Exam #1 Study Guide
Chapter 1 1. Identify the five major characteristics of a project. a. An established objective b. A defined life span with a beginning and an end c. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals d. Typically, doing something that has never been done before e. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements 2. Identify and briefly describe the six factors that are increasing the demand for project management. f. Compression of the product life cycle i. Speed has become a competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly as possible.
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This technical dimension includes planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. The sociocultural dimension is a much messier, and often contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation. Some suggest that the technical dimension represents the “science” of project management while the sociocultural dimension represents the “art” of managing a project. A manager needs to be a master at both to be successful. 6. Describe what it means that a Project Manager must work with a diverse troupe of characters? r. Project managers are typically the link to the customer and must manage the tension between customer expectations and what is feasible and reasonable. They provide direction, coordination, and integration to the project team, which is often made up of par-time participants loyal to their functional departments. Often times, project managers must work with many different types of people, such as vendors, suppliers and subcontractors. 7. How does a project manager typically spend his or her days? s. A project manager typically spends his or her days working on projects where each day is different from the last. They can always count on their work being personally meaningful and satisfying, and they enjoy the act of creating something new and innovative.
Chapter 2 1. Describe the connection between Project Management and an organization's Strategic Plan. a. 2. The typical Strategic
At this point the scope of the project has been defined in detail and the project team are ready to be appointed. Although a Project Manager can be appointed at any stage of the project, s/he will need to be appointed prior to the establishment of the project team. The Project Manager is responsible for all aspects of project performance including: planning, budget execution, project execution, and close-out Funding.
The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which will establish a timeline of events. This project background will serve as a case study for the analysis in the following section that will be structured such that each of the previously mentioned facets will be independently analyzed and contrasted with project management principles. Finally the paper will conclude with a summary of the analysis and recommendations based on
The job of project manager, as performed by Ron Barnes of CanDo Construction Ltd., is fundamental in making things happen, as he is responsible for winning and completing projects. To do this successfully, he must gather an accurate assessment of the competition through direct contact, past experience, or second-hand reports. He must also organize available material and human resources, and determine the timeframe necessary to complete all processes of a project.
In the current business environment, the demand for project managers is ever growing. In short, project management is a provisional project constrained by time, cost and scope (A guide to the project management body of knowledge, 2013). Between the immense organization, optimization, and communication assets skilled project management brings to a project, it is easy to see why project management is a booming field of study. Furthermore, project management can be both financially and personally rewarding when long term milestones and goals come to fruition.
Project management is the discipline of using policies and procedures to manage a project from creation to competition. The intent of this paper is to assess the role of a project manager and determine if I am well suited for a career in project management. To achieve this goal, I will be discussing the following areas: job description, general career path, education requirements, salary, career outlook, and the pros and cons. I will also be interviewing a colleague that currently working as a project manager to gain a better understanding of typical duties associated with the role.
1. Discuss the principal reasons why project management has become such a popular business tool in recent years.
In today's business it is in the best interest of companies to have project managers. Common sense isn't always easily accomplished. Anyone who's ever worked on a project in a technical setting knows this. Indeed, much of working with others consists of solving unexpected problems and learning from mistakes along the way. Knowing this and having the proper tools a project manager will be able to manage and complete the most intense project out there.
Contrast project management with operations management. How do these differences impact the approach required to manage a project successfully? (15 points)
In a perfect world, the project manager would simply implement the project plan and the project would be completed. The project would work with others to formulate a schedule, organize a project team, keep track of the progress, and announce what needs to be done next, and then everyone would charge along. (Larson p.339) We do not live in a perfect world and most of the time things do not go according to plans. When situations arise project participants get upset, become angry with each other, technical glitches accrue, and sometimes the job takes longer than excepted. The project manager job is to get the project back running smoothly, serve as a peacemaker, and make appropriate trade off, time cost, and the scope of the projects.
Project Management answers the “who”, “what”, “when”, and “how” questions that relate to project requirements. Project management
Project Manager is responsible for performance measurement which includes finding variances between planned and actual work, cost and schedule. The project manager assigns the tasks to the team members and they follow the required course of action. The project manager provides the status reports to all the vital stakeholders in order to provide visibility. The Stakeholders review the metrics and variance and initiate necessary steps for the variances determined in order to complete the project within budget and time.
In order to achieve their business objective, project management and the used methodology are key factor which will be responsible for the success or failure of this project.
Project management is a series of steps taken in sequence to manage a project through all phases from conception to completion. The steps are documented in a strategic plan. The plan is used to ensure that all parties are working towards a common goal. Project management requires applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to specific activities in accordance with established standards and guidelines. There are five basic functions of project management: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Basic activities of project management include: identifying project requirements to define the outcomes; addressing various needs, concerns and expectations of others; setting up, maintaining and carrying out communications; managing others; creating project deliverables; and balancing competing project constraints.
A project is one which has a start and end to it but for a project to start there is lot of planning is done much before the actual project is started, the project manager is the one who has everything on his shoulders from start to end and even after the end if further assistance is required to the client.
Project management takes the form of many job positions and roles within a job force. Project management to some, means a person who manages a project. This is a very broad title. Project managers can manage a project that covers a new program release, an implementation of a new method, or the creation of a physical product for a customer. For me, project management is taking a task from start to finish, with the goals of the customer in mind. Three roles that I would be interested in accepting would be a Retail Construction Project manager, Construction Project Manager, or Project Manager for Space planning.