YANKEE CHAIR

COMPANY
Presented by: VISHAL SINGH (2K21/BMBA/25)
ABHIJEET VADHERA (2K22/BMBA/01)
  INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE

IN THIS CASE STUDY, WE DELVE INTO THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE YANKEE CHAIR COMPANY
IN INTRODUCING A NEW ROCKING CHAIR MODEL TO THE MARKET. LED BY PRESIDENT BRET
RICKS, THE COMPANY SEEKS TO OVERCOME PAST FAILURES IN PRODUCT LAUNCHES BY
IMPLEMENTING A ROBUST PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH .
  KEY PLAYERS

1. BRET RICKS - PRESIDENT OF YANKEE

CHAIR COMPANY
2. JAN DYMORE - LOCAL CONSULTANT
HIRED TO MANAGE THE PROJECT
3. TOM GORT - YANKEE CHAIR MANAGER
ASSIGNED TO WORK WITH DYMORE
  OVERVIEW

YANKEE CHAIR COMPANY'S PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT

INTRODUCING NEW MODELS HAD BEEN MET WITH
FRUSTRATION. DETERMINED TO AVOID REPEATING
PAST MISTAKES, RICKS ENTRUSTS THE PROJECT TO
CONSULTANT JAN DYMORE AND MANAGER TOM GORT.
DYMORE INTRODUCES A PERT (PROGRAM EVALUATION
AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE) NETWORK TO STREAMLINE
PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
  CRITICAL EVENTS

- DYMORE'S DEPARTURE: DESPITE INITIAL ENTHUSIASM FOR THE PERT APPROACH, DYMORE'S
CRITICAL REMARKS ABOUT THE PRODUCT DESIGN LEAD TO HER REMOVAL FROM THE PROJECT.
- GORT'S DILEMMA: TASKED WITH CONTINUING THE PERT APPROACH ALONE, GORT GRAPPLES
WITH THE COMPLEXITIES OF PROJECT ESTIMATION AND VARIANCE CALCULATION.
 WHAT IS PERT METHODLOGY ?
- IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT, THE PROJECT
EVALUATION REVIEW TECHNIQUE, OR PERT, IS USED
TO IDENTIFY THE TIME IT TAKES TO FINISH A
PARTICULAR TASK OR ACTIVITY

- IT WAS DEVELOPED BY THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN

THE 1950S TO FOR THEIR BALLISTIC MISSILE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

- PERT CHARTS VISUALLY REPRESENT PROJECT

TASKS, THEIR DEPENDENCIES, AND THE ESTIMATED
TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE EACH TASK.

- PERT EMPLOYS THREE TIME ESTIMATES FOR EACH

TASK: OPTIMISTIC (O), PESSIMISTIC (P), AND MOST
LIKELY (M)
 PERT Part A : Dymore and Gort

CRITICAL PATH– IT IDENTIFIES THE LONGEST PATH

THROUGH A PROJECT'S NETWORK DIAGRAM, WHERE
ANY DELAY IN COMPLETING TASKS ALONG THIS PATH
DIRECTLY IMPACTS THE PROJECT'S OVERALL
DURATION.

ACTIVITIES ON THE CRITICAL PATH HAVE ZERO

SLACK OR FLOAT, MEANING THEY MUST BE
COMPLETED ON TIME TO ENSURE THE PROJECT
STAYS ON SCHEDULE

CRITICAL PATH ACTIVITY– REFERS TO AN ACTIVITY

WITHOUT ANY SLACK
- PERT HELPS IN IDENTIFYING THE CRITICAL PATH,
WHICH IS THE SEQUENCE OF TASKS THAT DETERMINES
THE MINIMUM TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE
PROJECT.
- BY ANALYZING THE CRITICAL PATH, PROJECT
MANAGERS CAN ALLOCATE RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY
AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL BOTTLENECKS.
- PERT METHODOLOGY ALLOWS FOR BETTER PROJECT
PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND RISK MANAGEMENT,
LEADING TO IMPROVED PROJECT OUTCOMES
PERT includes statistical analysis.

The 3 points of the estimate are as below:

Optimistic estimate – Estimate when all favorable things will

happen (all opportunities happen and no threats take place)
Pessimistic estimate – Estimate when all unfavorable conditions
happen (all threats happen and no opportunities take place)
Most Likely estimate – Estimate when both favorable and
unfavorable conditions will happen
 Importance of Considering Variance in PERT

PERT ALLOWS APPLYING STATISTICAL CONCEPTS TO STUDY

THE PROBABILITIES OF COMPLETING THE TASKS IN A
PARTICULAR ESTIMATE RANGE.

ASSUMING THAT THE MEAN IS EXACTLY IN THE MIDDLE, AND

ASSUMING THE ACTUAL ESTIMATES WILL FOLLOW A NORMAL
DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE EXTREME RANGE OF OPTIMISTIC
AND PESSIMISTIC ESTIMATES, WE CAN PREDICT THE
FOLLOWING PROBABILITIES OF COMPLETING THE TASK IN A
CERTAIN RANGE OF TIME AS BELOW:

MEAN +/- 1 STANDARD DEVIATION RANGE – PROBABILITY IS

68.4%
MEAN +/- 2 STANDARD DEVIATION RANGE – PROBABILITY IS
95.5%
  QUESTION 1

“WILL GORT’S APPROACH WORK? HOW MUCH MORE OF

A GAMBLE IS GORT TAKING THAN ANY PROJECT
MANAGER NORMALLY TAKES? WHAT SHOULD GORT
WATCH OUT FOR?”
  ANSWER

GORT'S APPROACH OF FOCUSING SOLELY ON THE CRITICAL PATH ACTIVITIES AND IGNORING VARIANCE ISSUES IS RISKY. WHILE IT MIGHT HELP HIM
STAY ON SCHEDULE, IT OVERLOOKS POTENTIAL DELAYS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN NON-CRITICAL PATH ACTIVITIES. GORT IS TAKING A SIGNIFICANT
GAMBLE BY DISREGARDING VARIANCE ISSUES, AS IT COULD LEAD TO UNEXPECTED DELAYS AND JEOPARDIZE THE PROJECT'S SUCCESS.

COMPARED TO A TYPICAL PROJECT MANAGER, GORT'S APPROACH IS RISKIER BECAUSE HE IS INTENTIONALLY NEGLECTING IMPORTANT FACTORS
THAT COULD IMPACT THE PROJECT'S TIMELINE. HE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT HIS DECISION INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF UNFORESEEN
COMPLICATIONS AND MAY ULTIMATELY RESULT IN FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINES.
  Gort should watch out for:

 1. Overlooking dependencies: Ignoring non-critical path activities may lead to

underestimating their impact on the project's overall timeline.
 2. Lack of flexibility: By not considering variance, Gort may struggle to adapt to
changes or delays in activities, potentially causing schedule disruptions.
 3. Communication issues: Failure to accurately assess and communicate potential
risks associated with his approach to stakeholders could lead to misunderstandings
and dissatisfaction.
 4. Limited problem-solving ability: If unexpected issues arise in non-critical path
activities, Gort may struggle to effectively address them without proper planning and
consideration of variances.