Earned Value Management Systems

Felicia Jones

10/31/16

Table of Contents Project Outline 4 Description of the project 4 Overall project deliverable 4 Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance Management 5 Useful Cost techniques in project management 5 a. Vendor bid analysis 5 b. Three point estimation 5 c. Bottom up technique 5 d. Parametric estimation 6 Project schedule for the acquisition component of the overall project 6 Program evaluation and review technique (PERT) 7 Critical path method (CPM) 7 Key schedule influencers 8 a. Government 8 b. Suppliers 8 Management of Small Projects 9 a. Small acquisition project schedule using MS Project 9 b. Gantt chart 9 c. Critical path network diagram 10 d. Project Management Institute (PMI®) process 11 Acquisition Project Guidelines 13 a. Updated the project plan and Gantt Chart 13 b. Gantt chart 14 c. Request for proposal (RFP) template for the acquisition project 14 d. Vendor evaluation criteria 14 e. Vendor status update process. 15 Costing Methods and Tools 17 Project Costing Methods 17 a. Vendor bid analysis 17 b. Bottom up estimation method 17 Project cost computations 17 Contingency budget 19 Earned Value Management System 20 Overall Cost and Schedule Performance 21

The main purpose of this acquisition strategy and cost management plan is to inform the necessary stakeholder as well as help in the planning of how the acquisitions will be acquired, executed and also how they will be managed throughout the project life. It will also ensure that all the necessary services and materials necessary for the building project are sort after in good time and that they are available for the project to enable continuous performance without delays. This plan will also help identify the costs that will be incurred, the source of income to cover the costs and all contracts that need to be signed for effective project management.

The overall project deliverables will be an administration block to accommodate the teaching staff in community college of Philadelphia.

The specific deliverables will be an administration block consisting of:

· 32 mid-sized rooms - which will be the offices

· 4 large conference rooms

· 2 wash room area in each of the 4 floors.

· It will occupy around 700 square meters in size.

It is very important for the accurate determination of the total cost of a project so that adequate budgeting can be done. The financers of the project need also to be given figures that are reliable. For our project, there are three available cost measurement techniques as listed below:

This involves inviting suitable suppliers to tender their bid for their services. They should include the exact duties to be undertaken and their durations. In each task to be completed they should also input the price and later on calculate the total price. The cheapest cost will be selected and the vendor contracted.

The most commonly used type of the three point estimation technique is the PERT analysis. This involves the study of the recent costs of acquisition of the materials and services and then making an average or an estimate for the whole cost of the project. Three aspects can be used to make accurate cost estimation. There need to be the most likely outcome, optimistic and the pessimistic outcomes (Aberman, et. al., 2010).

Using this method produces accurate estimates with high precision. The project management will consider each and every project individually from the bottom level and the cost rolled up to the higher levels. However, it is much more costly and time consuming than other methods such as the top down method.

Using this project requires that there be a reference project of a similar nature. The project managers will look at the previous projects and estimate the cost of the new project.

The following table provides the actual duration that will be needed to successfully complete the project. The estimated start time is 10th June 2017 and the estimated finish time will be 13th august 2017. This will be approximately two and a half months’ work.

The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) chart for the project is shown below.

The critical path method identifies the longest possible route, together with the activities, that need to take place for the whole project to take place (Schiffer & Hauck, 2010). It will also indicate the shortest route of activities that the project can take to get completed. It is as shown below:

The black filling represent the critical path which equals to seventy days. This is equivalent to the total days that the project will take to completion.

In this project we have acquired all the necessary documentation and certificates to enable us to be on the right side of the law when it comes to building regulations. The government policies can also change within the duration of the project to influence the availability and prices of the materials and services.

The suppliers of the materials will also play a very significant role in ensuring success of the project. Or this reason, we have carefully scrutinized and evaluated our potential suppliers and ascertained that they are more than capable to meet our demands.

The gantt chart below has been prepared to show the various projects and it has also helped get the critical paths together with the near critical paths

i. Initiating

Initiating the project will facilitate the planning of all the needed materials and costs to be incurred. It basically means that the project manager determines all the necessary materials, labor force, time and deliverables of the small project. The process to be used here will be forecasting whereby we will look forward on what we actually anticipate to incur as costs and what should be delivered which is a parking lot.

ii. Planning

This entails the listing down of how things will actually go. One of the process here is determination of the communication channel. The best communication channel will be that of a hierarchical basis where the line managers will be responsible for the day to day activities and report back to their senior supervisors for decision making. An estimation of the resource requirements for the activities is also done here. A work breakdown structure is also very necessary in order to ensure that all the people know what they are supposed to do

iii. Executing

Involves the actual carrying out of the activities and tasks. It will involve proper allocation, co-ordination and management of human resources. Materials and budgeted amounts should be made available for smooth carrying out of duties.

iv. Monitoring and Controlling

It simply means observing the project and ensuring that it is being executed correctly. It will include measuring the ongoing project activities and the project variables and comparing them with project management plan and the project performance baseline. Then in case there are any deviation from the plan, corrective measurements should be done.

v. Closing.

Once the parking lot has been finished and ready for occupation, the project can be termed as closed. The contract can be said to have been performed by the contractors. Payment of the final amount will be included in this level.

The chart below shows the updated Gantt chart including the new activities to completion. The ones with the blue fill indicate the critical path of the whole project.

Attached in the appendix is a sample RFP template that will be sent to suppliers for their signing before commencement of the contract.

For this project, we will conduct a thorough evaluation of our main suppliers. We hope to get five major suppliers for all the materials and services for the whole project. We have set in place some criteria to help us in the selection process of the most suitable candidates for supplying us with the necessary materials and services. The following table represents these criteria. According to the table, we have set the total achievable points is 100% and the least that our suppliers will achieve is a 74% as calculated below. These five vendors will be utilized throughout the project.

Once the suitable suppliers for our products have been chosen, they will be informed and asked to register their details with us. Registration of vendors in the procurement of goods, services and construction projects will ensure that there is easier management of the whole process and contract. Upon finishing the registration process, the vendors become active vendors to receive future solicitations and requests for quotations. Vendors should also use this form to keep their information updated. The five steps are shown below. Upon agreeing to the set terms and conditions of the agreement sent to them by our procurement department, they will start on the due registration process. In case the chosen vendor already has his information with us, then they will have to update their accounts with all the necessary information upon being chosen.