GC PSC450 Full Course – Discussions and Assignments – October 2016

GC PSC 450 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

In your own words, define organizational strategy.
Explain the relationship between a business’s organizational strategy and its
projects. Based on your budding understanding of project management, predict
which elements of project management are most influenced by the business’s
organizational strategy? Provide specific examples.

DQ 2

Review two of the project management software tools
available via links in the course syllabus. Provide an overview of each
software and decide if you will use either of the software for projects
throughout the course and why. If you decide to use the software, what
challenges, if any, do you foresee with using it? If you have used any of the
software before, please share your experience and any tips you may have.

GC PSC 450 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

Discuss the process your CLC team went through to assess
your team’s project proposals, prioritize them, and select the first project to
be undertaken by your retail store. What challenges did you have, if any? What
worked well? Were you surprised by anything as it relates to the communication
among your team in completing the assignment? What are your team plans for
completing the work breakdown structure? Which software will you be using and
why?

DQ 2

How would you go about analyzing an organizational structure
in terms of creating a work breakdown structure? What are the major
organizational characteristics that you would evaluate? Provide an example to
support your response. You may use your CLC assignment and background
information as your support.

GC PSC 450 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

What are the differences between bottom-up and top-down
estimating approaches? Determine advantages and disadvantages for using each
approach. Under what conditions would you prefer one over the other? Provide a
specific example to support your response.

DQ 2

Why bother creating a WBS? Why not go straight to a project
network and forget the WBS?

GC PSC 450 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

Explain, in your own words, the relationship between a
project network and a project plan. Can a project plan be created without a
project network? Why or why not? Provide a specific example and evidence from
the readings to support your response.

DQ 2

Share a source you will use in writing your resource scheduling
methods analysis paper. Provide an APA citation for the source. Provide a brief
summary of the source, an evaluation of the merits or reliability of the
source, and your personal reaction to the contents of the source such as
whether or not you learned anything new regarding project management.

GC PSC 450 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

The Manchester United Soccer Tournament project team (refer
to the Manchester United Soccer club case study in chapter 4 of the text) has
identified the following potential risks to their project:

1. Referees failing to show up at designated games

· Fighting between teams

· Pivotal error committed by a referee that determines the
outcome of a game

· Abusive behavior along the sidelines by parents

· Inadequate parking

· Not enough teams sign up for different age brackets

· Serious injury

How would you recommend that they respond (i.e., avoid,
accept) to these risks and why? Support your response with evidence from the
readings or other materials. Please be sure to use APA format for citing your
source. As a follow-up to the discussion, critique the response of at least one
fellow classmate by acknowledging both strengths and opportunities for
improvement (things the classmate may not have considered) in his or her
response.

DQ 2

Consider the following statement: “The essence of project
management is risk management.” What does it mean in terms of completing a
project successfully? Support your response with evidence from the readings or
other materials. Be sure to use APA format for citing your source.

GC PSC 450 Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

Reflect upon the projects completed in your CLC team.
Analyze the development of the team in terms of the five-phase model or the
punctuated equilibrium model. Choose the model that does the best job of
explaining how your team evolved. Provide specific examples from your
experience working in your team as to why the model is the best fit for
explaining the development of your team.

DQ 2

As a project manager, describe your approach to managing
conflict within a team. How would you approach resolving a personality conflict
within a team?

GC PSC 450 Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

Why is it important for project managers to resist changes
to the project baseline? Under what conditions would a project manager make
changes to a baseline? When would a project manager not allow changes to a
baseline?

DQ 2

Describe your approach to tracking a project. What kinds of
issues would you focus on if you were a project manager? Why?

GC PSC 450 Week 8 Discussion 1 & 2

DQ 1

What challenges may arise if a U.S. project manager moves to
a foreign country to manage a project for 5 years? Discuss specific strategies
that the U.S. project manager could use to be successful in a situation such as
this. Be specific and support your response with evidence from the readings or
other materials. Please be sure to use APA format for citing your source(s).

DQ 2

Reflect upon your experiences throughout the course. What
was the most surprising thing you learned about project management and why?
What was the most challenging concept studied? What are you most likely to use
as a current or future project manager?

GC PSC 450 Week 1 Benchmark Assignment

Details:

You currently work for a retail store that carries basic
household goods, some groceries, and health and beauty products. The store is
located in the small community (approximately 5,000 total residents) in which
you live and is looking to expand its operations in some way.

For this assignment, you are required to develop a major
project proposal to be undertaken by your employer. You may decide to expand
your product offerings or open an additional store in an adjacent community,
for example.

You may use figure 2.4A and B in chapter 2 of your textbook
as a general outline of what your proposal should entail. Your project proposal
must include the following components:

1. Project title

2. Project manager (yourself)

3. Problem definition or project rationale: Describe the
problem or opportunity for improvement.

4. Goal definition: Describe the project goals.

5. Objective definition: Quantify the savings or benefits
you expect from completing this project. How much will it cost (hours,
materials, methods, equipment, etc.)? Estimate how long the project will take to
complete.

6. Resources: Identify the resources necessary to complete
the project.

7. Risk analysis: Identify the major risks associated with
undertaking this project. How likely is it that these risks will occur? How
will the project be impacted if these risks occur?

Refer to “The Retail Store” for additional
information about your organization.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in
the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not
required.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be
using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the
rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment
criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 2 CLC Project Selection Assignment

Details:

This is a CLC assignment.

Your instructor will assign you to a Collaborative Learning
Community (CLC) team. Submit your project proposal completed for Module 1 to
your CLC team for review.

Work with your CLC team to evaluate the project proposals
submitted by your team members. Refer to “The Retail Store”
information sheet and figure 2.6 in chapter 2 of your textbook (an explanation
of how to use this figure precedes it) for the additional information needed to
complete a priority analysis.

Use the completed priority analysis, your organization
background information, and your knowledge thus far gained in project
management to collectively prioritize the projects and decide which project is
to be undertaken first.

Your CLC team should submit the following:

1. A completed priority analysis

2. Determination of which project is to be undertaken first,
along with a summary of why the project was chosen, including an explanation of
the relationship between the project and the organization’s mission, vision,
and objectives

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 3 Sharp Printing, AG Assignment

 

Details:

Read through the Sharp Printing, AG case found in chapter 5
of the textbook. This case refers to Lauren, an experienced employee who is
assigned as the project manager to the project at hand. According to the WBS,
the estimate on this project was increasingly over budget. In preparation for a
meeting with stakeholders, Lauren brainstormed suggestions to resolve some of
the estimates originally compiled.

Decide what you would do if you were the project manager on
this project. Identify which suggestions offered were supportive to the end
result of the project.

Answer the corresponding questions provided at the end of
the case (500-750 words). Use references from the reading materials to support
your response.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 3 Project Network Plan Assignment

 

Details:

Project Networking provides the necessary tools to monitor
project progress. Considerable time and effort is expended developing
successful project networks.

Refer to exercise 9 in chapter 6 of the textbook. Read the
assignment thoroughly and analyze the data provided in the diagram.

Compute the project network sequence and proper timing to
complete the project using an excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint, or another
appropriate form of delivery method. Address all required information in the
description presented in exercise 9. In addition, respond to the following
questions (300-500 words):

1. Provide the Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, and
Late Finish times for each activity. Compute the Total Slack for each activity.
Determine which activities are on the critical path. How long will it take to
complete the project?

2. An activity that is on the critical path for this project
has increased by 7. Will the project end date be delayed? If so, by how much?

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 4 CLC: Defining the Project Assignment

 

Details:

This is a CLC assignment.

For this assignment, work with your CLC team to develop a
project scope statement and work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project
chosen in Module 2.

You may use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft
PowerPoint, or Microsoft Visio to complete this assignment. You may optionally
use project management scheduling software to create the WBS. Note
that use of project management scheduling software is optional and not
required.

Refer to chapter 4 of your textbook for examples of project
scope statements and layouts of a WBS. A good WBS example is shown in Figure
4.4.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 5 Resource Scheduling Methods Analysis
Paper Assignment

 

Details:

For this assignment, write a paper of 750-1,000 words in
which you analyze the concept of resource scheduling and evaluating various
methods used to schedule resources in project management.

Your analysis should include the following:

1. An analysis of the benefits and challenges associated
with resource scheduling

2. A discussion of at least two methods used to schedule
resources and examples of when each method would be most appropriate, given the
scope of the project

Choose which method would be most appropriate for the
project your CLC team selected and explain why you felt it was most
appropriate.

You must include at least two additional sources, one of
which must be a journal article, outside of your textbook, to support your
analysis.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An
abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be
using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the
rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment
criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can
be submitted to Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 6 Franklin Equipment, Ltd. Case Study
Assignment

 

Details:

Read the “Franklin Equipment, Ltd.” case study in chapter 11
of the textbook.

Answer the corresponding questions in 750-1,000 words.

Use references from the reading materials to support your
responses.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An
abstract is not required.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can
be submitted to Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 7 Tree Trimming Project Assignment

 

Details:

Read through the Tree Trimming Projectcase in
chapter 13 of the textbook. This case refers to the earned value (EV) of the
owner, Will Fence’s Tree Trimming business. Will briefly describes his
techniques for EV. Based on the description provided in the case, is Will using
EV?

Answer the corresponding question provided at the end of the
case (300-500 words). Use references from the reading materials to support your
response.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 7 Project Planning Assignment

 

Details:

When looking at the life of a project plan, it is useful to
graph and outline the cost variance (CV), and schedule variance (SV).
Determining progress, or lack of progress, provides essential information to
assess a given project.

Complete exercise 2 in chapter 13 of the textbook. Given the
data provided, in an excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint, or other appropriate method
of delivery, determine the following:

1. Schedule Variance (SV)

2. Cost Variance (CV)

3. Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

4. Cost Performance Index (CPI)

In 250-300 words, answer the questions provided with the
exercise. Reflect on the assessment of this project assessment. Should the
project continue to improve?

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.

GC PSC 450 Week 8 Training PowerPoint Presentation
Assignment

 

Details:

You have been asked by your supervisor to develop a
PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming training on the following topics:
ethics, international factors, and cross-cultural considerations in project
management.

Using 15-20 slides, create a PowerPoint presentation in
which you discuss the following as it relates to successful project management:

1. A summary of each topic as it relates to project
management

2. Challenges (common pitfalls) and opportunities for growth
and/or improvement

3. Solutions for dealing with challenges common in project
management

4. Include one scenario applicable to each concept in which
your coworkers will have to determine an appropriate response to handling the
issue presented in the scenario and faced by a project management team

While APA format is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin,
unless otherwise directed by your instructor. If so directed, refer to the
Student Success Center for directions. Only Word documents can be submitted to
Turnitin.