In project planning, no project begins with complete certainty. If project planners chose to wait for total certainty, projects would never kick off. In the process of planning a project, some aspects are known while others are assumed that they will adopt a behavioral pattern that favors the project during and after implementation. The S.T.E.A.M Action project is not an exception from this project planning reality. In the project plan, several assumptions touching various parts of the project have been made.
The first set of assumptions touch on the project’s materials. The learning centers seek to holistically encourage student learning that employs cutting edge cyber-learning technologies and modern equipment to make learning experiences easy and fun. It has been assumed that technologies and learning equipment that will achieve the objective of making learning fun will be available. What if the available technologies and materials will be a replica of what most of the students have used before? This means that they will not be thrilled by the project’s technologies and materials. It is assumed that the materials will be new to the students. Site is a very important material for the project. It has been assumed that in acquiring suitable sites for the project, local communities will buy into EPA’s land revitalization initiatives. Assumptions regarding material scarcity and availability have been made in the plan. It is assumed that eco-friendly materials and solar roof panels that produce enough energy to run the buildings for 5 years will be available.
Assumptions on labor issues like availability of labor and worker’s strikes have also been made in the project plan. During its first year, the S.T.E.A.M Action project will be supported by a project management group comprised of graduate students. An assumption has been made that the graduate students will support the organization in its first year of operation. It has been assumed that they won’t ask for wages and they will not go on strike demanding compensation for their services. In the projects HR plans, the individuals who will hold top positions have not been given job related trainings. They are members of the founding team but it is not certain that they possess the relevant managerial skills to run the organization. An assumption has been made that they have the necessary managerial skills to run the organization.
Works cited:
Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2013. Internet resource.
Westland, Jason. The Project Management Life Cycle: A Complete Step-by-Step Methodology for Initiating, Planning, Executing & Closing a Project Successfully. London [u.a.]: Kogan Page, 2007. Print.
Roberts, Paul. Guide to Project Management: Getting It Right and Achieving Lasting Benefit. , 2013. Print.
Meredith, Jack R, and Samuel J. Mantel. Project Management: A Managerial Approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. Print.
