INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

Project Planning and Management 2

An assignment submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for

Master in Project Planning Management

Assignment No. 1

Student details: Emmanuel Nyirenda

SIN: 1606182195

Lecturer’s Name: Mweene Nicholas Chigabwa

Year: 01/05/2017
TOOLS USED IN PROJECT PLANNING.

Introduction

Managing a project is a challenging task as it comes with many complex responsibilities.

However, with proper planning, complex projects are usually executed with manageable
challenges and deliverables achieved. In Project Management Project Planning is usually the
first stage of a project. Planning involves the establishment of clear and precise objectives, and
the work activities that will have to take place to accomplish them in order to reach a final,
stated goal. The goal may involve the solution of a problem or the achievement of some state
or condition different from the present one. There are many project planning tools available
that assist in coming up with a very good and well prepared project plan. Below are some of
the tools and techniques used in Project Planning.

1. Work Breakdown Structure

Once the Project is clearly defined and understood, the next step is to decompose the project
into manageable tasks in the Work Breakdown Structure, WBS. The WBS is a hierarchical
decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish
the project objectives and create the required deliverables. A WBS defines the work to be
completed in the project and it is a graphical representation of the project showing its entire
components. It gives the general picture of the scope of the project by showing activities
involved in the project in a hierarchical structure.
In a WBS deliverables or tasks are decomposed further to form units at the lowest level
called work packages. Work packages are deliverables in the lowest level of the work
breakdown structure. A work package can be divided into the specific activities to be
performed. In the context of the WBS, work refers to work products or deliverables that are the
result of activity and not to the activity itself (PMI, 2013, p.125).
WBS is produced in the very early stage of a project and can be altered as the project
progresses. It is the basis for time estimating, resource allocation, and cost estimating and
collection, (Richman, 2002, p.75). Also, it is a tool for communication amongst the project
team members and stakeholders. It becomes a very useful tool for communicating information
and reporting channel to stakeholders.
WBS is also a used to estimate the total cost of the project as the costs for each task in the
project will be estimated. The overall cost is then estimated from the sum total of costs for each
task. The decomposed costs form what is called Cost Breakdown Structure, CBS. WBS is also
used to produce Organisation Breakdown Structure, OBS for the project as tasks are assigned
to members of the project team. Tasks are allocated to team members with expertise in
particular area of the project. It is worth noting that the OBS will not exactly be similar to WBS
in structure as certain tasks are similar. Such similar tasks, which can be handled by one
individual are combined and responsibility is assigned to one project team member who has
such skills.

Steps for Constructing a Work Breakdown Structure

There are no specific rules that govern the creation of the WBS. However, below are the
general steps that may be used to come up with a WBS. The following steps lead to completing
the WBS:
1) Divide the project into its major objectives such that the project is fully defined by the
objectives.
2) Partition each objective into the activities that must be done in order to accomplish the
objective.
3) For each activity having one or more missing characteristics divide that activity into
the sub-activities comprising it.
4) Repeat step 3) until all sub-activities have the characteristics desired.
5) The lowest-level sub-activities in the hierarchy will be the basis of the work packages
that must be done in order to complete the project.

Diagram below show an example of a Work Breakdown Structure for a Wedding Project.

Figure 1: WBS for a Wedding Project

2. Work Package Responsibility Matrix (RM)

After WBS is completed an Organisational Breakdown Structure is developed once names
are attached to it. WBS may not appear exactly the same in construction as the OBS as related
tasks are combined in the OBS. These combined tasks that are similar in nature are handled by
one team member of the Project team.

The OBS is therefore expanded to form what is known as the Work Package Responsibility
Matrix (Lester, 2006, p.43). A Responsibility Matrix (RM) is a tool used to define the authority
of an Individual in the project team. It shows the responsibility and authority of the project
team members.
The RM will show which person is responsible for each part of the Project and it is clear on
the levels of responsibility for example, it clearly states the relationships on particular task
amongst the team members. RMs provide a means for all participants in a project view their
responsibilities and agree on their assignments, and also define communication structure within
the project. They also help clarify the extend or type of authority exercised by each team
member of the project team in performing an activity in which two or more parties have
overlapping involvements, Larson and Gray (2011, p.117). These types of authority or
relationships may be categorised into Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and/or Informed
on that particular task or activity. Below is an example of a typical Responsibility Matrix.

Responsibility Matrix
Project name Further training of teachers for the purpose of improving the quality of
teaching
Date of update 25/04/2017
Person Emmanuel Simeon Esther Hara Davies External
Work Package Nyirenda Chungu Mulenga worker 1
Planning A,R R
Budget R A
Educational needs analysis A I I
Preparation of educational modules A I R
and implementation
Selection of teachers for pilot I R A
training
Preparation of tender A R R
documentation for ICT
Surveys of project effects A R I
Purchase realisation and A R R
assignment introduction
Project evaluation, final report R I I A
Figure 2: Work Package Responsibility Matrix (RM)
Types of responsibilities: A – Accountable; R – Responsible; C – Consulted; I - Informed
3. Activity Schedule
An activity schedule is a method of presenting the activities of a project in a logical sequence
and identifies any dependencies that exist amongst these activities within the framework of the
project. It is a project planning tool that is used for presenting and reviewing the activities of a
project. The schedule is created after WBS is completed and identifies the activities required
to produce the various project deliverables. The process of activity schedule creation starts with
an activity list. This is done after activity definitions for the work packages is completed. The
project manager who has experience in project planning will, from the list of activities, attach
attributes to each activity. Any predecessor activities, successor activities, or constraints should
be listed in the attributes along with descriptions and any other information about resources or
time that is needed for planning purpose. The project planning team will then create the activity
schedule following the steps stated below.
The steps involved in activity schedule preparation are:
1. List the main activities and assign to results
2. Break the main activities down into sub-activities and manageable tasks
3. Clarify the sequence and dependencies of the activities and tasks
4. Estimate the start-up, duration and completion of each activity and task
5. Identify process indicators or milestones by which you can measure project
performance
6. Define the expertise required to undertake the activities and tasks
7. Allocate tasks among the project team
Gantt Chart is later developed after all of the information on an activity schedule is summarised
in graphical format. A Gantt Chart is one common way of graphically presenting activity
schedule.

4. Gantt Charts
The Gantt chart follows completion of Project activity scheduling. Once the project
schedule is done, the Gantt chart is created to display progress of the project graphically. A
Gantt chart is one of the project planning tools and its main purpose is to communicate schedule
information of the project activities in visual picture. Gantt Charts are excellent visual aids and
their effectiveness can be enhanced by the use of different colours (Lock, 2007, p.187). Task
bars on a Gantt Chart view can be coloured to display similar tasks, a milestone or summary
task. These are generated horizontal bar charts with horizontal axis showing the total time span
of the project, broken down into individual tasks, each of which is represented by a horizontal
bar. The project duration traverses from left to right with the two ends showing the beginning
and completion of a particular task. To show dependencies of tasks in the project, arrows are
drawn from the end of the predecessor task to the start of the successor task. The vertical axis
shows the tasks that make up the project.
In summary, the Gantt Chart is made up of:
 a horizontal time scale;
 a vertical list of tasks;
 a horizontal line or bar drawn to scale to represent the time needed to complete the activity.
From the Gantt chart a critical path will become clear through the total durations of the various
linked project paths. Below is a diagram showing an example of a Gantt chart.
Figure 3: Gantt Chart

5. Critical Path Analysis

Critical Path Analysis is a technique that determines the shortest time it will take to
complete a project, while considering the logical flow and dependencies between the various
project tasks. It is the longest path through a project, which indicates all the work required to
complete the project, and therefore determines the earliest time a project will finish. This
longest path is also known as the critical path. Critical path analysis is also called critical path
method (CPM) Frigenti, E & Comninos, D (2002, p. 312).
The critical path analysis (CPA) is the most commonly used type of scheduling technique,
it is used for the planning and management of all types of projects. It displays the project plan
through schematic diagrams or networks that show the sequence and interrelationship of all
project components. The CPA is more useful and precise as compared to the other techniques
like Gantt charts and other progress graphs. As the project execution progresses, CPA provides
project manager with information on the effect of any deviation or delay in the plan and thus
allowing project manager to identify other operations that should be done in order for the
purported delay to be recovered. It should be stated that, when apply CPA, accurate estimates
of time and costs for each component of the project should be made. This means direct cost
estimate based on BOQ should be obtained and the cost of any other resources should also be
factored in with proper cost estimation done. All the project works should be broken done to
allow proper time estimation for each task. The overall project duration is also calculated but
summing up individual task durations. This breaking down of the project components should
be as detailed as possible as it is used in obtaining the cost of operation of each project task or
activity. Once all these factors are known and networks done, CPA may then be applied to
calculate the critical path for the project which is the earliest the project can be expected to be
completed under normal conditions obtained.
The critical path is developed using predecessors and successors tasks that are constructed
to accomplish the job. Most tasks, with the exception of the initial task, will have one or more
predecessors that need to be accomplished before that task can start. For example in a house
construction, If a certain task such as roofing a house, there is a need to determine what activity
that should be done before roofing can commence. This show predecessor/ successor
relationship, this means the raising walls is the predecessor as it should complete before roofing
commences.
After all the tasks are scheduled or placed on a schedule, the links between predecessors
and successors are created. This will form a network where a critical path will become
apparent. In this case, the critical path is the longest chain in terms of time for the interrelated
tasks from the project start to the project finish. Basically, if any of the tasks in the critical path
take longer to complete than their planned duration, the overall duration of the project will be
affected. The project would be extended. The extension happens because the schedule delays
in one component in the critical path will push back the start dates of that component’s
successor tasks. Therefore, the project manager places a high priority on these critical tasks, in
order to keep the project on schedule. Below is a network diagram showing Critical Path.

Figure 4: Critical Path Analysis

6. References
 Project Management Institute 2013, A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge, Project Management Institute, Inc, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
 Richman, L 2002, Project Management Step-By-Step, AMACOM, New York, NY.
 Lester, A 2006, Project Management, Planning and Control: Managing Engineering,
Construction and Manufacturing Projects to PMI, APM and BSI Standards, Elsevier
Science & Technology Books.
 Larson, WE and Gray, CF 2011, Project Management: The Managerial Process,
McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, NY.
 Lock, R 2007, Project Management, Gower Publishing Limited, Hampshire GU11
3HR.
 Frigenti, E & Comninos, D 2002, The Practice of Project Management, Kogan Page
London N1 9JN.