Discussion and responses

 Reflect on the assigned readings for Week 1 and then type a two page paper regarding what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding.  Define and describe what you thought was worthy of your understanding in half a page, and then explain why you felt it was important, how you will use it, and/or how important it is in project management. After submitting your two page paper as an initial post in the “Reflection and Discussion Forum,” then type at least two peer replies in response to your classmates posts (200 word minimum each). 

 Initial response is due Thursday by 11:59 PM EST.

Two (2) responses to other posts are due Saturday by 11:59 PM EST.

Responses:

response 1 for Nehl Lodhi:

 

Projects is a type of temporary endeavor that will used for the creation of products, services in a unique mode. Projects are mainly focused on customers, they help to develop solution for customers problems and resolve for goal clearance. Projects will be always in a complex mode there are mainly used for processing only once in a lifetime. Projects have some limitations that may be regarding budget, schedule and resources. There will be some characteristics involved in each project, some of the regular characters that seen in most of the projects are. Projects are helping to provide a philosophy and they also maintain some strategy for changing management. They will be with ad hoc endeavors which will be working with clear life cycle(Dennis Lock, 2007). 

Projects are acting as building blocks for both designing and execution process of organization. The main advantage of project will be they act as main reason for getting new products with much more improved services and organization processes even. Management of change is possible only understanding both philosophy and strategy of project that is involved in it. Both for the software and hardware projects success rate will be very low, failure rate will be approximately 65%. Technology based projects and programs are also not getting good profit rate, they are getting almost 30% of success rate which will be very low comparatively(Joseph Phillips, 2003).  Project plays a main role in product, services improvement, it also helps to shorten life cycles of product. Launching windows is possible with the project management. Complex and technical products are increasing highly by project implementation. 

Project life cycle contains different stages involved in development of project, these will be explained into four distinct phases: conceptualization, planning, execution, termination. All these phases are very essential for project development, each phase has different working process that combinedly helps to reach their goal.   There are some criteria that need to be fulfilled by the projects to get successful IT project finally, system quality needs to be high, information should maintain high quality, user satisfaction, impact on other individuals, impact on organizations. Here we got to know important details of project that includes with execution process, project management, time period etc. to complete the project successfully(Martin Stevens, 2002). 

Reference

s:

Dennis Lock (2007) Project Management (9th ed.) Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007.

ISBN

0-566-08772-3

Joseph Phillips (2003). PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003. ISBN

0-07-223062-2

p.354.

Martin Stevens (2002). Project Management Pathways. Association for Project Management. APM Publishing Limited, 2002 ISBN

1-903494-01-X

p.xxii

Response 2 for Mounika Vasireddy:

 

The important topics that the authors discussed in chapter 1 are why project management is important and key determinants of project’s success. Every organization has strategic goals and projects helps in achieving these goals. Managing projects is a difficult task and need a deeper understanding of project planning, scheduling, tracking, and communicating results. And project management helps in aligning the project goals with the organization’s strategic goals by ensuring to deliver right things that increases the organizational value. Therefore, it is important to effectively manage projects for organizational sustainability in this highly competitive environment.

The main goal of project management is to ensure all projects are being implemented according to established project management policies and procedures, develop capabilities, and continuously improving the project outcomes through lessons learned. Project management will provide a oversight of how the projects can be handled effectively and increase value (Antonio & Ludo, 2018). Without project management, there will be no direction for the teams to work on the project because there is no defined project plan. The team members will be under lot of pressure in understanding the objectives and completing different tasks. The project will be doomed and will not meet the established deadlines and deliverables expectations. Effective project management sets the expectations and help team members focus on the goals and complete the project without any confusion or chaos. With technical advancements, many organizations started using project management software that can help tackle complex projects. My organization is currently using Clarizen, which is a project management software which helps us in documenting user requirements, organize tasks, manage resources, costs, deliverables, and controlling and monitoring project progress. At the same time, there should also be a scientific approach in managing the tasks and achieving objectives by balancing the demands of the stakeholders ensuring that the purpose is achieved. By using the project management methods defined in PMBOK guidelines, organizations can ensure that projects are being implemented as per established procedures and policies.

Many factors influence project performance that will make the project successful or failure. According to the textbook, the main determinants of project success are time, budget, quality and project performance. An organization can achieve goals based on project performance. It is important to continuously monitor project performance based on established or approved timelines, budget, scope and quality. Project can be successful if delivered on time, budget, within scope, and stakeholder satisfaction. All projects are often based on 3 different and important constraints- time, budget, and quality. A change in one of these constraints will automatically impact other two. There is often trade-off between these constraints in order to manage stakeholder requirements and achieve project success. Project constraints always occur, and project management will help deal with them strategically by carefully reviewing the changes by weighing on the impact that they would have. Certain changes can be made to the project plan based on the evaluation thereby controlling budget or timeline overruns. Poor planning and monitoring may often result in the budget overruns and meeting project deadlines. By using these concepts, I will be able to manage my testing projects taking into consideration all key factors will help the project manager to implement projects without impacting the success of the project.

Reference

Antonio, N., Ludo, V. (January 2018). How Boards Can Create Lasting Value Through Strategic Project Oversight. NACD Directorship. Vol. 44 Issue 1, p40-41. 2p

Pinto, J.K. (2019). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage (5th ed). Boston: Pearson.

Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage

Fifth Edition

Chapter 1

Introduction: Why Project Management?

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1

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
1.1 Understand why project management is becoming such a powerful and popular practice in business.
1.2 Recognize the basic properties of projects, including their definition.
1.3 Understand why effective project management is such a challenge.
1.4 Understand and explain the project life cycle, its stages, and the activities that typically occur at each stage in the project.

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Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
1.5 Understand the concept of project “success,” including various definitions of success, as well as the alternative models of success.
1.6 Understand the purpose of project management maturity models and the process of benchmarking in organizations.
1.7 Recognize how mastery of the discipline of project management enhances critical employability skills for university graduates.

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P M B o K Core Concepts
Project Management Body of Knowledge (P M B o K) covered in this chapter includes:
Definition of a Project (P M B o K 1.2)
Definition of Project Management (P M B o K 1.3)
Relationship to Other Management Disciplines (P M B o K 1.4)
Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle (P M B o K 2.1)

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What Is a Project?
Projects are complex, one-time processes.
Projects are limited by budget, schedule, and resources.
Projects are developed to resolve a clear goal or set of goals.
Projects are customer-focused.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
P M B o K 5th edition

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General Project Characteristics (1 of 2)
Projects are ad hoc endeavors with a clear life cycle.
Projects are building blocks in the design and execution of organizational strategies.
Projects are responsible for the newest and most improved products, services, and organizational processes.
Projects provide a philosophy and strategy for the management of change.
Project management entails crossing functional and organizational boundaries.

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General Project Characteristics (2 of 2)
Traditional management functions of planning, organizing, motivation, directing, and controlling apply to project management.
Principal outcomes of a project are the satisfaction of customer requirements within the constraints of technical, cost, and schedule objectives.
Projects are terminated upon successful completion of performance objectives.

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Process and Project Management
Table 1.1 Differences Between Process and Project Management
Process Project
Repeat process or product New process or product
Several objectives One objective
Ongoing One-shot-limited life
People are homogenous More heterogeneous
Well-established systems Integrated system efforts
Greater certainty Greater uncertainty
Part of line organization Outside of line organization
Established practices Violates established practice
Supports status quo Upsets status quo

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8

Project Success Rates
Software and hardware projects fail at a 65% rate.
Over half of all I T projects become runaways.
Only 30% of technology-based projects and programs are a success.
Ten major government contracts have over $16 billion in cost overruns and are a combined 38 years behind schedule.
One out of six I T projects has an average cost overrun of 200% and a schedule overrun of 70%.
More than one-third of the $110 billion in costs spent on the post-war reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, total $110 billion was lost due to fraud, waste, and abuse.

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Why Are Projects Important?
Shortened product life cycles
Narrow product launch windows
Increasingly complex and technical products
Emergence of global markets
An economic period marked by low inflation

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Figure 1.4 Project Life Cycle Stages

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Project Life Cycles
A project life cycle refers to the stages in a project’s development and are divided into four distinct phases:
Conceptualization—development of the initial goal and technical specifications of the project. Key stakeholders are identified and signed on at this phase.
Planning—all detailed specifications, schedules, schematics, and plans are developed.
Execution—the actual “work” of the project is performed.
Termination—project is transferred to the customer, resources reassigned, project is closed out.

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Change During Project Life Cycle

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Figure 1.5 Project Life Cycles and Their Effects

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Quadruple Constraint of Project Success
Figure 1.7 The New Quadruple Constraint

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Figure 1.8 Four Dimensions of Project Success Importance

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Table 1.2 Understanding Success Criteria
Iron Triangle Information System Benefits (Organization) Benefits (Stakeholders)
Cost Maintainability Improved efficiency Satisfied users
Quality Reliability Improved effectiveness Social and environmental impact
Time Validity Increased profits Personal development
Blank Information quality Strategic goals Professional learning, contractors’ profits
Blank
Use Organization learning Capital suppliers, content
Blank
Blank
Reduced waste Project team, economic impact to surrounding community

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Six Criteria for IT Project Success
System Quality
Information Quality
Use
User Satisfaction
Individual Impact
Organizational Impact

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Project Management Maturity
Project management maturity (P M M) models are used to allow organizations to benchmark the best practices of successful project management firms.
Benchmarking is the practice of systematically managing the process improvements of project delivery by a single organization of a period of time.

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Figure 1.9 Spider Web Diagram for Measuring Project Maturity

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Figure 1.10 Spider Web Diagram with Embedded Organizational Evaluation

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Figure 1.11 Project Management Maturity—A Generic Model

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Developing Project Management Maturity
P M M models
Center for Business Practices
Kerzner’s Project Management Maturity Model
E S I International’s Project Framework
S E I’s Capability Maturity Model Integration

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Center for Business Practices P M M
Level 1: Initial Phase
Level 2: Structure, Process, and Standards
Level 3: Institutionalized Project Management
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing

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Kerzner’s P M M Model
Level 1: Common Language
Level 2: Common Processes
Level 3: Singular Methodology
Level 4: Benchmarking
Level 5: Continuous Improvement

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E S I International’s Project Framework
Level 1: Ad Hoc
Level 2: Consistent
Level 3: Integrated
Level 4: Comprehensive
Level 5: Optimizing

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S E I’s Capability Maturity Model Integration
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Managed
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Quantitative Management
Level 5: Optimizing

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Project Elements and Text Organization
Figure 1.12 Organization of Text

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Project Management Employability Skills
Communication
Critical Thinking
Collaboration
Knowledge Application and Analysis
Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Information Technology Application and Computing Skills
Data Literacy

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Project Manager Responsibilities
Selecting a team
Developing project objectives and a plan for execution
Performing risk management activities
Cost estimating and budgeting
Scheduling
Managing resources

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Figure 1.13 Overview of the Project Management Institute’s P M B o K Knowledge Areas

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Summary (1 of 2)
Understand why project management is becoming such a powerful and popular practice in business.
Recognize the basic properties of projects, including their definition.
Understand why effective project management is such a challenge.
Understand and explain the project life cycle, its stages, and the activities that typically occur at each stage in the project.

Copyright © 2019, 2016, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Summary (2 of 2)
Understand the concept of project “success,” including various definitions of success, as well as the alternative models of success.
Understand the purpose of project management maturity models and the process of benchmarking in organizations.
Recognize how mastery of the discipline of project management enhances critical employability skills for university graduates.

Copyright © 2019, 2016, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright

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