Company xyz is a company that manufactures telecommunications equipment and

provides support services to the Telecommunication operators globally. It concentrates on

being able to design, manufacture, deliver and provide project management services to its
key customers in Malaysia. The company provides Technical Support services with a
work force of about 150 engineers and support staff, either permanent employees or
through subcontractors engaged in projects.
At present, company xyz is planning to move its office to a bigger and more strategic
location in order to serve its customers better. This is due to the fact that the company is
growing exponentially and the current working space is insufficient. The need of a larger,
more modern facility to accomplish business goals for the future is pressing. The moving
contract was signed one month ago and is expected to be implemented in the next few
weeks.
You were hired six months ago as a project manager and have spent the past few months
getting acclimatized by shadowing more experienced project managers and learning
company procedures.
Prepare the following key deliverables of the project plan.
a

Construct Network Diagram. Perform CPM analysis and the calculation of LS,
EF, ES, LF, and TF based on Table 1. Identify the activities on the critical path.
(12 marks)

Company XYZ contracts objective is to move its office to a bigger and more strategic location
in order to serve its customer better. Since the company has committed itself to the moving
project, project planning and scheduling must be constructed. The project management plan is
a concise document that can be distributed to all members of the project team. This is a process
of choosing the method and the work order (procedure) to be performed for the project to be
completed. The key questions that must be answered during project planning are (Lester,
2014):

What are the specific work packages need to be done?

How the work packages can be implemented?
Where it should be carried out?
Whom should be responsible for it?

When should the work order need to be started and finished?

According to British Standard Institution (BSI), a model project management plan must include
a bar chart and network under Programme Management section to answer the question of
when the project and work packages have to be started and finished (BSI, 2010).
Network method for project planning and scheduling is a tool used to explicitly show the
relationships among activities or the effects of delaying activities and shifting resources on the
overall project. Network methods are preferable over Gantt chart when the inter-dependencies
between activities and the resource allocations need to be clearly presented. With network
methods, alternative schedule can be quickly analyzed to satisfy the project constraints
(Nicholas & Steyn, 2008).
Two common methods for network diagrams are activity-on-arrow (AOA) and activity-onnode (AON). Based on Table 1, the nodes in the network diagram would represent events for
AOA and activities with the time details for AON while the arrow represents activity and
logical linkages respectively.
Table 1
ID

Activity

A
B
C
D
E
F
G

Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal

construction
Install new

IPA

Duration(days

A
B
B
A
B
A

)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45

C,G

10

furniture/computers
I
Move/relocate
D, H,E
5
J
Close out project
F,I
5
In practice, AON is preferable compared to AOA as it form the basis for Critical Path Method
(CPM). Consequently, only AON method will be constructed and presented for Table 1.
In order to construct AON for Table 1, the logical relationship between activities must be
established accordingly. This can be identified from Table 1s Immediately Preceding Activity
(IPA). At the same time, each activitys successors can be determined as well as which

activities can be done at the same time. Using AON, Figure 1.1 shows the network diagram
representing Table 1 project plan.

Figure 1.1 Network Diagram representation for Table 1

From Figure 1.1 it can be shown that each activitys IPA is a mandatory activity that cannot be
reversed except for activity A which does not have IPA. Similarly, several activities can be
conducted in parallel such as activity B, G and E as well as activity F, D and C. The sequence
of activities that can be conducted at the same time is discretionary given that the mandatory
activity precedes them is conducted first. It also clear that the project have a specific start and
end activity where the project start with activity A and finish when activity J is completed.
One of the network diagram greatest strength is its ability to provide a good estimation of the
project duration, scheduling of the activities within the project, and making commitments
regarding the due date of a project (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008). By drawing a more detail
network diagram consisting of each activitys Earliest Start (ES), Earliest Finish (EF), Latest
Start (LS), Latest Finish (LF) and Total Float (TF), a critical path defined as the longest path in
the network can be identified.

Critical path indicates to the project manager which activities are most critical to completing
the project on time. If any of the activity from the critical path take longer than planned, the
entire project will take longer than expected and vice-versa. The process of determining the
project critical path from the network diagram is called CPM analysis.
Following the procedure of CPM, Figure 1.2 shows the steps taken and the computed value of
ES, EF, LS and LF using forward pass and backward pass method.

Figure 1.2 CPM Procedure

The ES and EF for each of the activity in Figure 1.2 represents the earliest possible times that
the activity can be started and completed respectively. The ES of an activity is taken from the
EF of its immediate predecessors which is obtained by summing its own ES and duration. In
the event that an activity has more than one predecessors such as activity H, the path leading to
that particular activity with the longest path is chosen, i.e. G. By using ES and EF value,
project manager can determine the exact time to start an activity more easily. For example,
activity H could only be carried out on the 65th day despite being one of its predecessor activity
(C) was completed on the 46th day.
Each node/activity in the network diagram can be delayed without delaying the project
depending on the late times. By using LS and LF, project manager can delay an activity to

its latest time without compromising the project completion due date. For example, activity E
can be started on 45th day instead of the 20th day without exceeding the due date for the project
completion. By having earliest and latest time to start an activity, project manager can be more
flexible in allocating resources in order to complete the project.
By computing the difference between ES and LS or EF and LF, the amount of allowable
deviation between when an activity must take place at the latest and when it can take place at
the earliest can be determined (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008). Total slack or Total Float (TF)
computed from the difference between ES and LS can be used to identify the critical and noncritical path. Critical activity is defined as an activity that have zero slack or TF value is equal
to zero. A continuous chain of activities with zero TF from start to end signifies the critical
path. The following table shows the tabulation of ES, EF, LS, LF and TF for each activity.
ID
A
B
C
D
E
F
G

Activity
Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal

ES
0
20
21
21
20
21
20

EF
20
21
46
41
50
36
65

LS
0
39
40
55
45
65
20

LF
20
40
65
75
75
80
65

TF
0
19
19
34
25
44
0

construction
Install new

65

75

65

75

I
J

furniture/computers
Move/relocate
Close out project

75
80

80
85

75
80

80
85

0
0

From the tabulated value of TF, it is obvious that the critical path is found out to be A, G, H, I
and J as highlighted. Any delay in any of these activities will cause an overall delay to the
project completion. Nonzero TF value on the other hand signifies the total amount of slack
allowable in the corresponding activities without affecting the project timeliness.
In summary, if sufficient resources are available, then noncritical activities should be started as
early as possible (ES) which will preserve slack time and minimizes the risk that delay in
noncritical activities will cause a project delay.

Construct an S-curve and calculate SV, CV, SPI and CPI. Comment on the status
of the project. (Refer to Table 2 and Table 3).
Assume that the Moving Project has 10 activities as shown in Table 1.

(10 marks)
S-Curve is a tool used in Earned Value (EV) technique for project monitoring and controlling.
By continuously comparing the quantitative value of the work done with the value of work that
was planned as the baseline, project manager can grasp the progress and performance of the
project and proactively adopting corrective action as necessary.
Specifically, S-Curve compare the budget of the project with its actual cost. Periodic review of
the S-curve provides a good estimate of the project performance in terms of expenditure or
commitments depending on the type of the S-Curve developed.
In order to construct S-Curve for the purpose of EV analysis regarding company XYZs
Moving Project, data from Table 2 have to be tabulated in such a way that the sum cost of all
work and apportioned effort scheduled to be completed at any given period as specified in the
budget can be computed. As such, work breakdown analysis is used to compute the cumulative
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS). As shown in Table 2.1, it is assume that the cost
is uniformly distributed over the work day for each activity to obtain the daily direct cost for
BCWS based from the data provided in Table 2 and Table 1.

Table 2

Table 2.1 Work Breakdown Analysis for BCWS

ID

Activity

BCWS

Planned

A
B
C
D
E
F
G

Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete

$5,000
$2,000
$3000
$20,000
$30,000
$3,500
$5000

Finish
May 10
May 14
June 15
June 24
July 1
July15
July 15

$80,000

July 20

ID
A
B
C
D
E
F

Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15

G
H

45
10

Total
Cost ($)
5000
2000
3000
20000
30000
3500

Daily Direct
Cost ($)
250.00
2000.00
120.00
1000.00
1000.00
233.33

5000
80000

111.11
8000.00

internal
H

construction
Install new
furniture/compu

I
J

ters
Move/relocate
Close out

$50,000
$1500

project
Total

200,000

July 28
Aug 1

50000

10000.00

5
Total

1500
200000

300.00

Similarly, using the data provided in Table 3 and Table 1 and using the work breakdown
analysis with uniform distribution assumption, the cumulative Budgeted Cost of Work
Performed (BCWP) and Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) can be computed as shown
in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2.

Table 3
Activity

Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal
construction
Install new

BCWS

Planned

Current

Actual

Earned

Finish

status

Cost

Value

May 10
May 14
June 15
June 24

Completed
Completed
Completed
60%

(AC)
$5,000
$1,800
$3,000
$11,000

(EV)
$5,000
$2,000
$3,000
$12,000

July 1
July15
July15

Completed
Completed
Completed
90%

$36,700
$3,500
$4,000

$30,000
$3,500
$4,500

$80,000

July 20

complete
0

$50,000
$1500
200,000

July 28
Aug 1

0
0

0
0

0
0
$60,000

$5,000
$2,000
$3000
$20,000
$30,000
$3,500
$5000

furniture/computer
s
Move/relocate
Close out project

Table 3.1 ACWP work breakdown

Table 3.2 BCWP work breakdowm

Id
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J

Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45
10
5
5
Total

Actual Daily Direct

Cost ($)
Cost ($)
5000
250
1800
1800
3000
120
11000
550
36700
1223.33
3500
233.33
4000
88.89
0
0
0
0
0
0
65000

Id
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J

Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45
10
5
5
Total

Earned Value
($)
5000
2000
3000
12000
30000
3500
4500
0
0
0
60000

Daily Direct
Cost ($)
250
2000
120
600
1000
233.33
100
0
0
0

In general, BCWS served as the guideline/baseline on how the project should performed while
ACWP give the project manager the ability to measure how close the actual performance of the
project up to date in term of expenditure. BCWP on the other hand, is useful to project manager
to measure the timeliness of the project against the baseline. The worksheet presented below
tabulate the daily value of BCWS, ACWP and BCWP until the latest review at 15th July.
Table 3.3 Worksheet for constructing S-Curve for Company XYZs Moving Project

Days
21-Apr
22-Apr
23-Apr
24-Apr
25-Apr
26-Apr
27-Apr
28-Apr
29-Apr
30-Apr
1-May
2-May
3-May
4-May
5-May
6-May
7-May
8-May

ID
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A

Daily
Expense
(BCWS)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250

Cumulat
ive
Expense
(BCWS)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500

Daily
Expens
e
(ACWP)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250

Cumulati
ve
Expense
(ACWP)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500

Daily
Expens
e
(BCWP)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250

Cumula
tive
Expens
e
(BCWP)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500

9-May
10May
11May
12May
13May
14May
15May
16May
17May
18May
19May
20May
21May
22May
23May
24May
25May
26May
27May
28May
29May
30May
31May
1-Jun
2-Jun
3-Jun
4-Jun
5-Jun
6-Jun

250

4750

250

4750

250

4750

250

5000

250

5000

250

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

5000

2000

7000

1800

6800

2000

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

7000

6800

7000

120

7120

120

6920

120

7120

120

7240

120

7040

120

7240

120

7360

120

7160

120

7360

120

7480

120

7280

120

7480

120

7600

120

7400

120

7600

120

7720

120

7520

120

7720

120

7840

120

7640

120

7840

120

7960

120

7760

120

7960

120

8080

120

7880

120

8080

120
231.11
1231.11
1231.11
1231.11

8200
8431.11
9662.22
10893.33
12124.44

120
208.89
1432.22
1432.22
1432.22

8000
8208.89
9641.11
11073.33
12505.55

120
220
1220
1220
1220

8200
8420
9640
10860
12080

2231.11
2231.11

14355.55
16586.66

1982.22
1982.22

14487.77
16469.99

1820
1820

13900
15720

C
C,G
C,E,G
C,E,G
C,E,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E

24-Jun
25-Jun
26-Jun
27-Jun
28-Jun
29-Jun
30-Jun

,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G

1-Jul

E,F,G

1344.44

63677.74

1545.55

60488.82

1333.33

2-Jul

F,G

344.44

64022.18

322.22

60811.04

333.33

3-Jul

F,G

344.44

64366.62

322.22

61133.26

333.33

4-Jul
5-Jul

F,G
F,G

344.44
344.44

64711.06
65055.5

322.22
322.22

61455.48
61777.7

333.33
333.33

7-Jun
8-Jun
9-Jun
10-Jun
11-Jun
12-Jun
13-Jun
14-Jun
15-Jun
16-Jun
17-Jun
18-Jun
19-Jun
20-Jun
21-Jun
22-Jun
23-Jun

2231.11

18817.77

1982.22

18452.21

1820

17540

2231.11

21048.88

1982.22

20434.43

1820

19360

2231.11

23279.99

1982.22

22416.65

1820

21180

2231.11

25511.1

1982.22

24398.87

1820

23000

2231.11

27742.21

1982.22

26381.09

1820

24820

2231.11

29973.32

1982.22

28363.31

1820

26640

2231.11

32204.43

1982.22

30345.53

1820

28460

2231.11

34435.54

1982.22

32327.75

1820

30280

2231.11

36666.65

1982.22

34309.97

1820

32100

2111.11

38777.76

1862.22

36172.19

1700

33800

2111.11

40888.87

1862.22

38034.41

1700

35500

2111.11

42999.98

1862.22

39896.63

1700

37200

2111.11

45111.09

1862.22

41758.85

1700

38900

2111.11

47222.2

1862.22

43621.07

1700

40600

2111.11

49333.31

1862.22

45483.29

1700

42300

2111.11

51444.42

1862.22

47345.51

1700

44000

2111.11

53555.53

1862.22

49207.73

1700

45700

2111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11

55666.64
56777.75
57888.86
58999.97
60111.08
61222.19
62333.3

1862.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22

51069.95
52382.17
53694.39
55006.61
56318.83
57631.05
58943.27

1700
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100

47400
48500
49600
50700
51800
52900
54000
55333.3
3
55666.6
6
55999.9
9
56333.3
2
56666.6

6-Jul

F,G

344.44

65399.94

322.22

62099.92

333.33

7-Jul

F,G

344.44

65744.38

322.22

62422.14

333.33

8-Jul

F,G

344.44

66088.82

322.22

62744.36

333.33

9-Jul
10-Jul

F,G
F,G
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
H
H
H
H
H
~
~
~
I
I
I
I
I,J
J
J
J
J

344.44
344.44

66433.26
66777.7

322.22
322.22

63066.58
63388.8

333.33
333.33

8344.44

75122.14

322.22

63711.02

333.33

8344.44

83466.58

322.22

64033.24

333.33

8344.44

91811.02

322.22

64355.46

333.33

8344.44

100155.46

322.22

64677.68

333.33

8344.44
8000
8000
8000
8000
8000
0
0
0
10000
10000
10000
10000
10300
300
300
300
300

108499.9
116499.9
124499.9
132499.9
140499.9
148499.9
148499.9
148499.9
148499.9
158499.9
168499.9
178499.9
188499.9
198799.9
199099.9
199399.9
199699.9
199999.9

322.22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

64999.9

333.33
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

11-Jul
12-Jul
13-Jul
14-Jul
15-Jul
16-Jul
17-Jul
18-Jul
19-Jul
20-Jul
21-Jul
22-Jul
23-Jul
24-Jul
25-Jul
26-Jul
27-Jul
28-Jul
29-Jul
30-Jul
31-Jul
1-Aug

5
56999.9
8
57333.3
1
57666.6
4
57999.9
7
58333.3
58666.6
3
58999.9
6
59333.2
9
59666.6
2
59999.9
5

Table 3.3 worksheet provide a complete dataset for plotting the S-Curve. Figure 2.0 shows the
plotted S-Curve for EV analysis.

S-Curve for Company XYZ's Moving Project

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

42200; 108499.9

$100,000

42200; 64999.9

42200; 59999.95
$50,000

$0

BCWS

ACWP

BCWP

Figure 2.0 S-Curve for Company XYZs Moving Project

From Figure 2.0, the project scheduled variance (SV), cost variance (CV), scheduled
performance index (SPI) and cost performance index (CPI) at 15th July can be computed as
follows:
Schedule Variance ( SV ) =BCWPBCWS
60000 108500
48500

Cost Variance (CV ) =BCWP ACWP

6000065000
5000

Schedule Performance Index ( SPI )=

BCWP
BCWS

60000
108500

0.5530
Cost Performance Index (CPI )=

BCWP
ACWP

60000
65000

0.9231

A negative value SV and SPI value less than 1 indicates the project is behind the schedule. SV
and SPI value only give project manager an overall indicator that the project is behind the
schedule but cannot pin point the problematic activities that caused the delay. Closer
examination upon each work package is required for a more comprehensive result.
Upon examining the work package closely, its clear that activity D and G are the reason for a
low amount of BCWP and SPI. Specifically, activity D and G had used up its allocated
duration for its completion but only managed to accomplished 60% and 90% completion
accordingly. In order to have a more comprehensive look on the reason for activity D and G
delay, the planned finished date given in Table 2 is compared with the network diagram
resulting the following network diagram shown in Figure 3.0.

Figure 3.0 Network Diagram in terms of date

Assuming the planned due date for activity A as the starting point, we can compute the ES, EF,
LS and LF for each activity as shown in Figure 3.0. By comparing Figure 3.0 with each
activity planned finish date, it is clear that the planned finish date given in Table 2 does not
correspond to the network diagram project planning. In particular, activity G was started way
too late compared to LS date. Furthermore, activity G is on the critical path that would affect
the entire project timeliness. Although activity F is not on the critical path, missing its LS date
effectively delaying the project completion. In fact, activity H, I and J finished plan in Table 2
which are on the critical path also does not correspond to the plan laid by the network diagram.
Also, a peculiar situation arise where according to Table 1, activity J must be completely
preceded by activity I, however in Table 2, activity I and J overlapped by one day. In practice,
this situation might cause a significant problem in term of resource allocation.
Negative value CV and CPI value less than 1 indicates that the project suffers from cost
overrun. Examining the work packages revealed that activity E has a significant cost overrun.
However, the CV value might be misleading due to the exclusion of overhead.
In summary, the cause of the delay and cost overrun might have been due to improper project
scheduling resulting in underutilizing the resources the company allocate for the project. Given

the current status, the project cannot recover from the delay and cost overrun especially when
activity G is on the critical path without changing the plan or work packages.

Bibliography
BSI, B. S. (2010). 6079-1: 2010 Project management. Principles and Guidelines for the
Management of Projects.
Lester, A. (2014). Project Management, Planning, and Control (Sixth Edit.). Elsevier Ltd.
Nicholas, J., & Steyn, H. (2008). Project Management for Business, Engineering and
Technology. Technology (Thrid Edit.). Elsevier Inc.