Project Management: These question are based on Chapter 9 of "Project Management: A Managerial Approach, 5th Edition." Concepts include: resource allocation, critical path method, and crashing a project.

7. The following data were obtained from a study of the times required
to conduct a consumer test panel study:

Crash Schedule Normal Schedule

Activity Time Cost Time Cost

1-2 3 $6 5 $4

1-3 1 $5 5 $3

2-4 5 $7 10 $4

3-4 2 $6 7 $4

2-6 2 $5 6 $3

4-6 5 $9 11 $6

4-5 4 $6 6 $3

6-7 1 $4 5 $2

5-7 1 $5 4 $2









Note: Costs are given in thousands of dollars, time in weeks

Find the all-normal schedule and cost.

Find the all-crash schedule and cost.

Find the total cost required to expedite all activities from all-normal
(see a) to all-crash (see b).

Find the least-cost plan for the all-crash time schedule. Start from
the all-crash problem (see b). Assume partial crashing.

The network for shooting a TV commercial as shown in the table has a
fixed cost of $90 per day, but money can be saved by shortening the
project duration. Find the least-cost schedule.

Normal Crash Cost Increase

Activity Time Time (1st, 2nd, 3rd day)

1-2 7 4 $30, $50, $70

2-3 9 6 $40, $45, $65

1-3 12 10 $60, $60

2-4 11 9 $35, $60

3-4 3 3 -



Cost/Schedule Control System Criteria

1. Calculate cost schedule and variance.

2. Interpret the cost and schedule status of case 3, 10, 11, and 12.

Note: Cost variance = BCWP – ACWP (negative values = overruns)

Schedule variance = BCWP – BCWS (negative values = slippage)

Imhotep, project manager for building a pyramid, is asked by the
Pharaoh: "How much of the pyramid is completed?" Imhotep knows that the
pyramid will use 1 million stone blocks. He also knows that 700,000
blocks have been used to date. He tells the Pharaoh that the pyramid is
70 percent complete. What is the problem with this assessment?



Case BCWS ACWP BCWP Cost Variance Schedule Variance

1 800 800 800



2 800 600 400



3 800 400 600



4 800 600 600



5 800 800 600



6 800 800 1,000



7 800 1,000 1,000



8 800 600 800



9 800 1,000 800



10 800 1,000 600



11 800 600 1,000



12 800 1,200 1,000



13 800 1,100 1,200