week 4 dis and replys

· Group 1 - Last names beginning with A - F: What is quality assurance, and how does it affect project execution? What are the tools and techniques used in performing quality assurance? Which quality assurance tools would you find the most helpful to use and why?

Reply 1

 

Identify a scholarly website on earned value management. Summarize the information and evaluate how earned value management helps you monitor project performance and forecast future cost and schedule information.

One of the best sources available for Project Management information is the Project Management Institute website, which is the leading association for project management.  In an article published on this website by author Chance Reichel (2006), the concept of Earned Value Management Systems is broken down into the many elements of this comprehensive project management tool. The article begins by defining Earned Value Management (EVM) and its component parts, including planned value (PV), actual costs (AC), and earned value (EV). EVM is a method that gives the project manager the information to determine the amount of work actually performed by measuring the progress achieved and then using that data to forecast the project's total cost and time to completion. The article then goes on to describe schedule and cost variance, which aids in determining the differences or variations in costs between planned and actual as well as actual and planned schedule progress. Next, an index is created for cost and scheduling efficiency, which helps to forecast if the project will be under or over budget and ahead or behind schedule. Lastly, Estimates At Completion (EAC) present the best estimate of the total cost at completion of the project. This functions as a periodic evaluation of the project status and is used to make determinations of progress throughout the project.

The sources for the information used in determining values such as AC and EV must come from accurate values derived from the project itself for EVM to have any valid significance. According to Schwalbe & Furlong (2017), "If you do not have a good baseline or actual information, you cannot use earned value management" (pg. 380). One quote that stuck out to me in the article stated, "The reader should acknowledge that the discipline of Earned Value Management is more complicated and more complex than the information presented in this paper" (Reichel, 2006). This is not a simple tool to use but requires accurate information and careful calculation. But if used correctly, can provide excellent data for forecasting and assessing project budget and scheduling.

Reply 2

Value Management is an overarching concept used in existing management systems and approaches that are based on value- and function-oriented thinking, behaviors, and methods. It is particularly committed to inspiring people, helping them develop their skills, and encouraging synergies and innovation in order to maximize an organization's overall performance. Value creation can occur at the project, product, process, organizational, or social levels. This is what value management is all about. It focuses on enhancing and maintaining a favorable balance between stakeholders' demands and wants and the resources required to fulfill them. Value Management balances conflicting priorities to produce the best value for all stakeholders despite the diversity of stakeholder value judgments. Value Management is centered on defining and adding quantifiable value with the intention of fostering total innovation. It puts functional drivers and objectives first before looking for solutions. Strengthening value orientation, applying function thinking, using a structured holistic approach, and managing complexity, risk, and uncertainty are its four guiding principles. These tenets are underpinned by four drives, or levers, including a collaborative management style, stimulating positive human dynamics, taking into account both internal and external contexts, and using tried-and-true techniques and technologies. 

An Earned Value Management system can even enhance metrics of schedule progress by quantifying the volume of work accomplished. It provides a more accurate assessment of the project's financial health than simple comparisons of budget and actuals. Earned Value (EV) is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for a project that shows the value of the work completed so far in terms of numbers. EV is determined by adding the budget for all work that has been finished on a project or section of a project. An EV Method (or EV Technique) is a pre-assigned calculation rule that is used to determine how much EV is calculated for work-in-progress. The application of EV Methods allows for the provision of objective metrics of development while avoiding subjective completion estimates that could inject bias into the computations. Because they are used to assess the achievement of measurable outputs or work products, the EV Methods mentioned above are referred to as discrete methods. Project work occasionally produces no quantifiable results.