Question

1. Compare the three popular scheduling tools (1) milestone chart, (2) Gantt chart, and (3) PERT/CPM network diagram regarding their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations.

2. How does modern information technology affect managerial power and leadership style?

3. How do you overcome team member resistance to accept or use a new project management tool, such as following a new design review process or using a new method for reporting progress or changes?

Answer 1

Ans 1.
Milestone Chart: This chart is used to focus on planned events which are going to happen at a particular point of time. This could be the initiation of a task, or completion of the task. This does not show the inter dependencies involved in the project tasks. It is just a point which refers to the occurence of the event and does not give any idea of the time that was taken to do it.

Gantt Chart: It is one of the most used charts in program management. It gives an overview of project with its timeline and the inter dependencies of the tasks involved in the project activities. The length of the bar on the chart shows the amount of time taken to complete the activity (Project schedule). It gives the breakdown structure of the project, expected timeline, progress, assigned resources, critical path etc. It is easy to understand as well. The disadvantages of Gantt chart is that it is difficult to use if it has to be updated regularly. For a very detailed project it can become unmanageable as well. More the amount of information on the chart, more difficult it becomes to view the chart.

3. PERT/CPM Netwrok Diagram: PERT/CPM also helps in visualizing the project as the activities are broken down in this case as well. The inter-dependencies between various activities can also be figured from this diagram. The diagram is also able to provide information about critical paths. This forces the managers to critically analyze all the factors related to project progress. Enormous amount of data can be represented in an ordered manner. The disadvantage is the data quality. As the number of dependencies, resources and deadlines increase, the accuracy can get lower. This diagram emphasises on critical path but it can very well cause problems if the activities are missed for some reason. The costs can be higher than other methods of planning. It is suggested for complex activites while simple activities find no use of this.