Project Management

172 Project Management

• Activity D started about a week late and the duration
  hasn’t changed.


• Activity E is scheduled to start as soon as Activity D is
  completed and will take a week less to complete than
  originally estimated.
  We can also make some overallobservations regarding our
  project. Applying the critical path concept discussed in Chapter
  7, we’re able to see that—although Activities B, C, and D are all
  running late—only Activity D represents a problem for us, as it’s
  a critical path activity. We can also see, by comparing the base-
  line and forecast data for Activity E (the last activity in the proj-
  ect), that the combination of all variances equals zero. In other
  words, we expect to finish on time.

Analyzing Costs

Classic cost analysis used to rely upon charting the actual proj-
ect expenditure against the anticipated project expenditure. The
result would be a graphic similar to the one shown in Figure 9-5.
Although this technique provides a good snapshot of your
overall cost position at any time, it has two major drawbacks.
First, it does not provide detail at the activity level. This creates
a challenge for management, as you cannot determine which

Actual Expenditure

Estimated Expenditure

$20

$40

$60

$80

Expenditure ($K)

2468101214161820222424

Weeks After Approval

Figure 9-5. Classic cost analysis