Monitoring Process

In order to ensure all aspects of the project run as smoothly as they can, tight control on both budget and human resources must be applied. All tasks should be finished on time according to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Furthermore, there are some tasks without slack and therefore must be finished within schedule. Otherwise, the entire project would be delay as a result. These tasks are the critical tasks of NiteOwl and the critical path is shown in the previous section.

It is the assistant project manager's ( APM ) responsibility to monitor the project progress and ensure all tasks are finished on time, especially the critical tasks. The APM is also required to work closely with the PI. In case of any time or cost overruns during the project, it would the APM 's job to report the situation and the PI's job, in conjunction with the science team and SCI - TEC , to decide on what action to undertake in order to resolve the situation.

Critical Path

The critical path is determined as a tool for project monitoring in terms of time and cost control. According to the critical path, NiteOwl would start as of April 8, 1997 and span over a period of just under two years, 474 working days to be exact. At this point in time, detailed elements can only be determined with confidence in Phase A and Phase B. Tasks involved in Phase C and Phase D can not be broken down any further since adequate information has not been provided from sub-contractors such as Bristol Aerospace Ltd. ( BAL ). See the critical path diagram in Appendix D.