FOR PHD.DOCTORATE ONLY Discussion Questions

Week 2 Discussion:

"Examine Decisions and Changes in the Project Scope and Scope Management"  Please respond to the following:

· Analyze the necessity and importance of creating a customer-focused scope decision in the process of defining the scope for a project. Next, speculate on the key negative impacts that a bad customer-focused scope decision would have on a project. Provide one (1) example of a project which uses such decision to support your response.

From the e-Activity, analyze the overall manner in which the project scope process relates to change control and issues management. Choose one (1) key challenge that may arise from this relationship, and suggest one (1) strategy that the project manager may use to address the challenge in question. Provide a rationale to support your response.

Week 2 eActivity

Watch the video titled “How to Prevent Project Management Scope Creep” (7 min 35 s). Be prepared to discuss. Video Source: projectmanagervideos. (2012, Feb 1). How to Prevent Project Management Scope Creep [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKcJW1XqY4E . This video can be viewed below.

Week 4 Discussion

"Building a Network Schedule"  Please respond to the following:

· From the e-Activities, and Kuehn text Chapter 7, imagine a company that is downsizing. Use the arrow and precedence diagramming method to extrapolate the most-effective employees in an organization, and determine the key factors that would help to keep them motivated.

Imagine that you are reviewing vendors for an important project. Find one (1) way to use either the arrow or precedence diagram to show the performance proposal that would be most cost effective and would save the most time. Provide a rationale to support your response.

Week 4 eActivity

· Watch the video titled “Project Management Simplified, Section 3: Using Network Diagrams” (6m 49s). Video Source: Lynda.com. (2016, Mar 31). Be prepared to discuss. 

· Watch the video titled “ Project Management Networks Part 1: Project Network Basics AON, AOA, Critical Path ” (8m 53s). Video Source: J Scott Christianson. (2011, Mar 21).  Be prepared to discuss. This video can be viewed below.

Watch the video titled “ Project Management Networks Part 3: Project Networks in MS Project ” (4m 29s). Video Source: J Scott Christianson. (2011, Mar 20). Be prepared to discuss This video can be viewed below.

Week 5 Discussion

"Schedule Risk and Readdressing Scope"  Please respond to the following:

· Imagine you are working on a project where the project manager does not analyze the critical path. Select one (1) tool or technique that you would use to analyze the critical path, and appraise the importance of your critical path analysis to both the project manager and the client.

Imagine you are working on the same project from Part I of this discussion. Select one (1) tool or technique that you would use in order to address schedule risk. Provide a rationale to support your response.

Week 6 Discussion

"Establishing a Performance Measurement Baseline"  Please respond to the following:

· Imagine that you are managing a project that involves the development of a new hotel in Washington, DC, near all of the major tourist attractions. The hotel will have 250 rooms, which will generate room revenues of between $250-300 per night per room. You are required to submit a budget proposal for this project. Determine the top-two (2) important elements of your budget proposal, and specify the main reasons why the elements you have determined are important.

Using the same scenario from Part I of this discussion, determine the best way to establish a performance measurement baseline for your hotel project. Justify your response.

======================================================= Week 7 Discussion

"Collecting Cost and Schedule Performance Metrics"  Please respond to the following:

· From the first and second e-Activities, develop one (1) innovative way to track key project costs (e.g., labor hours) for a complex project that lasts for two (2) years and involves more than fifty (50) resources. Be as creative as you like, and provide one (1) example which shows the significant ways in which your innovation would work in a real-world situation.

Using the hotel project from Week 6 discussion, determine the best practice for conducting an earned value analysis for the project in question. Provide a rationale for your determination and one (1) specific example which illustrates the significant ways in which the best practice in question would work in real life.

Week 7 eActivity

· Watch the video titled “ Cost Management Basics ” (7m 59s). Video Source: SoftwareManiacLSM. (2012, Feb 6). [Video file]. Be prepared to discuss. This video can be viewed below.

Watch the video titled “What is Earned Value Management (EVM)?” (10m 8s). Video Source: Lynda.com Project Management Institute. (2014, Mar 18). [Video file]. Be prepared to discuss.

Week 8 Discussion

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"Steering Future Performance Back Toward the Baseline"  Please respond to the following:

· Determine the fundamental impact of not using a project management tool which clearly displays the effect of delays in delivering work packages, as required per your project schedule. Justify your response.

From the e-Activity, determine at least two (2) best practices for steering future performance back toward the baseline. Provide at least two (2) specific examples of the utilization of such best practices to support your response.

Week 8 eActivity

Watch the video titled “Set a Project Baseline - MS Project 2010 Tutorial” (3 min 54 s). Be prepared to discuss. Video Source: VersatileCompany. (2011, Aug 8). Set a Project Baseline - MS Project 2010 Tutorial [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYilKaFzpQE . This video can be viewed below.

Week 9 Discussion

"Analyzing and Archiving"  Please respond to the following:

· From the first and second e-Activities, select one (1) tool that you would use in order to analyze costs and schedules with regard to deliverables and / or work packages for a project of your choice. Specify the overall manner in which the utilization of the tool that you have selected would help to improve the management of your project. Justify your response.

According to the text, archiving key project data is a must in project management. However, mistakes are bound to occur during such archiving. Determine one (1) mistake that project managers are most likely to make when archiving cost and schedule data for their projects. Next, propose one (1) strategy or best practice for limiting the mistake in question. Justify your response.

Week 9 eActivity

· Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on project cost schedule analysis tools, and select the tool that you would use for a project. Be prepared to discuss.

Watch the video titled “Microsoft Project 2010 Displaying Cost & Schedule Information” (9 min 03 s). Be prepared to discuss. Video Source: Indika Deepal Weerasinghe. (2011, Mar 8). Microsoft Project 2010 Displaying Cost & Schedule Information [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_sI4F2rkps . This video can be viewed below.