INPUT ARTICLE: Article: To take advantage of the power of Earned Value Analysis, your schedule must define when each project task should be done and how much each task should cost. Begin by creating a space to fill out a project schedule, either on paper or in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. List the tasks required to complete the project. All tasks should be included. Identify the resources required to perform each task. Include labor and materials. For example, imagine that a security company is bidding on a government contract. This requires two separate tasks: compiling and writing the bid document, and checking it for compliance with government standards. These two tasks would be listed separately, along with the employees (resources) and any other equipment needed to complete them. Generally, this will be an amount of hours needed to complete the task, separated by resource (by employee in the example). For our example, the first task requires 20 hours of Employee A's time, and the second requires 30 hours of Employee B's time. Each employee only works on one task in this case. This can be hourly wages for employees or the cost of running necessary machinery or equipment for a given amount of time. For our example, Employee A earn $25 per hour but Employee B earns $50 per hour. You'll need to perform some basic math for this step. Multiply the hourly rate for each required labor resource by the number of hours required. Total this product for all required labor resources. Calculate the total cost of materials required to complete the task. Add any additional costs for such items as equipment rental, insurance, transportation, government fees, etc. The total is the budgeted cost for the task. For example, imagine that the expected cost of completing the security contract bid is the cost of the employees' wages and materials used plus a government submission fee. Multiply and add the wage rates of each employee by the number of hours each one works. In this case, this is $500 for employee A ($25/hr * 20 hours) and $1500 for employee B ($50/hr * 30 hours). In addition, you estimate that the employees will use $200 worth of materials over the course of the project and there is a one time, $300 government submission fee paid at the end. When split into separate tasks, this means that the cost for the first task, completed by employee A, will be $750 ($500 wage to employee A and half of both the cost of supplies and the government fee). The cost of second task will be the cost of employee B's wages plus the other half of the projected materials cost and the government fee, so $1750 ($1500+$100+$150). This is the elapsed time to complete the task, not the amount of labor (applied time) needed to complete the task. In the example, employees A and B are working on other tasks at the same time as this project is being completed. You estimate that the total length of time required will be two weeks (10 business days). The prerequisites are the tasks that must be completed before the given task can be started. For example, one task that will have to be done before employee A can begin compiling a bid document is to analyze the government contract offer and come up with a list of what is required in the company's submission. Use project scheduling software or manually determine start and finish dates for each task. Spreadsheet software is often used for small projects. For example, the security company would create a start and end date for the government contract project that allows for the expected two week timeframe. This allows, for simplicity, one week for the first task and one for the second.

SUMMARY: Prepare a project schedule. Determine the amount of each resource that will be required for each task. Ascertain the unit cost for each resource which, for labor, will be an hourly rate. Determine the expected cost to perform each task. Estimate the length of time each task will take. Identify the prerequisites for each task. Schedule your project and tasks.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you are from the United States and traveling in the United Kingdom, bring along an unlocked phone that allows SIM cards to be inputted from other providers. A SIM card is a small information chip that you can purchase from a mobile provider while abroad. Ensure that the cell phone you want to bring to the UK is a GSM phone (global cellular technology used by most of the world) and it's unlocked, meaning that it doesn't have a restriction on being used with other providers. AT&T and T-Mobile carry GSM phones which are typically unlocked. Look for a UK mobile provider that carries a SIM card that will fit in your phone. Most mobile phones have a standard SIM card size, but iPhones and other newer smartphones use special micro or nano SIM card sizes. You can set up an international calling plan through your current U.S. phone carrier, but note that these plans are typically very expensive. Whether you choose an international call plan or the SIM card route, make sure to call your U.S. provider to change or suspend your service and ask any questions you may have before traveling to the UK. Choose to buy a mobile phone in the UK if you can't or don't want to bring your own from the U.S., as it is frequently simpler and cheaper. Buy an inexpensive phone for a short stay in the UK, and purchase a pay-as-you-go SIM card plan to make international calls. Check the pricing on the plan to make sure you know what the rates are for international calls. Check the data usage rates on a smartphone if you plan to use it for internet calling apps. Most pay-as-you-go SIM card plans for mobile phones in the UK come with a small amount of prepaid minutes for calls, and then you can "top up" with more minutes over the phone or at a kiosk for the network provider. The major mobile phone networks in the UK are Vodafone, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, O2, and Orange. Shops like Car Phone Warehouse and Phones4U sell inexpensive phones from several different networks. Call the U.S. from a UK landline phone if you wish. Check with the landline service provider to find out the rates for international calls, or purchase a calling card to lower the rates for calls to the U.S. Purchase an international calling card from grocery stores, post offices, or phone shops in the UK to reduce the cost of frequent international calls. Generic international calling cards can usually be used with either landlines or mobile phones. To use an international calling card, you typically will dial an access number found on the back of the card, then a unique PIN number, and finally the phone number you wish to dial.

SUMMARY:
Bring a cell phone from the U.S. Buy a mobile phone in the UK. Call from a landline.