Software-generated information to make decision in an oganisation Essay

Software-generated information to make decision in an oganisation - Essay Example Activity Immediate Predecessor Time (Days) Earliest Start time Earliest Finish time Latest Start Time Latest Finish Time Slack 01 None 1 0 1 0 1 0 02 01 11 01 12 1 12 0 03 01 14 12 26 38 52 26 04 03 5 26 31 52 57 26 05 02 23 12 35 29 52 17 06 05 5 35 40 52 57 17 07 02 20 12 32 37 57 25 08 02 30 12 42 12 42 0 09 08 15 42 57 42 57 0 10 08 2 42 44 50 52 8 11 02 33 12 45 14 47 2 12 11 10 45 55 47 57 2 13 10 4 44 48 52 56 8 14 13,10 1 48 49 56 57 8 15 06,07,09,14 1 57 58 57 58 0 Answer A The normal time for completing the project is expected to be 58 days. For the project to be completed on 30th November 2013 having commenced on 1st October 2013, it calls for crashing the time because the period of completion is shorter than the predicted time in the activity plan. Activities to be crashed must have the minimum cost implication for the process and usually they are those in the critical path. It is worth to note that, the Microsoft project considers work only done for five days of the week thus the time span for the project adds up to forty-five days. The Gantt chart that would be realized from the above information is as indicated in the MS Project. (See attached file) Answer B The network diagram of the project information in the above tables as follows Answer C The critical path refers to a sequence of activities in a project that form the longest chain in terms of their completion time. The set of these activities in a project network are determined by calculating the slack. Where by the slack is obtained by subtracting the earliest start time and activity duration from latest finish time. The critical path is realized in those activities whose slack is equal to zero. From the above table, the activities with a zero slack are 01, 02, 08, 09, and 15. Thus, the critical path can be concluded to be 01 – 02 – 08 – 09-15. Answer D The project duration is determined by adding up the time durations of all the activities in the critical path of the p roject network. In the above project network, the critical path was determined above and realized to be 01 – 02 – 08 – 09 - 15. To determine the least time duration would be (1 + 11 + 30 + 15 + 1) = 58 days. Answer to Task 2 Year Cash inflows Discounting factor (10%) Discounted cash inflow Cash inflows (C) Discounting factor (15%) Discounted cash inflow (Ci) 1 2500 0.9091 2272.73 2500 0.8696 2173.91 2 2750 0.8264 2272.73 2750 0.7561 2079.40 3 3025 0.7513 2272.73 3025 0.6575 1988.99 4 3327.5 0.6830 2272.73 3327.5 0.5718 1902.51 5 3660.25 0.6209 2272.73 3660.25 0.4972 1819.79 Total 11363.63 9964.60 Net Present Value (NPV) is a measure used for evaluating the value of a business by determining the present value of such investment by adding up all the discounted cash inflows received within the given period of the investment. The formula for discounting by the NVP method Where C0= Cash outflow also known as Initial Investment Ci = Cash flows for the given years r = Discount rate T = Time Where r = the discount rate, and T = time NVP the rate is at 10% NVP = 198.43 NVP when the rate is at 15% NVP = 46.19533 This method is used to determine the profitability and suitability of a project before commencing a plan to undertake the investment. A project with a positive NPV is said to be favorable, whereas one with a negative NPV is regarded as unfavorable and thus investor would be discouraged to undertake that project. Report Summery Project management