Discussion Assignment Deadline: Saturday September 5, 2020

Using the article: The Hidden Costs and Dangers of the Shortcut (https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-hidden-costs-and-dangers-of-the-shortcut.php) discuss the following topics:

• Do you agree or disagree that a better adherence to the standards, an analysis of the impacts to the stakeholders and a stronger communication to the parties involved would have avoided the issue described? Briefly, explain your view.
• The author concludes the article with the following statement: “in a world enamored with people -just doing it- and -thinking outside the box-, we need folks who still know how to learn the rules, understand why they exist and create a safe environment for all.” Do you agree that innovative people cannot be also people that understand, apply and adhere to standards? Why or why not?
• Within the story described in the article, which of the fundamental knowledge areas for managing projects (as per the PMBoK categorization) and which of the project life cycle phases do you see as crucial? Explain briefly why.

Written Assignment Deadline: September 7, 2020

Imagine that you have recently finished your MBA and have a company that has entered the arena of Project Management.  During your interview, you are told that project management is not something that the company has always done.  In fact, the company began as a retail software design company.  As the company grew from small to medium-sized, it became apparent that they needed to employ Project Managers to help their clients’ rollout the use of their software and not leave the PM to the client. As their newest hire, you have been asked to create a proposal for the management team to consider the installation of a bonafide Project Management Department. Your duty is to prepare a concise (about 2-pages) proposal addressing the value of robust project management approach will bring to the company. Be as concise as possible and ensure that at least three key benefits are clearly emphasized.

In order to build your argumentation, you have at your disposal the following reference information:

– A PMI´s (Project Management Institute) paper discussing the project management benefits: The Value of Project Management (http://www.pmi.org/Business-Solutions/~/media/PDF/Business-Solutions/Value%20of%20Project%20Management_FINAL.ashx).

Paper Assessment Criteria:

• Overall Content – Balanced presentation of relevant and legitimate information that clearly supports a central purpose or argument and displays evidence of a thoughtful, in-depth analysis of a significant topic.
• Research and References – Reference information from a variety of relevant, quality sources and are synthesized into the work to strengthen/build upon the stated arguments.
• Organization – The ideas are arranged logically to support the purpose or argument. They flow smoothly from one to another and are clearly linked to each other.
• Synthesis and conclusion – paper is logically and creatively organized with smooth transitions. Presents a logical explanation for findings.

Resources

Unit 1: Introduction to Project Management

Topics:

• History of Project Management
• Constraints and Enablers
• Project Management Life Cycle
• Knowledge areas

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

1. Analyze the value of project management.
2. Identify the phases of the Project Life Cycle.
3. Examine the knowledge areas required to manage projects.

Introduction

This course addresses the processes, methods, and tools that organizations use to optimize their limited resources to accomplish strategic goals within a fixed timeframe.

This initial unit provides an introduction to exploring the concept of Project Management and its main characteristics such as constraints, enablers, life cycle and knowledge areas needed to be an effective Project Manager.

Reading Assignment

The topics covered by this unit are explained and discussed in the following readings:

• Watt, A. (2014). Project Management. BCcampus Open Textbook project. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License,
  • Chapters: 1, 2, 3 & 4 http://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/
• LaBrosse, M. (2010). The Hidden Costs and Dangers of the Shortcut. Project Smart. https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-hidden-costs-and-dangers-of-the-shortcut.php
• The Value of Project Management (2010). Project Management Institute. http://www.pmi.org/Business-Solutions/~/media/PDF/Business-Solutions/Value%20of%20Project%20Management_FINAL.ashx
• Video: International Learning Institute: Introduction to Project Management https://youtu.be/EOFKR5c7-NE