Week 8_ SeeGod Meregini_ Determining percentage complete for non deliverable type of work.

Problem Recognition/Evaluation

In design engineering projects, not all work done produces deliverables such as project controls supervision, management supervision to name a few. This type of work also called ‘level of effort” also needs to be statused.Integrestingly; a lot of hours are sometimes budgeted for this level of effort work type. I was challenged with the task of recommending an appropriate method for determining percentage complete for this type of works in a new project that was recently approved for engineering design.

Development of Feasible Alternatives/Solutions

In solving this problem, examination of six possible methods was used.

Alternative 1- Start/Finish Percentages.

 This method is appropriate where detailed schedule for short term multiple tasks is involved and where activities lack a definable intermediate milestone. For progress, a starting and ending percentage number is assigned to tasks at the beginning and end of completed activities.

Alternative 2 – Supervisor Opinion

It involves subjectively evaluating percentage complete for activities and has a tendency to be optimistic in its estimates. This method is only used where more discrete methods cannot be used.

Alternative 3- Weighted or Equivalent Units

This technique is most suitable for tasks with long period of time having two or more overlapping subtasks, each with different unit of measurement. The subtasks are weighted using relative work hours .Multiplying these subtasks’ weighting factors by its percentage complete would yield its contribution to the overall task completion. Adding all subtasks would give the overall percentage complete for the major activity.

Alternative 4- Incremental Milestone

This method works well with activities of significant duration composing of easily recognized, sequential subactivities.Percentage completion values are done based on an agreed estimated effort required at each milestone point relative to the total for the activity.

Alternative 5- Ratio

This method is applicable to tasks that involve long period of time having no particular end product and are estimated on a bulk allocation basis rather than a measure of production. Percentage complete at any given time is gotten by dividing hours spent to date by the current estimate of hours at completion.

Alternative 6- Units Completed

In this method, suitability is found when the total scope of an activity is made up of a number of equal or nearly equal parts and status determined by counting parts completed and comparing to the total number of parts in the total activity.

Probable Outcomes of Alternatives / Solutions.

Alternative 1

This is most applicable with activities having short- term multiple tasks and the time required is very difficult to estimate. This method would have a negative effect for a “level of effort” type of activity when progress is being assessed during intermediate reporting periods in the project.

 Alternative 2

A lot of mistakes can result from the subjectivity involved in this method.

Alternative 3

With no overlapping subtasks of a major task involved in a “level of effort” type of work such as project management and comparable activity, this method would be deficient in determining percentage progress.

Alternative 4

Due to lack of recognized sequential sub activities, calculating percentage complete using this method would not solve this problem. This method is based on the effort estimated to be required at each milestone point relative to the total for the activity.

Alternative 5

The use of alternative 5 in calculating a “level of effort” type of work is easy. and readily applicable to be implemented.

Alternative 6

Again, using this process of calculation requires an activity with equal number of parts. This is not applicable in solving a “level of effort” type of problem.

Selection Criteria in determining the solution

1.    Easy computation of percentages.

2.    Shows true status of overall completion at any given reporting period.

Analysis and Comparison of the alternatives

 Alternatives 3, 4 and 6 require overlapping subtasks, subactivites and subparts in order for the percentage complete to be easily computed. These methods would not be suitable because the type of work (project management and comparable activity) in the problem does not have these requirements Also criteria 1 would not be met.

Due to the long duration or period of time normally associated with a ‘level of effort’ type of work, Alternative 1 would negatively impact the overall percentage complete of the project when status is required at any given reporting period apart from the finish and end of the project. Using this method would not satisfy the second criteria.

Alternative 2 does not have a quantitative basis of computation and would result in a lot of subjectivity leading to errors and hence fails to meet criteria 2.

Alternative 5 is useful on any project where non-production accounts must be statused individually and summarized with production accounts to determine the overall percentage complete. This method satisfies both criteria above.

Selection of Preferred Alternative

Based on the analysis and criteria above, it is recommended that ALTERNATIVE 5 be chosen as the best option to correctly calculate the percentage complete of project management type of work or tasks with no particular end product. This would allow for easy computation of overall percentage complete.

From the above, if the progress of deliverables during the design project is computed using any of the alternatives earlier described (apart from Alternative 5), the percentage complete for the non deliverable activity can be calculated using Alternative 5 method and added to give the overall percentage complete.

Performance Monitoring/Post Evaluation

This method of calculating activities with no particular end product or deliverables would be monitored by constantly evaluating and comparing

·         The overall percentage complete at any given reporting period to the budgeted  percentage complete at that given period.

·         The true productivity of the human resources doing this ‘level of effort’ type of work with the planned project performance (budgeted hours for the human resources).

·         The overall indicators of project success in terms of cost and schedule performance using earned value method at any given period.

References

Sullivan, W. G., Wicks, E.M., & Koelling, C.P. (2009). Engineering economy and design process. In M.J. Horton (Ed.), Engineering economy (14^th ed.) (chapter 1.3) (pp. 27). New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

AACE International Education Board. (2010).Performance and productivity management. In S.J.Amos (Ed), Skills & knowledge of cost engineering (5^th ed) (chapter 17) Morgantown, WV: AACE International.

Tate,T, & Stackpole,C. (2006) Controlling Project Progress.The advanced project management memory jogger(1^st ed) (chapter 7) (pp.91-94). Salem,NH: GOA