Project Management - Creativity and Standards Task - Term Paper Example

Project Management Research - Creativity and Standards Task Introduction This paper analyzes the concept of project management research in an organization so that it meets its objectives under the set standards. The paper analyzes these standards by choosing a profession as the basis of the research. The profession in this case is the network engineering profession. It also looks at the various standards that have been set for organizations. The topic also seeks to analyze publications and conferences that are relevant to the network engineering profession and their relevance to the profession. It also looks at companies and organizations relevant to the profession and furthering career in such organizations. The network engineer profession entails internetworking of services in the telecommunication industry. It has the obligation of developing both hardware and software requirements for computers. Its main concern is the creation, design and the management of computer networks in the telecommunications industry. The profession also entails the development of communication network topologies to enhance communication between various devices. All these obligations and responsibilities are carried out by a network administrator. A network engineer handles the computers in any organization by networking them and other devices so that there is communication in the organization via the computers. The network engineer also has the obligation of configuring the devices and designing an appropriate network topology for the organization. Standards organisations and their standards Standards are crucial in networking because they set a common platform for all manufacturers of networking products. It ensures uniformity in the making of these products and that they carry out this activity in a common way. It also makes interconnection of networks for the various vendors easy and simple. Standardization of networking has the ability to kill or break these products (Bernstein, 2004, p.6). Many vendors today are reluctant to support any new technology that just comes up unless there is a standard base from which it is coming from. They want to be sure that there can be assurance and protection for their hardware and software in case of any failure. This makes it impossible for vendors to release products that are in accordance to the set standards which are acceptable in the market. Therefore, standards ensure that any product released for use in the market is of good quality and that meets the set standards. There are many organizations that have the responsibility of setting these standards in the field of networking. They act as the source of these standards and they also give references. Some of these organizations devote themselves to setting the standards so that they ensure uniformity and compatibility of networking in the region and in the world (Grayson, 2011, p.83). This research paper seeks to look at five of these organizations and the standards they have set in this field. Some of these standards organization include the Organization of Standardization and many others that are discussed in this paper. 1. The Organization of Standardization (ISO) The Organization of Standardization (ISO) has its basis in Paris but has many other branches in other countries all over the world. It is a leading organization in setting of standards in the world. For instance its branch in the UK is known as British Standards Institution, while the one in the United States is ANSI. It sets standards in other areas related to networking like in educational institutions and research centres which deal with networking. Some of the standards that it sets include those that aim at establishing global standards in the communication and information sector. These standards are important to the future carrier of network engineering is that they promote open networking to enhance communication in all environments. They define standards for network engineering for the Open Systems Interconnection (Sosinsky, 2009, p.92). 2. Institute of Electronic and Electronics Engineers The second standards organization is the Institute of Electronic and Electronics Engineers with its basis in the United States. This organization has set several standards but is well known for its standards on data communications. The 802 committees is a sub branch of this organization and it deals with standards related to networking specifications. These standards are important to this area of networking engineering because they enhance the work of professionals. This organization is also famous for various standards that it set including the Logical Link Control, internetworking and wireless connection. This organization also set the standards of network security and those that relate to networking like the Metropolitan Area Network standards (Dean, 2009, p.38). 3. Electronics Industries Association The third organizations standard is the Electronics Industries Association with its basis in the US. This organization was originally formed by manufacturers of networking products in the country. It deals with standards related to data processing and communication devices and equipment. It has set many standards that have a relation with telecommunication of these devices. They are also well known for standards dealing with computer communication. It is also important to note that this organization works closely with other standards organization like the ANSI among others. This organization sets standards relating to interface between various devices like modems and the computer. 4. American national Standards Institute The fourth standards organization is the American national Standards Institute which is in the United States. This organization sets standards of trade and communication in the field of networking. It sets standards for codes in the networking systems, communication protocols in these networks. The codes and such standards by this organization help network engineers to have similar codes for the many different professionals. This organization also makes other standards like for alphabets and signalling schemes. It also makes standards in the microcomputer field under the networking field (Anttalainen, 2003, p.75). 5. International Telecommunication Union The fifth standards organization is the International Telecommunication Union which deals with setting standards related to communication. This organization has been in existence for close to 50 years in this field. It has its basis in Geneva in Switzerland. It has made many standards in almost all aspects of networking and they are applicable in most parts of the world. It has set standards related to internet under networking to ensure that they are effective and reduce the cases of theft through the internet. The internet standards make interconnections for network engineers easy and their systems easy. Publications, conferences and workshops Various publications have been written on this field of network engineering with the aim of impacting knowledge about the field. Such publications include books, journals and magazines on this field containing all relevant information regarding network engineering. These publications and conferences are very much relevant to network engineering because they bring together the professionals and increase their knowledge. Holding conferences and workshops is also very common especially with those that aim at impacting knowledge to professionals in this field. They also aim at bringing together professionals from different regions and all over the world in this field. The workshops aim at showcasing various innovations from people in this field. They also educate professionals in the carrier of network engineering on the emerging trends in the field of networking industry so that they embrace the changes (Anttalainen, 2003, p.77). These conferences and workshops enhance creativity and innovation in the field by allowing professionals to air their views on the trend of networking. They also get an opportunity to air their grievances and challenges they face as they manufacture and sell networking products to the market. Various conferences and workshops have been held in the world for different reasons. This paper analyzes all these publications, conferences and workshops y looking at some of them and their impacts and importance to the networking field. 1. The International conference on computer science and education. Some of the important conferences relating to this field include the International conference on computer science and education. This conference took place inn 2012 and it marks the 7th conference on the same since its inauguration. Some of the topics that this particular conference addressed include the cloud computing, green communication and internet among many issues. The conference puts all the information on these topics and how the issues were addressed in their website so that it easy for every professional to get the information. This particular conference also addresses issues to do with the interaction between engineering education and computer science in the world today (Anttalainen, 2003, p.79). 2. The 2012 International Symposium on performance Analysis of Systems and Software The 2012 International Symposium on performance Analysis of Systems and Software is another conference that is usually held annually to bring together professionals. This conference aims at showcasing products that manufacturers have come up with and are selling in the market. It acts as platform for this carrier of network engineers to see the newest products in the market and how they are working (Lowe, 2008, p.73). The conference brought together creativity and innovations from different professionals in the world and launching for many of these projects. Awards were also given to those who emerged best among all the products. 3. International Workshop on education technology and Computer Science The 3rd annual workshop of International Workshop on education technology and Computer Science was held this year. It took place in second week of March this year in China. It also aims at bringing together researchers in the field of network engineering from various parts of the world. It brought together researchers from Asia, Europe, North America and other countries with the aim of encouraging interactions among themselves. This workshop also aims at bringing them together so that they exchange ideas on issues relating to education on technology and computer science (Schwalbe, 2010, p.24). 4. The article on visualization the design mode for networking construction and their management. There are various articles and publications addressing issues relating to networking. Articles that address this issue include the article on visualization the design mode for networking construction and their management. This article is written by Jun Zheng and many other writers. It was written in 2010 and looks at constructing a network and how to manage it using the latest technology and designs. It enhances the practical ability of professionals to construct networks. Another such article is the article by Garcia-Bauelos that analyzes how to find and analyze social collaboration networks. These networks are analyzed in Mexico and its computer science community. This article was published in the year 2009. 5. The Network engineering for agile belief networks model Another publication on this field includes various journal papers like the Network engineering for agile belief networks model. Laskey and Mahoney are the main writers of this journal that addresses transactions in the knowledge of data engineering in networking. The publications also include magazines like the one by Daniel Olguin from Mexico. Publications also include thesis by networking professionals like a thesis by Taemie Kim who has written thesis statement on the issue of systems in organizational computing. Organizations and companies Organizations relevant to the field of networking include the Institute of Electronic and Electronics Engineers, The Organization of Standardization (ISO) and the British computer society. These organizations set standards for network engineers so that they ensure uniformity in the market. This makes them relevant to the chosen area of study. Each organization above has certain standards that it sets concerning networking products in the market. T he role of these organization is to ensure that professionals in network engineering work under a certain framework with set standards so that there is uniformity in the field. These organizations are relevant to this field of study because they have a relationship with network. These organizations also promote and encourage network engineering by bringing together other professionals in this area of study. They are relevant to the area of study because they are experts in network engineering (Hallberg, 2009, p.53). Their expertise is shown in their setting of standards for this field. This makes all the above organizations relevant and appropriate for the chosen area of study. Being a member of these organizations would be very helpful in enhancing career in network engineering because they are relevant to the field. Some companies relevant to this area of study include the MS, Google, IBM, Oracle and Apple. All this are companies that produce software in the field of computers and networking. They come up with programs used in computers and other devices that use technology to operate. 1. Microsoft (MS) Microsoft (MS) is a company that is based in America and it deals with designing operating systems and is the producer of Microsoft Office. This company produces software for both desktops and servers for networks. Google on the other hand is a corporation that has its basis in America. It deals with producing internet products and services. Some of these products include providing search engines, cloud computing and advertising. 2. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an international company that deals with manufacturing hardware and software for computers in the world. It also deals with hosting and offering other consultant services. 3. Oracle Oracle specializes in developing software and hardware products for computers. It also deals with marketing of such computer products like the database management systems. It is famous for database development and creation of such systems. 4. Apple Apple is an international company that deals with designing, developing and selling software. It also sells personal computers and electronics to consumers. This company makes and sells mobile phones. Each company above has various departments that it runs so that it ensures smooth operation of its operations. Despite the fact they are different companies, they share one in common which is the departments they operate. This is because they deal in the same kind of business and produce almost the same products just that they are competitors in the market. Therefore, they share the kinds of department they have in their operations. Although they have similar departments, there are other special departments that each company has in a bid to compete with the other companies. The department that would suit the field of network engineering in the each of the above companies is the network department. Under this department, a network administrator works as the professional to ensure smooth operation of networks in the company. Therefore, this department is very relevant to the chosen area of study because it deals with designing and managing networks. The department is common to all the above companies because they are in the same field so they share such features (Hallberg, 2009, p.56). The job requirements for the above post are also similar in all the five organizations. They all aim at getting a professional to carry out the duties set for a network administrator. They require that employees have a degree in network engineering and work experience. They also require that any aspiring employee in the post to be a member of a standards organization and to get certification from a relevant body. This ensures that they hire the best professional for the post. However, experience varies from one company to another. For instance, IBM requires than an aspiring employee for the post has more than 5 years experience, while Oracle requires one to have more than 7 years experience in the same filed.  Technical Project Management It involves designing and implementing solutions in a project with the aim of minimizing risks and maximizing ROI. Technical project management involves coming up with innovations so that they assist in realizing dreams of customers in any organization. Its main aim is to solve challenges that relating to delivery and applications. It deals with the technical bit in any organization so that it solves such problems to ensure customer satisfaction. Technical project management also involves identifying opportunities in the business environment and incorporating latest technology to the organization. In the field of networks engineering, technical project management is very vital especially in the management of research (Hallberg, 2009, p.59). This field involves carrying out a lot of research to get information regarding it for the success of the organization. Network engineers carry out technical project research so they need enough knowledge on how to manage these researches. They have to face the challenges that relate to technical project management and come out successfully in the research work. It requires that technical project managers carry out proper planning and scheduling so that be in a position to manage the scope of the project. Technical projects also need proper evaluation of the performance because they are more technical than the other types of research. The manager of a network engineering research project has the obligation of exercising communication with the other team members so that they achieve goals of the technical project. Project management involves proper planning and organization in order to attain the objectives and goals of the project. Technical project management faces a major challenge of achieving the set goals within the set period of time and working within the budget. Another challenge of technical project management in the field of network engineering is the optimization of inputs and pooling them to achieve pre-defined goals. Just like a project manager, a technical project manager has the obligation of ensuring integration of all resources to achieve the goals at the end of the project (Davis, 2009, p.53). Its development was as a result of its application in the engineering fields and more so the network engineering. This is because this field carries out many researches in a bid to keep up with the growing technology and the increasing demands of clients. All projects under this field require that it uses essential techniques so that it beats the technicalities in the project management. Unlike other projects, technical projects require more of practical than theoretical knowledge on how to carry them out for success. The use of enough resources in technical project management under the network engineering field is very vital because managers here have to ensure the team has enough knowledge for the kind of network they come up with in the project. Therefore, a technical project manger should be sufficiently aggressive so that he ensures the project gets completed in the due time and that it meets all its objectives in the field of network engineering (Banzal, 2007, p.45). . Conclusion This research paper explains more about the network engineering profession in details which has improved my knowledge on the profession. This is very important because it is the profession I plan to undertake after completing my degree. The research has enabled me to know the kind of challenges faced by professionals under this network engineering. It also analyzes the requirements that are required to be a network engineer and those that are very marketable in the job market. The standards set by relevant bodies on this profession are also very helpful as they open one to the world of network engineers. The area of study is also relevant to the profession I plan to take after completing my degree. This information is useful to me because it forms a basis for me to plan the way forward regarding my plans after degree given all the information from this research. Information of the organizations above is also helpful. This is because it gives all the details regarding their requirements and expectations on network engineers as employees in their companies. The workshops and conferences give relevant information on how one can get training in the field of Computer Communications and Networks Engineering. References Anttalainen, T, 2003, Introduction to telecommunications network engineering, Artech House. Banzal, S, 2007, Data and computer network communication, Firewall Media. Bernstein. A. B 2004, “Guide to your career,” The Princeton Review, pg. 345-401. Davis, B, 2009, “97 Things every project manager should know,” O’Reilly Media Inc, pg. 145-198. Dean, T, 2009, “Network+ guide to networks,” Cengage Learning, pg. 390-407. Grayson, R, 2011, “Careers in network engineering,” The Rosen Publishing Group, pg. 34-67. Hallberg, B, 2009, Networking, a beginner’s guide, McGraw Hill Professional. Lowe, D, 2008, Networking all-in-one desk reference for dummies, John Wiley & Sons. Schwalbe, K, 2010, “Information technology: project management,” Cengage Learnin, pg. 567-645. Sosinsky, B, 2009, Networking Bible, John Wiley & Sons. Read More