DİPLOMATİK YAZIŞMA VE PROTOKOL - Deneme Sınavı - 7

In order to evaluate and control a project ,you should follow these four steps (Larson, & Clifford, 2011):

1. Setting a baseline plan

2. Measuring progress and performance

3. Comparing plan with the actual

4. Taking action

EVA was developed in 1967 by the US Department of Defence.

By using this technique, we can answer the following questions:

Is the improvement of a project coherent with its baseline plan? (In terms of budget and workload)

Are there differences between planned and actual cost and workload?

If so, how far is the project from the plan?

If CPI and SPI are equal to one, that means the project in on the way.

If CPI is less than one, that means there is much spending according to the baseline plan.

CPI and SPI are positive.

If SPI is equal to one, actual workload has been realized in accordance with the baseline plan by the status date.

If SPI is less than one, it means that less work has been done according to the baseline plan.

Fixed cost means the money spent to do a job.

BAC=regular shift duration*regular shift rate +overtime duration*overtime rate + setup cost + fixed cost

Management of a project is a dynamic and compelling process as the project is under the effect of its environment. Therefore; the answer is A.

Three important metrics can be used to define the size of a project: project completion time (PCT), budget, and workload. Project completion time is the difference between the latest finish date of the last activity and the earliest start date of the first activity of a project. Budget means the total cost to be spent for the whole project. Finally, workload means the total amount of man-hours to be used in the project according to the baseline plan. The answer is C.

In order to evaluate and control a project, you should follow these four steps:

1. Setting a baseline plan

2. Measuring progress and performance

3. Comparing plan with the actual

4. Taking action

Earned Value Analysis takes part in the 3rd step of the project evaluation process.

The answer is D.

There are two basic indicators to evaluate a project in terms of cost and workload. The first one is the cost performance index (CPI) and the other one is the schedule performance index (SPI). These values are positive, and if they equal to one, that means the project in on the way. For example, CPI is equal to one at the status date, that means actual spending has been realized in accordance with the baseline plan. If CPI is less than one, that means there is much spending according to the baseline plan, and vice versa if CPI is greater than one. Similarly, if SPI is equal to one, actual workload has been realized in accordance with the baseline plan by the status date. If SPI is less than one, it means that less work has been done according to the baseline plan (schedule), and vice versa if SPI is greater than one. Shortly, values of CPI and SPI greater than 1.0 indicate that work is ahead of schedule and under budget, respectively. Values less than 1.0 indicate the opposite. In other words, you can think that obtaining less than one for CPI and SPI is not good, and it means more spending, less work. Besides, the greater deviation for CPI and SPI we get, the more discordance between the actual situation at the status date and the baseline plan it means. As a result, these two values are the most important indicators that reveal the performance of the project. In order to calculate these two performance indicators, some other values should be calculated firstly. They are given in the following entries based on the Project Management book written by Burke. The answer is B.

EAC (Estimate at Completion): Predicted budget. In other words, budget to be obtained at project
finish date if the speed of project remains like that.

EAC=BAC*(ACWP/BCWP) = (BAC*ACWP)/PCa*BAC) = ACWP/PCa

The answer is E.

SV (Schedule Variance): Schedule deviation as a monetary value. If SV is negative, that means the project is behind the plan against work performed. The opposite means the schedule is ahead of time.

SV=BCWP-BCWS

The answer is B.

CV (Cost Variance): Cost deviation. If this value is negative, that means value for work has not been earned as spent actually. 

CV=BCWP-ACWP

The answer is A.

Tardiness means delay. If an activity or a project delays, this situation may cause serious problems such as penalty payoff. That’s why tardiness is unwanted. In order to evaluate whether there is a tardiness for an activity, monitoring the performed workload or using a tracking Gantt chart is a good way. The answer is D.

Man-hour is calculated as multiplying workforce by duration. Actually, in order to define the size of an activity, man-hours should be predicted, not the duration of the activity. For example, if an activity has 120 man-hours, this means, this activity can be finished within 12 hours if you have 10 workers; or it can be finished within 120 hours if you have only 1 worker. Similarly, a lot of calculations may be done. That’s why the important thing is prediction of man-hours for an activity. Duration can be calculated considering the resources on hand. The answer is C.

Baseline plan is a master plan, which has been executed at the end of the planning phase of a project. It can not be changed. However, different plans may be constituted based on different scenarios. After declaring the baseline plan, the project team realize activities based on this plan. The answer is E.

One of the most effective project evaluation and monitoring methods is Earned Value Analysis (EVA) which was developed in the 1960’s. EVA compares the
planned and actual (realized) cost and workload values for a specified date (status date) determined by project manager. Then, it gives a numerical value if there is a deviation between the plan and the actual situation. Eventually, the project manager obtains valuable information about the progress of the project.

In order to evaluate and control a project ,you should follow these four steps
1. Setting a baseline plan
2. Measuring progress and performance
3. Comparing plan with the actual
4. Taking action

Estimating budget is not one of the steps.

CPI is equal to one at the status date, that means actual spending has been realized in accordance with the baseline plan.

BAC (Budget at Completion): BAC is budget of an activity or a project, and it is also called the baseline cost which means the cost of the baseline plan. It is calculated at the end of the planning phase.

TCPI (To Complete Performance Index): TCPI shows the performance to be done after the status date in order to meet the project budget and the schedule targets. TCPI is achieved by dividing the rest of earned value into the rest of the budget.