Diploma in Management Sciences: Project Management Notes (DUT) — mng Project Planning, Scheduling & Control for DUT (Aligned to South African University Exam Style)

Project management sits at the center of modern operations, where time, cost, and quality must be delivered under uncertainty. These exam notes focus on the core planning, scheduling, monitoring, and control techniques typically examined in South African Diploma-level Management Sciences and related Project Management modules offered across universities. They are written in a DUT-oriented style and also connect common South African university assessment language you’ll see across modules such as MGN 0001 (Project Management/Introduction to Project Management style modules) and related management sciences project planning content, while staying consistent with how exams ask students to apply tools to scenarios.

These notes are practical: they show how to build a project baseline, develop a work breakdown structure, plan using scheduling methods, estimate costs realistically, and control performance using earned value and variance analysis. Multiple scenario-style examples are included so you can practice the same reasoning pattern required in typical South African tests and final examinations.

1) Project Management Foundations for DUT: Scope, Stakeholders, and the Project Life Cycle

A strong exam answer in project management almost always starts with definitions, but the mark comes from application: how the concept works in a real project. This section therefore moves from core terminology to how you should structure a response in a case study question.

1.1 What Is a Project? Distinguish Projects from Operations

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. It is temporary (has a start and end), unique (not repetitive in the same way as routine operations), and typically involves constraints such as cost, schedule, and resources.

In contrast, operations are ongoing and repetitive (e.g., continuous customer service, routine maintenance). Exam questions often ask: “Explain the difference between project and operations and give examples.”

Example comparisons:

Project: Building a warehouse, implementing an ERP system, launching a new product line.
Operations: Daily warehouse receiving and dispatch, monthly payroll processing, routine IT helpdesk ticket handling.

A good DUT-level answer adds one more dimension: projects require coordination across functions, and operations usually follow established processes.

1.2 The Project Life Cycle and Why It Matters

Most projects follow a life cycle with phases such as:

Initiation
Planning
Execution
Monitoring & Controlling
Closing

Common exam prompts ask you to describe what happens in each phase and how decisions affect later phases.

Typical characteristics by phase:

Initiation: Define the problem/opportunity, identify high-level stakeholders, develop a business case, select a project concept, and approve to proceed.
Planning: Develop scope definition, WBS, schedule, cost estimates, risk plan, quality plan, communication plan.
Execution: Perform work defined in the plan; coordinate resources; manage procurement and team activities.
Monitoring & Controlling: Track progress; compare actuals to baseline; manage changes; control quality and risks.
Closing: Formal acceptance, handover, lessons learned, and closure of contracts.

Exam technique: tie each phase to deliverables

If a question asks you to “describe the life cycle,” add what documents/results come out of each phase:

Initiation: business case, project charter
Planning: project management plan, scope statement, schedule baseline, cost baseline
Execution: work results, change requests processed
Monitoring: performance reports, risk register updates
Closing: final project report, acceptance certificates, lessons learned

1.3 Project Stakeholders: Identify, Analyze, and Engage

A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization affected by the project. Stakeholders influence the project’s success through expectations, approvals, requirements, and support.

Common stakeholder groups:

Project sponsor (usually highest authority)
Customers/users (end beneficiaries)
Project manager and project team
Functional managers (provide resources)
Contractors/suppliers
Regulators (compliance bodies)
Community/end users affected by site impacts
Finance and procurement departments

Stakeholder analysis tools (what exams expect)

You should be able to explain at least two methods:

Power/Interest Grid
Salience Model (if taught—often less required at Diploma level)

Power/Interest grid categorizes stakeholders into:

Manage closely (high power, high interest)
Keep satisfied (high power, low interest)
Keep informed (low power, high interest)
Monitor (low power, low interest)

Example: For a campus renovation project at a Durban-based institution:

Sponsor: high power, high interest → manage closely
Students: low-to-medium power, high interest → keep informed
Contractors: medium power, medium interest → monitor/keep satisfied depending on contract

1.4 Defining Scope: Requirements, Deliverables, and Acceptance

In project management, scope is the totality of work required to produce deliverables with specified features and functions. Scope is not just “what we do”; it includes “what we will not do” and how acceptance will be measured.

Key scope components

Requirements: documented needs of stakeholders
Deliverables: measurable outputs
Exclusions: boundaries to reduce scope creep
Acceptance criteria: what “done” means for each deliverable

Scope creep happens when additional work is added without approval or without adjusting time/cost. Exams love to ask: “How do you prevent scope creep?”

Practical preventive actions:

Establish clear scope statement and WBS
Use formal change control
Require change requests with impact analysis
Maintain traceability from requirements → deliverables → acceptance

1.5 Project Management vs Program/Portfolio Management (brief but exam-friendly)

While this document focuses on projects, exam questions may ask you to distinguish:

Project management: manage a specific temporary endeavor.
Program management: manage multiple related projects to achieve outcomes and benefits.
Portfolio management: manage selection and prioritization of projects/programs based on strategy.

A short distinguishing paragraph with one example each is usually enough.

1.6 Core Constraints: Time, Cost, Quality, and Trade-offs

A classic concept is the “triple constraint”:

Time (schedule)
Cost (budget)
Quality (scope/performance requirements)

Quality is not “luxury”: quality affects rework, delays, and user acceptance. When one constraint changes, others may be forced to change too.

Example trade-off:

If procurement is delayed (time issue), you may:
- Pay for faster shipping (cost increases)
- Reduce scope (quality/functionality reduced)
- Extend deadlines (time increases)

A good exam answer explains why trade-offs happen and how project governance handles them (sponsor decisions, change control).

2) Planning the Project: WBS, Scheduling, Cost Estimation, and Baselines

Planning is where marks are earned in calculations and structured answers. This section covers WBS, scheduling approaches (Gantt charts, critical path method), cost estimation, and baselines.

2.1 Developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope into manageable work packages. The exam typically expects you to:

Explain what WBS is
Explain how it’s constructed
Show how it supports scheduling, cost estimation, and reporting

WBS structure

At Diploma level, you can present the logic like:

Level 1: Project objective/deliverable
Level 2: Major deliverables/components
Level 3: Sub-deliverables
Level 4+: Work packages (lowest level detailed tasks)

Example WBS for “IT System Implementation” (illustrative):

1. Project Management
- 1.1 Initiation and Charter
- 1.2 Monitoring & Controlling
1. Requirements & Design
- 2.1 Requirements Workshop
- 2.2 System Design
1. Build & Configure
- 3.1 Configuration
- 3.2 Unit Testing
1. Testing & Training
- 4.1 Integration Testing
- 4.2 User Training
1. Deployment & Handover
- 5.1 Deployment
- 5.2 Final Acceptance

Why WBS matters (exam-ready)

WBS provides:

A clear scope boundary (reduces scope creep)
A framework for estimating costs and duration
A basis for assigning responsibilities (who does what)
A method for measuring progress (work packages tracked)

Work package definition

Work packages should be:

Specific (clear outputs)
Estimable (cost and time can be predicted)
Manageable (small enough for control)
Assignable (a person/team can own it)

2.2 Building a Schedule: Dependencies and Sequencing

A schedule lists planned start/finish dates for activities and captures sequencing via dependencies.

Common dependency types:

Finish-to-Start (FS): successor starts after predecessor finishes (most common)
Start-to-Start (SS): successor starts when predecessor starts
Finish-to-Finish (FF): successor finishes when predecessor finishes
Start-to-Finish (SF): rare, mostly used in special cases

Time estimates and calendars

You may need to describe:

Activity duration estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic if PERT is taught)
Working days vs calendar days
Resource constraints (if included)

2.3 Gantt Charts: What They Show and How to Use Them

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart showing activities along a timeline.

Exam points:

It illustrates start/finish dates
It shows overlaps between tasks
It helps communicate progress to stakeholders

Limitations:

It doesn’t always identify critical path automatically
It may hide dependency logic unless carefully drawn

2.4 Critical Path Method (CPM): Finding the Project Duration

If CPM is taught (often in Diploma modules), exams may give an activity network with durations and ask you to compute:

Earliest start/finish (ES/EF)
Latest start/finish (LS/LF)
Slack/float
Critical path and total project duration

Method (standard exam approach)

Forward pass:
- Calculate ES and EF from start to finish.
Backward pass:
- Calculate LS and LF from end to start.
Slack:
- Slack = LS − ES = LF − EF
Critical path:
- Activities with zero slack (or within tolerance depending on rounding)

Worked example (CPM-style)

Consider a project with activities:

Activity	Predecessor(s)	Duration (days)
A	—	4
B	A	3
C	A	2
D	B, C	5
E	D	1

Forward pass:

A: ES=0, EF=0+4=4
B: ES=EF(A)=4, EF=4+3=7
C: ES=EF(A)=4, EF=4+2=6
D: ES=max(EF(B), EF(C))=max(7,6)=7, EF=7+5=12
E: ES=EF(D)=12, EF=12+1=13

Backward pass:

Project finish at EF(E)=13 → set LF(E)=13, LS(E)=13−1=12
D: D leads to E only, so LF(D)=LS(E)=12, LS(D)=12−5=7
C: D depends on C, so LF(C)=LS(D)=7, LS(C)=7−2=5
B: LF(B)=LS(D)=7, LS(B)=7−3=4
A: predecessors of B and C; LF(A)=min(LS(B), LS(C))=min(4,5)=4, LS(A)=4−4=0

Slack:

A: Slack=LS−ES=0−0=0 (critical)
B: Slack=4−4=0 (critical)
C: Slack=5−4=1 (non-critical)
D: Slack=7−7=0 (critical)
E: Slack=12−12=0 (critical)

Critical path: A → B → D → E
Total duration: 13 days

How exams apply the concept

After identifying critical path, exams often ask:

“What happens to total duration if activity C increases by 2 days?”
Since C is non-critical with slack 1 day, increasing C by up to 1 day does not affect total duration. If increase exceeds 1 day, it may shift the critical path.

2.5 Resource Planning and Constraints

Sometimes scheduling must consider limited resources (people, equipment, budget). When resources are constrained, you may need:

Resource leveling
Re-planning and resequencing
Trade-offs between meeting the schedule and resource overload

At Diploma level, you should be able to explain:

Why resource constraints cause delays
How to identify over-allocation
That the critical path still matters, but resource limits can change the criticality if dependencies are reworked

2.6 Cost Estimation: Types of Costs and Estimation Approaches

A budget is not “just numbers”; it is a baseline for performance measurement.

Types of costs

Direct costs: labour, materials, equipment directly tied to work packages
Indirect costs: overhead (rent, admin, utilities) allocated to the project
Contingency reserves: for known-unknowns and uncertainties
Management reserves: for unknown-unknowns (often not distributed until a risk occurs)

Estimation approaches (typical)

Analogous estimation: use historical data from similar projects (less accurate)
Parametric estimation: use statistical relationship (more structured)
Bottom-up estimation: sum costs of work packages (most accurate, time-consuming)

Exam-friendly example: bottom-up cost estimation

Suppose a work package “User Training” has:

3 trainers × 5 days each × R800/day
Training room cost: R1,500
Materials: R600

Cost = (3×5×800) + 1,500 + 600
= (15×800) + 2,100
= 12,000 + 2,100
= R14,100

This approach scales well because each work package can be tracked.

2.7 Building a Cost Baseline and Scheduling Baseline

A baseline is the approved plan against which performance is measured.

Schedule baseline: planned start/finish dates or activity durations
Cost baseline: planned budget by time (often cumulative over months/weeks)

Why baselines are essential

Monitoring & controlling becomes meaningful only when you compare actual performance to baseline.

2.8 Integrating Scope, Schedule, and Cost: The “Performance Measurement Logic”

A typical exam scenario ties together:

WBS defines work packages
Work packages become activities in a schedule
Cost estimates assign money to each work package/activity
Baselines allow you to compute variances

You should explain this link explicitly. Marks often come from demonstrating the chain:
scope → WBS → activities → estimates → baselines → performance metrics

3) Monitoring, Controlling, and Risk/Quality Management: Variance Analysis, EVM, and Change Control

This section targets what many South African exams ask: “You are given actual vs planned performance; calculate variance and interpret results.” It also covers risk and quality as control mechanisms.

3.1 Performance Monitoring: Key Questions Exams Ask

When monitoring a project, you should answer:

Are we on schedule?
Are we within budget?
Are we meeting quality and scope requirements?
Are risks materializing?
Are changes requested and properly approved?

A strong answer uses both calculations and interpretation.

3.2 Variance Analysis: Schedule Variance and Cost Variance (CV/SV)

Two common approaches are:

Simple variance vs baseline (planned vs actual)
Earned Value Management (EVM) (more comprehensive, often examined more deeply)

However, before EVM, exams sometimes test basic variance.

Definitions (in simple form):

Schedule variance: Actual progress vs planned progress
Cost variance: Actual cost vs planned cost

But without earned value, these can be misleading because cost can be spent without completing work. This is why EVM is preferred.

3.3 Earned Value Management (EVM): The Core Exam Calculation Set

EVM uses three measures:

Planned Value (PV): budgeted cost of work scheduled
Earned Value (EV): budgeted cost of work actually performed
Actual Cost (AC): actual cost incurred for work performed

From these:

Cost Variance (CV) = EV − AC
Schedule Variance (SV) = EV − PV
Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV / AC
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) = EV / PV

Interpreting signs

CV > 0: cost performance is better than planned (under budget)
CV < 0: cost performance is worse than planned (over budget)
SV > 0: ahead of schedule (earned more than planned)
SV < 0: behind schedule

Worked EVM example (with consistent numbers)

Assume at the end of Week 6:

PV (planned value) = R300,000
EV (earned value) = R240,000
AC (actual cost) = R270,000

Compute:

CV = EV − AC = 240,000 − 270,000 = −R30,000
SV = EV − PV = 240,000 − 300,000 = −R60,000
CPI = EV / AC = 240,000 / 270,000 = 0.8889
SPI = EV / PV = 240,000 / 300,000 = 0.8

Interpretation:

Negative CV means spending is higher than value earned → cost overrun.
Negative SV means behind schedule → less work completed than planned.

Forecasting with EAC and ETC (if examined)

Common forecast values:

Estimate at Completion (EAC) can be computed by different formulas depending on assumptions.
Estimate to Complete (ETC) = EAC − AC

A standard exam-friendly formula:

If future performance will follow current CPI: EAC = BAC / CPI
Where BAC is Budget at Completion.

Example: If total budget BAC = R1,200,000:

EAC = 1,200,000 / 0.8889 ≈ R1,350,000
So expected overrun ≈ 1,350,000 − 1,200,000 = R150,000

You can be asked to “explain what EAC means”—it’s a forecast of final cost based on current performance patterns.

3.4 Range of Control Tools: Quality Control, Risk Monitoring, and Change Requests

EVM handles cost and schedule, but quality and risk are also tracked.

Quality management basics

Quality ensures the project deliverables meet requirements and are fit for purpose.

Quality control activities include:

Inspection and testing
Sampling and acceptance criteria
Defect tracking and corrective action
Process audits and documentation verification

Example:
If a building requires water-tightness tests, then poor quality can cause rework, which then affects schedule and cost (and will reflect in EVM as the work is not actually producing accepted deliverables).

Risk monitoring

A risk register typically includes:

Risk description
Likelihood
Impact
Risk score (sometimes L×I)
Response plan
Trigger conditions (when the risk begins to materialize)

Trigger example:

If contractor procurement lead time exceeds 10 business days, then supplier acceleration options must be used (or alternative suppliers activated).

3.5 Change Control: How Scope/Schedule/Cost Are Protected

Change control is how you prevent uncontrolled drift from the baseline.

Typical change control process

Change request submitted (form or ticket)
Impact analysis (cost, schedule, quality, risk)
Decision by authorized change control board (CCB)
Update baselines and documentation
Communicate changes and implement

Exam question: “Why is change control needed?”

Key points:

Protects baselines
Ensures legal/contractual compliance
Ensures stakeholder expectations align
Prevents scope creep
Improves transparency and accountability

3.6 Risk Responses: Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, Accept

Exams often test how you choose risk responses.

Avoid: change plan to eliminate the risk cause
Mitigate: reduce probability or impact
Transfer: shift impact to another party (insurance, contracts)
Accept: acknowledge risk and plan contingency for impacts

Example scenario:
Risk: “Supplier delays materials leading to schedule slippage.”
Responses:

Avoid: choose suppliers with proven lead times (if possible)
Mitigate: place earlier orders; hold safety stock
Transfer: use contract clauses with penalties or insurance
Accept: allow schedule reserve or contingency if impact is tolerable

3.7 Mini Case Study: Linking EVM with Quality and Risk

Consider a project to deliver a digital classroom system.

At Week 6:

PV = R300,000
EV = R240,000
AC = R270,000
→ CV = −R30,000, SV = −R60,000

Possible explanations:

Delays caused by technical defects detected late (quality issue)
Additional testing added without approved scope change (scope control problem)
Supplier patch delivery delayed (risk materialization)

Good exam response structure:

State the EVM results and interpretation
Identify likely root causes (quality/risk/scope)
Recommend corrective actions:
- re-sequence testing earlier
- request formal change where extra work is needed
- activate risk triggers with alternative vendors
- update schedule baseline if changes are approved

4) Risk and Quality Deep Dive for DUT: Registers, Matrices, Procurement Risks, and Quality Planning

This section goes deeper into the content often tested in scenario questions—especially when the question asks you to propose a risk response strategy or a quality control plan.

4.1 Risk Management Process: Plan, Identify, Analyze, Plan Responses, Monitor

At Diploma level, the risk process is typically presented in steps.

Step 1: Plan risk management

Define:

methodology (how you score likelihood/impact)
templates (risk register format)
roles (who updates risks)
thresholds (what score requires escalation)

Step 2: Identify risks

Sources:

stakeholder needs and expectations
technical uncertainty
external environment (regulation, supplier performance)
resource availability
project complexity

Example risks for a procurement-heavy project:

Supplier lead time variability
Currency exchange rate movement affecting imported components
Contract disputes causing delays

Step 3: Qualitative risk analysis

Often:

Likelihood: Low/Medium/High (or 1–5 scale)
Impact: Low/Medium/High
Create a risk matrix to prioritize

Step 4: Quantitative risk analysis (if taught)

May involve:

Expected monetary value (EMV)
Monte Carlo (less likely at Diploma level unless simplified)

Step 5: Plan responses

Choose from avoid/mitigate/transfer/accept and define actions.

Step 6: Monitor and control risks

Update register, track triggers, report on risk status.

4.2 Creating a Risk Register: What Exams Look For

A risk register is usually a table including:

Risk ID
Description
Category (technical, schedule, cost, external, procurement, safety)
Likelihood and impact
Risk score
Response strategy
Owner
Trigger/indicators
Contingency actions

Illustrative risk register (consistent example set):
Assume a project has these risks:

R1 Procurement delay
- Likelihood: High, Impact: Medium
- Response: Mitigate (order early, dual sourcing)
- Owner: Procurement Manager
- Trigger: lead time > 10 business days
R2 Technical integration defects
- Likelihood: Medium, Impact: High
- Response: Mitigate (test early, allocate buffer)
- Owner: Technical Lead
- Trigger: integration test failure rate > 15%
R3 Stakeholder scope changes
- Likelihood: Medium, Impact: Medium
- Response: Mitigate + Change control (CCB review)
- Owner: Project Manager
- Trigger: new requirement request count exceeds agreed threshold (e.g., more than 3 major requests per month)

If an exam asks you to “justify” a response, you must explain why that strategy fits the risk’s cause and severity.

4.3 Risk Matrix: Prioritization and Escalation

A risk matrix maps likelihood vs impact.

Example scoring:

Likelihood levels: 1 (Low), 2 (Medium), 3 (High)
Impact levels: 1 (Low), 2 (Medium), 3 (High)
Risk score = Likelihood × Impact (range 1–9)

Then:

1–2: low priority
3–4: medium priority
6–9: high priority (needs executive attention and firm mitigation)

If asked:

“Explain how you prioritize risks.”
Answer:
Use a risk score from likelihood × impact and focus mitigation resources on high-score risks.

4.4 Procurement and Contract Risks (commonly examined)

Procurement introduces risks related to delivery, performance, and contract interpretation.

Key procurement risks:

Supplier default
Scope ambiguity in procurement documents
Late delivery
Quality nonconformance
Currency and price escalation
Legal disputes

Risk responses:

Detailed specifications and acceptance criteria
Clear SLAs (service level agreements)
Penalty clauses for late delivery
Performance bonds where required
Vendor evaluation and prequalification
Contingency sourcing plans

Exam-style argument:

A contract is not just legal; it is a control instrument.
Well-written procurement documents reduce uncertainty and lower risk likelihood.

4.5 Quality Management: Quality Planning, Assurance, and Control

Quality management is usually divided into:

Quality planning: decide standards and how to meet them
Quality assurance: systematic processes to ensure standards will be met
Quality control: specific checks/inspections to detect defects

Quality planning deliverables

Quality plan document
Quality metrics (e.g., defect rate, throughput time)
Acceptance criteria per deliverable
Inspection and testing plan

4.6 Quality Tools You Can Mention in Exams

Depending on syllabus coverage, you can mention:

Checklists
Cause-and-effect diagrams (fishbone) to identify root causes
Pareto analysis (80/20 defect causes)
Control charts (if taught)
Statistical sampling
Inspections and audits

Example:
If defect rates increase, apply Pareto:

identify top defect categories
focus corrective actions on the most frequent causes

4.7 Case Example: Quality Failures Affect Schedule and Cost

Suppose during construction of a facility:

Planned: concrete work approved after inspection
Actual: reinforcement fails inspection and requires rework

Quality failure consequences:

Additional labour time → AC increases
Rework causes schedule slip → EV lags behind PV
Additional materials and testing costs
Potential change requests if scope was affected

In EVM terms, quality failures often show as:

EV lower than expected (work not accepted or not completed)
AC higher due to rework

This link is important—exams may ask you to connect concepts across domains.

5) Integrated Project Management: Communication, Procurement, Governance, and Exam-Ready Problem Solving

This final section integrates planning and control into full project governance and adds communication, procurement administration, and a structured approach to answering exam questions with calculations and narratives.

5.1 Project Governance and Roles: Who Decides and Who Reports

Governance ensures decisions are made correctly and transparently.

Typical roles:

Project sponsor: accountable for project outcomes; approves business case and major changes
Project manager: day-to-day management, planning, risk and performance reporting
CCB (Change Control Board): reviews and approves changes
Functional managers: resource allocation and subject-matter expertise
Steering committee / project board: high-level guidance, escalates issues

In exam scenarios, if you’re asked “who should approve changes,” the answer should align with this governance logic:

Minor changes handled by project manager within delegated authority
Major scope/time/cost changes require CCB/sponsor approval

5.2 Communication Management: Stakeholder Communication Plan

Communication plan defines:

frequency
format (report, meeting minutes)
audience
content (progress, risks, issues)
reporting hierarchy

Typical communication structure

Weekly team stand-up (progress and blockers)
Bi-weekly project status report to sponsor/steering committee
Monthly risk review
Ad-hoc communications for high-severity incidents

Exam prompt: “Explain the importance of communication.”
Answer points:

Prevents misunderstandings
Supports early detection of issues
Enables timely approvals
Ensures stakeholder alignment on scope and expectations

5.3 Procurement Management Basics: Administering Contracts

Procurement in project management is about managing supplier performance and contract compliance.

Key procurement management activities:

contract administration
performance reporting
change management for supplier-side items
acceptance/inspection
claims resolution (if disputes arise)

A typical exam question might ask:

“How do you ensure the contractor delivers within scope and quality?”
Answer:
acceptance criteria, inspections, SLAs, documented performance metrics, and escalation procedures.

5.4 Integrated Change Impact: Putting It All Together

Integrated control means when a change is requested, you assess its impact across:

scope (what deliverables are affected)
schedule (duration and critical path)
cost (budget and reserves)
quality (standards and acceptance)
risk (new or increased risks)
procurement (supplier capability and contract terms)

Exam-ready response template:

Describe change request in one or two lines
Identify affected WBS elements and activities
Analyze schedule impact (critical path and float)
Analyze cost impact (update estimates and baseline impacts)
Assess quality impact (acceptance criteria)
Assess risk impact (likelihood/impact change)
Recommend approval/rejection and next steps

5.5 Exam-Ready Problem Solving: A Step-by-Step Method for Calculations and Narratives

Many students lose marks by jumping straight to numbers without stating assumptions and method. Use this approach in exams.

Step A: Read the question for what’s being asked

Common types:

define terms (short theory)
compute CPM values (ES/EF, LS/LF, slack, critical path)
compute EVM metrics (PV/EV/AC, CV, SV, CPI, SPI, EAC)
propose risk responses (avoid/mitigate/transfer/accept)
create a communication or quality plan

Step B: Write down known values in a table

For EVM: PV, EV, AC, BAC
For CPM: durations and predecessors

Step C: Show formulas clearly

Even if the calculation is easy, showing the correct formula earns marks.

Step D: Interpret results in plain English

Exams reward interpretation:

“Behind schedule because SV is negative”
“Over budget because CV is negative”
“Activity is non-critical because slack is positive”
“Increase in non-critical activity by less than slack will not affect total duration”

Step E: Link cause and corrective action

A good narrative connects the numeric result to likely causes and actions.

5.6 Worked Integrated Scenario (Full Exam Style)

Assume a small project: “Implementation of a campus scheduling system” with a total budget BAC = R1,200,000. At the end of Week 6, you have collected EVM data:

PV = R300,000
EV = R240,000
AC = R270,000

You also notice from quality logs that integration testing failures caused rework, and supplier lead times have been unstable.

Part 1: Calculate EVM metrics

CV = EV − AC = 240,000 − 270,000 = −R30,000
SV = EV − PV = 240,000 − 300,000 = −R60,000
CPI = EV / AC = 240,000 / 270,000 = 0.8889
SPI = EV / PV = 240,000 / 300,000 = 0.8

Part 2: Interpret

The project is over budget (CPI < 1 and CV negative).
The project is behind schedule (SPI < 1 and SV negative).
Because both are negative, corrective action must address both performance drivers.

Part 3: Forecast EAC using CPI assumption

EAC = BAC / CPI = 1,200,000 / 0.8889 ≈ R1,350,000
Expected overrun: R1,350,000 − R1,200,000 = R150,000

Part 4: Recommend corrective actions (integrated response)

Quality corrective actions
- Increase test coverage earlier in the development lifecycle
- Introduce stricter acceptance criteria for integration components
- Reprioritize defect fixes tied to critical functionality
Risk response actions
- Activate mitigation for supplier lead times:
  - double-check supplier capacity
  - use alternative supplier options for non-specialized components
- Add buffer for procurement risks in schedule contingency
Schedule actions
- Re-sequence activities to reduce idle time
- Check whether rework has affected critical path; if so, update schedule baseline via change control
Change control
- If rework requires scope expansion, submit and justify a formal change request
- Ensure the sponsor/CCB approves changes that affect cost/time baselines

This is exactly how a well-structured DUT exam answer should read: calculations first, then interpretation, then corrective actions linked to root causes.

5.7 Linking to South African University Exam Style and Terminology (DUT-oriented)

In South African universities, especially in management sciences diploma-level modules and project management-related subjects, examiners often assess four things:

Correct use of standard project management terms (scope, stakeholder, WBS, baseline)
Correct application of tools (CPM/EVM, risk matrix, change control steps)
Ability to write a structured narrative tied to project processes
Mathematical accuracy where calculations are required

A practical strategy for students is to ensure your answers include:

at least one definition (brief, correct)
at least one calculation (where asked)
at least one interpretation and recommendation (where scenarios are given)

5.8 Final Exam Checklist (use during revision)

Use this checklist to review your readiness:

Terminology
- Can you define project, scope, stakeholder, WBS, baseline, critical path?
Scheduling
- Can you build forward/backward pass calculations for CPM?
- Can you interpret slack and explain critical vs non-critical activities?
Cost and EVM
- Can you compute PV/EV/AC, CV/SV, CPI/SPI?
- Can you forecast EAC and explain meaning?
Risk
- Can you create a risk register and propose avoid/mitigate/transfer/accept responses?
- Can you justify prioritization using a risk matrix?
Quality
- Can you outline quality planning vs quality control vs assurance?
- Can you link quality failures to schedule and cost variances?
Change and governance
- Can you describe how changes should be approved and how baselines are updated?
Communication
- Can you propose a communication plan for stakeholders and frequency?

Summary

Project management success depends on disciplined planning (WBS, schedule, cost baseline), continuous monitoring (variance and EVM), and effective control mechanisms (risk, quality, and change control). These notes emphasize how to answer exam-style questions with both structured theory and accurate calculations. Use the worked examples as templates: state known values, apply correct formulas, interpret results, and recommend corrective actions linked to scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk.