Lab Question 4

4) Describe the triple constraint. What are the three components and what is the relationship between them?

The Triple Constraint in Project Management, time, scope and cost, relationship is Quality. Every project has these 3 constraints: Scope goals: What work will be done? Time goals: How long should it take to complete? Cost goals: What should it cost? It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three competing goals that are relative. Time Management = Schedule Management. Scope is related to Time. The Project Scope is defined as activities and deliverables that are included in the project. Time is a function of scope. The Project Time is defined as the duration of all tasks that are in the project schedule starting with the project start date and ending with the completion date to understand the tasks that have to be performed and the correct sequence of those tasks (events) to achieve the project objective. Cost is related to Time. The Project Cost is the dollar figure it will cost to deliver the scope within the timeframe allotted. Cost is a function of time and scope. Time is related to Project Management. Time has a direct and measurable impact on cost. Managing time is the same as managing the schedule. We can take this to the bank, the relationship between scope, cost and time is real, QUALITY. The Project Manager is responsible for understanding the relationship between scope, cost and time and expect and plan for changes in one or all of the elements of the triple constraint.

Lab Question 3

3) Either from your own experience or by searching the Internet, describe a well-planned and executed project. Describe a disastrous project. What were some of the main differences between these projects?

Successful:

My company was tasked with building a social media presence and letting our web visitors know by integrating relative elements throughout our site. The general plan was outlined as follows:

• Determine which venues to participate in
• Develop initial content and determine the frequency and responsible parties for upkeep
• Determine our site locations to push these new social media venues
• Design and integrate new social media calls-to-action

One of the most challenging aspects was putting the players in place that would be responsible for the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of our social media presence. For example, on Facebook we decided to post three items daily - this meant someone had to decide what content was relevant to the Facebook audience, get the content's distribution approved, and be responsible for the comment and questions that would ensue.

Another interesting aspect was the site integration. With our given site architecture, it was determined that we could reuse a 'control' that was already present in many of our site's templates. By re-purposing this existing content, the integration process was streamlined and avoided many of the potential bugs slip through during a normal site-wide change.

Disastrous:

My company began the implementation of a new version of their flagship application. The goal was to provide the same stability of the earlier version while adding additional functionality and an improved user interface.

From the beginning there was a division between the DBA manager, an influential stake holder, and the Project Manager. The key difference was as follows:

• The DBA manager wanted to use SQL express keeping the new version of the application consistent with the older version of the application.
• The Project Manger wanted to use Compact C believing the new version needed to go in a different direction.

The project manager eventually persuaded the majority of the decision makers/stake holders to go with Compact C. Unfortunately this was done without ever getting true buy in from the DBA manager.

Ultimately the application was delivered, but wrought with errors and glitches. Customer satisfaction was very low and eventually the issue became so serious that an emergency decision was made to switch to SQL Express and the project manager was terminated. The Switch to SQL Express created new complications that our company continues to work through.

Listed below are a couple of red flags that forewarned of impending disaster:

• Project Manger requested resources that were then separated from their colleagues working on the earlier version of the application. This led to a feeling that the new application team was separate from the rest of the company.
• The QC testing process was not well planned. Huge errors and glitches that should be caught in the QC process made it through, not because QC employees were not working hard, but because the process was not well designed.
• The application support manual was not integrated into the application development process. Due to this there was a rush to deliver a manual to customers with the application.
• Scope, Time, and Cost collided violently, leading to the delivery of the application well before the project manager believed it was ready. This contributed greatly to low customer satisfaction.

In closing this project was undone in the early phases and the company is still bearing the cost.

Differences:

The major differences seem to be in the team commitment and the planning times involved. For our successful project, we had a full buy-in from all of the major players including our CEO, Marketing director, Web team leader, on down to our designers. The disastrous project had disagreements from the project's inception. The successful project had a solid plan that was then followed with a logical workflow and division of responsibilities. Lack of quality control and planning seemed to cause the disastrous project to suffer.

Lab Question 1

1) What does it mean to take a systems view of a project? How does taking a systems view of a project apply to project management?

To view a project with a systems view is to see all of the internal and external operational landscape in which the project will be operative. Often, projects are designed biased due to the organizational structure and tastes of a company, such as business units, departments, competitive market, and/or geographic locale. A lot of care must be taken to include the overall goals and perspectives of the organization to ensure the project displays harmony in the goal and the end result benefits the entire organization.

Lab Question 2

2) Briefly describe what happens in each of the five project management process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing). What types of activities are done before initiating the project?

Initiating: Initiating a project includes recognizing and starting a new project or project phase. The main goal is to formally select and start off projects.

Planning: The main purpose of project planning is to guide execution. Every knowledge area includes planning information.

Executing: Usually takes the most time and resources to perform project execution. Project managers must use their leadership skills to handle the many challenges that occur during project execution. A milestone report can help focus on completing major milestones.

Monitoring/controlling: Involves measuring progress toward project objectives, monitoring deviation from the plan, and taking correction actions. Affects all other process groups and occurs during all phases of the project life cycle. Outputs include performance reports, change requests, and updates to various plans.

Closing: Involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services. Even if projects are not completed, they should be closed out to learn from the past. Outputs include project archives and lessons learned, part of organizational process assets. Most projects also include a final report and presentation to the sponsor/senior management.

Pre-Initiation: It is good practice to lay the groundwork for a project before it officially starts. Determine time/scope, identify sponsor, select manager, develop a business case, meet to review, and determine if it should be divided into smaller projects.