An engineering firm would like to increase its return on five potential new engineering and development projects, as shown in the accompanying project information and model, but the project manager knows that this will require more cash and/or personnel. Conduct a what-if analysis of the optimal solution as the cash limitation varies from $150,000 to $230,000 in increments of $20,000, and the personnel limitation varies from 12 to 16. Summarize the returns for these solutions in the form of a heat map. Identify the solutions that represent the lowest amount of resources required to achieve each distinct return value. Write a short memo to the project manager explaining the best options and trade-offs that must be made to increase the returns.

Engineering project data and model G Available Resources A B D E F 1 Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4 Project 5 2 Expected Return (NPV) $180,000 220,000 $150,000 $140,000 $200,000 3 Cash Requirements $55,000 $83,000 $24,000 $49,000 $61,000 4 Personnel Requirements 5 3 2 5 3 5 6 Project Selection Decisions 0 0 0 0 0 7 Return 8 Cash Used 9 Personnel Used