Posted: December 6th, 2022

CASE STUDY

CASE STUDY
Note: In developing your answers you can make any assumptions you wish, provided these
are reasonable, do not contradict the content of the case study and are clearly written down. Assume you are a qualified project manager employed by a project management
practice
called Projects Managed Ef iciently (PME). PME has been commissioned by Scottish Cycling, the national governing body of sport
for
cycling in Scotland, to project manage the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships
that will
take place over two weeks in August 2023 in Scotland. This event will be the first time
that
all 13 disciplines of riding across road, track and mountain bike races are brought
together
under one event. The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External
Affairs, commented1 “As the first ever host of this event, Scotland will cement its position as a
leader
and innovator in the planning and delivery of major sporting events. It builds upon the
successes of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2014 Ryder Cup and [2018]
European
Championships. Our overall aim is for Scotland to become one of Europe’s top cycling
nations with cycling firmly embedded across Scotland as the favoured way to travel to
school
and work, as an enjoyable leisure activity and an efficient way to improve health.” With just 8 months until the event, stress level is high, and the programme is closely
monitored by the sponsor Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body
that
oversees international competitive cycling events, which Scottish Cycling is part of. Your team is now focused on the preparations for the mountain bike category − 30km
cross
country, 100km cross-country marathon and the 2.8km downhill races. Scottish Cycling board has appointed an internal Programme Director who has three
internal
project managers, a PMO and a financial controller reporting to. The programme also
involves the Scottish Cycling internal Legal Services Department as contracts managers. The Legal Services Department issues and administers the various contracts used in the
programme. Scottish Cycling has also set up an internal Change Control Section that is
responsible for change management of the programme. You report directly to an
internal
Project Liaison Of icer via the general Scottish Cycling Interface Unit that acts as the
portal
between the internal association structure and the external environment. The
Functional
Head of the Scottish Cycling Racing Department is also involved, as her department will
eventually take over the event operation. The Functional Head of the Scottish Cycling
Racing Department reports to the board and works with the internal Programme Director
on
all aspects of logistics, administration and professional operation. Contracts, communications and instructions are all relayed through the Interface Unit and directly
to the
internal Programme Director office. Being external, you are project manager with responsibility for managing all aspects
of the
racing projects on behalf of Scottish Cycling. The infrastructure works on those projects are being carried out by a main contractor
called
Sportsmachine Ltd. Sportsmachine Ltd. has been contracted by PME under the usually
accepted contract. The main contractor has sublet several different work packages to
three
different domestic subcontractors called Route Works, Spectators and Ticketsale. They
will
be responsible for the route construction, audience administration and sales and
media
coverage. 1 Source: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/5988/glasgow-to-host-first-multi-discipline-uci-worlds-in-2023. Several work packages have also been awarded to nominated subcontractors and
suppliers
that have been nominated by Scottish Cycling. The nominated subcontractors are
called
International Fencing and Assembly Race Specialists, and the nominated suppliers are
called Prop Co. and Specialist Supplies. The two subcontractors specialise in fencing
the
racing area and the preparing the race route. The two suppliers specialise in signage
for
sports events and providing equipment such as mobile toilets, generators and water
tanks. Risk management services are being provided by an external consultant called Risk
Analysis, and environmental impact control services are provided by another external
consultant called Environmental Consultants. Health and Safety is inspected and
certified by
the Scottish Emergency Services (Police, Fire and Medical). The event will not take place
unless such clearance is given.
To integrate all programme aspects under one roof, a steering committee was
established
with representatives from UCI, Scottish Cycling, national authorities and PME. While
you are
not part of this body, you get constant updates through PME. Your managers have stipulated to you that this is a high-risk project mainly from the
scheduling perspective since the hard deadline for launch cannot be delayed. On the
other
hand, UCI has allocated a generous budget for the event and should this project be
successful, it will position Scotland at the top of the best global sports events
organisers and
will substantially contribute to its economy
Question 1
Maximum Word Count 1000 words
(a)
Describe and illustrate a likely Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
arrangement of the project within the programme. Explain the rationale behind your
design by considering communication, hierarchy, control, contractual, organisational
and project boundaries and any other components. (10 marks)
(b)
From the point of view of the organisers, identify five typical project risks and in each
case suggest a possible response that may be available through the standard form of
contract with Sportsmachine Ltd. Discuss the residual risk in each case. (15 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
Question 2
Maximum Word Count 1000 words
Refer to Table 1. This table shows estimates of optimistic, likely and pessimistic
durations for
activities to be carried out in one of the work packages for the mountain bike races. Table 1 – Estimated activity times for works to be completed by company
(a)
Produce a network showing the activity mean durations, mean earliest start and
latest finish for each activity, the critical path and the estimated overall mean duration
for the work package. (10 marks)
(b)
Calculate the probability of the work package being completed within 30 weeks. (5 marks)
(c)
Based on your findings in part (b) above, discuss likely options to further reduce the
estimated duration of the project. Include a summary of the risk and quality
implications of each option. (10 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
Question 3
Maximum Word Count 1000 words
Refer to Table 2. This table shows the cumulative number of fence posts installed and
actual
costs incurred for four teams building parts of the mountain racetrack fencing. Note
the
target output and cost figures given. Table 2 – Output performance for Teams 1, 2, 3 and 4
Note: Table 2 below shows the output figures of four teams which are installing
80,000 fence
posts around the track. The figures for the teams cover the first five weeks of the
package. The teams are installing the posts at a planned rate of 1,000 posts per week per team
over a
20-week total period. Each post has an estimated cost of £100.00.
(a)
Comment on the performance of each team and on the performance of the entire
work package over the five-week period. Include a forecast of the likely end
performance of each team based on performance at week 5. (10 marks)
(b)
Calculate the estimate at completion (EAC) for each team and for the entire work
package, based on performances at week 5.
(5 marks)
(c)
Discuss the implications of the EAC figure for the work package at week 5 and
suggest possible reserves within the cost plan that could be used to finance any
eventual overspend. (10 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
Question 4
Maximum Word Count 1000 words
(a)
Discuss the main factors that you and PME would be likely to consider in preparing a
quality policy for this project. (10 marks)
(b)
Assume you have been asked to present a project progress quality report to the
steering committee. Choose any quality management tool and technique from the
course’s content and produce a fictional report on likely project issue in the context of
the case study. Describe the ‘issue(s)’ you have identified, present a set of data; and
discuss and illustrate your ‘findings’. Finally, recommend the way forward. Explain the
rationale behind your report. (15 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
Project Management
Formulae Sheet
For the purposes of this examination the following formulae can be assumed to apply. For a beta distribution:
Activity mean = (a + 4m + b) / 6
Activity standard deviation = (b – a) / 6
Where a = optimistic time, m = most likely time and b = pessimistic time. The project standard deviation is the square root of the sum of the squares of the
critical path activity standard deviations. The project mean is the sum of the critical path activity means.
The mean difference is the difference between the project mean and the target
mean. The standardised mean difference is the mean difference divided by the project
standard deviation. Estimate at completion (EAC) = (ACWP / BCWP) × BAC
Estimate to complete (ETC) or Estimated cost to complete (ECTC) = EAC – ACWP
Variance at completion (VAC) = BAC – EAC
Where:
BCWP = Budgeted cost of the works performed. ACWP = Actual cost of the works performed. BAC = Budget at completion. In a normal distribution assume:
The area under the curve within 1 standard deviation each side of the mean = 68%. The area under the curve within 2 standard deviations each side of the mean = 95%. The area under the curve within 3 standard deviations each side of the mean = 99%. Therefore:
Events up to 3 standard deviations below the mean occur 0.5% of the time. Events up to 2 standard deviations below the mean occur 2.5% of the time. Events up to 1 standard deviation below the mean occur 16% of the time. Events up to the mean occur 50% of the time. Events up to 1 standard deviation above the mean occur 84% of the time. Events up to 2 standard deviations above the mean occur 97.5% of the time. Events up to 3 standard deviations above the mean occur 99.5% of the time. (continued overleaf)- 2 – Cost variance (CV) = BCWP – ACWP
Schedule variance (SV) = BCWP – BCWS
CVI = BCWP / ACWP
SVI = BCWP / BCWS
ACWP = actual cost of the work performed. BCWP = budgeted cost of the work performed. BCWS = budgeted cost of the work scheduled.

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