Week 10

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Planning Consideration for the HR Projects Leanne Batiste

Managing Human Resource Projects Professor Kenneth Lewis

August 22, 2021

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Project planning is a significant part of project management that involves methodological

steps. Documentation is vital as it ensures that the project is completed. Documentation allows the

project manager to highlight some of the actions required to define, prepare, integrate, and

coordinate plans. Project planning is also crucial as it clearly defines the project's execution,

control, monitoring, and closure.

Scope and schedule

In project management, scope refers to project deliverables. These are tasks needed to be

executed to deliver goods with specified features. The scope utilizes three critical processes:

planning, controlling, and closure. The project scope demonstrates the work needed to successfully

complete the project. One major role of a project manager is to ensure that all tasks are carried out

within the speculated budget and that they achieve their intended purpose. On the other hand,

Scope documentation highlights the distinct responsibilities of members, explains project

boundaries, and establishes work procedures. The project scope statement encompasses the

project's objectives, justification, outcome, product description, assumptions, and limitations.

Scheduling is a tool in project management that shows what work needs to be done and

what resources are needed to ensure the successful completion of tasks. It also shows the

timeframe required to ensure that work is performed as expected. A task schedule is crucial in

project management as it communicates work progress and the resources needed at each step. To

ensure better task scheduling, project managers can use software and other programs to

automatically plan for tasks and procedures. Such programs allow the project manager to keep

track of schedules, resources, and costs needed for completing the project (Novo, Landis & Haley,

2017). A statement of importance is also crucial since it helps set ground rules and policies for

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parties taking part in the project. A statement of importance is also significant in implementing,

evaluating, and monitoring a project’s cycle phases.

Project scope and scheduling play an important role in project management. The scope

gives clear details to stakeholders on how the set objectives will be achieved. It also indicates what

is included in the project and the control measures put in place to ensure the successful completion

of the project. On the other hand, scheduling allows the project manager to outline the resources

needed and the number of people that will take part in the project.

Behavioral skills

While completing a project is critical, having the right team is of utmost significance.

Project managers should be considerate of the type of people they are working with within a

project since the project's success largely depends on the team. The four behavioral skills

considered critical are communication skills, leadership skills, risk management, and time

management. Communication skills are crucial as they allow the project manager and other team

members to understand information quickly and accurately. Communication skills are also

important in project planning since they form the basis of decision-making, efficient and smooth

working, and project co-operation. Effective communication is also significant in project

resourcing as it brings together the stakeholders, team members, and clients.

Leadership skills are crucial since they allow the project manager or leader to bring out the

best abilities in their team members. Leadership skills ensure that the vision of the project is

necessitated and that a success roadmap is established. Time management skills are significant in

project resourcing as they help team members increase their productivity and accomplish tasks

within the speculated time. Time management skills are also significant in prioritizing tasks and

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activities that have higher priority. Time management skills represent a key factor in project

planning as it involves planning, setting objectives, and prioritizing performance. The other critical

aspect of project resourcing is risk management. Risk management skills allow team members to

identify the project's threats and mitigate them before escalating into bigger problems.

While selecting the team, the manager should choose the most disciplined, skilled, and

effective people to ensure the project's successful completion. Having a qualified team minimizes

the probability of minor setbacks and conflicts that may arise in the project. Allocating duties and

roles is also important as it allows each individual to understand what is expected of them. In this

case, the project manager must first understand the capability and skills of each person before

allocating roles and duties. The project manager should also be well skilled in dealing with

stubborn and difficult individuals. For instance, some individuals may primarily focus on the

monetary aspect and forget to carry out their duties professionally or as expected. In such a case,

the manager needs to have the skills to handle such issues.

The project manager should also have the capability to command his or her juniors to

ensure the successful completion of the project. For instance, a reduced workforce or absenteeism

may require the other team members to work overtime in order to achieve the desired targets.

Other scenarios may include a project falling behind schedule, and the team leader is forced to

offer incentives for the team to work harder. Managers who are able to make open and honest

estimates are reliable and well-built to successfully run a team. Such managers can also be trusted

to effectively run a project without wastage or extra costs. The project manager should also be

diverse since he or she will be dealing and interacting with people from different backgrounds.

Other team members may lack the know-how of working with people from diverse cultures.

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Therefore, it is upon the project manager to formulate strategies that will integrate recognition of

such people.

Deciding where each team member will work depends on the member's qualifications and

the objective of the project. The project manager must ensure proper vetting of members to verify

their abilities and skills in different areas. The manager must also consider the geographical

diversity of the teams to ensure efficiency. In a scenario where team members are geographically

dispersed, the team leader should leverage modern technology such as video conferencing, phone

calls, emails, and other vital communication channels. A practical team is capable of mitigating

conflicts and other issues that may jeopardize the success of the project. Such a team can also

achieve more within a short period, which is excellent for any project.

Project costs budget

A comprehensive budget is significant in better decision-making concerning the project's

scope, time, and cost. To ascertain the project's budget, I aggregated the costs of each activity to

determine the total cost that will formulate a formal baseline of estimates. In this case, the budget

was aligned with the scheduling process to dictate the tasks that will begin first and how they will

be implemented. One certain way that I utilized to determining the budget is by utilizing the Work

Breakdown Structure (WBS), where task deliverables were broken down to establish the aggregate

cost of each activity per time. To determine the total resource cost, I summed up cost rates for

labor and material. In the vendor bid survey, the aggregate cost of external contractors was

estimated. Under cost quality, all quality costs were computed and integrated into the final budget.

The other strategy I used to estimate project cost is by scrutinizing past lessons and data from

previous projects. Cost aggregation refers to summing up distinct work costs to manage a project’s

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financial independence (Learning, 2012). The cash flow for activities was segmented into,

operating cash flow, initial investment outlay, and terminal year cash flow.

Risk identification

According to Badiru (2008), a project risk refers to an uncertain event that has an impact on

the project’s objectives. On the other hand, risk management involves identifying and mitigating

the risk that could jeopardize the success of the project. Successful managers are well equipped

with essential management skills that enable them to effectively identify and manage risks before

they escalate into serious problems. Risk exposure is significantly high at the beginning of the

project since little is known about how the project will fold out. Fortunately, there are several

techniques or strategies that project managers can use to identify potential risks. They include

assumption analysis, use of checklists, and brainstorming.

The first strategy is assumption analysis; under this strategy, the manager tries to determine

some of the risks that may accrue from the assumptions. This is because correct assumptions may

give out accurate results on some of the risks that may happen. The other way in which project

managers can identify potential risks is using checklists. In this case, the project manager creates a

list of common threats that have faced the organization over the past and ones that may appear

again. The last strategy is brainstorming, where the project manager and other team members try to

identify risks associated with the objective and task of the project. Project planning is essential in

project management since it guides the project manager and the team members in using the correct

estimates that help in achieving the project’s objectives.

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References

 Badiru, A. B. (2008). Triple C Model of Project Management: Communication,

Cooperation, and Coordination. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

 Learning, S. C. (2012). Contemporary Project Management, Cengage Learning, 2012:

Project Management. Jakarta, Indonesia: Bukupedia.

 Novo, B., Landis, E. A., & Haley, M. L. (2017). Leadership and its role in the success of

project management. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 14(1)