Principles of Qualitative Techniques, Case Study Example

Consider the following activities with the duration shown against each activity. The activities are the possible events for organising a Rockfest.

From the above activities, we can draw the following network that summarises the flow of organising the Rockfest event.

From the network

• Critical path is  A-C-D-F
• Its activities are: Determining cost, publicity and invitation
• Duration of the event: 15 weeks

Crashing the program

Reduce the activities of activity C to 4 weeks and activity D to 2 weeks. This is done to ensure that the project is kept on track the reduction of the time spent on C being a critical step ensures that the time targets are met and it helps spur on the speed at which the other steps are arrived at.

Major challenges a project manager faces in events such as this one.

• Time estimation

A manager of such a program will have to estimate taken to undertake each of the activity outlined above. The estimates arrived at in most cases turns out to be lesser or more than the actual time taken (Kubai, 1998). This could lead to the manager straining during the carrying out of the activity.

• Project adjustment

In undertaking activities towards the completion of the project, the manager may have to adjust events to suit prevailing circumstances especially where there is a change. These adjustments could hugely hinder the completion of the project.

• Availability of resources

In cases where the project requires large amount of resources, the availability of such resources will determine whether the project will be completed or delayed (Frier, 2001).

• Means of publicising

The manager of such a project will have to determine the method that best suits publicising the event. This should be suitable depending on the clientele the manager wishes to attend. Unsuitable method such as one that does not attract the attention of the target clientele will lead to low turn out during the event.

References

Kubai, M. L. P. (1998). Project Management Techniques. Nairobi, Kenya: Jomo Kenyatta Press.

Frier, O. (2001). Principles of Qualitative Techniques. Birmingham, UK: Print LLP Press