Critical analysis and replies needed

Reply 1 needed

At this time, I would definitely not give the sponsor an answer about the timeline because I have not had a chance to review and understand the project. Instead, I would let the sponsor know that I am pleased to have been brought into the project and I am looking forward to learning about their goals. I would then let the sponsor know that I need time to review the project and establish benchmarks and milestones. I would also need to examine potential risks and downfalls that would need to be resolved or avoided in order to minimize the possibility of the project taking longer than it should. Once I drew up a true schedule and timeline, including my research, then I would be able to give him a better idea on whether or not his time goals could be met.

Reply 2 needed

Based on our readings, No, I definitely would not give the executive sponsor an answer at this time.  If you were to say yes we could do in 6 months or less, or even a ‘maybe,’ you would pretty much be setting yourself up for failure and giving false hope to the executives.  As a PM, I would answer the executive sponsor with “Since this is a new project for the company, I will need to do some research and analyze the project specifics first.  Then I prefer to use software in order to accurately calculate everything and come up with the best possible timeline for you.”   

Reply 3 needed

Based on the scenario that has been given I would not be able to give the executive sponsor an answer because I have not yet analyzed the project. What if I gave the answer of 6months and saw the project afterwards but then realized I made a mistake. Well, if it were a lower duration maybe that is good but if it were more time to consume that when the little problem comes since the answer has already been given. I think the way I would phrase it to him is : "I'm currently the new appointed PM for this major project, I have not yet gotten a chance to look at it, but I will let you know as soon as possible what the duration time will be after the planning and scheduling have been settled". I would expect him to be understanding and say "indeed not a problem, just email me or let me know when you do get the chance."

I think this is the way I would have handled it because I work for a hotel, and I have many of these projects handed to me, I usually answer the way I did and 9/10 I get the answer that I was expecting. On the other hand, I think it would be perfect after reviewing the project to create deadlines and plan the delivery of the projects so that we know the duration that should be estimated. By having the effort, duration and the elapsed times for the planning of the project, I think that it could be accomplished with a good amount of months. With this, you can give the executive a great answer.