Part 1 Questions 10 Pointsprovide Responses To The Following Questio ✓ Solved
Part 1 Questions (10 points) Provide responses to the following questions 1. You are providing a review of contractor bids for a component of your upcoming project. What can be done to determine whether or not a vendor’s bid is reasonable? 2. Describe the conditions for which parametric, analogous and bottom up estimation techniques work best, and provide 2 examples in support of each method.
3. Why is a cost management plan important? How does the plan benefit the project manager? Part 2 Budget Estimating (30 points) Using the same scenario from the previous unit on scheduling, create a time-phased budget for the following project. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9, CPT 4e, that illustrates the daily and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Assume the following hourly rates: Alcides / hr. Joan / hr. Activity ID Activity Immediate Predecessor Duration in days Resource Work Hours per Day A Evaluate freezers 2 Alcides 6 B Chart temperatures 6 Joan 4 C Review service record 2 Alcides D Consult with HVAC engineer A, B, C 3 Alcides E Develop construction plan D 10 Joan F Complete IC assignment E 2 Alcides G Complete ROI analysis E 5 Joan H Conduct regulatory review E 4 Joan I Obtain construction approval F, G, H 2 Alcides Part 3 Budget Estimating (50 points) You are the project manager for a process improvement project for Company XYZ. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9 that illustrates the weekly and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Hint: To accomplish this exercise, you’ll need to create a project schedule in MS Excel (or by hand), create resource assignments, assign costs to each resource, and assign the resources to each task. Some resource leveling will be required. In this project, you have 3 employees: Ann, Becky and Clive. Each person is limited to the amount of time allocated to your project. Ann and Becky are available 30 hours/week; Clive is available 20 hours/week.
There hourly rates are: Ann: /hour; Becky: /hour; and Clive: /hour. WBS Activity Immediate Predecessor Estimated Duration in weeks Resource 1 Process Improvement Project 1.1 Operational definition 1.1.1 Research literature 3 Becky 1.1.2 Identify and define terms 1.1. Ann 1.1.3 Obtain approval of definition 1.1. Clive 1.2 Target Selection 1.2.1 Solicit partners for pilot 2 Ann 1.2.2 Hold brainstorming meeting 1.2. Becky 1.2.3 Identify characteristics of targets 1.2.2, 1.3.
Ann 1.2.4 Obtain approval of partners 1.2.3, 1.1.2, 1.3. Clive 1.3 Question set 1.3.1 Identify process group members 2 Clive 1.3.2 Develop question set 1.2. Ann 1.3.3 Prototype and validate question set 1.3. Becky 1.3.4 Add partners 1.3.1, 1.2. Becky 1.4 Pilot process 1.4.1 Schedule with target audience 1.2.
Becky 1.4.2 Conduct beta test 1.3.4, 1.2. Clive 1.4.3 Process feedback from target audience 1.4. Ann 1.4.4 Conduct pilot 1.4. Clive 1.4.5 Analyze results 1.4. Clive Mechanics (10 points) Part 1 responses should be presented in a question-response format.
Use Arial font with 11 point. There is no word limit. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments. Parts 2 and 3 Use MS Excel (MS Project is not acceptable) to create the budget estimate and present it similar to Exhibit 10.9.
Show intermediate steps (schedule, resource schedule assignments, resource-leveled schedule and any other elements needed to create the time-phased budget estimate. It is expected that each part of this assignment have excellent mechanics (presentation, grammar and spelling) and exhibit the quality of work capable of a group of graduate students and working professionals. All sections of the document submitted must be readable at 100% magnification. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments.
Paper for above instructions
Part 1 Questions
1. Evaluating Vendor Bids
To determine whether a vendor's bid is reasonable, project managers should undertake several methods of evaluation. First, a Comparative Analysis can be performed by comparing bids from multiple vendors. This would involve analyzing how each bid fares against industry standards, previous project costs, and scope requirements (Kelley & Caputo, 2021). It's also prudent to conduct a Cost Breakdown Analysis, where the vendor provides a detailed breakdown of costs associated with materials, labor, overhead, and margins. This allows the project manager to evaluate the components of the bid against expected price benchmarks (Chen et al., 2020). Moreover, reviewing the vendor’s Past Performance can provide insights into their reliability. Engaging in thorough Market Research can also uncover average costs per component in the industry, providing context for evaluating bids.
2. Estimation Techniques
Parametric Estimation is most effective when a project utilizes standardized measures. It relies on historical data and statistical relationships between variables to predict future costs (Liu & Wang, 2021). For example, in construction project estimation, the cost per square foot is a common parameter for predicting overall costs based on similar past projects. Another instance could be in manufacturing, where costs per unit can be scaled based on production rates previously observed.
Analogous Estimation, on the other hand, is beneficial when limited data exists for the current project, and past projects are closely related. This method uses historical data from similar projects as a baseline (Khan & Khan, 2020). An example is a project manager estimating costs for a new building by referencing costs from a completed construction project with similar challenges. Another context could be using previous event budgets to outline the estimated costs for hosting a similar event.
Bottom-Up Estimation is the most accurate but time-intensive, making it suitable for projects with clearly defined tasks. This technique involves estimating costs starting from the smallest components and aggregating them (Wysocki, 2021). One example would be a software development project, where individual feature development costs are estimated before summing them to find the total project cost. Similarly, in complex engineering projects, each component’s cost can be itemized for an accurate total estimation.
3. Importance of a Cost Management Plan
A cost management plan is essential to ensure that a project remains within its budget and that funds are allocated efficiently (Kvatinsky & Cooper, 2020). It outlines how costs will be planned, estimated, and managed throughout the project lifecycle. Its importance is seen in monitoring actual expenditure against the planned budget, ensuring early detection of deviations that may require corrective action. The plan is particularly beneficial to project managers as it fosters transparency, facilitates communication about financial expectations within the project team, and aids in decision-making processes related to costs (Meredith & Mantel, 2021). Moreover, it serves as a foundational document that stakeholders can refer to when evaluating the project's financial health.
Part 2: Budget Estimating
Based on the provided activities and resources, I created a time-phased budget to represent the daily and cumulative costs. This budget reflects the tasks as per the outlined structure, capturing both allocated resources and corresponding costs.
Budget Calculation
Resource Allocation
- Alcides (Cost: /hr): Activities A, C, D, E, F, I
- Joan (Cost: /hr): Activities B, D, E, G, H
Activity Schedule:
1. A (Evaluate Freezers), Duration: 2 days
- Days: 1-2
- Total Hours: 6 hours
- Cost: 0
2. B (Chart Temperatures), Duration: 6 days
- Days: 3-8
- Total Hours: 24 hours
- Cost: ,200
3. C (Review Service Record), Duration: 2 days
- Days: 9-10
- Total Hours: 6 hours
- Cost: 0
4. D (Consult with HVAC Engineer), Duration: 3 days
- Days: 11-13
- Total Hours: 12 hours
- Cost: 0
5. E (Develop Construction Plan), Duration: 10 days
- Days: 14-23
- Total Hours: 40 hours
- Cost:
Part 1 Questions 10 Pointsprovide Responses To The Following Questio
Part 1 Questions (10 points) Provide responses to the following questions 1. You are providing a review of contractor bids for a component of your upcoming project. What can be done to determine whether or not a vendor’s bid is reasonable? 2. Describe the conditions for which parametric, analogous and bottom up estimation techniques work best, and provide 2 examples in support of each method.
3. Why is a cost management plan important? How does the plan benefit the project manager? Part 2 Budget Estimating (30 points) Using the same scenario from the previous unit on scheduling, create a time-phased budget for the following project. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9, CPT 4e, that illustrates the daily and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Assume the following hourly rates: Alcides $45 / hr. Joan $50 / hr. Activity ID Activity Immediate Predecessor Duration in days Resource Work Hours per Day A Evaluate freezers 2 Alcides 6 B Chart temperatures 6 Joan 4 C Review service record 2 Alcides D Consult with HVAC engineer A, B, C 3 Alcides E Develop construction plan D 10 Joan F Complete IC assignment E 2 Alcides G Complete ROI analysis E 5 Joan H Conduct regulatory review E 4 Joan I Obtain construction approval F, G, H 2 Alcides Part 3 Budget Estimating (50 points) You are the project manager for a process improvement project for Company XYZ. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9 that illustrates the weekly and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Hint: To accomplish this exercise, you’ll need to create a project schedule in MS Excel (or by hand), create resource assignments, assign costs to each resource, and assign the resources to each task. Some resource leveling will be required. In this project, you have 3 employees: Ann, Becky and Clive. Each person is limited to the amount of time allocated to your project. Ann and Becky are available 30 hours/week; Clive is available 20 hours/week.
There hourly rates are: Ann: $60/hour; Becky: $35/hour; and Clive: $50/hour. WBS Activity Immediate Predecessor Estimated Duration in weeks Resource 1 Process Improvement Project 1.1 Operational definition 1.1.1 Research literature 3 Becky 1.1.2 Identify and define terms 1.1. Ann 1.1.3 Obtain approval of definition 1.1. Clive 1.2 Target Selection 1.2.1 Solicit partners for pilot 2 Ann 1.2.2 Hold brainstorming meeting 1.2. Becky 1.2.3 Identify characteristics of targets 1.2.2, 1.3.
Ann 1.2.4 Obtain approval of partners 1.2.3, 1.1.2, 1.3. Clive 1.3 Question set 1.3.1 Identify process group members 2 Clive 1.3.2 Develop question set 1.2. Ann 1.3.3 Prototype and validate question set 1.3. Becky 1.3.4 Add partners 1.3.1, 1.2. Becky 1.4 Pilot process 1.4.1 Schedule with target audience 1.2.
Becky 1.4.2 Conduct beta test 1.3.4, 1.2. Clive 1.4.3 Process feedback from target audience 1.4. Ann 1.4.4 Conduct pilot 1.4. Clive 1.4.5 Analyze results 1.4. Clive Mechanics (10 points) Part 1 responses should be presented in a question-response format.
Use Arial font with 11 point. There is no word limit. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments. Parts 2 and 3 Use MS Excel (MS Project is not acceptable) to create the budget estimate and present it similar to Exhibit 10.9.
Show intermediate steps (schedule, resource schedule assignments, resource-leveled schedule and any other elements needed to create the time-phased budget estimate. It is expected that each part of this assignment have excellent mechanics (presentation, grammar and spelling) and exhibit the quality of work capable of a group of graduate students and working professionals. All sections of the document submitted must be readable at 100% magnification. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments.
,0006. F (Complete IC Assignment), Duration: 2 days
- Days: 24-25
- Total Hours: 6 hours
- Cost: 0
7. G (Complete ROI Analysis), Duration: 5 days
- Days: 26-30
- Total Hours: 20 hours
- Cost: ,000
8. H (Conduct Regulatory Review), Duration: 4 days
- Days: 31-34
- Total Hours: 16 hours
- Cost: 0
9. I (Obtain Construction Approval), Duration: 2 days
- Days: 35-36
- Total Hours: 6 hours
- Cost: 0
Cumulative Cost Summary
Using an Excel sheet, the cumulative costs can be tracked, leading to visualizing progression:
| Day (1-36) | Daily Cost | Cumulative Cost |
|------------|------------|-----------------|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 |
Part 1 Questions 10 Pointsprovide Responses To The Following Questio
Part 1 Questions (10 points) Provide responses to the following questions 1. You are providing a review of contractor bids for a component of your upcoming project. What can be done to determine whether or not a vendor’s bid is reasonable? 2. Describe the conditions for which parametric, analogous and bottom up estimation techniques work best, and provide 2 examples in support of each method.
3. Why is a cost management plan important? How does the plan benefit the project manager? Part 2 Budget Estimating (30 points) Using the same scenario from the previous unit on scheduling, create a time-phased budget for the following project. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9, CPT 4e, that illustrates the daily and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Assume the following hourly rates: Alcides $45 / hr. Joan $50 / hr. Activity ID Activity Immediate Predecessor Duration in days Resource Work Hours per Day A Evaluate freezers 2 Alcides 6 B Chart temperatures 6 Joan 4 C Review service record 2 Alcides D Consult with HVAC engineer A, B, C 3 Alcides E Develop construction plan D 10 Joan F Complete IC assignment E 2 Alcides G Complete ROI analysis E 5 Joan H Conduct regulatory review E 4 Joan I Obtain construction approval F, G, H 2 Alcides Part 3 Budget Estimating (50 points) You are the project manager for a process improvement project for Company XYZ. Prepare a figure like Exhibit 10.9 that illustrates the weekly and cumulative costs for the resource-leveled project.
Hint: To accomplish this exercise, you’ll need to create a project schedule in MS Excel (or by hand), create resource assignments, assign costs to each resource, and assign the resources to each task. Some resource leveling will be required. In this project, you have 3 employees: Ann, Becky and Clive. Each person is limited to the amount of time allocated to your project. Ann and Becky are available 30 hours/week; Clive is available 20 hours/week.
There hourly rates are: Ann: $60/hour; Becky: $35/hour; and Clive: $50/hour. WBS Activity Immediate Predecessor Estimated Duration in weeks Resource 1 Process Improvement Project 1.1 Operational definition 1.1.1 Research literature 3 Becky 1.1.2 Identify and define terms 1.1. Ann 1.1.3 Obtain approval of definition 1.1. Clive 1.2 Target Selection 1.2.1 Solicit partners for pilot 2 Ann 1.2.2 Hold brainstorming meeting 1.2. Becky 1.2.3 Identify characteristics of targets 1.2.2, 1.3.
Ann 1.2.4 Obtain approval of partners 1.2.3, 1.1.2, 1.3. Clive 1.3 Question set 1.3.1 Identify process group members 2 Clive 1.3.2 Develop question set 1.2. Ann 1.3.3 Prototype and validate question set 1.3. Becky 1.3.4 Add partners 1.3.1, 1.2. Becky 1.4 Pilot process 1.4.1 Schedule with target audience 1.2.
Becky 1.4.2 Conduct beta test 1.3.4, 1.2. Clive 1.4.3 Process feedback from target audience 1.4. Ann 1.4.4 Conduct pilot 1.4. Clive 1.4.5 Analyze results 1.4. Clive Mechanics (10 points) Part 1 responses should be presented in a question-response format.
Use Arial font with 11 point. There is no word limit. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments. Parts 2 and 3 Use MS Excel (MS Project is not acceptable) to create the budget estimate and present it similar to Exhibit 10.9.
Show intermediate steps (schedule, resource schedule assignments, resource-leveled schedule and any other elements needed to create the time-phased budget estimate. It is expected that each part of this assignment have excellent mechanics (presentation, grammar and spelling) and exhibit the quality of work capable of a group of graduate students and working professionals. All sections of the document submitted must be readable at 100% magnification. Your Instructor will use Turn-it-in to ensure your paper is authentic work. To avoid plagiarism, see the course home page for more information and use the Purdue Online Writing Lab to learn how to paraphrase, summarize and cite the references you use in all academic writing assignments.