Module 2 – Case
PROJECT PLANNING
Case Assignment
The biggest challenge facing the Manhattan Project was the
production of weapons-grade uranium.
There are two types, or isotopes, of uranium, U-235 and U-238, which
differ only in the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The first isotope, which is only 0.72% of
naturally occurring uranium, can sustain a fast fission chain reaction; i.e., a nuclear explosion. The second isotope cannot.
U-235 and U-238 are
chemically identical; a chemical
compound made with U-235 is indistinguishable from one made with U-238. The two isotopes have the same melting and
boiling points. This similarity means that conventional refining methods cannot
separate them. Rather, they have to be
separated atom by atom, taking advantage of the 1% difference in nuclear
mass. There are several techniques, but
all require a massive amount of energy.
They are –
Electromagnetic separation
Centrifugal separation (In the news: Search the Web for
“Iran nuclear program.”)
Gaseous diffusion
Thermal diffusion
The first planning challenge facing the Project was to
determine the best way of purifying the uranium, which they solved in a unique,
cost-is-no-object fashion.
Q1: What did they do?
As the program continued, the advantages and disadvantages
of the various techniques became clear.
Q2: What were the
advantages and disadvantages of each?
List and discuss.
Near the end of the program, some of the purification
techniques were combined, and some were eliminated.
Q3: Explain.
Obviously, the sort of brute-force approach applied to the
Manhattan Project, by a rich nation involved in a total war, isn’t the sort of
approach one would recommend to a private company developing (say) a new
phone. Just the same —
Q4: What, if any,
lessons are there for a company working on the cutting edge of science and
technology?
Assignment Expectations
Integrate your answers to the above questions into a
well-constructed essay. Feel free to
use tables and bulleted lists, if appropriate.
The readings do not provide specific answers to every
question. You will need to “fill in the
gaps,” using your understanding of the Project’s history, plus the Background
Information.
Style and format must comply with the Writing Style
Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and
style will be penalized.
Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is
encouraged, but not required.
There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write,
neither more nor less.
Module 2 – SLP
PROJECT PLANNING
Continue to read the Woody 2000 case. (Wideman, 2015) case,
paying particular attention to Planning, and Design. Then, address the following questions in a
short essay. (These are found at the end
of the Case.)
1. Project Planning
a.
What should be included in a Woody 2000 project plan? What
use would it be?
b.
Evaluate Woody’s plans for managing the project, including
their approach to contracting for professional services and construction work.
What would you have done and would that change for successive phases of the
project?
c.
Did the project plan explain how the project and any changes
would be controlled? Should this be part of the plan? Give reasons.
2. Quality
a.
How should quality be approached, and what does it mean?
b.
Why did Leadbetter not invoke the specifications to ensure
quality? What was the result?
c.
What is the importance of Quality to a project like this?
3. Planning and Scheduling
a.
Identify and describe a set of project schedule milestones
from project concept to project completion.
b.
Illustrate your milestones on a simple bar chart scaled to
the information provided in the Case Study.
c.
Would a good baseline plan have helped to show that the
project would not meet its schedule? If so, how?
d.
How should float on the critical path have been managed?
Would this have helped to complete on time?
4. Cost Estimating
a.
Develop a high-level estimate by “guesstimation”.
b.
How should the estimate be presented?
c.
Is life-cycle costing a factor on this project?
d.
Cashman kept his cash flow chart a secret. Why, and what
would you have done?
5. Contracting for Engineering and Construction Services
a.
What were the contracting alternatives open to Woody’s?
Which would have been best and what would that have involved?
b.
How should the contract(s) be organized and tendered?
c.
How should they be administered?
d.
Were the original Woody 2000 project requirements delivered?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Don’t write in checklist form. Integrate your answers to the above questions
into a well-constructed essay.
The Case does not provide specific answers to every
question. You will need to “fill in the
gaps,” using your understanding of the Case, and the Background Information.
Style and format must comply with the Writing Style
Guide. ( TUI Guide, n.d.)
This is not an English course; however, errors in spelling, grammar and
style will be penalized.
Provide citations and references. Use of APA style (Writing Guide) is
encouraged, but not required.
There is no page requirement. Write what you need to write,
neither more nor less.
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