Project Management...

Professor Sheldon 1/5/2012 8:28:47 PM

While there is no magic formula to ensure that a project will be successful, there are techniques to help plan and manage projects that we will learn more about during the course. When a project fails, it is often attributed to poor project management. That said, what exactly is project management, and why is it important for organizations to manage their projects? Response

Project management (PM) is a process comprised of people, systems, and techniques. The goal of PM is to ensure the successful completion of a project within a specified time frame and budget. There are five steps in the PM process: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. The project leader or manager coordinates the PM process and leads the project team. The value of PM can be realized with projects of all sizes, however the greatest impact will be felt with projects involving multiple parties, departments, and functions. The weakest link in the PM scheme is failure to identify a suitable project leader.

A Day in the Life Sara Mejia 1/4/2012 11:29:18 PM

Based on the facts I can see that Rachel spent her day very active and busy. She dealt with many issues that needed to be dealt with in order of importance. She then cleared a miscommunication and made sure her team was on the right page and knew what they were doing. She wasted no time, and she was truly effective and so I would conclude that Rachel spent her day very effectively.

Based on the case there was many activities that Rachel did, she had to answer emails in order of importance, return messages, contact people, host a meeting, solve an issue of miscommunication, etc. She was clearly busy all day and there was not a time besides her lunch break that she "relaxed". After a classic incident of miscommunication, she had to argue for her part of the deal, prove her point, and then made sure the deal was still as intended to be. While I was reading this case, I couldn;t help but think that it is truly a very busy occupation and it takes a lot of patience being a project manager especially since you must make sure that everything goes as planned and that everyone does their part.

Response Do you think that she could of done more to get her job done quicker and faster? I think that she could have did more in all the time she had. She did a good job but I think she needed to use her time more wisely thanks for sharing.

Case Study Bobby Rowand 1/3/2012 6:15:13 AM

It appears that most of her day was not project task related. Were the emails for the project she was working on? Were the voicemails project related. She spent alot of time either going from one place to another. The one thing I didn't get was the mid day nap or rest, who actually does that. I felt her time could have been better utilized if she organized her day a little better. Meetings are helpful only in the sense if they are quality meetings that help with the overall task. Bringing the project team together and utilizing their skills especially if team members can help others with their tasks. This could help the overall schedule, especially if some of her members needs to spend their time on other projects.

The case to me is an example of a project manager not utilizing good time management skills. Other than the status meeting and a brief meeting with her team, what exactly did she do to help with the overall project and keeping everything on track. There didn't seem to be much action that actually helped the task. Now with the promise made by the marketing department, the project just got more difficult, this is an example of scope creep.

I agree that she could have organized her day and time better. She could have did more and got many things completed. Do you think that she wasted a lot of time doing things that were not needed? Thanks for sharing.

i love M&M's Gregory Desiato 1/2/2012 8:36:55 PM

1. If you were Palmer at the end of the case, how would you respond? unfortunately there was no other real way to respond its not that Olds was slacking off he was being split between 2 vastly different projects and i can stat from personal experience its hard to go from mind set a to mid set b, ultimately having olds go to the other project would have been better to get another person in to be dedicated to palmers project.

2. What, if anything, could Palmer have done to avoid losing Olds? there really was nothing that could be done in this situation olds really enjoyed the other task better and would only have continued to preform poorly

3. What advantages and disadvantages of a matrix type organization are apparent from this case? matrix set ups are usually good because you know that ever x yrs you get a receive and possible promotion so there are no out of left field senerios involved you do go work you get rewarded and you know when it will happen so you can realistically set goals and even if you fail at one task you can shine in other places and you are not ruined by one failure.

4. What could the management at M&M do to more effectively manage situations like this? the only thing i can see in this case is not to let accountants cross work like that keep accountants doing accounting tasks or have them solely dedicated to consulting so that they stay focused on their tasks and goals

response I do think that being torn between two projects can make a person lack many things. Such as one will have problems concentrating, being on a schedule and much more. You have thought about a good way to help in situations like this. Thanks for sharing.

Project Characteristics... Professor Sheldon 1/5/2012 8:30:57 PM

Define the characteristics used by a project. Provide an example of a project and an example of a "nonproject" from your current (or previous) job. Describe how your examples do or do not fit the characteristics of a project.

Response A project can require more than one person. It is on a schedule and has to be completed in a set amount of time. It requires dedication and time to complete it. An example of a project is upgrading something in an office. A non-project is something like my job I do every day. They both fit in a project as they both have to be on a time schedule but differ because one is a project and one is work.

Case Study Bobby Rowand 1/3/2012 6:42:03 AM

1. First, as Palmer, I would inform Sands, that she was taking a valuable piece of my team away from me. When he (Olds) was originally assigned to my task. In addition, I would inform her, that I was orginally against the idea. Then since the decision was made, I would have to ask who they were planning to replace Olds on my team. I would then have to re-evaluate my team and work on a solution to better utilize the talent on my team.

2. Palmer should have been more firm and on his stance from the start. Also, Palmer could have made his case for the value of the Johnsville account, and the importance of keeping Olds on the task. I would have also gone straight to Sands when the problems started with Crosby. Maybe something could have been done at that point so the problem wouldn't have escalated.

3. The advantages of a matrix is that there is a single POC for each account. In addition the talents of all individuals within the company are available to you as a task manager. This allows managers of other

projects to get an individual with a specialized skill. The disadvantages would consist of members being pulled from one project to help with another. This could cause problems with projects are behind on schedule. Plus with different people working on different projects, it could be hard to manage tasking and completion time of tasks when a person is shared.

4. Management, both upper and project managers could have managed individuals schedule on each task. Also layed a foundation that a project manager should respect other projects and their managers by not communicating members while they are working on other tasks.

I think that managing time better would help both the employees and the project in this situation. Do you think anything else could have been done in this situation?