Aniruddha Chavan

IME 6120
Singapore

Case Study 10: subtext Studios,

1 What went wrong with the fifty-three slash F job and how could
the company avoid making the same mistakes again?
There were various problems with the particular case fifty three slash F job.
The studios had three departments which were pre-production, production
and post-production.

53/F job came on 18th day. The organization started lagging behind and
failing from initial period. They failed to schedule and plan. Looking at
their other jobs it seems that they were efficient in delivering on time
and in many cases even before hand. This past experience may have
influenced them to believe that they could do 53/F job in 32 days;
which wasnt the case. They failed in estimating the time required and

in planning the schedule.

Looking at the table 10.5 it seems they always failed to complete their
job on schedule. In most cases all the three departments preproduction, production, post-production departments have taken more
time to work than estimated. This shows that they failed in scheduling

and forecasting.
The organization under estimated the work load for the 53/F case. The
production team had 3 teams in it. For the 53/F case they had to pull
one team and they also had to work along with other two teams on
53/F job. This created more complexity. They lost on efficiency and

disrupted the schedule of 54/D.

The job was very difficult right from the start. To make the case worst
the clients creative team changed just before the start of subText

beginning the work.

Also during the start of the production they realized that they would
require outside help for some effects. The company didnt stand up as
they themselves were busy in their own work. Help came from Hong
Kong based studio.

Aniruddha Chavan
IME 6120
Singapore

Case Study 10: subtext Studios,

The client upon delivery was unhappy and they had to post pone their
meeting with their counter parts causing chaos and delays. subText
Studios did not take in account the urgency of this case.

Points for improvement and avoiding further mistakes:

The organization needs to more professional approach. They need to

keep a track of their activities. Study their work flow and plan their

schedule accordingly.
If they could train their employees to work in cross departments, (eg. If
every employee could perform work from other departments as well
then it would save time if there is bottleneck in any other department).

Training their employees to perform job from other departments as well

Additionally they had problem in outsourcing special purpose job. If
they could hire or train an employee for that special effects work then
it would definitely save their time and improve their on-time delivery

time.
They should have a team leader or manager to lead them; even
though they dont want to adopt the philosophy command and control

.
If they are to outsource the work they should make a reliable network

of subcontractors.
I would also suggest they should add few more days in their estimation
of work for unpredicted delays in the job.

2 What would you suggest that subText do to tighten up their

planning and control procedures?
subText should approach more professional way and get organized. From the
case study it is clear that they are failing in planning and scheduling

They should study their job work and then estimate the time
considering the delays from previous case studies.

Aniruddha Chavan
IME 6120
Singapore

Case Study 10: subtext Studios,

subText should track all their activities and update in computer.

Regular check at the schedule, use of Gantt charts can surely help
them to get the schedule on time. If not, at least these tools shall make

subText plan for the delays and unpredicted delays.

A team leader for each team should be appointed to manage and
direct the teams. Also each team should have the freedom to work as

they want to with respect to the job.

To track the schedule Manager should take meetings with the team

leaders and take reports and make updates.

I also suggest that employees should be trained for work from other
departments so that even if there are delays or bottlenecks in the
process it can be taken care of.