1. project management 298
Thomas Johnson is a timber and Christmas tree farmer who attended a project management
class last year during his off-season. When the subject of earned value (EV) came up in class,
Thomas wondered if he was utilizing the concept properly. In mid-October, Thomas hires
and trains crews who work to shear fields of Christmas trees for the upcoming holiday
season. In this practice, each worker uses a large machete to shear the branches of the tree
into a cone shape tree, which is the desire of most customers. Thomas operates his business
per the following:He counts the number of Christmas trees in the field, which is
approximately 24,000.He agrees with customer Tom Jones to a $30,000 lump sum contract
for shearing all trees in the field.He receives a partial payment about 5 days after starting
the project. He then estimates the actual number of sheared trees to be approximately
6,000. The actual number of trees is taken as a percent of the total to be sheared, multiplied
by the percent completed by total contract amount for the partial payment [(6,000/24,000
total trees = 25% of trees trimmed), (.25 * $30,000 total payment = 5 days payment of
$7,500)].Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that thoroughly answers the following
questions based on the case study:Is Thomas over, on, or below schedule? Explain.Is
Thomas using earned value as he was taught in his project management course?
Explain.What can Thomas do to set up a schedule and cost variance?What method do you
suggest for Thomas to use for any changes in project scope, such as the shape of the tree
that Tom wants?It appears Thomas is using the traditional method of project management.
How can he accelerate the completion of this project that he has contracted for using the
Agile methodology?Analyze Thomas’s project performance on this project, assuming the
original quote given to the customer was an estimate.Format your paper consistent with
APA guidelines.