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PROJECT MANAGEMENT.   Term Paper ID:30459 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Explores basic components of all project management systems. What constitutes project management; how a project management system works; problems associated with poor and/or innefective management systems. Use of computerized programs to assist the process. Four steps of the Project Management cycle. Pitfalls. Discusses a University's relocation and respositioning project. Paper Introduction: Introduction Managing projects is an integral part of a company's ongoing strategy for success. Those organizations which are able to effectively and efficiently manage projects are those which are profitable over the long-run; those organizations which are not able to manage projects may be successful in the short-term, but they will suffer when business conditions worsen and the company must operate effectively for mere survival. Managing projects has progressed from a manual process involving large quantities of paperwork to a largely automated process in many organizations. Regardless of the level of automation, the same basic components are found in all project management systems. This research explores the issue of project management, including what constitutes project management, how a project management system works, and the prob Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The clarifying difference between a project and an operationis that a project has a clearly defined point at which it is complete,while an operation does not (Lord, 1993, p. (1991, December). Once a particular part of the plan has been completed, itis likely (and even desirable) that these members are replaced withdifferent team members who can contribute more to the current goals of theteam (Vandersluis, 2 1, p. Byenhancing the facilities available to students and by ensuring that theuniversity can accommodate ever-increasing numbers of students whileproviding a high-quality education, Northern University will be able toensure its long-term success. Key to a successful implementation is the recognition that a projectof this magnitude will undergo several different changes, some of themsignificant, over its implementation. Since part of the goal of setting up the remote campus is to enhancethe university's market position, the project plan should include apromotional component which is supported by the new campus and whichemphasizes the competitive position of the university as a whole. During the development stage, the project manager is designated andthe plan of execution is developed. By bringing in a professional who is well-versed in theintricacies of project management, the university can help ensure that theproject will be successful. Priorities are assigned to thevarious tasks, which are also considered to be sure that they fit with thegoals of the project and the overall strategic position of theorganization. Although the team willhave some permanent members (including the project manager), it will alsoinclude those individuals who have an immediate or short-term stake in itsimplementation. Regular project meetings are then held to ensure that the project isproceeding as expected, with individuals brought into the meetings asappropriate (for example, the Engineering Department is likely to haverepresentation during the early phases of the project when it is beingrelocated, but will have less presence once its relocation is complete). This will enable the school to delay the second phase ofthe dining facilities until Year 1 , which will, in turn, help keep thebudget in check while meeting the needs of the students. Industrial Management, pp. Dates are subject to changebased on the progress of the project and the nature and quality of theavailable resources. The execution phase also includes controlling the project, which meansthat the project manager runs various reports to make sure that the projectis proceeding on track and within budget. Alreadythe university enjoys a significant market share and is ranked among thehighest institutions of higher learning in the United Kingdom, but thatstanding needs to be improved if the university is to remain competitive.The goal of expanding the university is not so much to meet the short-termgoal of today's students (although they certainly must be accommodated),but rather to meet the long-term goal of students in the future. Long Range Planning, pp. 34- 36.Drexl, A. Implementation Implementation of the project plan begins by developing the planitself and installing the computer software (and providing training on itsuse). Plead, beg, grovel, insist to get required resources. Computing Canada, p. By implementing projectmanagement principles (including clearly defining tasks and who isresponsible for them), Northern University can improve the likelihood thatthe project will be completed on-time, within the budget allocated, andwill meet both the short-term and long-term goals of the organization. A. Buying into the vision. Recognizing thatflexibility can be critical to the success of the project can help ensurethat the project meets its original goals and objectives (Cameron, 2 1, p.34). (1994, November-December). Operations, on theother hand, are those activities which are performed on an ongoing basis.For example, developing and bringing a new product to market is a project,with the particulars of the project varying from product to product. Once the project has been organized, it is up to the project managerto assign resources, which begins with building the project team. A large part of the control function iscommunicating: communicating to subordinates regarding remedial action tocorrect slippages, and communicating the project's progress to superiorsand peers so that the overall communication is kept high. However, the cost associated with a project also varywith the degree of quality of the personnel (or seniority), with the resultthat financial trade-offs may be made with the schedule. Introduction Managing projects is an integral part of a company's ongoing strategyfor success. The objective of the project should be in keepingwith the company's overall objectives and should serve to help theorganization achieve some strategic goal. (1995, March 6). AutoPlan looks to manage projects across client/server enterprise. ReferencesCameron, P. In this way, the project manager may not have access to thebest personnel for any particular project, which means that the timeassociated with completing a project is dependent on the quality of thepersonnel available. Projects are those activities which occur once in a company'sexistence, or which are repeated from time to time. Coping with misinformation. 19). 22-24.Lord, M. Pitfalls of Project Management Some organizations have come to rely on project management to theexclusion of other management skills. With effective project management inplace, organizations can help ensure their long-term success; without suchprocedures, organizations are almost certain to fail. In addition, projectmanagement is not one of the core competencies of the university, norshould it be. There will also be a need for inter-campus transportation sincestudents will need to be able to travel from one campus to another in orderto use the sports complex as well as participate in other activities.During the early years of the project, the transportation needs will beslight, but they will increase as larger numbers of facilities are moved tothe new location. These programs generally requirethat the project manager use the organization scheme outlined by theindividual software, but the overall goals of producing schedules in avariety of graphic forms, tracking resource usage and variance, andproducing reports in a timely manner are generally met by all products. TheComputer Science and Mathematics Departments will be moved in Year 5 of theproject, and student residences will be moved in line with the completionof the Computer Science and Mathematics Departments (to prevent negativecash flows in Years 3 and 4). It should be notedthat resources associated with a project include the equipment resources,human resources and financial resources necessary to complete the project. Implementing strategy through project management. Client/server applications are served by otherproject management tools, such as AutoPlan by Digital Tools (Nadile, 1995,p. Scheduling of project networks by job assignment. Those organizations which are able to effectively andefficiently manage projects are those which are profitable over the long-run; those organizations which are not able to manage projects may besuccessful in the short-term, but they will suffer when business conditionsworsen and the company must operate effectively for mere survival.Managing projects has progressed from a manual process involving largequantities of paperwork to a largely automated process in manyorganizations. Projecting onto Microsoft Project. Another critical aspect of the relocation project is the increase inaccommodations to facilitate an increase in the student population.Because of the anticipated increase in the student population, the diningfacilities will be incapable of supporting the population during the firstone and a half years, so dining facilities will be subcontracted in orderto meet demand. A. Management Science, pp. Management Decision, pp. Control also means that themanager (and other project members) input appropriate information intowhatever system is in place for managing the project (whether computer ormanual), and that the manager take action where necessary to correct smallproblems before they escalate. This researchexplores the issue of project management, including what constitutesproject management, how a project management system works, and the problemsassociated both with poor project management and with ineffective projectmanagement systems. Ready access to reports and otherinformation, plus the ability to update each member's contribution quickly,can make the project management function run more smoothly when computerprograms are used to assist in the management function. Once the long-term plan is devised, individual tasks and subtasks canbe developed for the short-term horizon; their completion will drive thedevelopment of additional tasks in the future. Changes in thefinancial position of the school might make it desirable to change thepriorities of some activities (such as the dining facilities), and othertasks might disappear altogether if they are outsourced. Project management is the process of taking a project, breaking itdown into its component parts, and planning the best way to accomplish eachof those tasks. The project manager and project team members should have access toMicrosoft Project or a similar program. Quality project management. Care must be taken during this time in order ensure that theproject remains focused on the tasks that it needs to accomplish and thatancillary tasks are not built into the project. (1995, April 11). It is at this stage that the projectbegins to assume form and the scope of the project is outlined. If computer assistedproject management is used, it is at this point that the computer model isbegun. Althoughspecific human resources are not assigned at this point, the projectmanager begins to consider the human resources (and other resource needs)that will be required in order to complete the project according to thespecifications now being developed. Northern University is in a unique position to take advantage ofproject management principles in its relocation and repositioning projectsince this is a project that is entirely new and which has a definedbeginning and end. 159 -16 2.King, N. The personal computer market has a number of products available,including Microsoft Project and Project Planner, both for Windows, whichwork with other programs that are integrated into a network environment(King, 1995, p. Northern University's Relocation and Repositioning Project Under the proposed Scenario, Engineering will be moved first, followedby Science & Engineering and then the Social Study department. Demand will be particularly high when there are similarnumbers of students who need to be at both locations during different timesof the day. Project Management Plan Northern University should hire an outside professional projectmanager to oversee the relocation project. Both the planning and implementation of the transportation issueneed to be included in the long-term project plan. Theaccounts receivable process, on the other hand, is an operation that isperformed over and over, although the steps can be clearly identified andbroken down. Quality, and the level ofquality that the project seeks to attain, should also be clearly stated aspart of the objective (Kress, 1994, p. Computerized programs used to assist the projectmanagement process are also considered. Why good people do bad things. Ideally, project management makesuse of the plan, do, check and act (PDCA) approach to management thatrequires the organization as a whole to plan an action, perform it, monitorthe results, and act according to those results. Computer-assisted project management does not eliminate the need for ahuman project manager, but can enable all members of a project team to keepupdated on the progress of the work. (1993, November). It is at this stage that the decision is made to go ahead withthe project and project management is implemented. 35-36.Sims, D. (1993, February). Computer Assisted Project Management A number of project management software programs are now available toassist project managers with their tasks. All projects should have a clearly defined start date, a clearlydefined end date and a clearly defined objective (Stein & Kanter, 1993, p.58). Regardless of the level of automation, the same basiccomponents are found in all project management systems. By bringing in members of the academic community whowere formerly opposed to the project (including some deans), the projectmanagement process can also be used to help build political favor for theproject and overcome resistance to the project. 18-21.Stein, B. Theseindividuals will work with the project manager to develop the project plan,and will have the authority to commit their organizations to the plan. CMA Management, pp. Maintaining goodcommunication is essential to the success of the project, but this extendsbeyond merely keeping the schedule current. 11. 78). Project organization spans the development and execution stages.Organizing the project requires that the project manager identify thevarious tasks that need to be completed in order to accomplish theproject's objectives, and that the component tasks associated with each ofthese major functions be identified. Delaying the completion of the ComputerCentre until Year 5 will also help offset negative cash flows in theprevious two years. 35). & Kanter, R. (2 1, May). What Is Project Management? (1993, September). Conclusion Effective project management is vital for organizations that want tobe successful over the long-term and which depend on unique projects(rather than operations) for their survival. A project teamshould be assembled with decision makers from all affected programs. Inthis way, decisions made by the project management team will have the inputof the responsible and affected parties, and the team itself will have theappropriate individuals available to make decisions. 76-85.Nadile, L. Computer programs have beendeveloped which can assist managers in managing their project, but theseprograms do not relieve the managers of their responsibility to monitor andimplement changes where necessary. Thus transportation needs to be an ongoing part of the project plan,with initial transportation met through the use of one or two shuttlebuses. Relying on computerprograms to perform all of these functions can lead to poor management andprojects that quickly become out of control. Deviations from the project plan are to be expected in a project ofthis complexity and duration; managing those deviations then becomes theprimary focus of the project team. The projectmanager also uses this opportunity to determine whether there aresufficient resources to complete the project in-house, or whether externalresources will need to be utilized. E. One of the chiefreasons cited for project failure is the lack of communication among teammembers, which can result in a lack of understanding about the actualprogress or lack of progress associated with a project (Drexl, 1991, p.1594). 11). This is a highly complexproject requiring the co-ordination of many different components, and anoutsider will be able to manage both the political and logisticalconsiderations with greater success than an insider. M. PC Magazine, pp. H. The conceptual stage is where the project isinitiated. Team members will change, and thetechnology supporting the moves will change, as well. These individuals canalso provide immediate feedback as to the ramifications of changingparticular aspects of the project plan once it is developed. This foundation is then used toconsider how Northern University can effectively manage the relocation andrepositioning project currently underway. The overall plan andresponsibilities will then be communicated to all affected individuals anddepartments, with departments slated for relocation in the near futurehaving a greater presence and visibility on the project management team atany particular point in time. (2 1, April 6). The Project Management Cycle The project management cycle has four steps: conception, development,execution and termination. By linking the project to variousteam members across the network, ongoing progress on the project can beupdated automatically and thus reduce the impact on any one individual.However, this does not mean that team members or the project manager willnot have to take aggressive action to ensure that the project remains on-track. As the project continues, however, it will be necessary to put morebuses into service, and the school may want to investigate the possibilityof subcontracting this service rather than taking on the expense andliability of offering a dedicated shuttle bus service between the twocampuses. The relocation project is only one part ofthat long-term strategy, and the promotional plan should be part of therelocation plan so that the university can take advantage of state-of-the-art facilities in its promotional efforts as they come on-line. Instead, all team membersshould be updated on the overall progress of the project rather than juston their parts. 22). 58-62.Vandersluis, C. Academy of Management Executive, pp. PC Week, pp. The dates can be arrived at in one of two ways: either the startdate can be predefined and the end date calculated from the availableresources; or, the end date can be imposed externally and the scheduleworked backward to determine the start date. 176-177.Kress, R. Simple projects may only have a few layers of tasks (whicheach layer identifying the steps necessary to complete the layer above);complex projects can have many layers. 176). Through careful project managementand identification of the component steps, managers and others associatedwith a project can accurately forecast the time and resources that will benecessary to complete the project (Sims, 1993, p. Theactual personnel who are assigned to a project are determined by thecompany's overall strategy and the various projects that are going on atany one time. The nature of the implementation team is one example of howflexibility needs to be built into the project. Another pitfall of project management is that information may not beshared with all members of the project management team, or with theappropriate individuals within the organization. This does not mean that the university should simply turn over allresponsibility for the project to the project manager. 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