Read the following case study and answer the questions in the spaces following the questions below. The following text is the same as what was distributed earlier. Disneys Expedition Everest One of the newest thrill rides to open in the Walt Disney World Resort may just be the most impressive. As Disney approached its 50th anniversary, the company wanted to celebrate in a truly special way. What was its idea? Create a park attraction that would in many ways serve as the link between Disneys amazing past and its promising future. Disney showed that it was ready to pull out all stops in order to get everything just right. In 2006, The Walt Disney Company introduced Expedition Everest in Disneys Animal Kingdom Park at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Expedition Everest is more than just a roller coaster. It is the embodiment of the Disney spirit: a ride that combines Disneys trademark thrills, unexpected twists and turns, incredible attention to detail, and impressive project management skills. First, lets consider some of the technical details of Expedition Everest: With a peak of just under 200 feet, the ride is contained within the tallest of 18 mountains created by Disneys Imagineers at Disney parks worldwide. The ride contains nearly a mile of track, with twists, tight turns, and sudden drops. The Disney team created a Yeti: an enormous, furcovered, AudioAnimatronics monster powered by a set of hydraulic cylinders whose combined thrust equals that of a Boeing 747 airliner. Through a series of sketches, computeranimated drawings, sculptures, and tests that took more than two years to perfect, Disney created and programmed its Abominable Snowman to stand over 10 feet tall and serve as the focal point of the ride. More than 900 bamboo plants, 10 species of trees, and 110 species of shrubs were planted to recreate the feeling of the Himalayan lowlands surrounding Mount Everest. More than 1,800 tons of steel were used to construct the mountain. The covering of the framework was done using more than 3,000 prefabricated chips created from 25,000 individual computermolded pieces of steel. To create the proper color schemes, 2,000 gallons of stain and paint were used on rockwork and throughout the village Disney designed to serve as a backdrop for the ride. More than 2,000 handcrafted items from Asia are used as props, cabinetry, and architectural ornamentation. Building an attraction does not come easily or quickly for Disneys Imagineers. Expedition Everest was several years in development while Disney sent teams, including Walt Disney Imagineerings Creative Executive Joe Rohde, on repeated trips to the Himalayas in Nepal to study the lands, architecture, colors, ecology, and culture in order to create the most authentic setting for the new attraction. Disneys efforts reflect a desire to do much more than provide a worldclass ride experience; they demonstrate the Imagineers eagerness to tell a storya story that combines the mythology of the Yeti figure with the unique history of the Nepalese living in the shadow of the worlds tallest mountain. Ultimately the attraction, with all its background and thematic elements, took nearly five years to complete. Algonquin College MGT4104: Project Management Fundamentals Midterm Exam Page 3 of 6 Riders on Expedition Everest gain a real feel for the atmosphere that Disney has worked so hard to create. The guests adventure starts by entering the building of the Himalayan Escape tour company, complete with Norbu and Bobs booking office, to obtain permits for their trip. Overhead flutter authentic prayer flags from monasteries in Nepal. Next, guests pass through Tashis General Store and Bar to stock up on supplies for their journey to the peak of the mountain. Finally, guests pass through an old tea warehouse that contains a remarkable museum of artifacts reflecting Nepals culture, a history of the Himalayas, and tales of the Yeti, which is said to inhabit the slopes of Mount Everest. It is only now that guests are permitted to board the Anandapur Rail Service for their trip to the peak. Each train is modeled after an aging steamengine train, seating 34 guests per train. Over the next several minutes, guests are transported up the roller coaster track, through a series of winding turns, until their encounter with the Yeti. At this point another unique feature of the attraction emerges: The train begins rushing backward down the track, as though it were out of control. Through the balance of the ride, guests experience a landscape of sights and sounds culminating in a 50 mph final dash down the mountain and back to the safety of the Nepalese village. Disneys approach to the management of projects such as Expedition Everest is to combine careful planning, including schedule and budget preparation, with the imagination and vision for which the company is so well known. Creativity is a critical element in the development of new projects at Disney. The companys Imagineers include some of the most skilled artists and computeranimation experts in the world. Although it is easy to be impressed by the technical knowledge of Disneys personnel, it is important to remember that each new project is approached with an understanding of the companys underlying business and attention to market projections, cost control, and careful project management discipline. New attraction proposals are carefully screened and researched. The result is the creation of some of the most innovative and enjoyable rides in the world. Disney does not add new attractions to its theme parks frequently, but when it does, it does so with style! Algonquin College MGT4104: Project Management Fundamentals Midterm Exam Page 4 of 6 Reference Jeffrey K. Pinto. (2018). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage (5th Edition) [Texidium version]. Retrieved from http://texidium.com Case Study Questions Please answer the questions below in the space following the question. You may take as much space as you require to comprehensively answer all parts of the question. Do not delete the question. Questions will be graded as follows. Questions worth 2 points: Grade Description 2 Demonstrates complete understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is logical, thorough and free of grammatical/language errors. 1.5 Demonstrates good understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is mostly logical, covers a significant amount of the theory/concepts asked, and is significantly free of grammatical/language errors. 1 Demonstrates a limited understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is partially logical, and/or has several grammatical/language errors. .5 Demonstrates a lack of understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is not logical or incomplete. There are significant grammatical and/or language errors. 0 No response. Question not attempted or completely incorrect. Questions worth 4 points: Grade Description 4 Demonstrates complete understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is logical, thorough and free of grammatical/language errors. 3 Demonstrates good understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is mostly logical, covers a significant amount of the theory/concepts asked, and is significantly free of grammatical/language errors. 2 Demonstrates a limited understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is partially logical, and/or has several grammatical/language errors. 1 Demonstrates a lack of understanding of the problem/theory required. Answer is not logical or incomplete. There are significant grammatical and/or language errors. 0 No response. Question not attempted or completely incorrect. Question #1: Explain the triple constraint theory. Based on the information provided in the case study, which variables do you think are fixed and which are more variable/negotiable. Substantiate your response. (2 points) Question #2: Describe the organizational influences that you would need to take into consideration if you were managing this project? Provide supporting information that was learned from the PMBOK, class discussion and jigsaw exercise. (2 points) Question #3: If you were managing this project, what characteristics would you need to demonstrate as a project manager in order to maximize your chances of being successful? (2 points) Algonquin College MGT4104: Project Management Fundamentals Midterm Exam Page 5 of 6 Question #4: One of the foundational elements of a project is the fact that projects create business value for organizations. Describe the factors that you think influenced the initiation of the Expedition Everest ride project and describe what business value is expected upon its completion. (2 points) Question #5: Imagine that you were hired as the project manager of the Disney Expedition Everest project and it is your first day on the job. Describe what steps you would take first. (2 points) Question #6: Expedition Everest was a multiyear and multimillion dollar initiative. Describe, using specific knowledge areas and processes covered in the PMBOK Guide and in the course materials, what would be involved in the initiating a project such as this? (2 points) Question #7: Imagine that you are drafting a project charter for this project. Using information from the case study, complete the following sections of the project charter: (4 points) Project Description High Level Requirements Stakeholders and Role/Responsibilities Question #8: Using the following task list, calculate the critical path of the Disney Expedition Everest project. Show your work by providing your network diagram. You may use a drawing application to produce your network diagram, draw it on paper and paste a photo of your drawing here, or use PowerPoint or Visio. Ensure that you explicitly state the critical path of your project and show your work. (4 points) Task ID Task Duration Predecessor 1 Plan Expedition Everest project 10 months 2 Research Nepal Environment and Artifacts 8 months 1 3 Design Mountain 6 months 1 4 Design Roller Coaster 10 months 3 5 Design Yeti 8 months 4 6 Design Village 4 months 2 7 Approve Design 1 month 3, 4, 5, 6 8 Construct Mountain 14 months 7 9 Construct Roller Coaster 12 months 8 10 Construct Yeti 12 months 9 Algonquin College MGT4104: Project Management Fundamentals Midterm Exam Page 6 of 6 Task ID Task Duration Predecessor 11 Construct Village 6 months 8 12 Inspect Ride 1 month 8, 9, 10, 11 13 Test Ride 3 months 12 14 Advertise Opening of Expedition Everest 6 months 7 15 Open Ride 0 months 13, 14