DeVry MGMT404 Week 1
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK 1: CASE STUDY: KEFLAVIK PAPER COMPANY
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Read Case Study 3.1
The Keflavik Paper Company is a case with a problem in determining
a project management process for new product development.
Answer the following questions:
- What
does this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening
methods on a firm’s ability to manage projects effectively? - How
would project portfolio management help to improve the situation at
Keflavik? - If
you think about it, all business problems are case studies. To effectively
evaluate the situation, you must approach the problem in a methodological
manner. A proven technique to do this is to do the following:
1. list the
facts;
2. identify
the issues;
3. based on
the facts of the case and your knowledge, analyze the issues of the case;
4. prepare
recommended solutions and their possible outcomes;
5. implement
the optimal solution (not always the one with the best outcome, because the
cost or other things could be impractical); and
6. monitor
the implementation and outcomes.
So when you read and prepare to respond to this case, please
follow the above guidelines. I don’t necessarily expect you to perform Steps
4–6, but I do expect your response to be based on the facts and your knowledge.
Remember—your first impressions may not be correct!
dq 2
WEEK
1: CASE STUDY: WIDGETS ‘R US
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Read Case Study 2.4
The Widgets ‘R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the
company is set up and how the company will handle operations with its projected
growth.
Answer the following questions:
- You
have been called in as a consultant to analyze the operations at WRU.
Based on the readings, what would you advise Widgets ‘R Us to do in order
to sustain the competitive advantage in the widget market? - What
structural design changes might be undertaken to improve the operations at
the company?
DeVry MGMT404 Week 2
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK 2: PROJECT SCOPE
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You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
As we have seen this week, project scope creation is very
different in traditional project management versus Agile project management.
What advantages and disadvantages can you see with the process of scope
creation in the traditional project management world? What advantages and
disadvantages can you see with the process of scope creation in the Agile
project management world? Share your experiences with projects that were
created using either Agile or traditional project management techniques.
dq 2
WEEK
2: CASE STUDY: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AT DOTCOM.COM
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Read Case Study 5.3: Project Management at Dotcom.com. Dotcom.com
is a software engineering and systems development consulting firm that needs
some organizational improvements in the area of project management processes
that will cut cost and potentially increase the profit margin for the company.
Answer the following questions:
- Discuss
how you would begin redesigning dotcom.com’s project management processes
to minimize the problems it is experiencing with poor scope management. - Why
do you think configuration management and project change control are
difficult to perform in the middle of a complex software development
project, such as those implemented at dotcom.com? - Share
any experiences you have with project change requests.
DeVry MGMT404 Week 3
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK
3: PROJECT SCHEDULE
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
To develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a
project network, which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown
structure and is organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships
governing when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work
activities with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the
activities, we can create a schedule for the project work. What types of
information can we learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule
and all the information used to generate it?
dq 2
WEEK
3: AGILE SCHEDULE DEVELOPMENT
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each Discussion
Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and comment on at
least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
As we have seen, traditional and Agile schedule developments are
quite different. Agile project management was originally developed to do
software development. Could a traditional process be successfully used to
develop a new software program? Why or why not? Could an Agile methodology be
used to build a strip mall in your home town? Why or why not?
DeVry MGMT404 Week 4
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK 4: RISK MANAGEMENT
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Assume you have just been assigned to a project risk team composed
of five members.Your task, as project
manager, is to develop a process for handling risks to the project.Because
this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a
project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on
all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team
member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much
detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should
proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out his or her
proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include,
but not be limited to, the following information:
- What
methods should be used for identifying risks? - Who
should be involved in identifying risks? - What
should be considered when identifying risks?
dq 2
WEEK
4: RISK MANAGEMENT PART II
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
As the work of your risk management team (from the first
discussion question) continues, the discussion of your team’s risk management
plan outline moves on and considers the following questions:
- How
should the risks be prioritized? - Who
should do the prioritization of the project risks? - How
should project risks be monitored and controlled? - Who
should develop risk responses and contingency plans? - Who
should own these responses and plans?
DeVry MGMT404 Week 5
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK 5: CASE STUDY: THE PROBLEMS OF MULTITASKING
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Read Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking. Answer the
following questions:
1. How does
multitasking confuse the resource availability of project team personnel?
2. In modern
organizations, it is impossible to eliminate multitasking for the average
employee. Why?
3. How would
resource loading or resource leveling help address multitasking situations?
dq 2
WEEK 5: REDUCING PROJECT DURATION
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
In your own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope
reduction as means of schedule compression. When would each be appropriate?
Which methods would you consider better first-choice methods by most project
sponsors? Would any of these methods apply to Agile projects? How does Agile
address schedule compression?
DeVry MGMT404 Week 6
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK 6: PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Discuss the importance of communication and information exchange
to project success. What are the crucial features and elements of effective
communication and information exchange in successful projects? How are key
stakeholders involved in this process? Are communication requirements different
on an Agile project versus a traditional project?
dq 2
WEEK
6: CASE STUDY: FINDING THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first post for each
Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must review and
comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during the week.
Read Case Study 4.2: Finding the Emotional Intelligence.
1. What are
the differences between leaders and managers?
2. Can
anyone be a leader? Which would you prefer to work for: a leader or a manager?
Why?
3. Select
one of the characteristics of an effective project manager and tell why it is
important.
4. Is
leadership of a project different in an Agile environment than in a traditional
project environment?
5. Take the
Future Time Perspective scale on page 129. Share your results and comments with
the class.
DeVry MGMT404 Week 7
Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 November
dq 1
WEEK
7: PROJECT BASELINE
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You must use VoiceThread to create your first
post for each Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must
review and comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during
the week.
We have now moved from the planning stage to
the execution stage of project management. Following good project management
practices, we have set a baseline. How is a project baseline used to guide the
execution of the project’s work, to evaluate progress and performance, and to
control the project? Also, as you continue to think about monitoring and
controlling the project, specifically consider the question: How can the
project baseline and the earned value approach for variance analysis be used to
monitor and report project progress?
dq 2
WEEK 7:
AGILE PROJECT CONTROL
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Note:
You must use VoiceThread to create your first
post for each Discussion Topic. (Text for subsequent posts is fine.) You must
review and comment on at least 2 other VoiceThreads from other students during
the week.
In the first discussion, we looked at traditional
project control. Is project control different in an Agile project? What is the
role of a project manager in controlling an Agile project? What is the role of
the project client, sponsor, or customer at controlling project changes?
