Homework

1st Reply to Discussion-Project Management (Minimum 250 words)

We are discussing the components of a procurement plan and how orderly closure contributes to project success.

The project procurement cycle handles the all the procurement activities. It includes the decision to purchase the material or services through contracts established with suppliers. Broken down, a procurement plan consists of selecting the appropriate relationships and contract approaches for each type of purchased goods or outsourced service, preparing RFQs and RFPs and evaluating partnership opportunities, evaluating RFQs, RFPs, and partnerships, awarding and signing contracts, managing quality, timely performance, and contract changes, and closing contracts. The role of a supplier is one you’d probably be able to guess without reading the text. They are responsible for sourcing materials, labor, or even information for the project. Their absence in a project would mean there would be no one to provide the goods and services which makes them absolutely vital to the success of a project.

When it comes to suppliers, there are many different types. Choosing the one capable of providing what the project requires in regards to quality falls upon the project manager or team. This is done by submitting a request for quotation (RFQ) to the supplier. Often times this process is done by soliciting for bids among suppliers to narrow down prospective suppliers to one that is willing to meet or exceed the request price. An approved RFQ means the supplier has agreed to be the supplier of the requested goods or services along with a cost associated to do so.

Closure of a project in an orderly fashion can prove to be as important as the project plan itself. Doing so involves keeping customers happy and establishing stakeholder loyalty. It is at this point that signed contracts and other documents are properly placed in storage along with established retrieval policies for legal and tax related proposes. Documents are reviewed to create an analysis of the decisions that were made. This includes reviewing the records of deliveries made for determination of acceptable quality, an inspection to determine if the project team has met its goals for quality, and also finalizing remaining project payments to suppliers.

2nd Reply to Discussion-Project Management (Minimum 250 words)

· Describe the components of a procurement plan.

A. Procurement is the process of obtaining goods and services from providers who are outside of the organization. With this we investigate the topic of outsourcing which is work that is performed by outsiders of the organization. Decisions that influence if the work will be outsourced or self-performed must primarily due with cost and schedule, however, risk, quality, and flexibility is the influence that make the outsourcing decisions.  When having to understand the components of the procurement plan we need to make sure the decision of self-performing and outsourcing work is made and then a purchasing plan is made. This is the method of purchasing products or services that depend on the importance of the product or service’s uniqueness. Suppliers are a component of the procurement plan because they provide the commodities that are chosen. When it comes to the cost of the commodities they can be found in the supplier’s catalog. As for cost saving you are going to want to look for large quantities for commodity by purchasing them from the same supplier. You request the commodities from the supplier with the request for quote (RFQ) document and then the suppliers will give their lowest price. The project team makes the RFQ based on the quantity and schedule for the project and then send the RFQ to the supplier identified. The supplier gives a quote of the listed material and schedule for delivery then the project team looks at the quote from the supplier and sees if the supplier will reach all the requirements for the project. Vendors are the next part they provide unique services and product that cannot be purchased at a marketplace. A vendor will typically provide a product or service that is needed for the project. The same process of the supplier with the RFQ is done with the vendor but happens with a request for proposal (RFP). Then we move into the partners aspects of the procurement plan which are when an organization needs another organization to work with on the project due to the lack of skills or relationships. A partnership is a formal arrangement to execute the project with each party contributing resources. Building the relationship between the major partners in the project is vital to the success of the project just like it is with having good relationship with the stakeholders and other clients (Chapter 12: Project Procurement and Closure, 2012).

Now that all the aspects of the procurement plan are outlined, the team develops a plan that has all the following. Selecting the appropriate relationships and contract approaches for each type of purchased goods and outsourced service. Preparing RFQs and RFPs and evaluating partnership opportunities and evaluating the RFQs, RFPs, and partnerships. Then awarding and signing contracts, meanwhile managing quality, timely performance, and contract changed. Finally, you close the contracts (Chapter 12: Project Procurement and Closure, 2012).

· How does orderly closure contribute to project success?

A. The orderly closure of the project contributes to the project success because it allows for the project team to be able to finally see the end of the project. Also, it allows for the team members to properly archive the documentation for future projects as well as making sure that all the ‘loose end’ of the project, closing contracts, materials being inspected, and punch lists are met. When we look at the post project review we are looking at the decisions that were made during the project and making sure that we learned from the experiences of the project. Finally, having a closeout celebration rewards the project team for the positive behavior of the project and then the team might even hear from a client about the levels of success on the project, thus giving the teams on the project the will to continue the work onto the next project (Chapter 12: Project Procurement and Closure, 2012).

3rd Reply to Discussion-Web Development (Minimum 150 words)

This week is the final week and we are looking at one of the most important things about websites – mobile optimization! Throughout this forum post we’ll talk about the three major RWD principles and techniques.

RWD stands for  Responsive Web Design and this is when your device fetches the data from the website’s properties and determines how to properly display the content for its user. For example, if you visit a website on your desktop computer, it will display differently when compared to viewing on your cellphone; this is due to the different screen sizes. There are three big principles of responsive design that need to be considered.

· Fluid Grid System – A take on the original absolute sizes provided, fluid grid systems allow devices to determine how much content will fit on the device by dividing the target size by the context, giving you the relative size. 

· Fluid Image Use – Fluid images are images that are contained in a container. This container will adjust depending on the pixel value allotted towards the container. As the container adjusts in size, the image will scale to fit inside of the container, maintaining the original aspect ratio.

· Media Queries – Media Queries allow your website to adjust it’s content depending on the devices screen resolution. Let’s say your website has a column on each side when displayed on a desktop. If we’re looking at the same website on a smartphone the website’s format would change, maybe giving you one column on the side or move both columns to a separate area.

For our final assignment, I’m going to try my best by implementing all of the principles to allow my personal website to adjust to fit a phone’s resolution.

- David

References

Responsive Design – Let the Device Do the Work. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2018, from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/responsive-design-let-the-device-do-the-work

4th Reply to Discussion-Web Development (Minimum 150 words)

For this week’s discussion we are covering the principles and techniques of the Responsive Web Design (RWD). So what does it mean when you say RWD? In Web design it means creating websites that fits many different devices. This means that the website make it easier for the user to navigate through the website to improve viewing experience. To incorporate RWD in the Web sites, there are many techniques you can use such as the grid based layouts which help developers place the page elements. There is also the fluid image technique that keeps any element from exceeding the width of the screen. Additionally, there is also the media query technique that defines the various breakpoints that allow CSS to be applied when specific conditions are met.

There are also different frameworks that developers can use when creating a responsive design. These tools also speed up the development by using templates and let the developers fill in the content necessary for the Web site. Some of the popular frameworks that many developers use are Bootstrap, Skeleton, and Foundation and so on.

As for my assignment last week, I back to the Forms and added elements and attribute. For this week, I plan to add 1 or two additional pages to my website that would discuss more about the OSI model or relating topic. As I am not exactly sure about this yet, this could change throughout the week. I also plan to add another HTML 5 API to one of my pages. Lastly, I would like to use some techniques from Lesson 10 to improve my Web site for mobile devices.

Have a great day!

5th Answer questions – Web Development (minimum 150 words).

What websites have come across recently that follow the Responsive Web Design (RWD) practices well in your opinion? Any links to share?