanban (1st ed.).

Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press.

Ducros, M., & Fernet, G. (2010). Project Management Guide. Editions TECHNIP.

Dunne, K. J., & Dunne, E. S. (2011). Translation and Localization Project Management: The Art

of the Possible. John Benjamins Publishing.

Heldman, K. (2011). Project management jumpstart. Wiley: Hoboken, NJ.

Kogon, K., Blakemore, S., & Wood, J. (2015). Project Management for the Unofficial Project

Manager: A FranklinCovey Title. London: BenBella Books.

Kutsch, E. (2011). Performers, trackers, lemmings and the lost: sustained false optimism in

forecasting project outcomes evidence from a quasi-experiment. International Journal

of Project Management, 29(8), 1070-1081.

Leal, J. (2014). Project Management Guide to Writing a Powerful Project Initiation Document

(1st ed.). New York: Createspace Independent Pub.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2008). Project management for business, engineering, and

technology: principles and practice (3rd ed.). Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier Butterworth

Heinemann.

Snyder, C. (2013). A project manager's book of forms: a Companion to the PMBOK Guide, Fifth

edition. Wiley: Hoboken, N.J.

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Staples, L. (2010). Project management: a technician guide. North Carolina: Research Triangle

Park.

Young, T. L. (2013). Successful project management. London: Kogan Page Limited.