Take Home Exam and Interview - Assignment Example

Running head: TAKE HOME EXAM Project Management Take Home Exam and Interview Insert Insert Grade Insert October 18, The exam 1. The strategies to be employed a) The project’s organization The organization of a project will be determined largely by the scope and size of the project. This is a rather small project. The project was aimed at developing a new IT-based business system for the organization. Thus, a complex organizational structure is not necessary here, as it may impede decision-making processes. For this project, a project manager, the project team, and the project steering group will suffice to ensure its completion. In addition, the project sponsor/client will be in close contact with the project organization. Apart from the sponsor, the other individuals need to be highly skilled in project planning and management with some years of relevant professional experience. These individuals take part in the decision-making processes that may occur when the project is underway. To ensure a success for the project, the roles of ach of the members of this project organization need to be specified and each individual should stick to his are of jurisdiction. The project manager is the leader of the project organization. The manager has the responsibility of managing the resources that are available for the project. He or she is also responsible for ensuring that the project is executed according to the schedule. b) external communication Communication is very important in the management of a project. ‘It is important that all members of the project team (including the client) be on the same page at the same time during every phase of the project’ (Goto, 2000, p.5). It should be noted that all the activities in a project are essential for the completion of the project. A close and effective communication mechanism will enable the project manager and the other members of the team to identify the areas that may cause delay in the completion time of the project. This problem can then be fixed in liaison with the client depending on its gravity. There is need for constant communication with the project sponsor/client. This can be achieved by issuing more than one reliable communication means like mobile phones, e-mail addresses. The client organization and the consulting firm both have their permanent contacts that should be exchanged during the execution of the project. c) Risk management Failures in projects can be caused by risks and uncertainties that may not be foretold. However, the risks can be minimized by observing certain criterion. In planning for the project, it is important to ensure that the activities involved in the tasks are identified and time estimates given accordingly. The project manager should ensure that proper estimates are given for the resources required for this project and the possible completion time. It is also necessary that the project team comprises members that are highly specialized in their respective areas. The project manager should also develop and adopt an effective monitoring and evaluation scheme for the project to ensure that the project is carrying on according to the schedule. During this process, the manager and the project team may notice that some adjustments need to be made. The manager has to be flexible in order to manage certain risks and uncertainties. Such adjustments ought to be made so long as they have been considered necessary to ensure project completion and success. d) Building a good team The project team functions like an organization and organizational cultures should apply. The manager has to understand that the members have different skills and abilities. He should recognize the diversity and utilize the different skills and abilities. Conflicts among the team members should be prevented. There is a need to clarify and define clearly the roles and responsibilities of each member of the project team (Linse & Tongur, 2011, p.22). The project manager should know all the members of the team and listen to their views on how to execute the project smoothly. 2. Projects and Scope Creep Projects are defined by their goals and objectives as well as the scope that specifies the short-term mission to be accomplished by the project, the financial resources available for the project, and the time within which the project has to be completed (Reh, 2011). Proper definition of the project scope in terms of financial and time budget is essential for the success of the projects. The scope will outline the tasks to be performed, the estimated period for each of these activities, and the estimate of financial resources required by the activities. The project scope may also include a list of other activities that are not part of the project budget but are necessary before the project can be carried out (Reh, 2011). For instance, it may include an item like obtaining legal documents for a piece of land before a construction project can begin. This is not part of the project and neither is it included in the budget. However, its necessity cannot be overlooked. One of the projects by the guest lecturers was a management consultant project. This entails different tasks aimed at providing solutions to the clients. The goal of the project is to improve the general level of satisfaction of the customers of the organization through improved management system. It aims at utilizing the little resources provided by the clients in developing operations plan that can be adopted by the client organization. The tasks involved in the project include identification of key policies of an organization and developing ways of integrating the policies into the operations of the organization. The guest lecturers also presented a construction project aimed at improving the infrastructure of a client organization. A construction project is concerned with the upgrading of the facilities of the organization to modern standards. It aims at developing modern facilities in the client organization to accommodate its expansion. Various tasks are involved right from site identification, assembly of materials, up to the final erection of the facility. The other project was a product development project. This involves the development of a new product or service to be offered by the organization. The objective of the project is to develop a new product that is capable of meeting the changing needs of the clients. This ensures that the organization acquires and maintains larger market. The activities involved in the development of a new product may not be identified fully at the beginning of the project (Tatikonda and Rosenthal, 1999, p.1). Identification of the new product line, conducting market research for the product, and developing a sample of the product are some of the initial activities. A scope creep is a scenario in which a project that seemed simple becomes complex leading to some changes in its scope. A scope creep may not be avoidable and even the best managers should expect a deviation from the project plan (Hallgren, 2007, p.774). Scope creep can be challenging especially to the clients that do not notice that there may be changes in the cost of different activities when carrying out the project. Such clients fail to realize that these changes can have adverse consequences in the project completion (Goto, 2000, p.4). Dealing with the scope creep is typically similar for all the three projects. Firstly, there is a need to define properly the scope of the project during the planning stage. This involves identification of all the important activities and giving proper estimates of their budget in terms cost and time. Scope creep is also managed through effective control of the projects, as they are underway. It is necessary to evaluate and review the project management techniques to be applied for the particular project (Doll, 2001). It is also necessary to be ready for a scope creep so that it is does not come as surprise (Doll, 2001). 3. Stakeholder management A stakeholder is anyone who may not have a role in executing the project but has control or interest in the project or may be affected by its outcomes negatively or positively (Morris et al, 2011, p.238). Stakeholder management then refers to managing the expectations of these individuals. It is very necessary for the success of any project in an organization (Thompson, 2011). This is because the stakeholders have significant impact on progress and final success of the project (Project Management Consulting, 2010, p.2). There are different mechanisms of managing stakeholders. The first mechanism of managing stakeholders is performing stakeholder analysis (Thompson, 2011). The stakeholder analysis enables the manager to identify the most influential and most interested. There is need to identify the stakeholders, note down the individuals with significant impacts, and develop ways of wining their support for the project. For instance, organization’s projects need resources to be completed (12 Project Planning 111007, p.14). The suppliers are thus important stakeholders. These key should be the manager’s main target (Coaching Business to Success, 2006). This stakeholder management approach applies to nearly all types of projects. Secondly, the manager should involve the stakeholders (especially the most influential stakeholders) in managing the project (Coaching Business to Success, 2006). He should listen to, and address, the issues that the stakeholders have. Stakeholders feel a sense of significance and identity if included in the projects at some point. If excluded or ignored, these stakeholders may fight the project even if the project is beneficial to them. It has been observed that ‘individuals may find the project fundamentally beneficial yet still resist or impede its progress simply because the project manager did not ask for advice at a critical juncture, did not invite them to the milestone ceremony, or did not refer to them in an interview with the local press’ (Morris et al, 2011, p.240). This means is mainly appropriate for projects in a business organization and the stakeholders here are the stockholders. Ideally, the shareholders have power and influence over, and interest in, the business projects. Involving them in the project will enable them understand better the possible outcomes of the project, negative or positive. The manager should also understand how the stakeholders would react to the project (Thompson, 2011). It is necessary to understand and if possible ensure procedures to compensate for the negative impacts of the project. He should inform the individuals that are likely to be affected, in good time, of the difficult issues that may arise with the project. This is applicable for construction projects that may have adverse environmental effect and displacement of population. The manager has to ensure that proper environmental impact assessment is performed before and the project is approved. The individuals that may be displaced or inconvenienced in some way by the project need to be compensated before the project is underway. 4. The similarities and differences between project organizations and general organizations A project organization has certain features that distinguish it from general organizations like business and industrial corporations. Firstly, a general organization is a collection of individuals/groups of individuals that are organized to achieve some long-term objectives. On the other hand, a project organization is a temporary organization developed to work on a given task (project) (Project Shrink Publishing, 2010). Such an organization draws its members temporarily from other departments within or outside the organization to form the project team. A project has a limited scope whereas organizations have wider scope. Similarly, while projects have predetermined completion times after which the organization would be terminated, general organizations are concerned with the continuity of their operations. A general organization will be identified by its statement of mission and vision and the goals and objectives that are to be met in the end. The mission of such organizations specify what the organizations are out to do whereas their vision indicates what or where the organizations would want to be in some later date. However, the lifetime of the organizations is often not predetermined. A project will be defined by its scope; the mission of the project, the set of activities that ensure its completion, the project completion time and the resources required for the project. The projects have specified period within which they have to be completed. After the mission has been accomplished, the project organization will be terminated and every member of the project team will resume his/her regular duties On the other hand, project organization and other organizations have certain similarities that enable the use of modern management techniques to be applied to both cases (Organizing for Project Management, 2011). A project is seen as an organization that perform a given task (Eskerod and & Blichfeldt, 2005, p.495). Firstly, it has been observed that both organizations have some sets of objectives and goals to be achieved. The project team will work to ensure that the project is completed within the specified time using the scarce resources that are available for the project. The aim is to minimize the time and cost while maximizing on the quality and positive outcome of the project. General organizations are also concerned with such objectives. The organizations would want to ensure their continuity and sustainability by maximizing their output while providing quality products and services. With these similar objectives, both organizations apply modern management techniques like information systems, decision support systems and other management science techniques to improve their operations. The other similarity is witnessed in the organization structure, culture, value, and norms of each of the organizations. Just like the manager of an organization that ensures all organizational activities are in place, every project will have a project manager that leads the project team to ensure the activities are performed according to the schedule. Similarly, general organizations have other key stakeholders that influence or are affected by the operations of the organizations. This scenario is seen in project organizations. There are individuals that do not take part in the activities involved in the project. However, these individuals may have control over the activities involved on the projects (Project Shrink Publishing, 2010) or they may be affected by the project. Besides, a typical organization consists of different departments or units that work towards a common objective. Each of the departments has heads (e.g. line managers) that report to the top manager. In the same way, projects consist of interrelated activities all of which are necessary to ensure the project is completed. Interview Interviewer: Please tell me about yourself and the company you work for. The manager: I am project manager at CA Consulting AB, a consulting firm that is based in Stockholm. Interviewer: What business does the company do? The manager: The Company provides consultancy services. It is often contracted by different business organization to carry out projects that provide business solutions to the clients. Interviewer: What kind of projects do you work with? The manager: We deal with several types of projects like product development project, system upgrading, management consulting projects, organizing for major events or activities and many others. Interviewer: Describe how your work with projects. Do you have a project model? What does it look like? The manager: There is no precise project model that is followed. We deal with different projects that take different models. Interviewer: Do you work with project teams? If yes, how are the teams formed? The manager: Yes. The project groups are formed from members with professional skills in the key areas needed in the project. Interviewer: Which project dimension do you consider important? The manager: All the three dimensions are very important for the success of the projects. However, much emphasis is put on time. Interviewer: How is project management different from managing other organizations? The manager: Project management is different from the management of other business in its scope. Projects often have a short-term vision that is to be achieved within a predefined time and with predefined resources whereas the operations of a business organization are bound to continue indefinitely with undefined quantity of resources. Interviewer: What are the challenges and how do you handle them? The manager: Several challenges are encountered as a project manager. One of these is the inability to predict precisely what the future will entail. In planning for the resources for a given project, the estimates are based on the expectations of the future. However, significant deviations often occur that are far from the expectations. This can be managed by close control of the project and being flexible to adjust to unexpected changes. Another challenge is working with new individuals for different project. Getting along with such individuals is often challenging. However, if the manager understand that individuals have diversity in different aspect, it is quite easy to get along with the project team. Interviewer: How would you advise a new project manager? The manager: Well, the manager has to understand that, just like any other professions, project management has several challenges. This is particularly felt when an individual is new in the field. At the first instance, the professional might doubt that the theoretical principles cannot be practiced. However, with time, he gets to know how to manage these challenges. Reference List Coaching Business to Success. 2006. Stakeholder Management. (Online). Available from http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com/stakeholder_management.html [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Doll, S., 2001. Seven steps for avoiding a scope creep. (Online). Available from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/seven-steps-for-avoiding-scope-creep/1045555 [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Eskerod, P. and Blichfeldt, B., 2005. Managing team entrees and withdrawals during the project life cycle. International Journal of Project Management, 23; 495–503. Goto, K., 2000. Web Design Workflow: Project Organization and Management. (Online). Available from http://www.gotomedia.com/downloads/goto_workflow.pdf [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Hallgren, M. 2007. Beyond the point of no return: On the management of deviations. International Journal of Project Management, 25; 773–780 Organizing for Project Management. 2011. (Online). Available from http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/02_Organizing_for_Project_Management.html [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Linse & Tongur. 2011. Leadership, team, and conflicts. Morris, P. et al. 2011. The Oxford handbook of project management. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks Online. Project Shrink Publishing. 2010. Project Organization Structure. (Online). Available from http://www.softwareprojects.org/project_intake_organization211.htm [Accessed October 19, 2011]. 12 Project Planning. 2011. Project Management: Leadership and Control-The project and its environment. Project Management Consulting, 2010. Stakeholder Management-Part A. Project Management Issues and Considerations. (Online). Available from http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons4/iac1440/sld001.htm [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Project Smart, 2011. Stakeholder Management. (Online). Available from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/stakeholder-management.html [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Reh, F.J., 2011. Management: Project scope. (Online). Available from http://management.about.com/od/PMterms/g/Project-Scope.htm [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Tatikonda, M and Rosenthal, S. 1999. Successful Execution of Product Development Projects: The Effects of Project Management Formality, Autonomy, and Resource Flexibility. Academy of Management Proceedings. (Online). Available from http://om.aomonline.org/dyn/award/tatik.pdf [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Thompson, R. 2011. Stakeholder Analysis: Winning support for your projects. (Online). Available from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm [Accessed October 19, 2011]. Read More