Week 7

Week 7

Project Managemet Processes

Chapter 14. Computer Support for Project Management

Chapter 15. Project Termination

Reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Respond to the following prompts: “What do I feel are the most important aspects of my learning in the chapters this week?” and “What about this learning was really worthy of my time and understanding?” Then explain how important it is in society or business.

Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:

1. Several years ago, the U.S. Congress canceled funding for the development of a battery-powered electric vehicle. Do you think that was a good decision? Can you imagine what the pros and cons were?

2. You are in charge of the selection and implementation of a new project management software package in your organization. Develop a project plan and explain the details.

3. Assume that you are working for a computer manufacturer as a software engineer and that you are told abruptly that your project will be canceled within 4 weeks. List the questions that you would have for management. After absorbing the shock, what would you do?

[Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion].

 [Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]

Activity 7

Activity I: As part of your company’s effort to select a project management software package, you have been asked to approach several other companies that presently use such packages.

a. Develop a questionnaire to help collect the relevant information.

b. Fill out two questionnaires, each representing a different software package.

c. Compare the responses of the companies and select the best software of the two.

Activity II: Identify two projects in which you have been involved recently.

a. Describe each project briefly.

b. Suggest criteria that may have been used to identify the start of the termination phase of each project.

c. Give two examples of activities that were performed poorly during the termination phase of either project, and suggest measures that might have been taken to improve the situation.

The assignment is to answer the question provided above in essay form. This is to be in narrative form and should be as thorough as possible. Bullet points should not to be used. The paper should be at least 1.5 - 2 pages in length, Times New Roman 12-pt font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins and utilizing at least one outside scholarly or professional source related to project management. The textbook should also be utilized. Do not insert excess line spacing. APA formatting and citation should be used.

Research Project You should do only question 11which is highlighted in BOLD..

The journal indicated below describes a national project. Based on the journal, and on your team’s understanding of the project, answer the questions below:

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000332  

Journal title: "1976 Montreal Olympics: Case Study of Project Management Failure"

#	Question	Points
1	Was it an internal or external project? Provide rationale.	5
2	Identify at least 10 major stakeholders for the project.	5
3	What were the needs or expectation of each stakeholder?	5
4	Identify and describe at least 5 most important resources used in the project.	5
5	What was the alternative approach for the project (i.e. if the stadium had not been built, what else could have been done to ensure the olympics still occurred)?	5
6	Based on (5) above, was building the stadium at this location and at this time the best approach to have been chosen?  Provide rationale using PV, NPV, IRR, B/C. [1 page]	20
7	Provide two Level 3 Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) for this project. These two should be the intial (or planned) and final (or actual) WBS. Explain the difference  [2 pages]	20
8	Based on (7), was there an evidence of scope creep in the project? Provide rationale.	5
9	Create one network diagram for the project using the final WBS in (7) above [1 page]	30
10	Use the Level 2 tasks in the final WBS to create one GANTT chart for the project. [1 page]	30
11	Use the initial and final WBS to create two high-level budgets for the project. These two should be the initial and final budgets. Explain the difference. [2 pages]	30
12	Using the risk sources, describe three major (broad) categories of risks in the project.	6
13	Using a table, list at least ten individual risks ranked by severity, and also link each of them to one of the categories in (12) above [1 page]	20
14	For each risk in (13) above, describe at least one thing that was done, or could have been done to mitigate that risk.	5
15	Was there adequate quality management processes in place (including quality planning, quality assurance and quality control)? Provide rationale.	4
16	Was there adequate outsourcing in the project? Provide rationale.	5
17	The journal title indicates this project was a failure. Do you agree? Provide rationale.	5
18	If anyone in your group was appointed the project manager for this project, what would you have done differently to make this project successful?	5
19	Describe at least five major lessons that can be learned from this project.	5
20	Other – Abstract, Introduction, Conclusion (one paragraph each)	10
21	Other – Effective APA (Times New Roman, font size 12, double-spaced, in-text citations, grammar, reference list, etc)	10
22	Other Considerations	5
	TOTAL	240

            Side note from instructor:

1. Your response should be between 15 -20 pages only, including all auxilliary pages such as  Title page, Reference page and Table of Content.

2. This research project requires you to tie together  the key components of project management.

3. Ensure all responses you provide (including numbers and facts) are supported with information from the journal, or where necessary, provide appropriate assumptions and additional information from external sources. However facts from the journal will trump all external sources. This journal including all other external sources should be correctly referenced.

4. Use effective APA in-text citation to help the reader know exactly where you are picking your facts from. 

5. Your groups should help you bounce off ideas off each other, since no one person knows it all. 

6. If there are any questions or clarifications needed, the PM may contact me. All the best!