Advanced Project Management I
Kimberly Baptiste
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 680
Dr. John Johnson
Author Note
Kimberly Baptiste
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kimberly Baptiste.
Email: Kbaptiste5@liberty.edu
Project management has been around for decades whether or not it was introduced formally or
not. Luke 14: 28-30 states “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down
and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the
foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This
person began to build and wasn’t able to finish ’(New International Version, 1973-78/2011). This
verse is a prime example of what it takes to take on the challenge of a project, it takes knowing
what the goals are, planning, carrying out the plan and delivering the end product. Jesus was
speaking to his disciples and used a prime example of building a tower, this is not for the faint of
heart but for those who have the endurance and fortitude to carry on when things get tough.
Project management is a system that is crucial to the sustainability and growth of a country’s
economy. Constantly, innovating and developing products and services has enabled businesses’
to stay relevant and have a competitive advantage, through this many jobs are created and
enhancements to the economy are generated which benefits society at large. All this encompasses
project management (Larson & Gray, 2021). It is not just a set of tools but a way of getting
results while managing different individuals with different characteristics and personalities so as
to achieve a common goal. Guanci & Bjork, 2019 defines project management as “ a series of
principles, tools, and techniques that takes valuable inputs (time, talent, resources) and creates
valuable outputs (increased quality, safety, satisfaction, and so on)” (p. 22). Over the past five (5)
decades there have been numerous achievements, however, there are three (3) that I believe have
been the greatest. These include:covid 19 vaccine, self driving cars, and Google assistant.
In 2020 one of the most contagious and deadly viruses took the world, millions of people
got infected with covid-19 and hundreds of thousands died. The only solution to this was to
develop a vaccine that would not only cure this virus but get it under control to make people feel
safe and secure to develop a product that will create life altering changes. Many resources were
pulled from all around the world, top scientists, researchers among others to create a vaccine,
time spent,this had a beginning and an end that had all the characteristics of a project. According
to (Larson & Gray, 2021) all projects should have an objective, a start and an end point,
involvement of different individuals from different departments, create or develop a product or
service that has never been done before, has a timeline, cost and performance requirement. With
these characteristics projects can be easily identifiable and at the end of it all there is a product or
service.
Self driving cars have become a new phenomenon, where people can now relax while
their cars take them from point A to point B by doing little to no work themselves. One may ask
how did this happen? This happened because of innovation and invention, talented individuals
working to create a product that is desirable and adds value to society. During the 1900s the first
autonomous car made its debut, it however quickly came to a halt when it crashed and then again
General Motors created the first self driving model. Fast forward to today Tesla has introduced
its full self-driving package which allows one to drive hands free (Reiser, 2023). Through the
years the idea of self driving cars became a reality because of the work and dedication of many.
One of the most important aspects was the project definition. The needs of the proposed clientele
were identified and solutions were created inorder to meet those needs. Project definition has
long played a significant role in getting self-driving cars to become a reality, the carefully
thought out designs, programs, the different stages ,the impact it would have on society on the
world at large (Chbaly et al., 2022). All this was taken into account when getting this project off
the ground.
Google assistant came into being in 2016 and has revolutionized the way people live. It
has the ability to set travel plans, give you the news, and set meetings among others with just the
sound of one’s voice. All this took place over time with one goal in mind to create a product that
had human capabilities. This clearly encompasses the definition of a project, one with a clear
goal and understanding of what is needed, the clientele that needs to be served, the creation of a
unique product that is beneficial. Anantatmula, (2020), discusses that projects are born out of the
need of an individual or organization to fulfill an objective, meet a need such as market demand,
technological advancement among others. Google assistant I believe was born due to some of
those needs and since then has left a positive impact on society.
Bibliography
Anantatmula, V. S. (2020). Project Management Concepts. In A. Petrillo, F. De Felice, G.
Lambert-Torres, & E. Bonaldi (Eds.), Operations Management - Emerging Trend in the
Digital Era. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93766
Chbaly, H., Forgues, D., & Ben Rajeb, S. (2022). Improving project definition practices with
lean-led design. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, 313–324.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1029-6_24
Guanci, G., & Bjork, C. (2019). An introduction to project management. Nursing Management,
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Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project Management: The managerial process. McGraw
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New International Version. (2011). New International Version Online, https://www. New
International Version/. (Original work published 1973-78)
Reiser, A. (2023, January 13). History of autonomous cars. TOMORROW'S WORLD
TODAY®. Retrieved January 16, 2023, from
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