Unit I
Article Review
Using the CSU Online Library, locate an article that
discusses project management through organizational processes and efficiencies.
This could include project scope, project constraints, stakeholders, global
project management, or anything associated with the project management process.
Note that these are simply ideas; please expand upon the
topics within the scope of the management of organizational efficiencies.
Chapter 1 of the textbook will also provide additional ideas for topics.
Respond to the writing prompts below.
1. Explain how the
topic of this article relates to project management.
2. Analyze how
project management brings efficiencies to a project manager and ultimately the
company.
3. Describe how this
article uses project management concepts to more efficiently complete business
projects.
4. Explain how
constraints within the business could lead to performance issues with respect
to successful implementation of project management concepts.
Your response should be a minimum of two pages in length and
be double-spaced. References should include the reference for your article of
choice and at least one additional credible reference. All sources used must be
referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations
and be cited per APA guidelines.
Unit II
Assignment
Course Project Proposal
For this assignment, you need to create a project proposal
based on a fictional project. Review the Unit II Lesson for additional insight
on the purpose of a project proposal and for assistance in compiling a project
proposal. You may base your project on one of the following topics or a topic
of your choice approved by your professor:
training seminar,
construction project,
department retreat,
new product development,
software development project, or
other.
When you create the proposal, you should take into account
the technical considerations, management considerations, and pricing
considerations. However, you do not necessarily need to include these within
your project proposal, as you will be performing a more extensive project later
in the course. As for now, follow the model of a simplified project proposal,
which will include the following sections:
Statement of Customer’s Needs: Communicate customer needs
that will be fulfilled through this project.
Assumptions: Identify and briefly explain all assumptions
associated with this project.
Project Scope: Explain the project using specific details as
it fulfills customer’s needs.
Deliverables: Include specific deliverables expected by the
completion of this project. This should include an analysis of the measures of
performance.
Resources: Identify resources necessary to complete this
project.
Schedule: Include a schedule that has real dates.
Price: Establish pricing strategies.
Risks: Identify the risks associated with the completion of
this project. This should include an explanation of risks and rationale for
continuing with this project. An analysis of the measures of performance
through a look at the context of triple constraint should be reviewed in the
risk section
Expected Benefits: Clearly identify the benefit to be
received by the completion of this project. This should include an analysis of
the measures of performance.
Your proposal should be a minimum of three pages in length,
and each section should be properly labeled using the subheadings above. If
another person were to read your proposal, he or she should know exactly what
is expected and what direction the project will take. This should be a general
document with the intent of providing more details on these sections during
Unit III and Unit VI.
Make sure you use appropriate APA-style writing and
citations as you create your proposal. Also, make sure that you use 12-point
Times New Roman font and that you double-space.
Unit III
Assignment
Refer to the project proposal you created for the Unit II
Assignment. For this assignment, you will be expanding on that project to
include a project scope document (i.e., the definition of what needs to be done
to produce the project deliverables and to satisfy the customer). The project
scope document should satisfy the following components:
Customer Requirements: Describe the customer requirements
through functional or performance specifications of the project’s end
product/service.
Statement of Work (SOW): Explain the SOW including the work
elements and milestones to be performed. This should include risks associated
with the project.
Deliverables: Formulate a schedule of the deliverables
including milestones throughout the project and the final deliverable at the
conclusion of the project. Compile a Gantt chart (instructions and example are
included within the Unit III Lesson).
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Describe the WBS that breaks
down the work elements in the SOW into specific work tasks.
Acceptance Criteria: Develop and build upon the acceptance
criteria discussed briefly in the project proposal.
While project scope documents may vary from project to
project, your document should contain a thorough description of each section.
Additionally, please include an introduction paragraph. If your project varies
in such a way that a thorough description is not possible, you will then
include elements of the section in question to give an outline of what is
provided. See the Unit III Lesson for additional insight on compilation of a
project proposal.
Your project scope document should be a minimum of three
pages in length, and each section should be properly labeled using the
subheadings above. If another person were to pick up your document, he or she
should know exactly what is expected and what direction the project will take.
Make sure you use appropriate APA-style writing and
citations. Also, make sure that you use 12-point Times New Roman font and that
you double-space.
Unit IV
Case Study
Case studies are an important learning strategy in business
classes because they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze
events that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your
critical thinking and research skills as you research the competition and
industry in which your business resides with an end goal of formulating a
recommendation for the challenges faced by the company.
Read “The Bathtub Period” case study on pages
544–545 of your textbook. As you complete the analysis, address the following
topics, and integrate researched evidence within your responses.
1. Describe the
situation within this case from the standpoint of effective project management.
2. Prepare a network
diagram that demonstrates your recommended work sequence for the Scott Project.
(See the Unit IV Lesson for additional insight on the compilation of network
diagrams.)
3. Explain the risks
involved with this strategy and potential work-arounds.
4. Identify two
scheduling techniques that might be used effectively for this project with the
advantages and disadvantages of each.
In formatting your case analysis, do not use the
question-and-answer format; instead, use an essay format with subheadings. Your
APA-formatted case study should be a minimum of two full pages in length (not
counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of
three academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your
textbook). All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced;
paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations. A minimum of three
in-text citations are required.
Unit V Case
Study
Case studies are an important learning strategy in business
classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events
that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical
thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in
which your business resides with an end goal of formulating a recommendation
for the challenges faced by the company.
Read the “Franklin Electronics” case study on
pages 545–546 of your textbook. As you complete the analysis, address the
topics below.
1. Explain the
earned value measurement system and whether you believe that Franklin
Electronics truly understands it.
2. Analyze the cost
projections completed by Franklin Electronics. Reconstruct the cost projections
toward the compilation of a realistic project budget. Include a theoretical
discussion around the steps involved in the budget that you built.
3. Create a project
management schedule that would be more effective than the one proposed in the
case. Use scheduling techniques learned in this class to date. Include an
assessment of why you selected this scheduling technique instead of others.
4. Evaluate sources
of project risk, and develop strategies that would decrease the impact of these
risks.
In formatting your case analysis, do not use the
question-and-answer format; instead, use an essay format with subheadings. Your
APA-formatted case study should be a minimum of two full pages in length (not
counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of
three academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your
textbook). All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced;
paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations. A minimum of
three in-text citations are required.
Unit VI
Article Review
Using the CSU online library, locate an article that
discusses project management today. This could include conflict resolution and
negotiation skills, project budgeting, risk planning, project scheduling and
resource management, or the monitoring/control of projects. Think about these
ideas and questions when compiling your article analysis.
1. After examining
the article, summarize the overall concepts within the article.
2. Discuss the
author’s perspective with respect to project management.
3. After reading
this article, along with knowledge gained in this course, what is your opinion
of the role of project management within an organization, and ultimately, of
the project manager as it relates to completion of the project?
Your response should be a minimum of two pages,
double-spaced. References should include minimally the article reference from
the CSU online library (required), plus one additional credible reference. All
sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have
accompanying citations, and cited per APA guidelines.
Unit VII
Case Study
Case studies are an important learning strategy in business
classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events
that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical
thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in
which your business resides with an end goal of formulating a recommendation
for the challenges faced by the company.
Read “The Risk Management Department” case on
pages 641–642 of your textbook. As you complete the analysis, address the
topics below in your case analysis.
1. Financial risk,
strategic risk, operational-technical risk, and operational-safety risk
represent project risk sources within an organization. Discuss each from a
theoretical aspect.
2. Evaluate which of
the sources/risks above with which Cooper Manufacturing is involved. Explain
the amount of risk associated with each.
3. Explain scheduling
techniques that Cooper Manufacturing might use to mitigate its risks.
4. Explain specific
tasks that Cooper Manufacturing should use to manage its project risks.
In formatting your case analysis, do not use the
question-and-answer format; instead, use an essay format with subheadings. Your
APA-formatted case study should be a minimum of two full pages in length (not
counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of
three academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your
textbook). All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced;
paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations. A minimum of
three in-text citations are required.
Unit VIII
Final Project
For this assignment, you will take on the role of a Project
Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Certification exam instructor and
complete a PowerPoint presentation. It is your responsibility to educate
individuals who anticipate taking the PMI Project Management Certification
exam. The tone of the presentation should be informational and cover the main
project management concepts learned in this course. Utilization of the textbook
(end of each chapter) might provide
additional assistance. As you compile the presentation,
minimally discuss the points below.
Describe general topics covered in the PMI Project
Management Certification exam.
Explain the roles and responsibilities of a project manager.
Describe project risk strategies and how they create
opportunities for project managers.
Examine the tasks associated with the project manager role
through closure of the project.
Your PowerPoint presentation should be a minimum of 10
slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. All sources used
must be referenced and paraphrased. Directly quoted material must have
accompanying citations and be cited per APA guidelines.
Use of speaker notes is required as well. In the speaker
notes, you will provide what you would say if you were actually giving the
presentation to an audience. Please write your notes in complete sentences, and
adhere to typical grammar and/or punctuation rules.
Information about accessing the grading rubric for this
assignment is provided below.
