Applied Project Management : Integrated Change Control

An old adage-plan the work and work the plan, in essence this is the key to successful project management. Project Managers (PM) must first plan out the project and then monitor and control the execution of the program work. There is a tendency for projects to short change the planning process. This is a common mistake. The time spent properly planning will result in reduced cost and duration, and increased quality over the life of the project. Using tried and true best practices for a PM will provide assurance that the program /project will be beneficial and successful.

The advantage of integration different theories is that decreases repetition where two theories are relaying the same message with different opinions. Another advantage is that integration brings consistency to theories

LAFS.3.RI.3.7 Integration Knowledge and Ideas (Use information gained from illustrations and words from the text to demonstrate understanding of the text.

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first thing we should do when undertaking any kind of project. A project plan can allow a Project Manager to complete a project within a specified timeline and a specified budget.Reaching these important goals, will make the project customer happy and help the organization to build a good relationship with the customer for future projects. Project planning is fundamental in order to avoid failure and disappointment. In project management, effective planning is absolutely required if the individual or group wishes to deliver a finished project on time and on budget. From a Project Management article (http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/40904.aspx) I read that during the project planning phase, plans are developed in the form of project baselines for schedule, cost, scope, quality and risks, all of which are components of the overall project plan. This gives the Project Manager basis for monitoring project progress and upon which to base decisions necessary for managing changes needed to help get the project back on track.

The first step will be to look at the goals of the project, and align them with the mission of the company. Systematically, the project will be broken into phases: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Budgeting, Evaluating, and Reporting. Each phase will be further broken down into tasks and placed into a work breakdown structure. From this view, one is able to see the entire project duration, critical path, and milestones. The Planning phase is integral in any project. This phase of the project defines project objectives, mission, goals, and approach. In addition, outlining key elements of the project is critical: performance expectations, risks analysis, and contingency plans. However, after completion

I had my ups and downs through out my self-change project, which was to turn off the water when I brushed my teeth, to shorten my shower times and turn off the water, and to use a reusable water bottle. I struggled the most with turning off the water, when I brushed my teeth I just keep forgetting to do it. Towards the middle I was able to turn off the water more, but I did notice that during work where I have limited time and I am in a hurry I keep forgetting. Towards the end, I was more successful.

Another central idea that appears is integration. It appears on page 95 when it states,

Project planning is the determination of the progress of a project to be carried out in a serial manner. (Successful Project Management, 2011: 57). Project planning is very essential in managing a project and will be

Advantages and risk assessment of usage of crowdsourcing from the change and project management perspective

It seems that a definition for the term integration cannot be easily agreed upon. (Huntley, 1999) In fact there are so many different terms for integration that it’s easy to see why many would question its effectiveness. The terms include interdisciplinary, thematic, nested, transdisciplinary, integrated, connected, sequenced, shared, webbed, threaded, immersed, networked, blended, unified, coordinated, fused, teamed and multidisciplinary. This can only indicate the lack of coherence regarding what is meant by science and math integration. (Judson 2000) Within these different terms you will also most likely find different meanings for different educators. Without a clear focused definition we cannot have “a basis for designing, carrying out, and interpreting the results of research.” (Czerniak, 1999)

Both surveys determined that the participants had a better and a common understanding the definition and value for change management.

In study conducted by Aubr, Hobbs & Thuillier (2007), disparity existed between business strategy and project plan. They identified it as project strategy, which projects failed to identify. According to Freeman, (2010), business strategy and project management were not aligned as the project plan had not been aligned with the business strategy. Because of misalignment, the business strategy is not clear and therefore, the project manager initiates the project without considering the business strategy. In recent times,

Enthusiasm is needed from everyone affected by the project, including the User Community. Our User Community is the company team members that are impacted by the project. They may be the end user, system administrator, report recipient or others. Building enthusiasm for a project with the User Community will depend on several factors. First, if the change benefits the user. Second, the end user’s reluctance or acceptance of change. Third, the end user’s comfort with technology. Several other factors will determine their enthusiasm or effort needed to build their enthusiasm for the project. I propose adding a change management component throughout the project to our project management processes. Change management, in

Utilizing BIM enabled integrated project delivery presents many challenges for the project management team because BIM enable many new channels for effective communication and collaboration and the choice of the right tool at the right time becomes difficult even for people with a knowledge of the benefits of BIM (Rekola et al. 2010).Moreover, integration is about managing people and getting them to work together to achieve something more than the sum of parts. To do this, the project manager requires leadership, motivation and teambuilding. It may also involve trust building among project participants and conflict resolution (Fewings, Peter 2012. Construction Project Management: An Integrated Approach (2nd Edition). All the above mentioned skills can be classified as soft skills of the project manager. Hence, in order to succeed in today’s dynamic industry, any individual wishing to enter the industry, should not only possess core technical skills, but also a diverse set of soft skills.(Ahn and Kwon 2010) .

Due Due to its unique philosophy and form of management project management can thus be viewed as dynamic.