Woody 2000 Case Study

Table of Contents
TABLE OF FIGURES............................................................................................. 3
WOODY 2000 PROJECT........................................................................................4
A-

PROJECT BACKGROUND INFORMATION....................................................................................4

Project Sponsor:........................................................................................................ 4
Project Objectives:.................................................................................................... 5
Problems mentioned in the case study:....................................................................5
B- PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN METHODOLOGY AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES.....................................8
1. Planning Methodology...............................................................................................8
2. Resources used in the planning................................................................................8
C- PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN AND STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)...............................................8
1. Feasibility Study........................................................................................................ 8
2. The Scoping Process Group.......................................................................................9
1.
2.
3.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

3.

Assign a project manager.................................................................................................... 9

Develop a high-level project execution method statement..................................................9
Review the project headlines with the sponsor..................................................................10
Identify the components of the project management plan.................................................10
Secure the sponsor approval to plan the project................................................................12
Hire and assign project management team....................................................................... 12

The Planning Process Group....................................................................................12

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

h.

i.
j.
k.

l.

4.

Create project work break down structure WBS.................................................................12

Define all the works in the project by developing an activity list.......................................13
Estimate the activities duration......................................................................................... 15
Estimate activities resources............................................................................................. 16
Estimate project cost......................................................................................................... 17
Sequence the activities, and adjust activities duration......................................................18
Allocate cost and manpower to the activities.................................................................... 19
Original Manpower histogram:....................................................................................... 19
Leveled Manpower Histogram........................................................................................ 19
Primavera Cash Flow:..................................................................................................... 20
Microsoft Excel Cash Flow:............................................................................................. 20
Develop risk management plan......................................................................................... 21
Mitigate the risks:.......................................................................................................... 21
Transfer the risks:.......................................................................................................... 21
Develop closing, testing and commissioning plan..............................................................21
Setup the project progress evaluation criteria...................................................................22
Create drawings and materials tracking logs.....................................................................22
Shop drawings log:........................................................................................................ 22
Materials tracking log:................................................................................................... 23
Gain the sponsor approval to lunch the project.................................................................24

The Launching Process Group.................................................................................24

a.
b.
c.
d.

Recruiting the project team............................................................................................... 24

Establishing the scope change management process........................................................25
Managing team communications:...................................................................................... 25
Finalizing the project schedule:.......................................................................................... 25

D- UPDATE OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN.......................................................................25

1. The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group........................................................25
a.
b.

Report project performance:.............................................................................................. 25

Call for weekly meeting:.................................................................................................... 26

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c.
d.

2.
E-

Monitor the project risks and identify new risks.................................................................26

Process project changes:................................................................................................... 26

The Closing Process Group......................................................................................26

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................27

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Table of Figures
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure
Figure

1 : Work break down structure WBS..............................................................13

2: Activity list................................................................................................. 14
3: Activities duration...................................................................................... 15
4: Activities resources.................................................................................... 16
5: Estimate project cost................................................................................. 17
6: Sequence the activities..............................................................................18
7: Original Manpower histogram....................................................................19
8: Leveled Manpower Histogram....................................................................20
9: Primavera Cash Flow.................................................................................20
10: Microsoft Excel Cash Flow........................................................................21
11: Shop drawings log................................................................................... 23
12: Materials tracking log.............................................................................. 24

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Woody 2000 project

Reference to (Wideman (n.d)) case study subject of the woody 2000 project,
Author divided the project into five main topics. First topic is project
background information, which highlight the project sponsor, project
objectives and identified problem in the case study. Second topic is the
project management plan methodology and the planning tools / software
used in the project. Third topic is the project management plan, which
include the project feasibility study, Scoping Process Group, Planning Process
Group, and Launching Process Group. Fourth topic is the update of the
project management plan to monitor the project progress and close the
project. Finally, the fifth topic is the author conclusion and recommendation
of the case study.
A- Project Background information
1. Project Sponsor:

The sponsor of the woody 2000 project is a custom woodworking

small-to-medium sized company specialized on custom furniture
and cabinets for wholesaler/retailers. Ron Carpenter established the
company in 1954, and later on, his wife Mrs. Emelia Carpenter was
involved on running the company on his behalf. Their son, John
Carpenter, was involved on the company project management
recently; he opened a new channel of subcontract work to the
company by supplying and installing counter-tops, cabinets and
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similar fixtures for new commercial construction. The company is

known as woody referring to its creator, and it has a good
reputation in the local market.

2. Project Objectives:

Because of the limited space of the manufacture area, and the miniboom in commercial construction in 1989, there was a good market to
expand the company production, and develop the production area. The
project objectives defined by the sponsors was as per the following:
a. Add additional 25% of the existing floor area.
b. Install air-conditioning and a dust-free paint.
c. Construct a semi-automatic woodworking production train.
d. Renovate the President and Executive Vice Presidents' offices.
e. Project budget cost is $17 million.
f. Project duration is18 months.
3. Problems mentioned in the case study:

After the author study of woody 2000 project, and reference to

(Wysocki

2012)

project

management

life

cycle

(PMLC),

Author

highlighted the problems/ mistakes done in the case study, and the
correct action as per the process group, and as per Table number 1.

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Table 1

S.
N

Process
Group

A.
1

Planning
Process
Group

B.
2

B.
3

C
C.
1

Correct Action

Project budget cost was roughly

estimated and the cost of office
renovation was ignored.

Project budget cost

should be reasonably
estimated and not to
ignore part of the project
cost by performing a
feasibility study.

Assign Ian as Woody's Project

Manager while he lacked project
management training and
experience.

Assign an experienced
project management
manager.

Cash flow is not calculated

correctly and not linked to
project schedule.

Cash flow should be

calculated with reference
to the time schedule and
resource allocation.

Cost plus contract is a high risk

contract

To mitigate cost overrun

risk, a fixed price
contract is preferred with
defined completion date.

Changing the project specs

without modifying the project
plan The change in production
train specification made it
necessary to add another five
feet to the length of the new
building

Any changes to the

original plan should be
performed by the change
order process to reflect
the impacts on other
activities.

Moneysworth and Leadbetter

added new risk to the project by
accepting take over the
procurement of the production
train without a clear

Woody should keep

procurement risks
transferred to EID.
Woody may assist EID
technically, but

Scoping
Process
Group

A.
2

B.
1

Problems/ Mistakes

The
Launchi
ng
Process
Group

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C.
2

C.
3

D
D.
1

Monitori
ng and
Controlli
ng
Process
Group

procurement plan.

procurement should
remain with EID.

No scope change management

process which leaded to delays
because of miss-coordination
This was only discovered when
holding-down bolts for the new
train were laid out on site, long
after the perimeter foundations
had been poured

A clear scope change

management process
should be created to
deal with any scope
changes and re-plan
accordingly.

Poor management of team

communication he dealt
directly with Amos Dent of
Tinknockers Associates, the
mechanical sub-contractor. This
led to strained relations on the
site.

Communication plan and

project organization
chart should be created
to ensure the proper
distribution of the
information and avoid
strained relations on the
site.

There was lack of monitoring

the project progress, in result
the following delays occurred.

An effective monitoring
plan could highlight the
manufacture drawings
approval importance,
prevent the delays of its
approval, and reschedule
the Tie-In of power and
other utilities -if
required- as per project
progress.

Delay the approval of the

manufacture drawings
delayed the procurement
two weeks.
Scheduled Tie-In of power
and other utilities delayed
two weeks.

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Monitoring risk, Discovering and

solving problems was not part of
project procedures, and as a
results:

D.
2

E.
1

Closing
Process
Group

Local inspection authority

did not approve the
surplus paint disposal.
Project delayed 6 months.
Project cost overrun.
Customer delivery dates
were missed.
Some general contractors
cancelled their contracts.

Monitoring risks and

discover problem before
they happened will give
the opportunity to plan
to solve these problems
in a proactive way; this
monitoring includes the
internal and external
stockholders. In addition,
this will ensure that the
project will continue on
track as per
specification, on time
and budget.

There was no plan for closing

The closing process
the project neither
group should be part of
Moneysworth nor Leadbetter
the project management
had prepared any meaningful
plan and should include
planning for completion such as
the following:
owner's inspection and
acceptance of the building, or
Gaining client approval
testing, dry-running and
of having met project
production start-up of the
requirements
production train. They also
Planning and installing
failed to insist that EID obtain
deliverables
the building occupation
Writing the final project
certificate.
report

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B- Project Management Plan methodology and external resources

1

Planning Methodology

Project management plan based on (Wysocki, 2012, p64) Five

Process Groups:
a) Scoping Process Group
b) Planning Process Group
c) Launching Process Group
d) Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
e) Closing Process Group
In addition, to feasibility study as per (Kerzner, 2009, p419)
4. Resources used in the planning

The author used the oracle primavera v.8.1 to sequence the activities,
drew network diagram and Gantt chart. Moreover, Microsoft Excel 2013
to drew the cash flow. All the outputs from different software
embedded in this final project Microsoft Word document.
C- Project Management Plan and Statement of Work (SOW)
1

Feasibility Study

Woodys company maintained a good reputation in the local market

and the mini-boom in commercial construction will increase the woods
product demand. Therefore, expanding the production area by 25% will
return tangible profits; will maintain woodys client reputation and
delivery timing commitments.
5. The Scoping Process Group
a

Assign a project manager

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None of the woods company available resources can manage

the project; therefore, the author assumed a professional
project management named John to be assigned as a project
manager. John has a project management skills and 15 years
of experience managing projects.
g. Develop a high-level project execution method statement.

After the new project manager John discussion with the

production people, he created a high level project execution
method statement as a starting point, the method statement
defines how and what will be executed in order to finish the
project

on

time,

within

budget,

as

per

the

sponsor

requirements, and as per the following:

S.
N

What to do

How to do

Add additional 25%

of the existing floor
area

Install airconditioning and a

dust-free paint

Construct a semiautomatic
woodworking
production train

Renovate the

Hire a specialized firm to do the

design,
Hire a contractor to execute the
works
The Deign office will create the
design; the contractor should
submit shop drawings and
materials for designer approval
before proceed with the
execution.
The additional 25% space would
take the longest duration,
Therefore it is the first priority
and should be coordinated with
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President and
Executive Vice
Presidents' offices

the automatic woodworking

production train requirements
and Installation of airconditioning and a dust-free
paint. The renovation of the
presidents office will stay to the
end of the project.

h. Review the project headlines with the sponsor.

After the creation of the high-level method statement, the

project manager john called for a meeting with the company
directors to review the main headlines and proceed with the
next step. John persuaded the sponsors to finish the project
design before starting the execution to mitigate risks of
reworks.
i.

Identify the components of the project management plan.

John is a project management professional (PMP), therefore he

based

his

project

management

plan

on

the

(Project

Management Institute 2008) process groups, and because he

studied MSc in Liverpool University, he used the MSc text
book (Wysocki 2012) to add more value of the project
management plan. John identified the project management
plan
I.

components as per the following:

The Planning Process Group
Create project work break down structure WBS.
Define all the works in the project by developing an
activity list.
Estimate the activities duration.
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II.

Estimate activities resources.

Estimate project cost.
Sequence the activities; draw a project network

diagram, and a Gantt chart.

Allocate cost and manpower to the activities to create

cash flow and manpower histogram.

Develop risk management plan.
Develop closing, testing and commissioning plan.
Setup the project progress evaluation criteria
Create drawings and materials tracking logs.
Gain the sponsor approval to lunch the project.
The Launching Process Group
Recruiting the project team
Establishing the scope change management process
Managing team communications and create an
organization chart clarifying the roles and

III.

responsibilities for every team member.

Finalizing the project schedule.
The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
Report project performance using Earned Value
Management (EVM) to compare the Earned value (EV)
against Planned Value (PV) and keep the forecast
completion date on target by taking proactive not

reactive actions.
Call for weekly meeting to discuss the project progress

and risks with the project team.

Monitor the project risks and identify new risks.
Process project changes as per scope change

management plan.
The Closing Process Group
Perform testing and commissioning.

IV.

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Secure all project documents, such as warranties,

certificate of completion from subcontractors,

j.

maintenance manuals and local authoritys approvals.

Gaining sponsor approval of having met project

requirements.
Writing the final project report

Secure the sponsor approval to plan the project.

After listing the project management plan component, John

called for a meeting with the company senior management to
secure their approval in order to proceed and hire the project
management team.
k. Hire and assign project management team.

After the Sponsor / senior management approval of the

project management plan content, the project manager
proceeded and hire the Designer Firm, and the project
management team. John signed a contract with a Design
Office, and employed a construction manager and planning
engineer.
6. The Planning Process Group
a

Create project work break down structure WBS.

The Project Manager with the planning engineer created the

project WBS using Primavera software as per the following
figure 1:
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Figure 1 : Work break down structure WBS

l.

Define all the works in the project by developing an activity list.

The project manager created a workshop with the production

people, construction manager, and the planning engineer to
identify the project activity list as per Figure 2:

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Figure 2: Activity list

m. Estimate the activities duration.

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After the creation of the activity list, Project team estimated

the activities duration as per figure 3

Figure 3: Activities duration

n. Estimate activities resources.

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After the estimation of the activities duration, the project

team assigned the manpower required to execute each task
on the chosen duration as per figure 4

Figure 4: Activities resources

o. Estimate project cost.

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After the estimation of the required manpower for each

activity, the project team estimated the project cost by
assigning each task with the expected cost. The project
manager founded that the project budget will exceed the
proposed budget 17 Million $ by 280,000 $, he informed the
sponsors officially by issuing the project cost estimation
document as per figure 5

Figure 5: Estimate project cost

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p. Sequence the activities, and adjust activities duration

Project duration is18 months, using Oracle Primavera

scheduling tool to draw a project network diagram, and a
Gantt chart as per figure 6
*This Gantt chart was revised after the resource leveling

Figure 6: Sequence the activities

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q. Allocate cost and manpower to the activities

To create cash flow and manpower histogram, manpower and

cost should be allocated to the activities as per the following:

Original Manpower histogram:

After the allocation of manpower and cost, Original

manpower histogram from primavera as per figure 7

Figure 7: Original Manpower histogram

Leveled Manpower Histogram

It was noticed that the manpower needs leveling to

reduce the risks associated with performing too many
tasks at the same time. Therefore, Project manager and
the

planning

engineer

started

some

non-critical

activities earlier to level the resources as per figure 8

(this change will affect item 3f, Gantt chart revised
accordingly)

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Figure 8: Leveled Manpower Histogram

Primavera Cash Flow:

After leveling the resources, the cash flow is created

from Primavera as per figure 9

Figure 9: Primavera Cash Flow

Microsoft Excel Cash Flow:

Using Microsoft Excel for better presentation, figure 10

showing cash flow created with Microsoft Excel.

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Figure 10: Microsoft Excel Cash Flow

r.

Develop risk management plan.

The plan to manage risks associated with this project divided

into two main topics as per the following:

Mitigate the risks:

By leveling resources to avoid doing too many tasks at

the same time.

Transfer the risks:

By

instructing,

the

contractor

to

procure

all

the

materials and assign the design office to review all the

contractor engineering works.
s. Develop closing, testing and commissioning plan.

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The project schedule allow for 30 days to close the project,

before starting this tasks, project team should identify what
exactly is required to close the project probably. Project team
should also focus on the local municipality requirements to
secure all the permits required.
t. Setup the project progress evaluation criteria

Progress

evaluation

criteria

is

based

on

Earned

Value

Management EVM. Mainly to measure the progress planned

value and earned value are the main key performance index
KPI.
u. Create drawings and materials tracking logs.

Shop drawings log:

After finalizing the time schedule, each task has a shop

drawing should be submitted by the contractor and
approved by the design office as per the following table
in figure 11

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Figure 11: Shop drawings log

Materials tracking log:

to mitigate the risks of materials being delayed and

delay the related task, the material tracking log is very
important document to keep focus on material submittal
by the contractor, approval by the design office, issuing
the

purchase

order

by

the

contractor,

start

the

manufacture, shipment, and delivery to the site as per

figure no 12

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Figure 12: Materials tracking log

v. Gain the sponsor approval to lunch the project.

After the creation of the project management plan, it should

be submitted to the sponsor for approval to start the project.
However, in some cases, the planning process group is being
done parallel with the execution process group, which
consider high risk. In this case, study it is recommended to
finish the planning process group and obtain the sponsor
approval before starting the lunching process group.
7. The Launching Process Group
a

Recruiting the project team

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After the approval of the project management plan, the

project manager is authorized to hire all the project team.
w. Establishing the scope change management process

Any changes to the original scope of work, should be done

within the scope management process and revise the project
schedule, cash flow, manpower histogram, shop drawings log
and materials log accordingly.
x. Managing team communications:
Create

an organization chart clarifying the roles and

responsibilities for every team member. The project manager

setup a weekly meeting to discuss the work progress, and
another technical meetings to solve any problems could delay
the project.
y. Finalizing the project schedule:

Project schedule could be impacted with different process, for

example, the resource leveling affected the cash flow and the
Gantt chart, any modifications to the project management
plan components should be reflected on the schedule by
issuing any revision of the schedule as per the latest inputs.
D- Update of the Project Management Plan
1

The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

a

Report project performance:

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Using Earned Value Management (EVM) to compare the

Earned value (EV) against Planned Value (PV) and keep the
forecast completion date on target by taking proactive not
reactive actions.
z. Call for weekly meeting:

To discuss the project progress and risks with the project

team.
aa.Monitor the project risks and identify new risks.

Mainly to keep monitoring the schedule performance, cost

performance, shop drawings log, and materials log.
ab.Process project changes:

As per scope change management plan.

8. The Closing Process Group

a) Perform testing and commissioning.

b) Secure all project documents, such as warranties, certificate
of completion from subcontractors, maintenance manuals and
local authoritys approvals.
c) Gaining sponsor approval of having met project requirements.
d) Writing the final project report

E- Conclusions and recommendations

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This project represent a great opportunity to Woods company to

expand the production, increase the company profit, and fulfill the
company commitments towards their clients. In order to effectively
manage the project, a professional project manager with project
management background is required to manage this project. The
project should be designed by expert design office, and executed by a
professional contractor. The project manager role is to manage and
coordinate between the design office and the contractor, create and
monitor the project management plan. Resource leveling performed to
mitigate the risks of executing too many activities at the same time. by
assigning a designer office and contractor to supervise and execute the
works respectively, Woodys company transferred the associated risks
to the third party. However, the project manager is responsible to
manage the performance of all parties and report the progress as per
the project management plan to the sponsor.
References:
KERZNER, H., 2009. Project management [electronic book] : a systems
approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling / Harold Kerzner. Hoboken,
NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2009; 10th ed.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, 2008. A guide to the project
management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). 4th edn. Newtown Square,
Pa.: Project Management Institute.
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Wideman, M. (n.d.) Project management case study: the custom

woodworking company - Woody 2000 project [Online] Available from
http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/woody2000/intro.htm [accessed 11
November 2013]
WYSOCKI, R.K., 2012. Effective project management. 6th edn. Indianapolis,
IN: Wiley.

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