[SOLVED] Final Project and Presentation

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Final Project and Presentation:

Appendix 2: Red Zuma Project

• Complete Part 1, 2, and 3

Final Project – Create an essay and a PowerPoint presentation summarizing your project plan

• Use MS Excel or Open Project to create your tables and charts.

Final Project Requirements:

• · The Essay must be 5 pages long excluding Title Page, Abstract, and Reference Page
• · Must have an introduction with a clear thesis statement, a body discussing the three main points and a conclusion
• · Conduct research to find relevant information using reliable sources to support your views.
• · (Use at least 2 academic books and 3 peer reviewed scholarly articles from a library database)
• · Use APA Style for in-text citations, and references
• · Turn in the Paper to SMARTHINKING.com before submitting your final paper.
• · Turn in a final paper and the paper with the SMARTHINKING.com tutor comments.

Red Zuma Project

Red Zuma Project The ARC Company specializes in developing and selling a wide range of high-quality scooters. Sales representatives report that there is a growing demand for racing scooters. ARC’s president, Robin Lane, is excited about the possibilities and predicts that one day these kinds of razor scooters will be featured in X-Game events. ARC is a small company and uses a strong matrix to optimally utilize limited manpower. The Project Priority Matrix for the Red Zuma Project is:

Part 1 You are a member of a project team assigned to develop the new razor scooter code named “Red Zuma.” Table A2.5 contains the information necessary to create a project schedule. For the purpose of this case assume the following:

The project begins January 2, 2015. The following holidays are observed: January 1, Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), July 4th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), December 25. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if it falls on a Sunday, then Monday will be given as a day off. If December 25th falls on a Friday then Monday will not be given a day off. The project team works eight-hour days, Monday through Friday. Page 622 Construct a network schedule for this project and prepare a memo that answers the following questions: When is the project estimated to be completed? How long will the project take? What is the critical path for the project? Which activity has the greatest amount of slack? How sensitive is this network? Identify two sensible milestones and explain your choices. Include the following printouts: A Gantt chart. A network diagram highlighting the critical path. A schedule table reporting ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity. Part 2 The following personnel have been assigned full-time to the Red Zuma project team: 4 marketing specialists 4 design engineers 4 development engineers 4 industrial engineers 4 test riders 2 purchasing agents Use the file from Part 1 and the information contained in Tables A2.6 and A2.7 to assign resources to the project schedule. TABLE A2.6 Red Zuma Project Resources TABLE A2.7 Red Zuma Resource Assignments Page 623 Part A Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: Which if any of the resources are overallocated? Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any overallocation problems by leveling within slack. What happens? What is the impact of leveling within slack on the sensitivity of the network? Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack.

Assume that the project is resource constrained and no additional personnel are available. How long will the project take given the resources assigned? (Hint: Undo leveling performed in Part A before answering this question.) Note: No splitting of activities is allowed. How does the new duration compare with the estimated completion date generated from Part 1? What does this tell you about the impact resources can have on a schedule? Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table displaying free and total slack depicting the resource-constrained schedule. Part B Top management is not happy with the resource-constrained schedule. Robin Lane, the president, has promised retailers that ARC will begin production in time for the major trade show in Las Vegas on January 22, 2016, which means the project needs to be completed by January 17, 2016. She has authorized working the first available Saturday of each month to help the project get completed sooner. She realizes that this will only reduce the project duration by 12–13 days. After talking to the engineers, everyone agrees that they do not have to wait for the Detailed Product Design to be 100% completed before starting to build the prototype. The consensus is that Building the Prototype can start 30 days after the start of the Detailed Product Design. Likewise the Final Manufacturing Process can start 15 days after the start of Finalized Product Design. Dewey Martin, director of product development, is also willing to add personnel to the project. He is willing to make available at least one more Development, Design, and/or Industrial Engineer to the project as well as Marketing Specialist. Since there is an acute shortage of personnel at ARC he requests that you only use additional manpower that will help meet the deadline. Your objective is to develop a schedule which will satisfy the deadline with minimum additional resource usage. Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: What was the impact of introducing Start-to-Start lags to the schedule and budget? Which, if any additional personnel assignments, would you choose to complete the project before the January 17th deadline? Explain your choices as well as the reasons for not choosing other options. How have these changes affected the sensitivity of the network and the critical path? Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table displaying free and total slack for the new schedule. Note: Do not assign new personnel to specific tasks, simply add them to the Resource Sheet. All new personnel are available full time (100%). At first glance—this appears to be a very complicated, difficult assignment, but if you enter the information correctly, the computer is able to generate the answers with a few simple clicks. Page 625 Part 3 Top management has accepted the schedule created at the end of Part 2. Prepare a brief memo that addresses the following questions: How much will the project cost? What is the most expensive activity? What does the cash flow statement tell you about how costs are distributed over the life span of the project? Include a monthly cash flow for the project. Once you are confident that you have the final schedule, save the file as a baseline. Hint: Save a backup file just in case without baseline! Part 4 Part A Today’s date is July 8, 2015, the milestone date for the completion of the Prototype. You are charged with preparing a status report for top management. Table A2.8 summarizes progress on the Red Zuma project. TABLE A2.8 Red Zuma Project Update Submit a professional status report to Robin Lane that addresses the following questions: How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule? What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well? How much of the project has been accomplished (PCIB)? What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? What is the estimated completion date? How is the project doing in terms of priorities (see Part 1)? Report and interpret relevant Earned Value metrics in your report. Include a Tracking Gantt chart as well as an Earned Value Table with your memo. Page 626 Part B You have told Robin Lane that based on what you know now you need to revise the estimates for some of the remaining activities. Finalized Product Design is expected to take 3 days longer than planned. Final Manufacturing Process is expected to take 2 days less than planned, while Install Production Equipment is now expected to take only 30 days. You also report that Detailed Marketing plan will be completed before the end of the New Year. She is insisting that the project be completed by January 17th in order to be ready for the Las Vegas show. She is willing to spend $50,000 from Management Reserves to expedite shipping if necessary. $25,000 would reduce the shipping of components by 5 days and/or $25,000 would reduce the shipping of manufacturing parts by 5 days (Hint: Adjust lag). Prepare a memo to Robin that addresses the following questions: What is the impact of the revised estimates for Finalized Product Design and Install Production Equipment on the project schedule and cost? Would you recommend authorizing the expenditure of $50,000? Explain. What, if any other recommendations, would you make so that the project can achieve Robin’s deadline? Justify your recommendations. Include a Tracking Gantt chart with variance schedule that depicts your final recommendations and revised schedule. Hint: After adjusting the Installation of Production Equipment and Finalized Product Design, level outside of slack to eliminate any resource over allocation problems.