Executive Summary for the Project Programming
Programming for a project is deemed one of the most essential parts of project management, as the most frequently asked questions on a project are always regarding the project outcome in terms of the quality and timely delivery, and also the resource allocation which is majorly the time spent for this project.
Microsoft Project has been adopted as our programming software based on its suitability and offered features. Benchmark of total time spent on the project is obtained from the Credit Unit Statement of the BSc Degree of HKU, that 120 - 180 total study hours should be allocated per person on a 6-credit course that is the referencing range of time spent for our group of five should be 600 – 900 hours. Time allocation on heads of tasks is based on the weighting of assessment provided by the course and the task nature. Estimated time for each task is set with reference to the expectation of time spent, the quality of the outcome of such task and prior experience of works. An Online, co-workable Google sheet is prepared for every group members to input their actual time spent on the tasks, and to update new tasks into the program on a weekly basis. By cross-referencing the actual time and estimated time spent on a task, evaluation could be made on whether more or less time should be spent on such task, and the impact on time allocation of other tasks while it can remind group members to be on track of time or as the basis for assessing performance by them.
With the assistance of project programming, all milestones, including all submissions and exhibition are completed and successfully conveyed on time. All tasks are completed on or before the estimated completion date of the project on 30 November 2018. The actual time spent (693 hours) is less than the estimated time (711 hours) with the quality of outcome matching the expectation of our group and complemented with positive feedbacks from peer groups and guests from the exhibition. The amount of time spent is also considered rational and efficient as the actual time spent on the project fall within the benchmark range of 600 – 900 hours, and close to the minimum recommended time spent for a 6-credit course with satisfactory quality.
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Previously adopted means of project time management
Reasons for abandoning Google sheet:
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Not user-friendly for scheduling
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No automatically updating functions
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No input of time, duration, predecessors and successors
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Cannot show critical path and key dates of projects
Some reasons for adopting Microsoft Project:
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Easily accessible
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Availability of predecessors and successors
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Availability of early start & finish to show the earliest possible time for tasks to start or complete
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Availability of late start & finish to show latest start & completion time for critical tasks and allow prioritization of tasks
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Clear categorization of tasks & subtasks
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Automatically computed work, duration
After adopting the Microsoft Project, the project timetable of the studio has been reconfigured with more requirements and the need for better visualization of time and effectiveness of the schedule. By researching and learning the software while discussing with our facilitator and groupmates, changes are made in accordance to the need for this project, below are some of the previous drafts.
Adoption of Microsoft Project
Previous drafts
Manually-typed tasks with no correlation shown and unfriendly interface for presentation
(Project program dated 26 Sep 18)
Adding more useful attributes to the interface, but still require refinement on presentation interface
(Project program dated 9 Oct 18)
Finalised project timetable & summary of key information
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Total estimated project time: 711 hours
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Total actual time spent on project: 693 hours
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All milestones (deadline of submissions and exhibition) completed on time
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All tasks are completed on or before the estimated end date of the project (30 Nov 2018)
Means adopted to update the project program
In order to cross-reference with the actual time spent to the estimated time on the tasks and also to incorporate updated tasks in the Microsoft Project, an online and co-workable Google sheet is prepared for the group mates to enter their approximate time spent on each task. The finalised time sheet is shown below.
