Project_Management_Overview

Running head: PM OVERVIEW Project Management Overview Lee Schmelzer University of Phoenix PM571 Ed Matthews March 8, 2010 Project Management Overview In A Day in the Life case study, it appears that Rachel works in the information technology department of the company. She is the project manager of a “large information systems project” (Gray & Larson, Ch. 1, p. 18). A company profile is not given for the company Rachel works for. She works for an information technology company. Her project is to create a new site and ensure that the technology is delivered to the new location. Hector Gaming Company is an “educational gaming company specializing in young children’s educational games” (Gray & Larson, Ch. 2, p. 48). Sally Peters, the firm’s founder, is working on a project to formulate a strategic plan for the upcoming year and how to stay ahead of the emerging competition. Her company is expanding, both in employees and, products. Sally is trying o develop policies to ensure that the right person is in the right job. She also will need to determine the best way to determine which project will be given the most preference. Moss and McAdams “was a well-established regional accounting firm with 160 employees located across six offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin” (Gray & Larson, Ch. 3, p. 82). Bruce Palmer and Ken Crosby are working on different projects, but are both using the same resource in Zeke Olds. Bruce Palmer is leading an audit project. Ken Crosby is leading a consulting project. At the beginning of the project’s it was agreed that Zeke would work for Crosby in the morning and Palmer in the afternoon. One week into both projects, issue began to occur with the way Zeke was spending time between the projects. Time management is the biggest issue with all three organizations. Rachel could not sit at her desk and work due to meetings and her social schedule. Zeke was not able to handle the time constraints of working on two projects. He could not go between projects without having to rearrange his mindset. Ken Crosby was also taking up most of Zeke’s time by asking that he work on his project more than Bruce Palmer’s project. The time issue with Sally and Hector Gaming Company was the company did not have a short term strategic plan and would be expanding in precuts and employees, in the next month. This company is in dire need of a ranking system to ensure that the most important project is worked first and then continue down the line. Moss and McAdams and Hector Gaming Company contrast by way of definition and work. Moss and McAdams have the project defined and are working on the planning and execution stages. Hector Gaming Company is still working on the definition and has not clear order for which project to work on first. In A Day in the Life there appears to be support for project management, but the managers are in constant meetings, so there is little time to work on the actual project. This organization, while relying on project managers, needs to allow for more project work and interaction between project employees and fewer meetings. The marketing representative also agreed on deliverables that were not agreed upon which may cause delays in the project. In Hector Gaming Company, the organization has no clear project ranking system. This is causing delays in every project as each project manger believes that his project is the most important and should be at the front of the line. This is also causing each project to be over budget. Another issue within this organization is one project is outside of the organization’s vision. Moss and McAdams is an organization that is pro-project. Ruby Sands is the office manager responsible for assigning employees to projects. When the issue with Zeke Olds arises, she steps in and resolves the problem. Zeke is assigned permanently to Crosby’s project and this is the best decision for the organization. In A Day in the Life, it appears that the defining and planning stages are worked out, as the project is in the executing stage in the reading. Equipment is being delivered to the project site and promises have been agreed upon. Because of a communication breakdown, more meetings take place to determine what was promised and by whom. For this project, more time should have been spent on the defining stage; thereby clearly stating the promises between the parties. This would allow for fewer delays in the project and would ensure the likelihood of an on-time deliverable. More time in this stage would save the company money and resources. The Hector Gaming Company recently completed the delivering stage of their latest project. The company is in the defining stage of the current project. The managers are holding a meeting to formulate the upcoming year’s strategic plan. The strategic plan is proving difficult to create, as the managers are unsure of to accomplish the goals. Another issue is how to ensure that the appropriate resource is used in the right project. Not all of the projects being worked within the organization fit the organizational vision. This is wasting money and resources. Hector Gaming Company needs to start with the defining phase. The company needs to define and create a ranking system. This allows for the project to be put in order to meet the organization vision. The company should use portfolio management to see all the projects being worked that are similar in nature. The portfolio manager would be able to keep an eye on project and allocate resources as necessary, to see that projects are completed on time and correctly. Moss and McAdams is currently in the planning stage. The problem is that two managers on different projects want to use the same resource, Zeke Olds. Once the planning stage began, Bruce and Ken should have held a meeting with Ruby to voice their need for wanting Zeke to be on their respective project teams. This would allow for each project to run smoothly. Once determined which team Zeke would be on, Bruce or Ken could have asked that the appropriate resources be allotted for their respective team. References Gray, C. and Larson, E. (2008) Project Management: The Managerial Process. Fourth edition. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved March 8, 2010 from PM571 resource.