Operations and Supply Chain Management The Core

PROJECTS chapter 5 151
be output. Deviations between planned start/finish and newly scheduled start/finish also
appear, and a “slipping filter” can be applied to highlight or output only those tasks that are
scheduled to finish at a later date than the planned baseline. Management by exception also
can be applied to find deviations between budgeted costs and actual costs.
CONCEPT CONNECTIONS
LO5–1 Explain what projects are and how projects are organized.
∙ Projects can be categorized into four major types: product change, process change, research
and development, and alliance and partnerships.
∙ Even though some projects are often thought to be one-time occurrences, they are sometimes
repeated.
∙ The project team can be organized in different ways. The most common are pure project,
where the team works full time on the project; functional project, where team members stay
in their functional group and work on many different projects at the same time; and matrix
project, which blends the pure project and functional project structures.
∙ The activities of the projects are organized according to the work breakdown structure, which
groups them into subtasks and work packages. Completion of a work package results in the
completion of a subtask, and completion of all of the subtasks is required to complete the
project.
Project A series of related jobs usually directed toward some major output and requiring a
significant period of time to perform.
Project management Planning, directing, and controlling resources (people, equipment,
material) to meet the technical, cost, and time constraints of a project.
Pure project A structure for organizing a project where a self-contained team works full time on
the project.
Functional project A structure where team members are assigned from the functional units of
the organization. The team members remain a part of their functional units and typically are not
dedicated to the project.
Matrix project A structure that blends the functional and pure project structure. Each project
uses people from different functional areas. A dedicated project manager decides what tasks need to
be performed and when, but the functional managers control which people to use.
Project milestone A specific event in a project.
Work breakdown structure (WBS) The hierarchy of project tasks, subtasks, and work packages.
Activities Pieces of work within a project that consume time. The completion of all the activities
of a project marks the end of the project.
LO5–2 Evaluate projects using earned value management.
∙ A key aspect to managing a project is understanding the current status of its activities.
∙ Simple graphical techniques are often augmented with standard reports that give a detailed
analysis of the work completed together with what is left to be done.
∙ Earned value management (EVM) is a technique commonly used for measuring project
progress.
Gantt chart Shows in a graphic manner the amount of time involved and the sequence in which
activities can be performed. This chart is often referred to as a bar chart.
Earned value management (EVM) Technique that combines measures of scope, schedule, and
cost for evaluating project progress.