DCET 2027 Project Management Skills (PMS) — Complete Formula & Revision Sheet

UNIT 1: Intro to Project Management

4 Marks

Project Definition: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Has a definite start and finish.
Triple Constraints (Iron Triangle): Scope, Time, Cost. Quality sits in the center! Changing one constraint inevitably affects the others.
5 Process Groups (Standard Life Cycle):
1. Initiating → 2. Planning → 3. Executing → 4. Monitoring & Controlling → 5. Closing.

⚡ Project vs. Operation (Guaranteed DCET MCQ)

Project: Temporary, Unique output, Closed after goal is met (e.g., Constructing Metro line).
Operation: Ongoing, Repetitive, Sustains business (e.g., Running daily Metro trains).

Role	Primary Responsibility
Project Manager	Overall planning, execution, and closure; responsible for deliverables
Project Sponsor	Provides financial resources, business case & project charter
Consultant	Offers specialized technical/advisory expertise on specific tasks

UNIT 2: Project Administration & WBS

4 Marks

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the total project scope.
The 100% Rule: WBS must capture 100% of all project work (internal & external) and NO unnecessary work.
Work Package: The lowest level of the WBS where cost, schedule, and resources can be reliably estimated.
Project Execution Plan (PEP): Primary document detailing HOW the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled.
Project Diary / Log: Daily record of events, decisions, resource utilization, and weather/site conditions.

⚡ WBS Memory Rule

Level 1: Total Project → Level 2: Major Deliverables → Lowest Level: Work Package.
DCET Trap: WBS does NOT show activity sequence or time dependencies — that's done by Network Diagrams!

Project Procedure Manual (PPM): Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for administrative policies, approvals, and quality standards.

UNIT 3: Project Life Cycle & Risk Management

4 Marks

4 Core Phases:
1. Initiation/Concept: Feasibility, Charter, Stakeholder identification.
2. Planning: Scope, WBS, Schedule, Budget, Risk assessment.
3. Execution/Implementation: Maximum resource & budget consumption!
4. Closure/Termination: Handover, audit, releasing resources.
S-Curve: Cumulative cost/effort curve over time. Starts slow, accelerates during execution, levels off at closure.

⚡ Risk Matrix: Risk Score = Probability × Impact

Avoid: Change plan to eliminate threat entirely.
Mitigate (Reduce): Take actions to lower probability/impact (e.g., Backup generator).
Transfer: Shift financial impact to 3rd party (e.g., Insurance / Warranty).
Accept: Acknowledge risk when cost of mitigation exceeds potential impact.

Low Prob / High Imp
(Transfer / Insure)

High Prob / High Imp
(AVOID / MITIGATE)

Low Prob / Low Imp
(ACCEPT)

UNIT 4: Planning, Scheduling & Monitoring

4 Marks

Gantt Chart (by Henry Gantt): Horizontal bar chart showing tasks vs. timeline. Excellent for progress monitoring, but poorly depicts inter-task dependencies.
Milestone Chart: Depicts significant events/achievements.
⚠️ Critical Property: Duration = 0 (Zero Duration)! No resources consumed.
Resource Leveling vs. Resource Smoothing:
• Leveling: Applied when resources are constrained. Can extend project finish date!
• Smoothing: Adjusts activities within existing float. Project finish date does NOT change!
SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

⚡ Monitoring vs. Evaluation

Monitoring: Continuous, day-to-day tracking of inputs, activities & outputs.
Evaluation: Periodic assessment of overall relevance, effectiveness, and impact.

UNIT 5: Project Control, CPM, PERT, Crashing & Audit

4-5 Marks Guaranteed

Feature	CPM (Critical Path Method)	PERT (Program Evaluation & Review Technique)
Nature of Time	Deterministic (Known with certainty)	Probabilistic (Uncertain / Estimated with probability)
Time Estimates	Single Time Estimate per activity	Three Time Estimates: Optimistic (t_o), Most Likely (t_m), Pessimistic (t_p)
Orientation	Activity-Oriented	Event-Oriented
Typical Application	Construction, Civil works, Repetitive projects	R&D, Space missions, Defense, New drug development
Cost Focus	High focus on Time-Cost tradeoff (Crashing)	Primarily focused on Time estimation & control

PERT EXPECTED TIME (t_e)

t_e = (t_o + 4t_m + t_p) / 6

Weighted average based on Beta Distribution

PERT VARIANCE (σ²)

σ² = [ (t_p − t_o) / 6 ]²

Standard Deviation σ = (t_p − t_o) / 6

CRITICAL PATH RULE

Total Float = 0 (Slack = 0)

Longest sequence of activities in the network

Critical Path: The longest duration path from start to finish. Determines the minimum time required to complete the project. Any delay on this path delays the entire project!
Float / Slack: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project. Activities on the Critical Path have ZERO float!
Project Crashing: Shortening project duration by adding resources (overtime, extra crew) at minimum extra cost.
Golden Rule: Only crash CRITICAL activities with the lowest crash cost slope! Crashing non-critical activities wastes money.

Crash Cost Slope Formula:
Cost Slope = (Crash Cost − Normal Cost) / (Normal Time − Crash Time)
Project Audit: Formal evaluation of project safety, financial integrity, methodology, and lessons learned.
• Initial Review: Checks early feasibility & adherence.
• Post-Audit / Closeout Review: Completed after handover to document what went right and wrong.
• Abandonment Analysis: Evaluates whether stopping a failing project saves more capital than continuing it.
Modern Trends: Building Information Modeling (BIM), IoT sensors for real-time tracking, Cloud ERP dashboards.

ADVITIYA ACADEMY OF LEARNING

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS (PMS) — MASTER CONCEPT & FORMULA SHEET

UNIT 1: Intro to Project Management

⚡ Project vs. Operation (Guaranteed DCET MCQ)

UNIT 2: Project Administration & WBS

⚡ WBS Memory Rule

UNIT 3: Project Life Cycle & Risk Management

⚡ Risk Matrix: Risk Score = Probability × Impact

UNIT 4: Planning, Scheduling & Monitoring

⚡ Monitoring vs. Evaluation

UNIT 5: Project Control, CPM, PERT, Crashing & Audit

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