PMGT5889 - Integrated Cost and Scheduling Control

Individual Assignment

Student Name: Sameer Mutreja

Student ID: 470519219
Submission Date: 26th Oct, 2018
Contents
Part 1: Project Analysis................................................................................................................................2
Case Project Description..........................................................................................................................2
Identified Issues.......................................................................................................................................2
Suggested Solutions.................................................................................................................................3
Benefits and Challenges...........................................................................................................................5
Part 2: Applied Theory Questions................................................................................................................6
Question 1:..............................................................................................................................................6
Question 2:..............................................................................................................................................7
Question 3:..............................................................................................................................................8
Part 3: Self-Reflection Report....................................................................................................................11
Starting and Target Competencies........................................................................................................11
Development Approach.........................................................................................................................11
Reflection on the Development Outcome and Learning Experience.....................................................12
Lessons Learned: Progress with Time and Cost Management Knowledge Areas..................................12
Self-reflection: Learning Effectiveness and Performance in the Subject...............................................12
Reflection on Group Assignment and Application in Real-Life Situations..............................................13
Subject Relevance to Career Development Plans..................................................................................13
Reflect on subject relevance to your development and career plans....................................................13
Reflection on Team Experience.............................................................................................................14
Future Development.............................................................................................................................14

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Part 1: Project Analysis
Case Project Description
I have been lucky to be able to work in a company part time directly related to field I’m studying in at
the moment. The company name is Decode Sydney Pty Ltd. Decode is a construction company that has
multiple projects running at the same time. Each project is run as a separate business and by a separate
Project Manager and Project Team. There is Construction Manager above the Project Manager that
looks into 4 projects at a time. This project I want to talk about is the construction of 10 townhouses in
Turramurra area. The project was running while I joined the company in September 2017 and was being
run by a Contract Administrator. It was overlooked by a Construction Manager who also played the role
of a Project Manager at that time. In general, a project is run by a Project manager and his team
comprises of Contract Administrator and a Cadet in office. The Project Manager reports to the
Construction Manager and does a monthly reporting to Financial Manager, Managing Director and the
Associate Director. At the site there is Site Manager (builder) building the job and he is supported by the
Site Engineer and a Site Foreman. This project has been missing many pieces of the puzzle and has been
going on for a while and is still not completed.

Identified Issues
The project has many issues I am identifying a few key issues which need to be rectified for the project
to be able to run smoothly.

1. Lack of Resources

 The Project had an incomplete team as the project team comprised only of a Contract Admin
and the Construction Manager. At Site the project only had a Project Manager and Site
Foreman. In total there was a lack of a Project Manager and a Cadet in office and Site Engineer
at Site. These shortfalls are one of the key issues. There were a couple of months when the Site
Manager was sitting idle on Site as the procurement was behind and there were no
subcontractors on site to finish the works.
 The invoices for the project was always delayed. The subcontractor’s payments were always
delayed, and they responded by sending less resources to the site to finish their work and this
was slowing down the job drastically.
 The procurement was always behind the letting schedule due to lack of resources and
subcontractors were working on site with contracts in place leading to cost and scope and time
implications for the project

2. Incomplete Design

 The design was incomplete, and the office was way behind the site and could not meet the
paperwork required to support the progress of the site. The design lacked construction details
which lead the site manager to build the job out of experience rather than details which should
have been documented prior to works beginning on site. The site had to make several changes
after the construction as this build was not as per the scope of works of the head contract and
the client was not accepting due to the same lack of documentation process for the design.

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  The subcontractors were executing works on site with different drawings as they were all not
coordinated, and this meant there was missing penetrations and incorrect location of the
services which need rectification and additional cost and time.

3. Lack of Communication with Client

 The paperwork was not in order at office regarding the Extension of Times. There was several
days the site was closed due to inclement weather and the same was not claimed. The Head
Contract Stated the contractors needed to notify the client regarding any Extension of Time
Requirement within 5 days of occurrence. The project was delayed from the program due to
extensions not being claimed for inclement weather.
 The client did not provide all the approvals for the finishes required for the job and kept going in
circles. Due to lack of communication the approval process was taking more time than usual.

4. Lack of consistency in Project Team

 The Project team had several project managers and contract administrators come and go, and
the team was not a constant throughout the project lifecycle. The contract administrators who
were working on the job did a very effective job of passing on the scope onto the subcontractors
and in their contracts. This meant that Decode Management was taking on the risk of the works
carried out This issue was due to constant changing of project team and not enough time for the
new PM or CA to study the project before the execution.

Suggested Solutions

1. Follow the efficient process during the lifecycle of the project. 1st Step would be to develop a
project charter and develop a project management plan and carry out the planning for the
procurement and scope. This step would ensure the scope is well drafted out for the project and
appropriate amount of resources required can be planned for and a budget is allocated to
project for the resources so as to rectify the problem at hand. Appropriate resources would help
ensure the procurement schedule was met and there was no additional cost for delay. Planning
for the schedule prior to the project commencing would also help the project team be aware of
the requirement for the procurement and they would execute the same to meet the
requirement.

2. An efficient schedule for the project would allow for the project to keep resources on to
coordinate and complete the design prior to the project. This design would also incorporate the
scope requirement as per the project. The design would be ready in time prior to the project
commencing. There would minimal scope changes during construction if the Design and
schedule were planned correctly at the beginning. The schedule would allow for at least 3
months for the design to be fully coordinated. This would lead to great reduction in unnecessary
cost in the form changes required on scope and saving of time due to proper time management.

3. Project Communication Management is a key element of Project Management. The project

team did not have an effective way of communicating with the client. They should have had a
planned a communication management from the very beginning. An effective plan would ensure

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 they would be communicating with the client on a weekly basis and documenting the process.
So even if a new Project Management would take over they would not be lost and would be
able to catch up on the requirements immediately. Regularly fortnightly PCG meeting with the
client should be fixed up. A minute of the meeting should be sent out 24 hours after the
meeting. This entire process should have been documented at the beginning of the project. In
this case the client would not be able to delay the approval as the entire process was
documented would have been documented correctly as per the communication plan. If the
client still did not comply then contractually the client would be delaying the contractor and we
would have been legally able to get an extension of time and additional cost from the client due
to delay. A workshop should be organized for the Project Managers across enterprise where key
speaker would come and talk about the importance of Project Communication Management.
There should be a set of guidelines created which is like a bible for any Project manager running
a project in the enterprise. These guidelines should have details about the processes that
Project Manager need to follow regarding the Project Communication.

4. .

Benefits and Challenges

Benefits

1. By using a fixed template and formats for the project over time the process of project
management throughout the Enterprise will be standardized. This will make it very easy for a
new Project Manager to come in and follow procedures to run the job efficiently.
2. Planning the job correctly and following the necessary steps ensures if anyone leaves they are
not irreplaceable, and the project does not suffer as the employee can catch up quickly just
following the procedures in place.
3. The workshops will help the PM understand the reason behind communication and will also
teach the team members the style of communication

Challenges

1. The employees are not open to change and evolve their ways of working. As the additional
documentation and reporting process involve a lot more work and productivity from each
individual.
2. There are cost implications to having seminars and workshops as speakers charge a hefty fee to
come and speak to the employees.

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Part 2: Applied Theory Questions
Question 1:
You noticed that your new employer does not have an effective process in place that ensures effective
management of changes to project scope, cost or schedule. You volunteered to create one. Which steps
will you take and how will you present your proposed change management process to your
stakeholders?

I would like to talk about the process we use currently at my firm to manage changes to project scope,
cost and schedule. There is no standard process to identify and analyse variance to scope cost or
schedule. When we receive a variation request from any subcontractor regarding any work that was not
allowed in the scope as per the contract. The Site Team sends out an instruction to get the work done.
The subcontractor is advised to put in a variation request if he feels it’s a variation. The project team will
then respond to the variance request asking for additional time to assess the variation and push it from
the current progress claim. Once the works is completed the team will sit down with all the variations
put for the subcontractor and then notify the sub-contractor of all the back charges on them for works
done on their behalf which was part of their scope. The will try to push the variations back be either
saying the Variation is part of the scope or will not agree on the amount. At the end of the project the
will negotiate the variations with the back charges applicable and try to pay the least possible. This turns
in a dog fight and they will then hold payments till the dispute is sorted out.

I am of the opinion the variations occur due to two main reasons which is change request by the client
and Scope not being accurately made due to huge amount of work pressure on the team and lack of
experience. The best way to solve the problem is to have a systematic and logical approach to the
business. The first step is to make the Project Management plan with a detailed work break down
structure. The WBS in the PMP needs to have all the covered all the works required for the project. A
detailed scope of works to be incorporated from the WBS for the specific trade. The tendering process
should have a detailed scope of works to be issued first to Site Manager to give feedback and then to
the Sub-Contractor to review. This should then be followed by a meeting with the subcontractor and the
Site Manager. A thorough walk through of the scope shall take place explaining the subcontractor the
entire process. Then after the subcontractor should provide a price as per the scope discussed. After this
process the PMP to revised and the points in the scope which have been passed on to the Subcontractor
shall reflect his name next to it in the WBS. After the entire procurement process WBS should not have
any task in it which does not have a subcontractor name against it. This way you are minizine the chance
of any variation. The contract to mention that no variations works to be carried out with written
approval.
Any change request from the client with regards to scope need to be updated in the WBS on an ongoing
basis within the PMP. This way you can identify the cause of the variation and the same can be
monitored and controlled and is a more systematic and logical approach.

Question 2:
Your team is expected to provide an estimate for your project of interest. Which estimating technique(s)
will you choose for this project and why?

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My team is asked to estimate a construction of a 75-unit residential building at Chatswood. The building
is considered to be of a standard finish. The estimation techniques will be mix as it is difficult to use just
one technique in Construction. The stage is the preliminaries which includes construction team and
design and consultants required for the initiation of the project. The output is difficult to quantify and
for this part of the works we will use previous data of similar size constructions. The data gathered will
be used in a 3-point estimation. 1-time best case scenario + 4 time most probable (this amount is based
on previous data) + 1-time worst case scenario and divide the total by 6. The next step is to break up all
the trades required for finishing the job. The estimation will then be done trade by trade. A bill of
quantities will be made for each trade. We will apply a rate as per the ongoing market rate received
through tender quotations for the job. The quantities multiplied by the rate will be the estimation for
the trade. Then we will add labour cost required for completion of the works on site. The labour cost will
be difficult to be accurate as it depends on efficiency. We will take historical data from a previous job
and add 15 percent contingency reserve to the budget. All the machinery required on site is based on
expert judgement of the time frame required for the equipment. All other small tools and equipment’s
required will have a lump sum price again based on historical data as more or less the tools are
equivalent or similar for each project. Then we will add the profit percent to the estimation along with
an overall contingency of 10 percent as construction is a risky business and prices change quite often.

Question 3:
You are newly appointed project manager and have access to sufficient data to conduct the earned
value analysis. Using the diagram below, describe high level situation of the project, perform necessary
calculations and provide recommendation for the next steps.

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Scheduled Variance = Earned Value – Planned Value
= 12 months – 12 months
=0
The project is on schedule as the earned value and planed value are at the same point at 12-month
stage when the data was collected.

Cost Variance = Earned Value – Actual Cost

= $14million - $18million
= - $4million
The project is $4 million over budget at the time when data is gathered at the 12-month stage

Schedule Performance Index = Earned Value / Planned Value

= 12/12
=1

Since the SPI is 1 it means the work performed is a per the plan and the project is on schedule to
complete.

Cost Performance Index = Earned Value / Planned Value

= 14,000,000/18,000,000
= 0.777

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Since the CPI is less than 1 it means there is a cost overrun and the project is over budget at this point

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Part 3: Self-Reflection Report
Starting and Target Competencies

Prior to staring of the course, I had very little idea about estimation and some knowledge about project
management which I learnt from the foundation courses and though the basic work experience I have in
the construction project management field. I have previously studied a bachelor’s in commerce and
worked in marketing and public relations back home in India. The reason to do a Master was to grow my
knowledge in a different field as I wanted to evolve and change my industry all together.

When I did a review of the course, I saw the learning outcomes mentioned about the course and I
thought this subject will be of great help in the industry I am working at and will help me grow my
knowledge and excel my career in project management as Cost and Schedule control are key elements
to any project. I am presently a Jr Administrator in my project and lot of my work revolves around
processing invoices and some part of procurement. Even if I would want to learn the other elements of
the project management, I get to work only 20 hours a week and my project manager does not have
time to take out of schedule to teach me as I will not be to assist him due to my work constraints. Also,
he feels I’m at a junior level and require a few years of experience prior to evolving into a Contract
Admin or a Jr project manager

I was looking forward to the course as the I wanted to learn how to use different estimation techniques
in the professional environment. I wanted to understand the costing process and the control techniques
for cost. This would help me progress in my career quicker and when my manager did decide to put the
responsibility on me, I would be able to apply my knowledge gained and be able to catch up very
quickly.

Development Approach

The approach I picked was a very simple but effective approach. The first step was to ensure I attend all
the lectures. When attending lectures, I ensured I was attentive and open minded about the knowledge
being imparted. I was always questioning things willing to understand other students view points and
having a good conversation about my personal experiences and here what other students’ experiences
were in real life situations. I would make a note of any part I was not understanding and ask the tutor or
the lecturer about it after the lecture. I would participate in all the activities in class and would go back
home to review the lecture notes. I would do some research myself to get clarity on the concepts. I
would then speak to my roommate who is a Project Manager and have an interesting conversation
about what I learnt and see the practical side from his conversation.

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Reflection on the Development Outcome and Learning Experience

I would like to the say that my development for the particular topic has been great. I have learned
estimation and costing techniques while applying them in the group assignment in actual project
scenarios. These assignments give me great confidence as I learnt how to apply the techniques in an
actual project environment. The entire format of teaching a topic and then doing a tutorial the same day
and then followed up by practice through examples in tutorials has been a great learning experience.
The process of doing the revision questions on the following day although seems so old-fashioned works
well and ensured I was always putting in the right amount of effort to achieve the maximum result from
the course.

Lessons Learned: Progress with Time and Cost Management Knowledge Areas

Time and cost management is an integral part for any project to succeed. I have understood the
importance of using tools and techniques to control time and cost management. The assignments gave
me a key insight in to the application of the techniques and also taught me estimation which is
something I would learn in my work environment as we have a separate team for estimation. The
estimation can be such a vast process and can be vital part in the success of the project as incorrect
estimation can lead to bad budgeting and thus cost management can become very difficult due to an
incorrect budget. These knowledge areas although come across as easy to implement can only be done
so correctly if the knowledge is good. This course has provided me with the knowledge to take forward
with my career and will help me became a great Project Manager in the years to come.

Self-reflection: Learning Effectiveness and Performance in the Subject

When I started the course, I was not aware of the vastness of the subject and how much knowledge was
there to gain. I was under the impression it is basic costing and time management. To my surprise I
understood the importance of cost and time management and the vital role it plays in whether the
project can be a success or a failure. I was not aware of that there can be simple process to ensure
effective time and cost management and was under the impression that these elements of project
management would come naturally to me over the progression of my career.

Reflection on Group Assignment and Application in Real-Life Situations

The group I was very with was all Chinese people and spoke little to know English. They were all very
eager to learn but had very little control over English. The entire process taught me how to deal with
people from different walks of life. This experience is another great learning as in Project management
one of my key roles will be communication with people from different walks of life. The team let me be
the team leader we divided the work amongst us. We sat at team and did the assignment together over
the span of many group meetings at PNR library. This allowed me to gain knowledge on the entire report
and not just my part as we were discussing all the parts of the assignment and taking each other’s
opinion.

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As I had some real life experience the other group members ran everything past me and I got gain a lot
of knowledge. I also like the assignment as it helped me understand the application of theory learnt. The
best part of the assignment was the topic as it is closely related to the field, I am presently working on so
I had the opportunity to combined my real life experience and my education being gained through this
course.

Subject Relevance to Career Development Plans

The subject is of great relevance to my career development as it is directly linked to my field of work and
my career path I would like to pursue in my lifetime. The topics taught in the course is key elements in
project management and have helped me progress in career. I will be able to pick up the application
very quickly as know I have the knowledge and some experience with the application although at
smaller project level through the assignments.

Reflect on subject relevance to your development and career plans

This course has provided me with a great amount of knowledge which I will keep with for lifetime. I
personally got my career fast tracked as it is something, I have been wanting to learn so my career can
move forward, and I can progress to the next level in career and move up the food chain. In the
construction industry management time and cost are key elements and is generally carried out by the
Project Manager.

I am great full that I had access to this learning so when I am up for taking on the role in my career I will
not require a lot of time to learn the processes and I will be able to apply my self quickly and this will
help me mover much quicker towards the end goal of being a project manager on multiple jobs at the
same time and leading a few teams. This is a stepping stone and is something I will be able to grow only
further from to achieve my goal.

Reflection on Team Experience

My team was not the best and was not great at communication. This proved to be a benefit to me as I
was able to be part of all the decision-making process and gave me access to a lot more learning and
greater confidence which I lack. It also provided me with a patience of dealing with people which is a
skill I want to develop to achieve my end goal of running big project. So, although it was not the best
situation the experience, I got was priceless.

Future Development

I want to grow my knowledge greatly with experience working in a project environment. I will be
applying the skills I have learnt in the course to project’s I will work on in future and would like to be
able modify the approach to suit the environment I will be working in at that time. This will help me
grow into a role a project manager and one day may be run a super project like construction of bridge or
a stadium.

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