A bathtub period is a period of no income for any project. From the standpoint of effective project Management, there was cost estimation error for Park Industries and Cash flow problem for the part of Scott Corporation.
This is clear that there was lack of effective project management because if there was, the cost estimation and cash flow problem would not have occurred. The project was not based on simplicity, all the stakeholders did not understand the project requirements clearly and that led to project scope creep. The planning was poor and the project schedule was not very clear. This is so because we are informed that four months remaining on the project, Scott Corporation informed Park Industries that because of the projected cash flow problem, follow-on work would not be awarded until the first week of March 2011. Network diagrams are used to show how large a project can be broken down into a logical series of subtasks. One of the risks involved with the strategy of making and compiling network diagrams is that it is difficult to follow on large projects.
The default models tend to assume that resources are unlimited and there is a threat of external factors which cause problems such as weather. Another risk is that it can be very complex hence misinterpreted and it can be unreliable by missing tasks.One of the potential work-around is to ensure that the network diagram is simple and easy to follow. Ensure that resource dependencies are incorporated in to the critical path and that the network diagram does not miss tasks. The other potential work-around is to ensure that there is not threat of external factors. Two scheduling techniques that might be used effectively for the project are task list and Gantt chart.
Task list is the simplest and contains list of tasks per project team member and is documented in a spreadsheet. Advantages of task listIt is easy to createThe only tool needed is Microsoft officeIt makes it possible to assign tasks to resourcesDisadvantages of task listIt has no global view of the project timelineInvolves limited collaboration as well as commenting on the projectThere is no versioning offered which leads to mistakes as well as loss of productivityIt makes it hard to track the progress of the project.Gantt chart is a bar chart which displays main activities of the project in sequence. Each task is presented by a bar which reflects the start as well as date of the activity.Advantages of Gantt chartIt is adaptable to all industries and all types of projectsIt is easy to view the progress of the projectA Gantt chart can be easily modifiedIt gives project managers the ability to set correct deadlines as well as define the dependenciesIt also gives the ability to assign tasks to resourcesDisadvantages of Gantt chartThe Gantt chart is very flat if it is not part of a project management systemThere is no versioning which leads to mistakesLimited collaboration No tracking of project progress
