Please complete the following: Excel Spreadsheet and 3 page essay with APA citations.

Required

Chapter 1, Section 1.1, 1.14; Chapter 11 in Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling
Part 1: Chapters 1, 3, & 5 in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)

Recommended

Chapters 3 & 7 in Fundamentals of Project Management (5th ed.)
Andersen, E. A. (2016). Do project managers have different perspectives on project management? International Journal of Project Management, 34(1), 58-65.
Maqbool, R., Ye, S., Manzoor, N., & Rashid, Y. (2017). The impact of emotional intelligence, project managers’ competencies, and transformational leadership on project success: An empirical perspective. Project Management Journal, 48(3), 58-75.
Project Management Institute. (2018). Ready for tomorrow? Retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/learning/careers/ready-for-tomorrow
Tesfaye, E., Lemma, T., Berhan, E., & Beshah, B. (2017). Key project planning processes affecting project success. International Journal for Quality Research, 11(1), 159-172. Retrieved from http://www.ijqr.net/journal/v11-n1/10.pdf
References

Chandoo.d. (2009, Nov.).
Gantt chart planned vs. actual [Image file]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 Project Management Institute [PMI]. (2017).
A guide to the project management body of knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: PMI Publications

Module 2: Critical Thinking

Points 90
Submitting a file upload

Critical Thinking Assignment (90 Points)

Important! Read First

Choose one of the following two assignments to complete this week. Do not do both assignments. Identify your assignment choice in the title of your submission.

Option #1: Cost Duration Analysis

Download and examine the cost-duration table from the link provided in the module. Using the critical path method (CPM), first identify the critical path. Given the critical path, then find three tasks that should be crashed by inserting an X mark in the “Tasks to Crash” column. You need to identify these three tasks by accounting for the critical activities, and based on the low “Cost for Each Day Crashed” values. This value has already been calculated in the attached table for three tasks. You will need to determine this value for the remaining tasks for your analysis.

Use the following outline for section headings:

Identified Tasks
Steps Taken to Identify Tasks
Other Recommendations for Shortening Schedule Duration

You will have two files to submit for your assignment. First, you must submit your completed table with all values filled in and marking which tasks you are going to crash. Second, you will submit a 1-to-2-page paper discussing the items in the bulleted list above in a well-written format and in conformity with the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA (Links to an external site.) for style and writing expectations. Include a title page and a reference page that includes at least two outside references (in addition to your textbook) to support your analysis.

Option #2: Schedule Chart Analysis

Download and examine the project task list from the link provided in the module. Based on this task list, you will create a PERT chart and write a paper that discusses the following:

Identify which set of tasks create the critical path.
Determine which task would be best to crash to reduce the critical path.
Determine if there is a change to the critical path by crashing the task. Is there a new critical path?
What other information would be beneficial to know to see if the selected task was the best option for crashing?

Your paper should be 2-to-3-pages, well written and in conformity with the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA (Links to an external site.)

for style and writing expectations. Your PERT chart is part of your

page requirements. Include a title page and a reference page that

includes at least two outside references (in addition to your textbook)

to support your analysi