CONVEYOR BELT PROJECT

PART- 1
Project Description
The new computer- controlled conveyor belt is an exciting project that moves and positions items on the
conveyor belt within < 1 millimeter. The project will produce a new system for future installations, and
for replacement of those in the field, at a low cost. The computer- controlled conveyor belt has the
potential to be a critical unit in 30 percent of the systems installed in factories. The new system in also
easier to update with future technologies.

Table 1 Conveyor Belt Project; WBS

Conveyor Belt Project

Hardware Hardware specifications

Hardware design

Hardware documentation

Prototypes

Order circuit board

Assemble preproduction models

Operating system Kernel specifications Drivers

Disk drivers

Serial I/0 drivers

Memory management

Operating system documentation

Network interface

Utilities Utilities specifications

Routine Utilities

Complex Utilities

Utilities documentation

Shell

System integration Architectural decisions

 integration first phase

System hard/software test

Project documentation

Integration acceptance testing

PART- 2
Use your file from part 1 and the information provided below to complete this exercise. (See Table 2.)

1. Each work package will represent an activity.

2. The Project being January 4, 2025.
3. The following holidays are observed, Memorial Day ( last Monday in May), July 4th , Labor Day
(first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), December 25 and 26.
4. If a holiday falls on Saturday then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if is falls on a
Sunday, them Monday will be given as a day off.
5. The project teams work eight-hour days, Monday through Friday.

Construct a network schedule for the conveyor belt project and prepare a memo that addresses the
following questions:

1. When is the project estimated to be completed? How long will the project take?

Answer: End Date – 25th January, 2027; Duration – 530 days

TABLE-2
Conveyor Belt Project; Schedule

Activity Description Resource Duration(days) Preceding Activity

1 Architectural decisions Design 25 ___

Development,
2 Hardware specifications 50 1
design

3 Kernel specifications Design 20 1

Development ,desi
4 Utilities specifications 15 1
gn

5 Hardware design Design 70 2

 development

Assembly,
6 Disk drivers 100 3
development

7 Memory management Development 90 3

Operating system Design,

8 25 3
documentation documentation

9 Routine utilities Development 60 4

10 Complex utilities Development 80 4

Documentation,
11 Utilities documentation 20 4
design

Hardware Documentation,
12 30 5
documentation design

Assembly,
13 Integration first phase 50 6,7,8,9,10,11,12
development

Assembly,
14 Prototypes 80 13
development

15 Serial I/0 drivers Development 130 13

System hard/software
16 Assembly 25 14,15
test

17 Order circuit boards Purchasing 5 16

18 Network interface Development 90 16

19 Shell Development 60 16

Documentation,
20 Project documentation 50 16
development

Assemble preproduction Assembly,

21 30 17F-S, lag 50 days
models development

Integrated acceptance Assembly,

22 60 18,19,20,21
testing development

2. What is the critical path (s) for the project?

Answer:
 3. Which activity has the greatest amount of slack?
Answer: Memory Management – 115 days

4. How sensitive is this network?

Answer:

5. Identify two sensible milestones and explain your choices.

Answer:

6. Compare the advantage/disadvantage of displaying the schedule as a network versus a Gantt chart.
Answer: Network diagrams and Gantt charts offer different strengths for displaying project schedules. A
network diagram is valuable for highlighting task dependencies and the critical path, helping project
managers identify potential risks and bottlenecks. However, it can become complex and hard to interpret
for large projects. On the other hand, a Gantt chart provides a clear, user-friendly timeline, allowing
stakeholders to quickly see task durations and overall project progression. While Gantt charts make it
easy to visualize the schedule, they’re less effective at showing dependencies, which may obscure task
interconnections in complex projects. Using both methods together can provide a balanced view of the
timeline and task relationships.

Include the following documents:

● A Gantt chart
● A Network diagram highlighting the critical path.
● A schedule table reporting. ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity.

Hint: the project should be completed in 530 days.

Remember: Save your file for future exercise!

PART-3
Remember the old saying “A project plan is not a schedule until resources are committed.” This exercise
illustrates this subtle, but very important, difference.

PART-A
Using your files from part 2 input resources and their costs if you not already done so. All information is
found in Tables 2 and 3.

TABLE -3
Organization Resources

Name Group Cost($/hr)

Design R& D (2 teams) $ 100

Development R& D (2 teams) 70

 Documentation R& D (1 teams) 60

Assembly/test R& D (1 teams) 70

Purchasing Procurement (1 team) 40

Prepare a memo that addresses the following question:

1. Which if any of the resources are over allocated?
Answer: Design; Development; Documentation; Assembly/Test

2. Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any over allocations problem by leveling
within slack. What happens?
Answer: Design is levelled because of 0 slack. For Development, we have hired additional 3 teams i.e.
increased the maximum units from 200% to 500%. For Assemble, we have hired 1 additional resource i.e.
increased from 100% to 200%.

3. What is the impact of leveling within slack on the sensitivity of the network?
Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack.

4. Assume the project is resource constrained and resolve any over allocation problem by leveling outside
of slack. What happens? What are the managerial implications?
Answer: If there is a constraint on hiring additional resources, the project will get delayed by around 463
days. It can have grave managerial implications as it’s a very high delay which can invite significant
repercussions.

5. What options are available at this point in time?

Answer: After smoothening the design, development and assembly can be levelled by hiring additional
resources or by swapping roles of designer and developer.

Include a Gantt Chart with the schedule table after leveling outside of slack.

Note: No splitting of activities is allowed.

Note: No partial assignment (e.g., 50 percent). All resources must be assigned 100 percent.

PART-B

When you show the resource-constrained network to top management, they are visibly shaken.
After some explanations and negotiation, they make the following compromise with you:

● The Project must be completed no later than February 5, 2026 (530 days).
● You may assign two additional development teams.
● If this does not suffice, you may hire other development teams from the outside. Hire as few
external teams as possible because they cost$ 50 per than your inside development people.
 Internal Development
Add as many development units (teams) as needed to stay within the 530 days. If you need more than two
internal development units, than hire as few external teams as ne necessary. Select the cheapest
possibility! Change as few activities as possible. It is recommended you keep work package which require
cooperation of several organizational units inside your company. You decide how best to do this.
Hint: Undo leveling prior to adding new resources.
Once you have obtained a schedule that meets the time and resource constraints, prepare a memo that
addresses the following questions:
1. What changes did you make and why?
2. How long will the project take?
3. How did these changes affect the sensitivity of the network?

Include a Gantt chart with a schedule table presenting the new schedule.

PART -4
Based on the file created at the end of part 3, prepare a memo that addresses the following questions:
1. How much will the project cost?
Answer: $9,71,200

2. What does the cash flow statement tell you about how costs are distributed over the life span of
the project?

Answer: Cash Flow document attached alongside.

Include a monthly cash flow and cost table for the project.

Once you are confident that you have the final schedule, save the file as a baseline.
Hint: Save a backup file just in case without baseline!