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Project Management

HOUSE GARDEN REFURBISHMENT

STUDENT NAME

SUBJECT CODE | University Name

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Project background.................................................................................................................3
2.1 Project selection and evaluation.......................................................................................4
3. Work breakdown structure and task definition......................................................................4
4. Gantt chart and critical path...................................................................................................6
5. Task cost estimation and budgetary analysis.........................................................................8
6. Task workload estimation and project workload management............................................12
7.1 Resource management...................................................................................................14
7. Risk analyses and risk management policies.......................................................................15
References................................................................................................................................17
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Table of figures
Figure 1 - project selection.........................................................................................................4
Figure 2 - Work Breakdown Structure.......................................................................................5
Figure 3 - Gantt Chart for the project (own figure)...................................................................7
Figure 4 - Network diagram.......................................................................................................8
Figure 5 -Comparison between early & late start budgets.......................................................12
Figure 6 - Workload profile of the project...............................................................................13
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1. Introduction

Every project presents its unique characteristics and challenges that need to be taken

into consideration in the process of managing it. Adoption of a project management strategy

is always recommended to take the whole scope of the project into account before proceeding

with the individual tasks of the project. Implementation of a strategic project management

approach is useful as it allows for a thorough planning and scheduling of the project rather

than tackling the project on an individual task basis. The project management process has to

take into account the resources available, likelihood of risk factors, stakeholder analysis, and

cost analysis.

In this report, the preliminary project management process would be evaluated and

investigated for refurbishment of a garden area in a previously abandoned house. At this

stage of the project, all required aspects of the project will get estimated and identified,

including – identification of risks, cost estimation, and timeline of the project using a critical

path scheduling of tasks.

2. Project background

The project undertaken is to refurbish the garden area of a house in a suburban area.

The house has been abandoned for more than five years with no caretaker or gardener taking

active care of the garden. The owner of the house has recently found an opportunity to sell

the house during a high demand period and therefore, wants the whole garden area

refurbished to increase the appeal and valuation for any potential buyers. In order to achieve

this, the basic need identified by the project sponsor is to refurbish the garden area, which is

in a large space and also redecorate it by establishing additional facilities. The suggested

options were to establish a swimming pool and an accompanying seating area, with the

garden area plants and decorations increasing the appeal of the backyard.
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2.1 Project selection and evaluation

For the purpose of this project that oversees establishment of a swimming pool and an

accompanying seating area, there are multiple different options available in terms of the

contractor to select. This is an important part of the process as due to the expertise needed in

designing a swimming pool makes it very important to select the right contractor. To evaluate

this, a project selection technique is implemented in the form of AHP theory. The three

criterions defined for selection of the most suitable candidate include – quality of work, cost

quoted by the contractor, and assured deadline for completion of the project. Quality is given

a higher weightage compared to other options as it will reflect greatly in the look and feel of

the project even after completion and will positively reflect in the price appraisal of the

swimming pool. The AHP technique-based analysis has resulted in following outcomes:

Figure 1 - project selection

As observed in the figure drawn above, contractor ‘B’ is the most suitable for working

on this project compared to other options.

3. Work breakdown structure and task definition

With the scope of the project known to include construction of the garden area of a

house by establishing a swimming pool and seating capacity next to the swimming pool, it is
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now possible to divide the project into smaller tasks using a project breakdown method. In

this approach, the larger project of refurbishing the garden would get distributed into smaller

independently manageable tasks that can be estimated individually in terms of deadline and

cost. Thinking about a larger project in this manner using numerous individual tasks can

significantly help in having an accurate and credible estimation of the overall project cost and

schedule.

For the project of refurbishing the garden area of an abandoned house by establishing

a swimming pool and an accompanying seating area, a work breakdown structure (WBS) is

designed below:

Figure 2 - Work Breakdown Structure

The WBS will serve as one of the most important deliverables in a project and the

top-level elements of the WBS are representative of the final deliverables of the garden

refurbishment project in an abandoned project[ CITATION Nor10 \l 1033 ]. The sub-

deliverable tasks are the tasks that are needed in order to complete the final deliverables and

these will be assigned to different units and workers team depending on the skill required for

completion. The top-level tasks of the project along with the definition include the following:
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 Project pre-setup: this is the planning stage of the project where specific objectives

and scope of the project would be defined. After identifying the complete scope of the

project and accompanying tasks, team members would get allocated specific roles and

responsibilities to follow.

 Feasibility study: feasibility study would take a look at the exact project

requirements and make decisions that make the most business sense for the project. In

this process, legal, ethical and owner’s approval would be sought for the project

undertaken along with inspection of risk elements.

 Project design: in this task, the project specification would be developed with respect

to the way project will get carried out. The objective of this task is to identify the most

adequate way of completing the task out of all the available options.

 Project initiation: in this task, the project is actually started with permits taken and

approval gathered. Contractors are given instructions to start the construction process

on the basis of design selected and design decisions made.

 Implementation: in this task, the swimming pool and sitting area is actually

developed using construction processes. A roof area is also decided for development

over the seating area for shelter and protection for extreme sunlight. In this manner,

there would be option of both open-roof seating as well as roofed seating area for the

residents of the house.

 Project ending: this task representations the end of the project and most processes in

this stage represent a testing of the project completion along with final review of the

project.

4. Gantt chart and critical path

Now with the project work tasks defined and clearly outlined using the WBS, it is

now possible to work towards establishing a timeline of the project by means of a scheduling
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method. The various activities that are included in the project are defined in the figure 3 as a

list of all activities along with the respective early start and finish timings and expected

duration. These activities have some dependency relation with each-other, which is also

shown clearly in the figure 3.

Figure 3 - Project tasks and activities

For the purpose of scheduling of the activities shown in figure 3, Gantt chart is

selected as the most useful and critical tool to develop a project timeline [ CITATION

Por17 \l 1033 ]. Gantt chart is a timeline scheduling tool that represents a visual

representation of tasks in a project getting performed in a scheduled and sequential

manner[ CITATION Reb17 \l 1033 ]. Gantt chart is used in this project’s timeline

development because of its inherent support for visual representation of the critical path,

dependency representation between different tasks, and an ability to check the progress of the

project during as the project continues to move forward in a dynamic manner.

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Figure 4 - Gantt Chart for the project (own figure)

As shown in the figure 4, the project of establishing a swimming pool and an

accompanying seating area will consist of 12 different activities that includes some

dependency across the activities as well. This dependency is account for in developing this

Gantt chart to showcase the timeline of the project.

Figure 5 - Network diagram

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Due to a relatively simple and sequential nature of this project in the later half of the

project, not much slack time is assigned to the individual tasks. As per the scheduling

arrangement, the whole project will take about 13 weeks to complete, which includes tasks

like planning, contractor selection, and getting permits from the local authority as well.

5. Task cost estimation and budgetary analysis

The project of refurbishing the garden area of a house in the suburban area will have a

significant cost attached to the project. In order to ensure that the project makes a business

case, it is important that the project budget is identified carefully and estimations are cleared

with the project sponsor beforehand. The most notable spending on the project is establishing

an in-ground concrete swimming pool and the seating area to accompany the swimming pool

area. In this section of the report, a cost estimation is prepared for the whole project along

with an analysis of the budget. It is noteworthy that an in-ground swimming pool in a house

garden is a luxury amenity and therefore, the cost of it is not an investment for tangible

benefits in every case rather for luxury experience and status symbol for the homeowner.

Following is an analysis of budgetary considerations and cost of individual tasks:

 Prep-work: before the project on in-ground swimming pool starts taking place, it is

necessary to perform some pre-work on the project. First and foremost, an initial

inspection from a contractor is needed to ensure that the swimming pool is getting

developed in the right area and to obtain useful suggestions. It is estimated the

inspection process will cost about $200 and a formal contract can be finalized right

after the inspection.

As the abandoned house only used the area allocated for swimming pool as a

garden area before thinking about turning it into a swimming pool, there is an

apparent need to put the ground through blasting process before eventual digging.

This blasting process will help streamline the construction process by getting rid of
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strong rocks and other materials below the ground surface. The cost of it is estimated

at $7 per square feet, reaching to $1,400 for the 200-sq feet area selected for the

swimming pool.

 Water pump: in construction of a swimming pool, installation of a water pump is one

of the very first components of the filtration system. It needs to be heavy duty pump

as it will continue to pull the water from the pool and push it through the filter to

reach back in the swimming pool, for a continuous filtering cycle. The cost estimation

for an adequately powerful water pump is $250 that will suffice the need for a 180

square feet swimming pool.

 Filter: along with the water pump, the filter is the second must-have part of a

swimming pool filtration system. The installed filter will continuously filter the water

that the water pump will push through it on an ongoing basis. The filter has to remove

any sand, debris, and other unwanted materials from the water and puts the water back

into the pool. For swimming pools, there are three different kinds of filters used –

sand filters, diatomaceous earth filters, and cartridge filters. Estimated cost for each of

these filters is – 400$, $600 and $550 respectively.

 Return jets: return jets in a swimming pool perform the task of returning all of the

filtered water back into the swimming pool. The return jets will also work towards

keeping the water inside the pool well-circulated, ensuring that the skimmers are able

to pick up more waste and debris from the collected water. Return jets are very

inexpensive and usually cost around $20 per return jet.

 Skimmers: skimmers are placed in a swimming pool to suck the water away from the

swimming pool and enter it into the filtration system. Skimmers contain a plastic

bucket attached to the water inlet, which helps gather all of the debris that are floating

in the swimming pool water. The task of skimmers is to prevent debris from entering
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the pump. As the swimming pool is for garden area and of a limited size, one skimmer

would perform the task well enough. The estimated cost of acquiring the skimmer is

around $1,500.

 Main drain: a swimming pool often requires complete drainage of water from the

pool. The main drain in a swimming pool performs exactly this task and is installed in

the deepest end of the pool. The estimated cost for the main drain is $40.

 Concrete: for the swimming pool project and construction of the seating area, the

concrete type selected is cast-in-place as it is convenient and commonly used for ease

of implementation. This type of concrete will cost approximately $55 per square feet.

The low cost of this concrete is also a contributing factor in selection.

 Paint: for the undertaken project, paint would be used as a finishing element for the

construction. Use of paint is reasonably affordable and allows the swimming pool and

accompanying area to look vibrant and beautiful. The cost of applying paint on the

swimming pool will cost nearly $3 per square feet.

 Tile: for the internal area of the swimming pool that will remain mostly wet, tiles will

be placed on the surface of the swimming pool. To ensure less slippery floor of the

pool area, the tiler selected would be textured to provide additional gripping. The cost

of tile placement is estimated to be around $10 per square feet.

 Labor: refurbishing of the garden area will include a lot of manual work for different

tasks, ranging all across the project, from cleaning to digging and even placing the

tiles. Therefore, labor will remain involved throughout the duration of this project in a

significant way and accordingly, a major cost related to this project will account for

the labor hired to work on the project. The labor hired will start working from week

12 for task of cleaning and will stay throughout the project in an on-and-off manner,

which is estimated to last 13 weeks.

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The entire cost of the project as per estimation is listed in the table below:

Table 1 - Cost estimation

Task/Activity Price and quantity Total Cost

Prep-work $7 per square feet, $1,400
200 square feet
Water pump $250, 1 required $250
Sand Filter $400, 1 required $400
Return jets $30, 3 required $60
Skimmers $1,500 each, 1 $1,500
required
Main drain $40 each, 1 $40
required
Cast-in-place concrete $55 per square feet $9,900
Paint $3 per square feet $540
Tiles $10 per square feet $1,800
Labor costs $18,000
Total $33,890

The cost estimation that is represented in the table 1, is an exhaustive list of different

costs associated with the project of establishing a swimming pool and nearby seating area in

the garden area of a house. This cost estimation has been performed with a high emphasis on

accuracy of the information as well as thoroughness in estimation of the project cost. In order

to achieve this, the pricing is taken from credible sources and official supplier quotations

using different sourcing methods, such as online search and order placement websites.
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Figure 6 -Comparison between early & late start budgets

Furthermore, the entire project sequence is accounted for in the process of identifying

all relevant processes and tasks that will incur a cost during the project lifecycle. In this

manner, the amount of $33,890 has been identified as the cost of establishing a swimming

pool in the garden area of the select house.

6. Task workload estimation and project workload management

A project usually combines numerous different independent and dependent tasks in it,

all of which need to be carried out in a highly intricate and difficult to manage

scenario[ CITATION Sal13 \l 1033 ]. A major part of the problem in any project

management operation is the limited nature of resources to spend on the project while also

ensuring that the project completes within the assigned budget and fixed timeline associated

with the project[ CITATION Wal141 \l 1033 ]. Ensuring all of this is very difficult without a

clear picture of the way resources will get allocated on the project in a dynamic manner

throughout the duration of the project[ CITATION Phi12 \l 1033 ]. This element of a project
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is known as workload and for a successful project management venture, it is important for a

project manager to keep track of the projected workload trend.

In case of the swimming pool project undertaken, the workload profile of the project

is drawn below in the figure 3. This workload profile shows high and lows of resource

utilization throughout the lifecycle of the project.

Figure 7 - Workload profile of the project

A review of the workload profile shows that the swimming pool project is rather a

simple project in nature and most tasks have to naturally follow each-other in the later stage

of the project. Due to this reason, there is not a prolonged period of time where the workload

is very high as majority of time, the workload is very decent.

7.1 Resource management

Resource management is an integral part of any project as the success of a project

depends on the quality of the resource utilization approach. For this project, the resources

required are fairly straightforward and therefore, the material and equipment needed are

known in advance such as skimmers, water pump, etc. and these equipment does not require

specific resource utilization. The resources that require management include cost and time,
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which are managed by setting a contractor to complete the task at a fixed price with the

labour working through the contractor. In this manner, even if the project takes longer than

estimated, the cost would be afforded by the contractor from profit margin. In the project

scheduling using Gantt chart, parallel activities are designed in order to ensure that the

resources are always busy with work with minimal wastage of time or human resources. The

resources required in this are detailed in the following table:

Table 2 - Resource management

Task Resources required Management tactic

Planning Project sponsor, project Will aim towards having a

manager detailed plan

Cleaning and repair Three workers, one The manager on-site will keep

work manager the workers adhere to the

Digging for setting Four workers, machinery,
deadline, if any worker falls
the foundation and a manager
Concrete pouring Six workers, a manager sick or cannot work, the

and construction contractor will provide

Paint Two workers, a manager
Tile placement Two workers, a manager replacement workers.
Finishing Two workers, a manager

7. Risk analyses and risk management policies

As is the case in any project management scenario, some risks are inherent in the

project of refurbishing the garden area of an abandoned house by establishing a swimming

pool and a seating area next to it. It is possible through good strategic management of the

undertake project to minimize the risk, but it is impossible to completely eliminate all the

risks associated. These risk factors that are likely attached with the project can cause

disruption in project quality, cause delay in completion, and even make the project over-

budget[CITATION Lev17 \l 1033 ]. As the objective of the owner is to use the swimming

pool as a luxury feature in order to increase the price of the house in the demand season, the
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project sponsor does not want the project to go over budget, have a bad quality of

construction, or cause delay. Any of these three negative elements would contribute

significantly to worsening of the profit-making ability of the project sponsor.

To account for this situation involving risk that are related to the project, performing a

structured risk management is a recommended operation[ CITATION Rob11 \l 1033 ].

Strategic risk management policy is a management approach in which all the risks that have a

possibility of occurrence are identified beforehand to increase preparedness. After identifying

all of the risks, the next step taken in strategic risk management process is to make efforts to

mitigate the risks and develop a contingency plan to deal with the risk factors[ CITATION

Mol10 \l 1033 ]. All of these processes are performed with the intent to make the project least

susceptive of negative impact of risk factors.

In this project of developing a swimming pool in the abandon house garden area, the

process of risk management is performed using the method of risk registers. The table

formulated below represents a risk register for this project, which identifies relevant risks

regarding this project while also noting the mitigation strategy and contingency plan.

Risk factor Mitigation strategy Contingency plan Pre- Post-

action action
score score
Delay in supply of raw Supply would be An immediate 4 2
material ensured from a purchase order
reputed supplier with would be placed
ample stocks with an alternate
supplier
Construction can be of The contractor hired Contractor would 6 3
poor quality would be checked for be contracted to
experience, quality of resolve any issue in
work and reputation quality of material
or flaws in design
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immediately using
independent
inspection approach
Electronic tools arrive Only brand new and Such tools will get 5 1
faulty or malfunction branded tools would replaced
before project is be purchased immediately using
delivered warranty
Project goes over budget Budget estimations A budget 6 4
are kept accurate as monitoring will be
per current rates and adopted in a
expert quotations continuous manner
to avoid over-
budgeting
Project does not Timeline is designed More resources and 7 4
complete in time with sufficient re-structuring of
flexibility to account scheduling on an
for slight delays ongoing basis to
minimize impact of
delay

Using the risk register, the project manager can keep track of all the major and

noteworthy risks associated with the undertaken project and ensure that none of these risks

impact the project to a significant degree. The objective of implementing the strategic project

risk management process would be to firstly minimize the probably of risk occurrence and

then in a case that a risk does occur, minimize its damage by preparing a plan to adequately

deal with it[ CITATION Mar141 \l 1033 ].

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