Case Study Information and Prompt The R&D project that Theta Corporation is executing is now into its tenth month.  The project manager, Jeff Brown, is taking a look at the latest data from the Project Management System – and shaking his head.

Case Study Information and Prompt

The R&D project that Theta Corporation is executing is now into its tenth month.  The project manager, Jeff Brown, is taking a look at the latest data from the Project Management System – and shaking his head.

“And I thought it was going so well at Month 4.”, he mutters to himself.  “That Omnibus legislation really threw us for a loop!”.

This is the data that has Jeff so concerned:

           EMV Metrics Table

                                                                  EMV Calculations Table

Jeff knows that there are only three months left in the project and some action needs to be taken to successfully complete the project.  He considers the current situation, evaluates the project plan, and starts formulating a plan for the rest of the project.

The remaining tasks in the project look like this:

There is one component that was planned as a purchase.  The information for that component is as follows:

Purchase:

           Cost:                                   $100K

           Delivery Time:                     2 months

Build:

           Cost (if no issue):                $85K

           Cost (if issue occurs):           $170K

           Probability of issue:            20%

           Build Time:                          1.5 months

There is a management reserve of $50K for the project.

Jeff takes this all this information into consideration and decides on how to pull this project out of the fire.

Prompts:

Prompt 1:      Calculate the EVM calculations for the gray cells in the attached EVM Calculations Template document (see attached EVM Calculations Template.docx) which is identical to the EVM Calculations Table above.  Discuss the results and what they indicate about the status of the project.  Consider what trends are present and what outcomes are forecast.

Prompt 2:      Using the information above, discuss what cost containment and compression techniques could Jeff consider using.  Explain why they would be appropriate, how they might be implemented, and what the benefits and drawbacks of using them might be.

Prompt 3:      Re-examine the component that was planned as a purchase.  Perform a Bayesian analysis on the component and evaluate whether the decision should be changed.  Support your conclusion.

Prompt 4:      Reflect on the process of managing a troubled project.  Consider the value of risk planning, project monitoring, risk/benefit decisions, and the application of management techniques.  Discuss the role of communications.  Extrapolate to situations in your own experience.