Question 1: (20)
In the first step, initiation, several steps are needed. The first one is creating an informal document outlining the project or product. Next, a feasibility report should be completed in order to see that completion is viable (Warburton 2013). After this, a project manager and team will be assigned to the project. The project scope statement is then what is next created, and it outlines what will be done, how it will be done and why it will be done. Then, a charter is created to reflect who is in charge, the scope, and critical success factors (Warburton 2013).
The next step is planning the project (Warburton 2013). The project scope should be reviewed as should the scope statement. Project decomposition should happen shortly after this in order to breakdown who is assigned to what task. Then, an organizational breakdown structure should be assembled in order to best demonstrate the hierarchy of individuals in the project. After this, comes resource allocation. Then the project schedule is completed, as well as a budget(Warburton 2013). Risk assessments are done in order to best evaluate the risks involved in the project, and after this, a stakeholder analysis and communication plan is assembled. The project plan is finalized after this point.
In the first step, issues related to assessing feasibility can arise. Project managers may under-assess the project, and end up taking on way too much. In the second step, risk assessment may also be an issues. Organization can become a problem as well by not keeping employees properly organized, or errors being made in the hierarchy. In execution, clients may request additional features or steps in the project that the manager did not take into consideration. It is important for project managers to plan ahead (Warburton 2013).
In the first step, the project manager must make sure to plan accordingly, and double check both the feasibility report and the scope statement to make sure everything is in order. In the second step, the manager must make sure each report, schedule, and hierarchy is completed thoroughly and carefully. In the third step, efficiency is also important (Warburton 2013). The manager must make sure to carefully pay attention to each task.
Question 2: (20)
Triple constraint refers to the triangular relationship between the three most important factors to consider in the case of any project: scope, schedule and cost (Warburton 2013). These factors orbit around quality (Warburton 2013). You cannot affect one factor without that affecting another factor. These are so important because the project is dependent upon them. If these factors were not taken into consideration at all times during the completion of the project, not only could the integrity of the project be compromised, but they could all potentially have problems at the same time (scope was too narrow, schedule was too small, project was too expensive, etc;) which could cause the project to fail.
Question 3: (20)
Discuss four aspects of the difference between leadership and management,
specifically, in the context of a project manager’s role on a project.
The main difference between leaders and managers are traits. A successful project manager must be able to embody both a leader and a manager. The first difference is the styles. Managers are often transactional in regards to their style of authority. They tell an employee what to do and the employee does it. Leaders don’t have employees, rather, they have followers. Leaders lead with a transformational style, in a way that appeals to people and shows them that following will be successful. The second difference is the focus. Managers are focused at the task at hand; they emphasize focusing on work and work related tasks. Leaders are people focused. They are more focused on how people are doing and how to get them more enthusiastic about tasks at hand. Additionally, managers tend to be more focused on efficiency and less on the quality of the workplace. Leaders are concerned about working conditions and how satisfied people are. I think that project managers need to be both leaders and managers. There needs to be a proper balance in order to obtain the best possible outcome.
Question 4: (20)
Consider the following table of activities:
A, C, F, E, H
H, G, B, E
F, G, B, C
Customer,
Based upon what I was able to calculate, if we can cut down to a day each on tasks B and F, we will be able to complete this project within 15 days. There are also several other areas we could cut down on as well, including tasks C, E and H. If any combination of those activities or any one of them could be reduced by 2 days, then we will be able to meet your new expected deadline.
Question 5: (20)
Consider the project plan in the diagram below. The vertical dotted lines represent monthly project milestones. There is a major milestone shown as the triangle at the end of month 3, which is where the project is now.
The critical path is A, F, G, . (red). All modules are planned to consume $1,000 worth of labor. At the month 3 milestone, A, B, F and G have been completed on schedule. Activity C has 4 deliverables and 3 have been successfully completed.
The actual costs for the modules are A = $1,010, B = $1,160, C = $1,270, F = $990, G = $880. The total cost of the project is $10,000.
You are the project manager. Write a report to your stakeholders describing the status of the project at the end of month 3.
Here are the current details regarding this project:
Earned value: So far, at the month three milestone, this is 4,040
PV: This was 1,000 per module or 5,000
CV: 1,040
SV: -90 (90 dollars behind schedule).
CPI: 1.01 (very slightly under budget)
SPI: 0.808 (an efficiency of 80.8%)
EAC: 5,257
BAC: This was supposed to be 5,000, but ended up being 5,310.
AC: At the month three milestone, this is 4,000
Customer,
Based upon the current percentages I calculated, it appears as though we are running slightly behind, based upon our schedule performance index and our schedule variance. However, we are operating slightly under budget and we should expect the total cost of this project to come to $5,257. We also believe that we will be able to recover in order to end this project on time. This is based on us currently being under budget. Also, our efficiency could be significantly lower, and we do expect that we will be able to raise that statistic and recover.
References
Warburton, R. (2013). Art and science of project management. Place of publication not identified: Rw Press.
