SerDoc Plan 1 answer below »
SerDoc is a company that manufactures customised medical equipment for hospitals and is about to initiate a project for building a new machine for a recent order from a hospital. The project involves the following six phases: initiating, requirements gathering, design, development and testing, documentation, deployment and testing. The project is scheduled to start on 15 October.
The duration and precedence relationships (or sequencing) between the tasks of the project are provided in the table below:
Phase
Task Name
Task ID
Immediate Predecessor
Time (Days)
Initiating
Defining the scope of the project
1
5
Initiating
Analysing the existing product which is being produced by SerDoc
2
10
Requirements Gathering
Preparing the requirements document and a high-level design
3
1, 2
15
Requirements Gathering
Conducting a proof of concept to validate the approach
4
3
7
Requirements Gathering
Signoff of requirements and a high-level design from the customers who have ordered the machine
5
3
4
Design
Design of hardware components
6
5, 4
20
Design
Detailed product specifications
7
5
30
Design
Detailed program design*
8
7
20
Development and Testing
Manufacturing of the shell of the machine
9
7, 8
40
Development and Testing
Assembling of the electronic components of the machine
10
7
10
Development and Testing
Testing of the circuit for accuracy of responses
11
9, 10
40
Development and Testing
Testing of the manufactured machine and calibration to standards
12
11
15
Documentation
Preparing an installation and user manual
13
Finishes with 8, 12
30
Deployment and Testing
Installation of the machine at the hospital
14
18
5
Deployment and Testing
Conducting trials and checking all functionality at the hospital after installation
15
12, 14
10
Deployment and Testing
Getting client signoff
16
13, 15
0
Deployment and Testing
Training hospital technicians for using the machine
17
12
15
Deployment and Testing
Commissioning of the machine at the hospital
18
8
9
*This task can begin 5 days after starting Task 7.
Part 1
On the basis of the above information, use Microsoft® Project to create a project plan that lists project tasks, establishes precedence relationships between tasks, sets precedence relationships, calculates the project duration, and identifies the critical path. While preparing the project plan, categorise the project tasks in the different phases of initiating, requirements gathering, design, development and testing, documentation, and deployment and testing.
What is the end date of the project?
Submit a screen shot of the Microsoft Project plan in the same document as your answer.
Part 2
After looking at the schedule that you have created, the client has objected to the project completion date. The client wants the project to be completed at least 30 days before the current completion date. According to the client, there should be no reduction in the duration of some activities, such as the installation of the machine at the hospital, conducting trials and checking all functionality at the hospital after installation, and getting client signoff, as the current estimate for these tasks itself is very aggressive.
Activities that can be considered for reducing the duration by adding resources are the following:Manufacturing of the shell of the machine:A maximum of 4 resources can be added at an additional cost of $500 per day per resource.Assembling of the electronic components of the machine:A maximum of 1 resource can be added at an additional cost of $700 per day.Testing of the circuit for accuracy of responses: A maximum of 3 resources can be added at an additional cost of $300 per day per resource.Testing of the manufactured machine and calibration to standards: A maximum of 1 resource can be added at an additional cost of $200 per day.
Given the above data, what would be the maximum reduction in the duration of each task that can be achieved by using all the additional resources? What would be the additional cost for the same?
