Project managementZeus Project-A You are Donald Tuck, the project manager in charge of the Zeus project. Zeus was the code name given to the development of a virtual electronic medical reference guide. Zeus would be designed for emergency medical technicians and paramedics who need a quick reference guide to use in emergency situations, even in offline mode. Donald and his project team were developing a project plan aimed at producing 30 working models in time for InterMedCON 2018, the biggest medical equipment trade show which will be held at the KLCCC Convention Centre on 9 November. Meeting the InterMedCON deadline was critical to success. All the major medical equipment manufacturers demonstrated and took orders of new products at InterMedCON. Donald had also heard rumors that competitors were considering developing a similar product, and he knew that being first to market would have a significant sales advantage. Besides, top management made funding contingent upon developing a workable plan for meeting the InterMedCON deadline. The project team spent the morning working on the schedule for Zeus. They started with the WBS and developed the information for a network, adding activities when needed. Then the team added the time estimates they had collected for each activity. Following is the preliminary information for activities with duration time and predecessors: Predecessor Duration Descr
iption Architectural decisions Activity 10 days 1 1 20 days 18 days 15 days 15 days Internal specifications External specifications Feature specifications Voice recognition 1 4 2,3 5 2,3 2,3 4 days Case 6 2 days 2 days 2 days 40 days Screen 7 Speaker output jacks Tape mechanism 2,3 2,3 9 4 Database 10 Microphone/soundcard Pager 5 days 11 4 4 days 12 3 days 4 days 5 days 10 days 4 Barcode reader 13 4 Alarm clock 14 Computer 1/O Review design 4 15 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 16 5 days 15 days 35 days Price components 17 16,17 Integration Document design 18 16 19 20 days 18 Procure prototype components 20 Assemble prototypes 10 days 20 21 21 20 days 20 days 20 days 15 days Lab test prototypes Field test prototypes 22 19,22 23 23 Adjust design Order stock parts 24 24 25 24 2 days Order custom parts 26 25, FS 8 days 26, FS 13 days 10 days Assemble first production unit 27 27 10 days 15 days 10 days Test unit 28 28 Produce 30 units 29 Train sales representatives 30 Use Microsoft Project to develop the schedule of activities (see Case Appendix for further instructions) – noting late and early times, the critical path, and estimated completion for the project. Prepare a short memo to the Vice President, Dr Sergei White, which addresses the following questions: 1. What is the project duration? 2. When will the project finished? 3. What activities lie on the critical path? 29