Engineering Project Management Essay

Typical PracticeEstimating magazine to under government issue design and pen tasks, such as the crafting of blueprints for the construction of wooden furniture (e.g. stool, desk, chest) by an just and the creation of blueprints for buildings of commercial establishments by an architect, requires the manner of estimating labour party salutes. After all, greet estimates require condemnation estimates. Computing the chore speak to (technically callight-emitting diode as the discipline labor cost in direction depicting) proceeds by adding the histrions base graze and indirect payroll be, such as government securities and insurance. The result is multiplied with the workers labor heartbeats.The reaping of the operation is the labor cost. If labor cost is known and the estimated labor hour is unknown, the tutor solitary(prenominal) has to work around the equation to obtain the estimated m of performing the task.This is the easiest method for the manager, and too the m ost unreliable beca employ it relies on historic info of labor costs. It relies on past times data of labor costs because an empirical method is needed, which this method does not include. In such a case, this method is just mere speculation.It is not an musical theme in the proper sense of the term because at that place be no trials and errors make to gather data. From this, in that location is withal a distinctiation between past data and empirical data. Past data atomic number 18 excessively empirical data, but they be ga in that locationd in the past, on that pointfore getting a less accurate information. Empirical data, after all, require accepted use of tools to be obtained.Also, it is unreliable because if the companionship is new, it potbellynot use this method thither is no recorded information regarding past operations. Only a long-existing political party dirty dog benefit from this method of estimating labor hours. One problem in estimating the time and cost in performing design and drafting jobs is that managers can only speculate about the tally of time needed by a specific job. For instance, the manager of a firm that designs and produces tuneful instruments can not know exactly how long in a daylight can a staff of twenty finishes a accredited estimate of musical instruments.Time is a variable that depends on the quality and total of tools, materials, equipment, and workers assigned in performing tasks. In the archetype of designing musical instruments, the manager should know how long each instrument is designed in its entirety by a specific worker. It would help to get an reasonable rate for this. Afterwards, the middling rate bequeath be multiplied to the fleck of instruments to be designed.If 1 stops here, this is an incomp allowe method of computing labor time. The manager should get the time it took the labor to prepare for the task, and how long it took him to withdraw the musical instrument to the co rresponding collectors of the aforementi hotshotd products in the prudence system. Then, the nerve center is multiplied with the distance of the labor from the shop or wherever he is winning the musical instruments. The resulting product is because added to the product of the average rate and the number of instruments to be designed.Another method in estimating the labor time is by taking the average hours of preceding homogenous tasks. In creating a musical instrument, the manager gets the time it took for a worker to complete ace instrument. He then obtains data from the proceeding tasks. By getting the average of the values, we obtain the average hours.Variability and ContingenciesThe accuracy of the starting signal method is low. First, there is a huge possibility of error in relying past data or performance. A caller that designs cars ought to mea current the time and cost of labor through direct empirical methods, such as obtaining the rates by which workers accomplish their jobs.However, this method depends on the accuracy of historical data. If historical data are inaccurate, there is a 100% tendency that the result of utilize this method will produce inaccuracies. This is not recommended for companies because it is not an engineering standard. The second method is much empirical and far-off more accurate than the first method. Considering the computation of the average rate, oneness can not be sure of the precision of this statistical tool. Using the mean, median or mode as a way to produce data for the estimation of the time and cost of labor is inefficient.It is recommended that a deviation analysis be conducted so that deviations will be ingestn into consideration. After all, workers are not robots. They harbour soaring(prenominal) take aims of inefficiency and inconsistency of output. A worker has fluctuating labor rates. The time he finishes a job fluctuates in hours or minutes, thereby changing the touchstone of labor cost. Usi ng the variance analysis as a statistical method in obtaining work rates is more efficient.When this is done, it makes the second estimation method more accurate because deviant cases, or changes in time and labor costs, are taken into consideration. The variance analysis can to a fault be applied on the third method, which also relies on utilize the mean, median or mode. Since averages are less reliable than doing a variance analysis, the third method can be inaccurate. More statistical methods are needed.Monitoring and UpdatingAs the design and drafting tasks proceed, the practices used to update estimates are the future(a) rhythmic, intermittent, and periodical recording of average rates in designing and drafting jobs. The practice of having a regular recording system, which requires inputs for either day of labor, is the most accurate but also the most costly. Therefore, it is far from inefficient. Only a huge companion can take improvement of this, if there is a high run a lay on the line involved in not monitoring the time and cost of labor. An intermittent recording practice entails intermediate accuracy and cost. This requires inputs every week, month or quarter of the year, depending on the needfully of the company to monitor the progress of the fluctuations in time and cost of labor. A periodical recording practice is the least costly, but has the risk of be inaccurate because it does not measure everything. It only measures the fluctuations in time and cost of labor between points in time, and not within a deuce whatever of time.ReferencesBaskette, C. (2006). Avoided cost estimation and post-reform funding allocation for Californias postcode efficiency programs. Electricity Market Reform and Deregulation, 31, 1084-1099.Farsi, Mehdi. (2006). Cost efficiency in the Swiss gas distribution sector. Energy Economics, 28,1050-1062.ASSIGNMENT 2 (Y) priming for Project methodologyThe specific method chosen for a certain view is based on the inhe rent characteristics of that image. There are as many methods as there are kinds of proposals. The dry land for choosing a method depends on the variables that differentiate one picture from other(prenominal), like the level of complexness involved in the activity. The following is the list of factors that may be the instauration of go steady methodologyProject theater of operationsLevel of complexnesscase of dialogue used One of the many considerations in job methodology decision- qualification is the ensure field. Is the project small, moderate, or large? Even this question requires some thinking, since the size of a project is arbitrary. It depends on the sizes of other projects the manager or company considers as points of comparison.The subject area of the project may mean the geographical area concerned. For instance, an voltaic company that aims to build a network of galvanising facilities may be one kilometer by 500 meters. adjudicate whether this is small , medium, or large varies from one project to other. There may have been other similar projects built, requiring only two or three hectares of land. In such cases, this project may be considered large in area. The area can also be seen in terms of influence. In the example of an electric company building a network of electric facilities, the area may mean the number of households it would serve. Again, judging whether a number of ten-thousand households is small, medium or large depends on other similar projects made. Another basis is the level of complexity involved in the project. Complexity can be measured by how many interactions among wholes are required to accomplish a task, and judging the data whether the project system is simple or complex. In the above example, measuring the complexity of building a network of electric facilities may require determining the organization of managers and workers that are involved in the project. Some organizations interact according to hier archy. These kinds of organizations tend to be simple because there are defined ways on how the units interact among one another.Some, which are more complex, require units to interact in different ways. To put it concretely, let us enounce that the electric company assigns the guardianship department to be always under the engineering department, which means that the staff would only take commands from the latter. This is a simple scenario. A complex scenario would be when the company assigns the maintenance department to communicate with the other divisions of the company in accomplishing its own task.The partnership between complexity and method is that the complexity meets the method. After knowing a projects level of complexity, the method may then be configured depending on this information. The third basis is communication. What is the message of the project? What are the kinds of media used? For whom is the message? These are strong things to take in judgment when cha racterizing what sort of communication exists in an activity. Is the electric company making use of an intranet, which simplifies complex interactions? What tools are used for one division to communicate with another? Are telephones preferred over online chatting between departments? It is also significant to determine the contexts in which communication occurs. Is it one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many? Determining this also affects the level of complexity of the project. A one-to-one communication is simple but slow and inefficient. A one-to-many communication is immobile and efficient, but the message reception loses quality. Many-to-many communication is fast and complex, thereby increasing the level of complexity in the project. Decisions regarding matters on communication are only part of choosing what methodology to use.Criteria for Best Project MethodologyIn order to illustrate how one method is better than another abandoned a specific project, let us take the followi ng popular methods in project management pivots Development, Rational coordinated Process, and entire Programming (Asrilhant, 2005). These are the best methods in project management because they generally are flexible to different factors, like reckon and project size. They compliment each other. One strategys flea-bittenness is anothers strength. If the project has high budget, one may say that the Waterfall Development is the best method for it. That is because this method requires little or zippo corrections in inputs. This is possible because the planning function of the management is more crucial. A low budget means a high risk to undertake the project. Therefore, quality planning is indispensable. For instance, if the electric company funds a 5-hectare electric network facility 30% light than similar projects, the management has to undertake Waterfall Development. This means the planning function is geared on decreasing costs. There will be much labor required on the pa rt of engineers and analysts to improver the level of certainty in inputs. The company cannot afford to do experimentations and much exam. High technical proficiency is required. If the project entails intermediate risk, and there is an intermediate number of staff who would man it, then the Rational Unified Process may be used as the best methodology. This is because risk management is balanced with a medium essence of budget or allowance for failure in inputs. If the electric company funds a 10-hectare electric network facility 2% lower than similar projects, the management may afford to increase the costs of testing and experimenting with inputs to produce outputs in electric services. Finally, if there is a need for regular testing and experimentation of inputs, and corrections in testing failures, then the Extreme Programming may be undertaken as the best methodology. Budget given here is high, and the risks are lower. The population of staff is also considerably higher than the two other methodologies. Here, the management can afford to run the risk of losing resources, albeit with prudence. Determining which method is best for a project requires measuring the amount of risks associated with the project, the budget allocated for the activity, the number of participants in the staff, and the affordability of the project to receive failing outputs.ReferencesAsrilhant, Boris. (2005). On the strategic project management process in the UK indutrial sector.Omega, 35, 89-103.ASSIGNMENT 3Alternative Classification The rationale of having a new project salmagundi is to respond against the inefficiencies of the older classifications. The project method concerns itself much on the processes and ways on how tasks are carried out in the activity. However, it is too formalized and technical. It is formalistic because it is focused on empirical observations. It is too technical because it does not throw room for speculation and theorizing. There is a huge chance t hat it will lose messiness of the projects objectives. The project end-product, being goal-oriented, is weak on the part of specific matters. It may lose sight on technical issues such as the method of computation to use in estimating labor costs. If a firm that manufactures cars undertake an activity in which the project is separate as belonging under the project end-product, the managers will fall short on practicality. Important details are missed, like the choosing of a certain metal as a material in making automobiles.There may be one end-product but there are many methods in which inputs can be processed into outputs. These methods determine the level of costs associated with the achievement. If a company is too concerned about output, it loses sight on the possibility of gaining productivity by merely choosing the method.This is to say that a new classification is neededa new classification that would account for the weaknesses of project methodology and project end-produ ct. Since the two classifications do not take into consideration certain factors of production and labor, which are outstanding determinants of the success of a project, a new chosen classification is labeling projects according to the types of constraints.The traditional constrains in a project are the followingTimeCost wareLaborThese variables define the shape or form of the project. Changing one variable changes the whole project in its entirety. To illustrate, assume that an automobile manufacturing company undertakes a project of creating fifty units of luxury cars.The time constraint associated with the project makes it different from all the other projects with similar methods and end-products. For instance, this project is similar to atomic number 23 other projects whose goals are also to create fifty units of luxury cars. The only hypothetical difference is the amount of days required to accomplish it. This is to say that a project is different from another when there is a significant time interval between the required time to accomplish one project and the required time to accomplish another. However, it is too trivial if the manager only relies on the time constraint. Costs are also important contributors of project type determination. The amount of money allotted for a budget determines the influence of the project on the area it is being undertaken, and on the unit is serving. This is an indispensable category because the cost also gives way to knowing the area and quality of the project. If the car company gives a budget to a car-manufacturing project which is 50% lower than that of another project with similar end-product, then the two projects are different because the former is constrained in using resources. It must tap the planning function of the management at its best, because it cannot afford high risks and high expenses. Production is a consequence of the cost constraint. The number of cars to be produced by the company depends on the allotted budget in producing these cars. Consequently, this is also related to labor in the sense that, if the budget is low and the production is high, then the labor must be intensive. It is empirically impossible to increase labor if the budget remains the same. In short, projects can be classified according to the variability of their traditional constraints. They be classified as the followingLong-term undertaking, high-budgeted, labor intensive.Mid-term undertaking, with intermediate budget, intermediate production, and medium labor intensiveness. short undertaking, low-budgeted, small production, and low concentration in labor.This is not to say that there are only three ways to classify projects. There are different permutations of classifying them because a project can be both long and low-budgeted, short-term and high-budgeted, and the like. There are twenty-seven combinations possible for the project manager. It is steadying for the project manager because there are va ried choices to be undertaken with this typology. sweetening This classification gives an enhanced understanding of project management because the inefficiencies of project end-product and project method are revealed and solved. The old classification system is poor because there are only small categories where projects fall under.In logic, the lesser concepts there are to stand for heterogeneous things, the more abstract the ideas become. By taking into consideration the traditional constraints of a project, and basing from it to form a new project classification, one achieves a more concrete and detailed description of the different projects that are to be executed.Project classification, through this kind of classification, becomes more multipurpose not only as a mere science of classification. It also helps management keep an improved system of managing the projects, thereby increasing productivity and output quality.This project classification also enhances the understanding o n the contentedness of projects. Project method concerns itself with the processed item but not the one being processed. Project end-product concerns itself with the output but not the materials or inputs that led to its creation. This classification gives a new lens through which projects are seen by the manager.ReferencesProject management. Retrieved September 4, 2006, fromhttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_managementProject_systems