Whitbread World Sailboat Race

Project Plan for Whitbread World Sailboat Race The following paper analyzes the Whitbread World Sailboat Race case scenario presented at the end of chapter 9 in the Gray and Larson text, Project Management: the Managerial Process. The project encompasses two main objectives; one, design, build and test a new vessel, and two, select and train a crew capable of winning the race. Both objectives must be completed within 45 weeks, the start of the race, and with a planned budget of $3.2 million. Initial projections show that the current schedule will take 50 weeks to finish with a final budget estimate of $3.152 million. Although the project estimate comes in under budget, the time frame for completion extends beyond the acceptable 45 weeks. Therefore, the following discussion takes a closer look at the project 's conditions by developing a project priority matrix, project network, and a Gantt chart to help Bjorn Ericksen and his team reduce the project duration. The author then offers a project closure approach. Bjorn Ericksen Project Strategy Analysis
Bjorn Ericksen was chosen as the project manager because of his past experience as a master helmsman and because of his recent fame as the "best designer of racing sailboats in the world" (Gray & Larson, 2006). Bjorn has designated Karin Knutsen to be his chief design engineer and Trygve Wallvik as his master helmsman. The two will also be acting team leaders responsible for getting their sailing vessel ready for the traditional parade of entries on the Thames River in the United Kingdom, which signals the beginning of the race.
Karin and Trygve both have a thorough handle on the sequence of events, and costs required to design, construct and test the vessel, as well as selecting, hiring and training the crew. Their project plan includes developing both normal and crash costs and durations, a project priority matrix to facilitate the decision making process, and a project network that will show the