GID 96 Code Structure
11.9 COMPRESSING AND CRASHING PROJECTS
of.situation.may.occur.when.a.single.previous.process.splits.into.two.different.tasks,.which.must.
be.worked.on.simultaneously..In.an.RFID.project,.this.type.of.relationship.can.appear.when.the.
RFID.hardware.components.are.identified..The.RFID.tags,.readers,.and.antennas.can.be.ordered.
simultaneously..It.will.often.be.desirable.to.begin.working.on.a.number.of.tasks.as.soon.as.possible,.
but.it.is.not.absolutely.positively.necessary.to.have.any.start-to-start.relationships..The.start-to-start.
relationship.is.represented.by.two.or.more.arrows.feeding.into.the.leading.edge.of.the.Gantt.chart.
task.bars.
11.8.3.3 Finish-to-Finish Relationship
A.finish-to-finish.relationship.between.a.predecessor.and.a.successor.is.found.when.both.tasks.are.
desired.to.be.completed.at.the.same.time..This.means.that.if.the.tasks.are.of.different.duration,.
then.the.longer.duration.task.must.be.started.before.the.shorter.duration.task..The.finish-to-finish.
relationship.is.most.often.found.in.situations.where.there.is.some.sort.of.limited.life.associated.with.
different.processes.that.must.be.combined.in.a.following.task.at.the.same.time..This.situation.is.not.
necessarily.going.to.exist.in.an.RFID.project..The.finish-to-finish.relationship.is.represented.by.two.
arrows.exiting.the.Gantt.chart.task.bars.
11.8.3.4 Lags
A.possible.variation.to.the.above.relationships.is.the.concept.of.a.lag..A.lag.is.a.required.time.period.
between.the.predecessor.and.the.successor..For.example,.it.may.be.desirable.to.begin.testing.the.
functioning.of.RFID.tags.as.soon.as.possible.after.acquiring.the.tags..In.order.to.begin.the.testing,.
it.is.necessary.to.actually.have.the.tags.to.test..However,.all.of.the.tags.may.not.necessarily.be.avail- able.for.testing.at.the.same.time.due.to.shipment.issues..In.this.situation,.the.project.manager.may.
decide.that.it.is.more.important.to.wait.for.all.of.the.tags.to.arrive.before.beginning.testing..Thus,.for.
project.planning.purposes,.there.could.be.a.small.lag.between.these.two.tasks..Similarly,.it.would.be.
expected.that.the.tag.testing.processes.finish.somewhat.behind.the.tag.acquisition.process.
RFID Project Management 147 crashed,.other.activities.become.critical..This.means.that.in.order.to.continue.compressing.or.crash- ing.the.project,.the.project.manager.must.be.aware.of.the.entire.picture,.not.just.the.single.activity.
that.they.wish.to.shorten.
Typical.RFID.project.tasks.that.can.be.compressed.are
•. Acquisition.of.hardware.and.software
•. Testing.of.RFID.tags
•. Installation.of.hardware.and.software
11.9.1 compRessIngthe AcquIsItIonof hARdwAReAnd softwARe
RFID.hardware.and.software.are.not.yet.in.the.commodity.stage..This.means.that.the.acquisition.
of.RFID.hardware.and.software.may.require.the.project.manager.to.obtain.tags.or.other.compo- nents.from.either.the.manufacturer.or.a.distributor..As.can.be.imagined,.the.supply.chain.for.these.
RFID.items.themselves.may.be.in.need.of.attention..Significant.project.time.may.be.hidden.in.the.
delivery.times.of.RFID.hardware.and.software..By.being.willing.to.incur.significantly.higher.ship- ment.costs,.the.RFID.project.manager.may.compress.or.crash.the.time.associated.with.the.acquisi- tion.of.hardware.and.software..One.of.the.few.advantages.of.compressing.the.RFID.project.from.
this.perspective.is.that.there.are.no.additional.internal.resource.costs.to.expediting.the.shipment.of.
hardware.and.software.
11.9.2 compRessIngthe testIngof RfId tAgs
The.testing.of.RFID.tags.is.perhaps.the.most.easily.compressed.or.crashed.tasks.that.the.RFID.proj- ect.manager.will.encounter..Here,.it.is.a.simple.matter.of.laying.on.the.necessary.resources.to.assist.
the.original.technicians.and.engineers..Unlike.the.more.complicated.processes.of.installing.RFID.
hardware.and.software.described.next,.fewer.resource.problems.are.likely.to.arise..Compressing.the.
testing.of.tags.is.also.beneficial.for.the.entire.project.as.the.need.for.additional.or.different.tags.is.
identified.earlier.
11.9.3 compRessIngthe InstALLAtIonof hARdwAReAnd softwARe
Compressing.the.installation.of.hardware.and.software.will.necessitate.either.an.increase.in.inter- nal.or.external.resources..Since.these.processes.will.take.a.fixed.number.of.man.hours,.the.RFID.
project.manager.can.either.allocate.additional.internal.technical.and.engineering.support.or.acquire.
additional.outside.resources..While.this.approach.may.seem.initially.attractive.to.the.RFID.proj- ect.manager,.the.concept.of.the.“mythical.man.month”.must.be.considered..This.concept.revolves.
around.the.phenomenon.that.adding.a.particular.percentage.of.additional.workers.does.not.neces- sarily.translate.into.that.much.more.productivity..The.reason.behind.this.is.that.a.significant.amount.
of.the.original.workforce.may.be.needed.to.bring.the.new.team.members.up.to.speed.and.the.new.
team.members.themselves.may.not.necessarily.have.the.required.training.to.become.immediately.
productive.
11.9.4 RfId pRoject tAsks thAt cAnnotoR shouLd not Be compRessed
An.RFID.implementation.project.task.should.never.be.compressed.or.crashed.when.there.is.a.sig- nificant. possibility. that. it.or. a. related. task. would. compromise. the. technical. performance. of. the.
project..Typical.RFID.project.tasks.that.should.not.be.compressed.are
•. Hardware.and.software.selection
•. Pilot.testing
11.9.4.1 Hardware and Software Selection
The.RFID.project.manager.should.avoid.compressing.the.hardware.and.software.selection.process..
This.is.primarily.due.to.the.fact.that.the.success.or.failure.of.the.project.may.ride.on.correct.deci- sions.with.respect.to.the.specifications.and.suitability.of.the.hardware.and.software..Making.bad.
decisions.at.this.point.could.easily.result.in.problems.that.are.not.identifiable.until.much.further.
into.the.project..At.that.point,.it.may.be.impossible.to.take.corrective.action.and.still.successfully.
complete.the.project.with.respect.to.time,.cost,.and.technical.performance..A.typical.example.would.
be.deciding.to.acquire.a.system.that.is.not.capable.of.functioning.properly.with.a.specific.type.of.
product.due.to.radio.frequency.transmission.issues..By.the.time.this.is.realized.in.a.pilot.implemen- tation,.the.project.manager.has.already.configured.the.pilot.system..Thus,.a.bad.decision.made.dur- ing.the.hardware.and.software.selection.process.could.easily.send.the.project.back.to.the.beginning.
11.9.4.2 Avoid Compressing Pilot Testing
The.RFID.project.manager.may.decide.that.it.would.be.beneficial.to.conduct.a.pilot.test.implemen- tation.prior.to.wide.operational.deployment..If.this.is.the.case,.the.RFID.project.manager.should.
attempt.to.avoid.compressing.or.crashing.the.pilot.implementation..The.original.purpose.of.the.pilot.
implementation.is.likely.to.learn.from.equipment.acquisition,.installation,.and.startup.mistakes.
prior.to.full.implementation..If.sufficient.time.is.not.allowed.to.permit.this.process.to.be.performed,.
the. full-scale. implementation. may. be. put. in. danger.. This. would. essentially. be. the. same. as. not.
having. a. pilot. implementation. to. begin. with.. There. are. probably. few. cases. in. recorded. history.
where.a.full-scale.implementation.was.more.rapidly.and.effectively.debugged.than.a.smaller.pilot.
implementation.
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