SU PMC6601 Full Course (May 2019)

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 1 Discussion

Project Management Basics

Question 1

Analyze a project you have worked on. The project may have been at home, at work, or in other settings (for example, church or school). Answer the following questions when you describe the project:

Explain how the project originated.

Was the process used to initiate and manage the project formal or informal? Analyze how this affected the outcome.

Describe the difficulties you encountered while completing your project. How did you overcome that?

Evaluate the final outcome of the project.

Evaluate how the project was managed. Provide recommendations on improving the system.

Question 2

Describe the roles of the following project stakeholders: Project manager, Project sponsor, Team members.

Question 3

Describe the relationship between a project manager and a project sponsor. Who is ultimately responsible for the success of a project, the project manager or the project sponsor? Explain.

Question 4 Define the following terms and explain how these terms are specific and unique to the practice of project management: Project, Program, Project management

Question 5 Discuss the various project management process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing) and explain how they relate to the phases of a PLC.

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response. Justify your answers with examples and reasoning. Comment on the postings and views of at least two peers.

Your posting should be the equivalent of 1 to 2 pages (500–1000 words) in length.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 2 Discussion

Project with No Direction: Scenario:

A major national insurer decided to evolve new business development practices. The project to implement this idea started in 2000 and was led by a succession of key senior vice presidents (VPs) as part of their executive growth. Twelve years later, the organization had still not finished with its stated purpose due to changing requirements, new ideas, a succession of leaders, and executive ambivalence. This effort had all the appearance of a major strategic initiative—three hundred people, a “war room” with a great storyboard, and lots of spokespersons. Key staff members were quick to extol the great progress made. However, when the new CEO asked, “Why are we doing this?” there was no coherent answer.

Result: Within days, the entire program was scrapped. In less than a week, the project offices were vacant and phone calls went unanswered. When the project died, no one noticed except the executives who had been the project advocates. They were out of a job.

For the first part of your post, address the following question:

Analyze the root cause of this situation. There was a huge disconnect between project management and the organizational strategy and strategic direction in this scenario. How could this gap have been bridged?

Then, address one of the following bullets.

Analyze the triple-constraints relationship among a project scope, cost, schedule, and quality. If quality is held constant and the scope is widened, what will happen to the cost and schedule?

Explain a WBS created for a project you have worked on. Did the team refer to the WBS while sequencing work and creating a risk plan? What was the outcome? If not, describe how the team determined tasks and sequencing. Evaluate the outcome. Cite additional challenges to a project that might result from poor work breakdown practices.

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.

Justify your answers with examples and reasoning. Comment on the postings and views of at least two peers.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 3 Discussion

Team Building and Ignoring Risk

Address one of the following questions:

Question 1:

Project Teams: Team building is an important aspect of managing a project team. Propose the right time to begin the team-building process. Justify what you believe to be the best approach for building a project team. Analyze some of the challenges that project teams face along with strategies to overcome those challenges.

Question 2:

Ignoring Project Risk: Scenario: A new executive education course was proposed and approved by the once dynamic, but now visibly ailing, Vice President (VP) for human resources. Consultants were employed to gathered requirements across all company units. The course idea was widely applauded as a necessary step for executive development in the fast-paced enterprise. A course outline had been completed and approved when the sick VP for human resources had suddenly retired. After a few weeks, a new VP for human resources was hired. The new VP was unconvinced that the course was necessary. Her charge was to cut costs and streamline the human resources department to fit the new image of the company.

Result: The course was watered down from a week of dynamic, intensive training to a few insignificant handouts and, after a budget cut, was discontinued before implementation.

Discuss:

Evaluate the scenario. Was this result foreseeable? Why or Why not? Explain what you think could have been done to enhance the risk readiness for this project.

Choose some techniques that the team could have used in this situation to identify both internal and external risks to project success. Justify your choices. Describe the techniques for evaluating the likelihood of each risk and its impact on the project if it occurs.

Evaluate which elements should be part of a written plan to deal with high potential risks and elements that might have major consequences for a project.

Question 3:

Communicate for Project Success: Scenario: A major enterprise-level business process development project was initiated. Early in the project, it was clear that each constituent business unit had different needs. An active executive sponsor pushed for a steering committee representation from all business units. The team began by gathering requirements across business units. All levels of the organization were represented—executives, middle managers, and frontline workers. Requirements were translated into specifications and communicated to the business units. Prior to steering committee meetings, decision makers received detailed information on the project’s status and progress in meeting requirements.

Result: The team developed a broad approach toward developing a new process with an enterprise-level core that allowed customization among the business units. The project achieved the desired results and received customer acceptance at the business unit level. The executive sponsor (also the primary customer at the enterprise level) was applauded for his business acumen, while the direct project sponsor continued on her path for promotion from the assistant VP to being the VP of the organization.

Discuss:

Analyze the critical factors in the success of this project.

For a project like the one described above, propose the key components of a project communication plan.

Question 4:

Project Procurement Risk: Analyze the different types of procurement contracts. Include an evaluation of the risk level associated with each type of contract. Propose the procurement management process.

Justify your answers with examples and reasoning. Comment on the postings of at least two peers.

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 4 Discussion

Question 1:

The Monthly Project Report: Each month, all project managers were called for an executive session to present the status of their projects. All project managers and the key project team members spent five to seven days a month preparing standardized briefing charts for this critically important meeting. The meeting lasted well over half a day while each project manager waited for his or her turn to receive executive guidance.

Result: The project managers, team members, and administrative assistants wasted hundreds of hours each month preparing detailed slides, graphics, analyses, and report papers to provide to the senior executive. The senior executive was gratified at the level of work and detail his people put in to keep him apprised of every project nuance. The senior executive had a much larger comfort zone of information to rely upon when queried by his boss.

Analysis: When most organizations work Monday to Friday, there are about twenty workdays in any month. Spending over 25 percent of the available monthly work time in preparing reports drove project management costs up and undermined organizational commitment to disciplined project management. Worse, tremendous amounts of overtime were required to offset the lost project productivity. This forced the project managers, team members, administrative assistants, and contractors to work late nights and weekends. Productivity losses were staggering. The senior executive was promoted, but the organization was ultimately branded a failure and subsumed under another executive. Several project managers no longer work for the company.

Discuss:

Evaluate the executive sessions. Should they be held on the basis of project performance norms and the key project milestone dates and not per a fixed schedule? Why? Would this require changes in organizational culture? Explain.

How might a culture of openness be established that encourages briefings to senior executives regarding deviations from expected performance (both good and bad)? Offer a few ideas.

Explain some of the less time-consuming and systematic ways through which an executive manager can update himself or herself on the status of a project.

Question 2:

Review the PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct on the PMI website and answer the following questions:

What are the underlying international and global values of PMI’s Code of Ethics?

What is the difference between aspirational and mandatory standards identified in the PMI Code of Ethics? Justify your answer.

Question 3:

Leading the Main Street Project: Scenario: A small town in Texas wanted to enhance its main street to reduce traffic safety problems, enhance business, increase the number of businesses, and make the street more appealing. The main street was also a four-lane state highway that was restricted to 45 mph speed in the less populated area and 35 mph speed in the business distinct. The project was approved by the town council, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) provided funding to create enhancements that included relocating overhead wires and installing curbs and gutters while filling in drainage ditches. The project was to last for two years.

Result: Poor project communications management resulted in business owners not being aware of all the aspects of the plan. Fears arose that businesses would fail during construction. Project leaders attempted to assuage these fears, but a town council meeting was called to vote down the project. The council members voted unanimously to cancel the project on the basis of emotional arguments by business owners and a few vocal townspeople. The TxDOT representative thanked the council for its interest but announced that the project would continue. Naturally, there was an outrage about this announcement and vocal opposition followed. The TxDOT project manager informed the assembled group that the city did not have jurisdiction over the road and that the TxDOT had allocated funding on the city’s request. The project would continue regardless of unfounded fears.

Discuss:

Create a plan that could have avoided this situation. How does your plan compare to others?

Evaluate the legitimacy of the TxDOT project manager’s use of position power.

Assess what communication skills you would use in this situation.

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 5 Discussion

Working in Project Management

Respond to one of the following questions:

Question 1:

Monitoring and controlling a project is a core activity for a project manager. Provide an example of a project that was challenged by control issues and describe what caused the situation. Explain what could have been done to ensure that key elements such as the scope, schedule, and cost were controlled.

Question 2:

Project management is a popular occupation in contemporary business. Visit a few job websites (for example, monster.com) and other sources of information on the project management occupation (for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics). What is the current status of project managers with regard to:

Opportunities

Salaries

Demographic trends around project management

Industries using project managers

Value of the PMP® certification from the PMI

Question 3:

The PMP® certification has been popular in the past ten years. Apart from this certification, there are other project management credentials or certifications available to project managers. Which of these certifications appeal to you and why? What other certifications are complementary to the PMP® certification?

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.

Justify your answers with examples and reasoning. Comment on the postings and views of at least two peers.

 

 

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 1 Project

Project Plan

The course project flows from Week 1 to Week 5. For the course project, you need to choose a project topic and submit it for your instructor’s approval. The instructor may assign a project scenario if the proposed project topic is not deemed adequate to meet the learning objectives of the course.

After the approval, you will submit specific project deliverables each week.

In Week 5, you need to submit a final written plan and a presentation of the project. You are encouraged to use Microsoft Project (or other project management software tools), but its use is not required for this introductory project.

The project deliverables for each week are as follows:

For this week, identify an industry for the project and a 2-3 page synopsis of your chosen project. In your synopsis, provide a rationale for how the project will meet the course objectives and describe the anticipated scope and project outcomes.

You should carefully consider the scope of the project so that you can complete the necessary work in the compressed time frame of this course.

Submission Details:

Submit your proposed project in 2 to 3 page Microsoft Word document, using APA style.

Name your document SU_PMC 6601_W1_ LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Submit your assignment to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

 

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 2 Project

Initial Plan Development

This course has major project assignments that will be due in Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments earlier than the week in which they are due.

This week, you will submit the first four parts of the course-length project. The project analyzed must be the project approved by the instructor in Week 1. The deliverables for Week 2 are:

The statement of need: Write a brief description of the chosen organization and discuss the background information associated with the problems that need to be solved.

The goals and objectives of the project: Identify project goals and the underlying objectives. Quantify the measurable performance expectations of the project plan to determine whether it meets the planned objectives. Performance should be defined in terms of:

The product or process specification

The total budget at completion of the plan

The time frame for completion of the plan

Stakeholders and project requirements: Identify the project’s stakeholders. Analyze their needs and wants and create a list of project requirements derived from the inputs provided by the stakeholders.

Project scope development: Identify the scope of the project to define the work that needs to be performed to meet the project objectives.

Submission Details:

Submit your report as a 3 to 5 page Microsoft Word document, using APA style.

Name your document SU_PMC 6601_W2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Submit to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 3 Project

Communication, Risk, and Human Resources.

This course has major project assignments that will be due in Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments earlier than the week in which they are due.

This week, you will submit the next three parts of the course-length project. The deliverables for Week 3 are:

The communications plan: Determine stakeholders from the requirements determination section. Add a new stakeholder and determine the following information for him or her:

Information need

The messages to be communicated

The timing and frequency of communication

The person responsible for communication

The medium for communication

Risk assessment: Determine potential risks that can prevent the project’s objectives from being met on time and within the budget. Develop a risk mitigation plan to manage the risks. The plan should have a severity ranking for each risk. For the most severe risk, develop a risk mitigation strategy that includes risk triggers and the team members responsible for responding to the risk.

The organization and human resources plan: Prepare an organizational structure for the project and identify the skills required to perform the work effectively and efficiently. Identify project team members and define their functions, responsibilities, qualifications, and capabilities. Explain where each team member fits into the organizational structure, including the details of the stage of the project where the team member will be assigned. Create a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).

Provide a summary of the key information you have learned in the project so far. What seem to be the most important ideas? What ideas are you still finding challenging? What practical ways can you apply what you are learning?

Submission Details:

Submit your answers in a 6- to 8-page Microsoft Word document, using APA style.

Name your document SU_PMC 6601_W3_LastName_FirstInitial.doc

Submit it to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 4 Project

WBS, Schedule and Budget

This course has a major project assignment that will be due in Week 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete it. Plan time to start the research and other work for the assignment earlier than the week in which it is due.

This week, you will submit the third and fourth increment of the course-length project. The project analyzed must be the project approved by the instructor in Week 1. The deliverable for this week is a WBS and Schedule and Budget.

WBS chart: Create a WBS. Include an explanation of the hierarchical relationship among each level on the chart. Level one should depict the end result (a product or a service) of the project. Level two should consist of the major tasks outlined in the statement of work (SOW). Level three should list the subtasks contained in each SOW task. You can use the series of charts available in Microsoft Project (although you are not required to use Microsoft Project). Submit your answers in a Microsoft Word document with the supported Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Project files, and other documentation as needed.

Schedule: Sequence the tasks in the order of completion. Arrange the work breakdown structure elements in the form of a task-flow network to determine dependencies. Identify the critical path along which necessary resources should be allocated to achieve the project objectives within the defined time frame. Indicate the earliest occurrence and highlight the critical path. Use a Gantt chart to illustrate the start and completion dates of each task. Consider whether the tasks can be completed in parallel or must be performed in sequence.

Cost plan: Develop a cost plan for your project that identifies the allocation and cost of resources to your project.

Submission Details:

Submit your answers in a 4- to 6-page Microsoft Word document with supporting Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Project files, and other documentation, as needed.

Use APA style.

Name your document SU_PMC 6601_W4_ LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Submit your document to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 5 Project

Plan

This course has a major project assignment that will be due in Week 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete it. Plan time to start the research and other work for the assignments earlier than the week in which it is due.

This week, your course project is due for final submission. The deliverables for Week 5 are:

The project control plan

The project closeout plan

The project control plan:

Propose the reports and control mechanisms that the project manager and the team will use to track the project. The plan should include the details of performance measurement that defines which variables will be measured, how they will be measured, and when they will be measured. The measurable objectives should be identified as milestones on the Gantt chart. You may use Microsoft Project to develop a baseline for your project plan.

Project evaluation and reporting will also explain how a project manager will communicate performance evaluation results to management and to the customer. This will include the results of performing the cost and schedule variance analyses and a risk analysis, formulating cost or schedule or performance alternatives, forecasting budget and schedule completion, employing the methods of taking corrective actions, and managing expectations.

The project closeout plan:

The plan should propose the method of determining when the project has met its objectives and the method of determining when the project will be terminated. In the closeout plan, discuss the closing of the project, reassigning personnel, and delivering materials purchased under the contract.

Include a summary of lessons learned in developing the project management plan along with recommendations and follow-up work, as needed.

Submission Details:

Submit your 8-10 page paper in a Microsoft Word document, using APA style.

Name your documents SU_PMC 6601_W5_LastName_FirstInitial.doc

Submit your document to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 1 Knowledge Check

Question 1 A project manager is given full responsibility of a project.

Question 1 options:

Trues

False

Question 2 What is project management?

Question 2 options:

• A logical grouping of project management inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques.

• Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.s

• Launching a process that can result in the authorization of a new project.

• A formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled.

Question 3 The process of identifying the stakeholders’ information needs is completed during:

Question 3 options:

Plan Communications.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations.

Stakeholder Analysis.

Identify Stakeholders.

Question 4 Which document includes the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints?

Question 4 options:

Project charter

Project scope statement

Scope management plan

Project document updates

Question 5 Skills necessary for project management such as motivating to provide encouragement; listening actively; persuading a team to perform an action; and summarizing, recapping, and identifying next steps are known as:

Question 5 options:

organizational skills

technical skills

communication skills

hard skills

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 2 Knowledge Check

Question 1 What are the five Project Management Process Groups?

Question 1 options:

Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closings

Introduction, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing

Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Ending

Introduction, Planning, Implementation, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closure

Question 2 The purpose of developing a project scope management plan is to:

Question 2 options:

Manage the timely completion of the project.

Ensure that the project includes all of the work required.

Make sure the project will satisfy the needs for which it was begun.

Reduce the risk of negative events in the project.

Question 3 An input to the Create WBS process is a:

Question 3 options:

project charter.

stakeholder register.

project scope statement.

requirements traceability matrix.

Question 4 Which of the following terms indicates a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the project work?

Question 4 options:

WBS directory

Activity list

WBS

Project schedule

Question 5 What is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables?

Question 5 options:

Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)

Work Performance Information

Work Package

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 3 Knowledge Check

Question 1 The process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills, and reporting relationships and creating a staffing management plan is known as:

Question 1 options:

Develop Project Team.

Manage Project Team.

Acquire Project Team.

Plan Human Resource Management.

Question 2 Through whom do project managers accomplish work?

Question 2 options:

Consultants and stakeholders

Stakeholders and functional managers

Project team members and consultant

Project team members and stakeholders

Question 3 The types of project organization suggested by Verma (1995) are

Question 3 options:

Functional, Projectized, and Matrix

Functional, Projectized, and Divisional

Verticle, Horizontal, and Matrix

Hybrid, Projectized, and Matrix

Question 4 An input to Conduct Procurements is:

Question 4 options:

Independent estimates.

Selected sellers.

Seller proposals

Resource calendars.

Question 5 What is one of the objectives of Project Risk Management?

Question 5 options:

Decrease the probability and impact of an event on project objectives.

Distinguish between a project risk and a project issue so that a risk mitigation plan can be put in place

Increase the probability and impact of positive events

Removal of project risk.

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 4 Knowledge Check

Question 1 The project scope statement and resource calendars are inputs to which Project Time Management process?

Question 1 options:

Sequence Activities

Estimate Activity Resources

Develop Schedule

Control Schedule

Question 2 Define Activities and Estimate Activity Resources are processes in which project management Knowledge Area?

Question 2 options:

Project Time Management

Project Cost Management

Project Scope Management

Project Human Resource Management

Question 3 Units of measure, level of precision, level of accuracy, control thresholds, and rules of performance measurement are examples of items that are established in the:

Question 3 options:

Cost management plan.

Work performance information.

Quality management plan.

Work breakdown structure.

Question 4 When an activity cannot be estimated with a reasonable degree of confidence, the work within the activity is decomposed into more detail using which type of estimating?

Question 4 options:

Bottom-up

Parametric

Analogous

Three-point

Question 5 Which of the following processes are part of the Project Integration Management Knowledge Area?

Question 5 options:

Develop Project Management Plan, Collect Requirements, Create WBS

Develop Project Management Plan, Control Scope, Develop Schedule

Develop Project Charter, Define Scope, Estimate Costs

Develop Project Charter, Direct and Manage Project Execution, Close Project or Phase

 

PMC 6601 Foundations of Project Management

Week 5 Knowledge Check

Question 1 Who is responsible for reviewing change requests and approving or rejecting the change requests?

Question 1 options:

Change control board

Project manager

Project management office

Project sponsor

Question 2 When are deliverables accepted or not accepted?

Question 2 options:

When the project is initiated

As an output of the scope verification process

When the project is closing

In the contract closure process

Question 3 Lessons learned are created and project resources are released in which Process Group?

Question 3 options:

Planning

Executing

Closing

Initiating

Question 4 Scope verification is PRIMARILY concerned with which of the following?

Question 4 options:

Acceptance of the work deliverables.

Accuracy of the work deliverables.

Approval of the scope statement.

Accuracy of the work breakdown structure.

Question 5 During which process would you obtain stakeholders’ formal acceptance of the completed project scope?

Question 5 options:

Quality control

Scope verification

Scope control

Close project