Airbus Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Airbus - Term Paper Example Airbus is a company in the aerospace industry, dealing with the manufacture of aircraft in the division of Airbus Group. Headquartered in Blagnac France, Airbus has established its manufacturing and production facilities in many other countries around the globe, with the most identifiable including German, Spain, and the United Kingdom (Norris and Wagner, 1999). According to the latest statistics, the company was able to produce 626 airlines in 2013. Three individuals namely; Bernard Lathià ¨re, Roger Bà ©teille, and Henri Ziegler founded the company in 1970. Over the years, the company’s success has been realized mainly due to the contributions of two key individuals; Fabrice Bregier, the chief executive officer and Gunter Butscheck, the chief operating officer. As at 2008, the company’s revenue was at Euros 33.10 billion. Despite diversifying their operations into many different countries, Airbus deals solely in the manufacture of commercial airlines as its only product. As at the moment, the company has 63,000 employees in its sixteen different working sites in the different countries in which the company had built its production and manufacture facilities. Currently, Airbus is considered as the world’s manufacture of the largest passenger airliner the A380 (Norris and Wagner, 1999). It is the desire of many businesses to expand to different regions that show potential success opportunities. In such a perspective, Airbus has been able to establish expansive opportunities in many different countries in the world. One of the countries is China. China is currently one of the developed countries in the world, and therefore, experiencing significant changes in terms of the business ventures (Som, 2009). The substantive rise economically by China has mainly been attributed to changes the country has made in its political and economic systems. With the current manner in which China develops

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo - Essay Example Thesis statement: The close examination of the novel Pedro Paramo proves that the writer’s diction is interconnected with his aim to portray the difference between past and present, symbolism is related to the symbols like rain and fertility, usage of imagery is related to air, water and stone, and figurative language is related to the development of magical realism as a specific genre in world literature. Plot summary The novel’s plot is related to the lives of the narrator (Juan Preciado), his father Pedro Paramo, and his (the narrator’s father’s) lover, Susana San Juan. One can see that Comala, the imaginary town, is the background of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator decides to conduct an expedition to Comala to find out his father. But he did not try to stick on to his decision. Later, he was forced to start his journey to the town of Comala. Within this context, the narrator portrays the present situation in Comala. Now, the situ ation is different because most of the people who live in this town are spirits/ghosts. In the work by Rulfo, Sacabo, and Peden, the narrator made clear that â€Å"Nothing but abandoned houses, their empty doorways overgrown with weeds† (19). ... In the end, the people of Comala were forced to die by starvation. Examination: This section includes topics like diction, which portrays the difference between past and present, symbolism or the usage of symbols in the novel like rain and fertility, the usage of imagery like air, water and stone, and the usage of figurative language which represents the development of the genre of magical realism. A. Diction One can easily identify that the novelist’s ultimate aim in the novel is to make use of the story telling technique (first person and third person narrative technique) to portray the difference between past and present. For instance, the opening of the novel deals with the present condition in Comala, which is described by the narrator. On the other side, after the narrator’s untimely death, the narration suddenly shifts from first person to third person. In this way, Juan Preciado becomes unimportant in the following sections of the novel. From a different angle o f view, both the son and the father are no more and narration is handed over to the novelist. At the same time, this technique does not hinder the development of the plot because the same revolves around Pedro Paramo’s adventures. In this way, the novelist fulfils his aim to portray the difference between past and present. B. Symbolism The symbols like rain and fertility are interconnected because rain is symbolic of life/fertility. In the novel, the element of rain is made use by the novelist to portray the problems faced by the people of Comala. To be specific, the present condition in Comala is related to the lack of rain and the negative attitude of the leader (Pedro Paramo). Here, the leader is symbolic of rain which provides all to the living world. On the other

Easy Honey Hair Care Essay Example for Free

Easy Honey Hair Care Essay Let me start at the beginning. This past year, I’ve been on a crazy hippie journey to eliminate toxic products from my life. Now, I’m excited to say that all of my body care items are homemade and non toxic. This includes: toothpaste, deodorant, body moisturizer (a blend of coconut oil, emu oil and essential oils), facial oil, and facial toner. I tried numerous types of DIY shampoos, including the no ‘poo method, but I was never happy. They irritated my scalp or dried out my hair. As a matter of fact, the no ‘poo method (baking soda + vinegar hair care) actually damages hair! Why Wash Hair with Honey Shampoo I’ve been washing my hair with this DIY honey shampoo for the past month and I LOVE the results! First, my embarrassing and persistent dandruff is clearing up. My hair is soft, shiny and it has become even more curly/wavy than usual. Finally, it is significantly less frizzy and I have no need to use an anti-frizz product. My scalp’s oil production has normalized and I can go 4 days between hair washing. The pH of the scalp is between 4 and 7, and the pH of honey is about 4. The slightly acidic nature of the honey balances the scalp and fights dandruff Raw honey is naturally antibacterial and antifungal, so honey washing can help treat a bacterial/fungal issues on the scalp Honey won’t strip the scalp and hair of the protective oils. As a result, hair will be less oily over time because the scalp will stop over-comensating with oil production (which happens when shampoos strip the scalp of all oils) Honey moisturizes the hair, and, since it doesn’t strip the hair of natural oils, hair will be softer with less frizz You will be able to go longer and longer between washings as your scalps oil production normalizes. Now, I only need to wash my hair every 4 days (and I’ve even gone a week between washing)! Honey washing is easy and fast! DIY Honey Shampoo Use only raw honey. Regular honey is processed with damaging levels of heat and is actually cut with corn syrup. I recommend making it on a â€Å"single serving† basis, so just mix up a little bowl of the shampoo before you plan to use it. Here’s the basic ratio, but you can adjust it as desired: 1 Tbs. raw honey and 3 Tbs. filtered water. If necessary, slightly heat the mixture over very low heat to help dissolve the honey. Yes, this is really watery†¦ that is how it is supposed to be. If desired, add a few drops of essential oil. To the mixture above, I add about 2 drops of lavender essential oil, 2 drops of rosemary oil, and 2 drops of carrot seed oil. The essential oils add a light fragrance and also help with any flaky scalp issues. The carrot seed oil, especially, is very nourishing to the hair. Wet hair, then massage a few tablespoons of the honey shampoo on the scalp. Massage well to distribute over the scalp. Don’t worry about getting the mixture on the ends of the hair, just the scalp area. Rinse well. No need to follow with any conditioner. How to store the honey shampoo UPDATE: I had one reader tell me her shampoo grew mold after one week. I have not had this happen to me, but I don’t want anyone else to have this experience. That is why I have updated the post suggesting that you make it as you need it. It’s super quick to mix together right before you wash your hair. Dun dun dun†¦ The Transition Period Nobody likes the term â€Å"transition period† but I have to mention it. When you switch from any type of sudsing shampoo (which is very stripping and drying to hair) to honey washing, your hair will probably be oily and dull after the first couple times of honey washing. It may even take a month or two for your scalp oil production to normalize when you switch from regular shampoo to honey washing. So for the first week, you may need to honey wash every day. Then you will find you can go every other day, then every second day, etc. Updates and FAQs After this post clocked in at the 350 comments mark in early September, I figured it was time for a follow-up. In my Honey Shampoo: Updates and FAQs post, I address some common questions and explain my new hair care routine. I also give a couple of tips to make the transition period easier. Finally, I explain that natural hair care varies greatly from person to person and offer some other non-shampoo options to try if you don’t like Honey Shampoo.

Ecologically Compatible Land Use Planning Methods

Ecologically Compatible Land Use Planning Methods Methodology For the purpose of ecologically compatible land use planning multiple GIS functions has been carried out. The functions carried out are integration using the model builder tool in order to come to the final results. Model Builder Model builder is an application in ArcGIS which is used for creating a model for a particular function. These models can be reedited even at later stage of analysis which makes it suitable for modifications if required thus making the work faster and results more accurate. (ESRI, n.d.) To create a model a toolbox needs to be created first. After creating a toolbox in a specific folder connection a model can be created within the toolbox. A model looks like a workflow diagram through which various geo-processing tools are connected. The output of a particular function can be used as the input for the next. By using this method the multiple analysis can be one at the same time. While using GIS during some analysis the files might get heavy and display of the output might take a long time and can even result in crashing of the system. But while using model builder we have an option for displaying only the required. Model builder is generally used when we require a large number of parameter to come results or when multiple steps are required to come to a result. In real time application we use for analysis like land suitability, hydrology, etc. In addition to all these advantage it helps the user get a visual relationship between different parameters and makes it easier to explain to a third person on how the analysis is performed thus making this one the most advanced tools in the field of GIS. Locating the villages and defining the ESZ boundary Before using the model builder multiple layers need to be created and analysis need to be performed. The first task is the marking of boundary and locating the villages that comes under ESZ. In this study there are 88 villages. These location are marked by first locating the villages using the Google Earth with the latitude and longitude given by the MoEF. These are then saved as Keyhole Mark-up Language (KML). (KML) is an XML-based mark-up language designed to annotate and overlay visualizations on various two-dimensional, Web-based online maps or three-dimensional Earth browsers. (Rouse, n.d.) Since all the village kml files are different and this has to be converted to shapefile as a single one. This is done by using the Expert GPS software which converts and combines as a single shapefile. The boundary of ESZ created by using polygon feature. A new shapefile (polygon feature) is created by using ArcCatalog inside the folder connection. Type of shapefile is chosen and title is given to the shapefile. The next step includes the defining the coordinate system for the location. In case of this location the coordinated defined as Projected Coordinate System > UTM > WGS 1984 > Northern Hemisphere > WGS 1984 UTM Zone 43N. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and DEM Masking A Digital Elevation Model is the representation of continuous elevation values over a topographic surface by a regular array of z-values, referenced to a common datum. (ESRI, n.d.) Digital Elevation Model The DEM used for this study is of 90 meter resolution and is obtained from asterdem. In case of this study four DEMs were required in order to cover the complete area. Later this were combined and masked using ArcGIS masking tool with reference to the boundary created. Masking is used for extracting the required part of raster file with the reference of a feature class. Masking tool is found in the ArcToolbox under Spatial Analyst Tools > Extraction > Extract by Mask. Once this process is done the output is DEM after Masking This masked DEM is going to be used multiple analysis like slope, elevation, TIN model, flow accumulation, hillshade, etc. Slope Analysis The slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the direction and the steepness of the line. The Slope tool calculates the maximum change in value from that cell to its neighbours. Basically, the maximum change in elevation by the distance between the cell and its eight neighbours finds the steepest downhill descent from the cell. The tool fits a plane to the z-values of a 3 x 3 cell neighbourhood around the processing or center cell. The direction the plane faces is the aspect for the processing cell. The lower the slope value means flatter terrain and vice versa. The cell location with a NoData z-value, the z-value of the center cell will be assigned to the location. (ESRI, n.d.) Aspect Map Aspect map shows the direction and steepness of slope for a terrain. Aspect tool is under spatial analyst and is created using DEM. The areas that have steeper slopes are shown brighter. The aspect map is classified on the basis of direction of slope in degrees (0-360Â °). 0-22.5: North 22.5-67.5: North-east 67.5-112.5: East 112.5-157.5: South-east 157.5-202.5: South 202.5-247.5: South-west 247.5-292.5: West 292.5-337.5: North-west 337.5-359.5: North Whichever locations are flat is assigned (-1). Hillshade Hillshade is a 3D grayscale model of a surface by taking sun’s relative position to account. It shows the areas that receives sun light and that comes under the shade at a particular time. For this function the azimuth and altitude of location is required. The inputs for this function are the following: Input DEM Azimuth Altitude Scaling Z Factor Pixel Size Power Pixel Size Factor Altitude is the angle of elevation of sun (0-90Â °) and azimuth is the relation position of sun along the horizon (0-360Â °). Z-factor is the elevation of the location. The Hillshade tool comes under spatial analyst toolbox in ArcGIS. TIN Model Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) model is a digital data structure used in GIS for representation of a surface. TIN model is generated using DEM. Advantage of TIN over DEM is that points of TIN are distribute variably by using an algorithm that decides which points are more accurate for terrain representation. TIN (Scientific Software Group, n.d.) Contour Map Contours are lines that connects the points of same values. The contour model is used for study of elevation, temperature, precipitation, pollution, etc. In this study contour map is used for the analysing the elevation details. This helps in finding the areas that have less steep slopes and can be developed. Contour Map (OpenGeo Suite, n.d.) Contour map over the TIN elevation model will help is visualizing the terrains in a better manner. Flow Accumulation Flow accumulation map shows the areas that will accumulate water. In ArcGIS a raster file is created of accumulated flow into each cell. Flow direction is used as the input for flow accumulation raster. Flow accumulation comes under hydrology tool which is under spatial analyst toolbox. Usage: Cell with high flow accumulation can be used to identify stream channel. Cell with flow accumulation of zero can be used to identify ridges. Flow Accumulation Map (Stack Exchange, 2012) Basins This tool creates a raster that delineates all the drainage basins. The drainage basins are delineating ridge lines between basins. For creating the basins, the flow direction is used as the input. Even if the basin is in one cell, all the cells in a raster will belong to a basin. Basin Map (National Water Program, 2013) Road Network Road network are created using polyline feature. For this study since the area being large only the major road are mapped. Further buffers will be created in order to do the proximity analysis to find the locations that are suitable for development. Road Network Map (Anantapuramu District, n.d.) Landuse Map Landuse map is required to understand for what purpose different areas put into use. Land use map is a polygon feature. It is created using the cut polygon tool in ArcGIS. Since the area being large, in this study landuse map is prepared at a macro level. Landuse Map Delhi, 2004 (Netzband Atiqur, 2007)

The End of The Storm :: Free Essays Online

The End of The Storm I've heard it said that an institution is the sum of it's parts, but I prefer to think of it as the average of them. My high school, Campbell Hall, was a great school not because of the fact that it had a large number of great faculty members and students, but because it had an eclectic mix of great people. Campbell hall has a diverse mix of forward thinking people being lead by one of the most regressive and closed minded men I have ever met, the Reverend Canon Thomas C. Clark. When I arrived at Campbell Hall in ninth grade I knew that it was Episcopalian, and being a person who is never quite happy with one religion this scared me a little. But I soon found out that chapel included services for Jewish high holy days, Ramadan, and any other religious holidays that were celebrated by the student body. I was extremely impressed with this. But I soon found out that the Administration was not as tolerant as the chaplain in charge with these services. My first problem with Reverend Clark was when, in ninth grade, a friend of mine's older sister was asked to leave school because she was pregnant. I was too young to truly appreciate the lack of compassion shown for this girl then, but I was old enough to know that this was not the right way to handle the situation. My first true confrontation with Reverend Clark was when four people in my twenty-two person sophomore English class were caught cheating on an exam. The high school principal got to the bottom of it and punished the guilty accordingly. A week later my class found out that Reverend Clark had decided to make an example out of these four by suspending the entire English class for a day in hopes of making any future cheaters fear the wrath of their peers as well as that of the administration. Well myself, my class, and the entire student body were not very pleased with this decision, so we decided to show up to class on the day of our suspension anyway. Clark caved in, and we all went to class. But the event which truly confirmed my abhorrence of Reverend Clark was when my friend Andrew wrote a stunning essay for his A.P. English class on the confusions of growing up gay. The End of The Storm :: Free Essays Online The End of The Storm I've heard it said that an institution is the sum of it's parts, but I prefer to think of it as the average of them. My high school, Campbell Hall, was a great school not because of the fact that it had a large number of great faculty members and students, but because it had an eclectic mix of great people. Campbell hall has a diverse mix of forward thinking people being lead by one of the most regressive and closed minded men I have ever met, the Reverend Canon Thomas C. Clark. When I arrived at Campbell Hall in ninth grade I knew that it was Episcopalian, and being a person who is never quite happy with one religion this scared me a little. But I soon found out that chapel included services for Jewish high holy days, Ramadan, and any other religious holidays that were celebrated by the student body. I was extremely impressed with this. But I soon found out that the Administration was not as tolerant as the chaplain in charge with these services. My first problem with Reverend Clark was when, in ninth grade, a friend of mine's older sister was asked to leave school because she was pregnant. I was too young to truly appreciate the lack of compassion shown for this girl then, but I was old enough to know that this was not the right way to handle the situation. My first true confrontation with Reverend Clark was when four people in my twenty-two person sophomore English class were caught cheating on an exam. The high school principal got to the bottom of it and punished the guilty accordingly. A week later my class found out that Reverend Clark had decided to make an example out of these four by suspending the entire English class for a day in hopes of making any future cheaters fear the wrath of their peers as well as that of the administration. Well myself, my class, and the entire student body were not very pleased with this decision, so we decided to show up to class on the day of our suspension anyway. Clark caved in, and we all went to class. But the event which truly confirmed my abhorrence of Reverend Clark was when my friend Andrew wrote a stunning essay for his A.P. English class on the confusions of growing up gay.

Sam Shepard Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Sam Shepard Sam Shepard is a contemporary American playwright and actor whose plays deal with modern social concerns. He was influenced by Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsberg who rebelled against a society of economic affluence and social conformity following World War II. Insatiable consumerism became a central trait of postwar life, "driven by the mass media, advertising, and generous loan terms" ("Sam Shepard"). From this atmosphere the Beat Writers came forward to declare their alienation from what they saw as the "creed of suburban conformity in favor of what Ginsberg called ‘the lost America of love’" ("Sam Shepard"). It was from this generation of writers that Shepard was inspired to address the issues of alienation from society, loss of identity and the deterioration of the family structure. The themes explored by Shepard may be described as "the picture of America torn between the idealistic values and painful realities of a frontier paved over by a parking lot" ("Sam Shepard") . In other words, progress and change are destroying the collective values of America as the former replaces the latter. Having grown up in the 50’s and 60’s, a period of social metamorphosis, Shepard must have observed for himself that the apple-pie family of popular culture was far different from the changing face of society’s real life family whose members struggle for identity and connection. As television presented an idealization of suburban family life, reality suggested otherwise. Shepard is known for his oblique story lines, slightly mysterious characters, and use of surreal elements with images of popular culture ("Sam Shepard"). The majority of his plays deal with the betrayal of the American dream, the search for ... ...iculate enough to compose his thoughts, and Austin does not have the adventurous spirit to survive in the desert. Therefore, they realize their identities are not found in each other. The characters in each of these plays grapple for identity and connection, which Shepard recognizes as true in modern American families. As they assert themselves, family tension is the result and the Brady Bunch dream is only that: a dream. Works Cited Gilman, Richard. Sam Shepard: Seven Plays. Introduction. New York: Bantam Books, 1981. xi-xxvii. "Sam Shepard." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. Microsoft Corporation. 1993-1998. Shepard, Sam. Sam Shepard: Seven Plays. New York: Bantam Books, 1981. Williams, Megan. "Nowhere Man and the Twentieth-Century Cowboy: Images of Identity and American History in Sam Shepard’s True West." Modern Drama. 40 (Spring 1997): 57-73.

Total Project Control: a Manager’s Guide to Integrated Project Planning, Measuring, and Tracking

3/11/04 Total Project Control: A Manager's Guide to Integrated Project Planning, Measuring, and Tracking By Stephen A. Devaux, published by John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1999 (A book review by R. Max Wideman) Introduction Stephen Devaux published this book in 1999. In it, Stephen attempts to establish a common metric, quantitative data and analysis, by which the project can not only be managed, but also compared to every other project conducted by the organization. In his Preface, Stephen observes: 1 â€Å"The head of a construction company erecting a downtown skyscraper, the pharmacologist overseeing clinical trials for a new drug, the account manager supervising the development of a database for a Fortune 100 client – all three are engaged in project management. Yet chances are that the things they do are very different. . . . But out side of the work itself, all these projects actually have a great deal in common. †¢ Each has a schedule . . . †¢ Each has resources . . . †¢ Each has a budget . . . †¢ Each is going to run into unforeseen circumstances . . Most important of all, each has a scope of work to be accomplished. [But] traditional project management [methodologies] are unable to deal with work scope in an acceptable quantifiable manner. As a result, traditional project management â€Å"factors out† work scope from the management process by assuming it to be a â€Å"prerequisite† to the process . The traditional approach is: â€Å"Once you determine your work scope, we can provide you with a multitude of quantitative techniques for planning, scheduling, resource budgeting, and tracking your project. All of these techniques are based on a defined and constant work scope. †¦ However, the work itself is never quantified in a way that can support decision making. . . Other than saying that â€Å"Scope definition is important,† modern project management is silent. † As many of us have experienced, for example in software development, project scope can in fact be highly variable. Since the book was written, there has been an exponential increase in these types of projects giving rise to interest in project portfolio management. So, there is clearly a need for a common metric upon which acceptance or rejection of competing projects can be based. This is true whether the projects are contemplated or on going, and extends to decisions on changes to their respective work scopes. As Stephen observes:2 Precisely because work scope varies greatly from project to project, and even over time, within a single project, the ability to manage that changing work scope is vital: †¢ To ensure a satisfactory level of quality for acceptable cost. AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  ©2004 Email: [email  protected] ca Total Project Control Page 2 of 7 †¢ †¢ †¢ To select the best elements of scope to cut when forced to do so in order to meet schedule and/or budgetary requirements. To increase scope where the project's return on investment (ROI) can be enhanced by the additional deliverables(s) To determine which of many possible project work scopes should be undertaken as part of the multi-project portfolio. In his book, Stephen introduces a number of metrics with catchy names to support his â€Å"theories†. We'll describe some of these in our next section. Book Structure Total Project Control, referred to throughout as â€Å"TPC†, consists of eleven chapters as follows: 1. The Nature of a Project 2. An Overview of TPC Planning 3. An Overview of Planning the Work 4. Planning the Work Scope 5. Developing the Work Breakdown Structure 6. Scheduling I: The Critical Path Method (CPM) 7. Scheduling II: The Precedence Diagram method (PDM) 8. Activity-Based Resource Assignments 9. Resource Scheduling and Leveling 10. Tracking and controlling the Project 11. Conclusion Stephen just loves acronyms. His first â€Å"new metric, the â€Å"DIPP†, which he claims is fundamental to TPC3 is first mentioned in chapter 1. However, it is not explained until chapter 2, and even then only after introducing the â€Å"CLUB†, Cost of Leveling with Unresolved Bottlenecks, and â€Å"AIM FIRE† his acronym for the management cycle of Aware, Isolate, Measure, Forecast, Investigate, Review and Execute. So, what does DIPP stand for? We had to search the index to find out and guess what – it stands for Devaux's Index of Project Performance! DIPP has a formu la which is EMV (expected monetary value of the project, as of the current completion date) divided by ETC (estimated cost to complete the project. Chapter 2 also mentions Stephen's VBS (value breakdown structure)5 but it is not until chapter 5 that we learn that it is a TPC concept that brings the scope/cost/schedule triangle of value analysis down to the micro-project or activity level. 6 Chapter 5 introduces another concept, the DRAG (Devaux's Removed Activity Gauge) that is the quantification of the amount of time each activity is adding to the project. It is the opposite of total float, and like total float, since it only exists on the critical path activities, it is the amount of time an activity can be shortened before it has a DRAG of zero and another path becomes critical. A good explanation of its use is given in chapter 7. A metric for the resource elasticity of an activity, called DRED, again is mentioned in chapter 6, but is explained in chapter 7. It turns out it stand s for Doubled Resource Estimated Duration and is an estimate of how long it would take if the rate of resource usage anticipated in estimating its duration were to be AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  protected] ca Total Project Control Page 3 of 7 doubled. Consequently it is an index of resource elasticity. But perhaps the high point is another acronym called RAD that appears in chapter 9. Chapter 9 is a discussion of the parameters surrounding resource scheduling, leveling and availability, both on and off the critical path, and the calculation of DRAG. Stephen explains that there are three different causes of DRAG:9 1. Delay due to the logic of the work, i. e. CPM schedule DRAG, 2. Delay due to other ancestor activities, which unavoidably push out the schedule of the successor, and 3. Delay due to the specific activity having to wait for resources, which we will call resource availability DRAG or RAD. So there you have the definition of RAD. In practice, RAD itself has mathematical constraints and the calculation is complex, requiring computer software. Stephen provides the formula and explanation, but you can skip this section if you wish. The point is, this metric is typically not calculated, so the real impact of unavailable or over stretched resources on projects as a whole is unknown to the organization and hence not accounted for when it comes to assessing project failures. What we liked This may ound like fun stuff with acronyms, but behind it all is the serious issue of â€Å"How can any investment decision be made, on a quantified basis, unless there is at least some sense of what value awaits a successful outcome? â€Å"10 Indeed, Stephen might have added â€Å"or even what constitutes a quantified successful outcome? † Later, Stephen answers his own question by observing â€Å"There are thousands of corporate organizations that depend on projects for more than 90 percent of their revenues. Yet, other than intuitively, they have no way of tying the projects they do to their profits. 11 Even under traditional project management, an absolute minimum data for each project in a portfolio should be the expected monetary value, the current completion date, and the cost estimate to complete. 12 Actually, having worked for respectable real estate development companies, we can state that these concepts are well known to them. However, having also worked with software development organizations, it appears that these metrics are not only rare but tend to be foreign to proponents of the latest forms of software development project management. Under Stephen's TPC approach, the data required is even more profound. In a portfolio of projects, it should consist of:13 †¢ Project Name †¢ Expected Monetary Value †¢ As of (i. e. Current reporting date) †¢ Current Completion Date †¢ Loss per Week Late (%) †¢ Gain per Week Early (%) †¢ New Expected Value †¢ Cost Estimate to Complete †¢ Simple DIPP Note the addition of the time value of being ahead or behind schedule, not in terms of project overhead AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  protected] ca Total Project Control Page 4 of 7 costs but in terms of gain or loss in value of the product to the organization. Stephen provides many examples of his approach, although not all calculations are explicit. Stephen wades into the assembly of work breakdown structures, and CPM scheduling to illustrate his theories. On the question of how do you plan the work scope, he suggests: 14 â€Å"Each type of project is different, and each project is different. It is therefore difficult to set hard-and-fast rules for assembling scope documents. The best idea I have found is to †¢ Start with the benefits you want to achieve, †¢ Incorporate them into a business plan, †¢ Then move as rapidly as possible to a concrete image of the thing that will provide those benefits. † This is sound advice [The bullets are mine, by the way. On the matter of estimating, Stephen offers more sound advice:15 The person who is going to be responsible for the work should be the one who generates the estimates. This is probably the most important contributor to accurate estimates. The reasons for this are: 1. This person will be a subject matter expert, trained in the discipline necessary for the par ticular work. 2. This person is the only one who will know precisely how he or she plans to do the work. 3. He or she will usually have a vested interest in meeting his own commitment, and establishing the reliability of his or her own estimates. Unfortunately, the practicality in many cases is that, (a) the contributors don't know how to estimate, (b) they don't want to estimate, and (c) if they are really busy, they don't have the time to estimate. Still, it does suggest that estimating ought to be a part of production skills. Downside Under Scope/Cost/Schedule Integration, Stephen observes: 16 â€Å"Work scope is the foundation on which the whole project rests. It is the reason for doing the project – to obtain the value that will accrue from the work . . . Once we recognize this, two things come into clearer focus: 1. Quantifying scope is important. It is directly related to profitably. In a project-driven company, if you haven't quantified project scope, you cannot accurately estimate, or work to increase, profit 2. The metric used to quantify scope is the dollar. To be precise, the expected dollar that measures the value that the project is undertaken to generate. † But Stephen skates round the issue of how you arrive at this expected value by stating â€Å"Now, how one goes about estimating the value of a project is a topic of its own, beyond the scope of this book. 17 Unfortunately, that means the whole premise of his book rests on an undefined EMV parameter – which itself is changing due to external influences. Stephen's thesis, and consequent metrics, relies on a tacit assumption. This is that you have projects where the activities can all be identified, their resource requirements established and the time and cost of AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  prote cted] ca Total Project Control Page 5 of 7 each reasonably accurately estimated. And further, that those resources are sufficiently flexible that schedule changes can be accommodated. On most projects, this is unreasonable, and for projects in the early part of their life span, this is patently impossible. Some of the metrics may be open to question. For example, Glen Alleman, VP, Program Management Office at CH2M HILL has commented on the DIPP formula (i. e. EMV divided by ETC), as follows:18 â€Å"There are several issues with the DIPP equation. 1. The denominator creates a â€Å"divide by zero† error as the project reaches the end and the estimate to complete approaches zero. This is poor behavior of a performance indicator not a ratio of two values drawn from the same time sample. . The indicator has nonlinear behavior over its life cycle. 3. The ETC value in the equation needs to be the sum of multiple estimates to complete, since EMV is the sum of all possible outcomes. The equation's ETC is a point value with no index i to correlate with EMV's sum across the indices of possible outcomes. The primary issue here is that DIPP does not include the sunk costs of the project. â€Å"Devaux states these are not necessary for the assessment of completion decisions. In fact the estimate to complete is based on the previous performance. The ‘performance factor for remaining work' is most often derived from the performance of the previous work. Past is a predictor of the future. The sunk costs are accruals and burden the net profit of the project. Ignoring sunk costs is not only poor financial management it is poor project management as well. The sunk costs must be paid by â€Å"someone. † The project manager must consider whom and how much is to be paid in assessing future decisions for the project. Ignoring these is like driving in the rear view mirror. It can be done, but not recommended. † We may not agree entirely with Glen's assessment, but the point is well taken. Another bone of contention is about reserves. Stephen cites the example of catching a plane under a plan based on median time estimates. Such a plan would probably mean that we would miss the plane 50% of the time. Clearly this is unacceptable so we must add contingency time. Stephen then says this is sometimes called â€Å"management reserve† and19 â€Å"There is an important difference between management reserve and padding. Management reserve is always added either at the end of the project, or immediately before a major milestone. It belongs to the project manager and the entire project. We agree with the intent but not the definitions. In our view, â€Å"Contingency† should provide for variances in durations and belongs to the project manager. â€Å"Management Reserve†, as the name implies, should belong to management for possible changes in scope (like picking up a coffee and donut at the airport), and â€Å"Padding† is a political issue and should be a no, no. Still, where workers are required to work on several projects concurrently, may be it is necessary to cover loss of productivity because as Stephen says: â€Å"Such multitasking is one of the great time wasters of corporate projects. 20 But here's a thought. If we are in DRED of missing that plane we just talked about, how much safer would we be if we doubled our resources and had two people running to catch that plane? AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  protected] ca Total Project Control Page 6 of 7 Summary It is time that project management practitioners started a serious dialogue on the subject of managing scope as one of the variables, and perhaps the key variable, in project management. Ask not what is the cost of this project, or change, and can we afford it? Ask instead, what is the value to the organization of this project, or change, is it worth it and how does it stack up against our other options? Some may argue that a dollar value metric is not pertinent to their particular type of project, but whichever way you look at it, money is the only common vehicle for comparison between projects in a portfolio. Stephen sums up his position at the end of chapter 1 by observing:21 †¢ The purpose of a project is not to be short or inexpensive, but to make a profit. It should be managed in such a way as to maximize that profit. All the work, and all aspects of the project that impact its profit should be analyzed together, in an integrated way that shows the effect of the various alternatives on the project profit. †¢ Each project that is managed in a context with other projects should be analyzed in an integrated way that shows the effects of each (ostensibly internal) project decision on all other projects, and, specifically, on the multi-project profit. †¢ Insofar as projects are managed without regard to profit, bad (profit-reducing) decisions will be made, both randomly and systematically, throughout the organization. Stephen's book was first published five years ago. In our experience it takes about that long for new ideas to sink into the collective psyche of the project management populace. So, we share Stephen's view. It is time that project sponsors and the creators of the enterprise planning software they use (if any) figure out how to incorporate these variable scope and value concepts, and apply them to their projects. Then, perhaps, we will be in a better position to demonstrate that the traditional definition of project success of being â€Å"On time and within budget† is short term and very narrowly focused. We think that Stephen Devaux's book makes a valuable contribution to the discussion of project and portfolio management, planning and tracking. However, some things have changed in the last five years, or are better understood, so we sincerely hope that Stephen will consider updating and reissuing his book â€Å"Total Project Control†. If he does, we hope he will also add a glossary. R. Max Wideman Fellow, PMI 1 2 Devaux, S. A. , Total Project Control, Wiley, NY, 1999, p xvii Ibid. p xix 3 Ibid. p22 4 Ibid. p7 5 Ibid. p32 6 Ibid. p93 7 Ibid. 139 AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  protected] ca Total Project Control Page 7 of 7 8 9 Ibid. p184 Ibid. p257 10 Ibid. p xix 11 Ibid. p8 12 Ibid. p9 13 Ibid. p12 14 Ibid. p63 15 Ibid. p105 16 Ibid. p30 17 Ibid. p31 18 Alleman, G. , The DIPP Formula Control Flag, An Assessment of the DIPP Indicator, Viewpoints, Project Management World Today, November-December 2003, http://www. pmforum. org/pmwt03/viewpoints03-11. htm 19 Devaux, S. A. , Total Project Control, Wiley, NY, 1999, p113 20 Ibid. p114 21 Ibid. p14 AEW Services, Vancouver, BC  © 2004 Email: [email  protected] ca