Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Value Driven Project Management

Project Management has allowed the projects and activities all around the world to be successful and streamlined with adherence to the ethical and quality standards.

Kerzner Chapter 2 & 21

Project management has many benefits in terms of the minimization of the project risks, increased probability of project success, optimization of resources and higher satisfaction of the customers.

Walker D., Dart C. J. (2011) Frontinus--A Project Manager From the Roman Empire Era

Change management is one of the knowledge areas under project management. Change is an integral part of project management as there may be changes in requirements, estimations and other project factors.

· IJPM

A project is a set of methods and activities that are carried out to achieve a particular goal. A program is a collection or a group of projects. All of these form a system. 

· SAI Global

Project life cycle is the set of steps that are carried out to execute a set of activities and to achieve a set of goals. Agile methods and waterfall model describe the life cycle of the development projects.

Management methodologies are necessary for efficient project management to provide a right direction and continuous improvement is a part of the same.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Excellence in Project Management

The organization employ the best staff and the adequate Project Manager by analysing the skill set and the experience level. The correct mix of technical, managerial and communication skills are searched. It is then followed by screening and interview processes.

Project Managers of today focus upon the value of team work and team ethics in their professional commitments. Such skills and methods were not followed in the past. The managers of the past were extremely directive and authoritative in nature.

Bredillet, C. (2010). Blowing hot and cold on project management. [online] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pmj.20179/abstract [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 4 & 8

The Project Manager must have skills as managerial and leadership skills, communication and negotiation skills along with technical abilities.

The methodology and techniques that are personally used are also different today as compared to the ones followed ten years back. There is an increased reliance on the technical tools in the present times.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Bredillet C. N. (2010) Blowing Hot and Cold on Project Management

In case of the selection of a wrong project manager, the organization may suffer from occurrences of increased project risks and conflicts leading to project failures. There is also lesser motivation among the team members that are engaged with the projects and with the organizations.

The efficiency is improved by following the best practices and standards along with the continuous improvement in all the tasks.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Best Practices in Project Management

One can become successful in any of the activities and tasks that are executed by sticking to the best practices and implementing adequate control and management in the same. The same is valid and true for the projects as well.

There are a number of best practices that are followed in the daily life. One of the best examples of the same is to follow the ethics and social norms.

Besner, C. and Hobbs, B. (2012). An Empirical Identification of Project Management Toolsets and a Comparison Among Project Types. [online] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pmj.21292/abstract [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 9 & 11.34

Prediction of the success can be done on the basis of the results on the review processes, project plans, adherence level to the best practices and project estimations.

There are a number of planning activities that are carried out in the projects along with various forecasts as well. Some of these planning tasks and outcomes include work definition, project schedule, project milestones, assignment of resources, change in project schedule and allocation. All the other tasks come under the domain of forecasting.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

PMI Implementing Organizational PM Preface & Chapter 1

Project Management can deliver successful projects by stating the adequate knowledge areas and guidelines suitable for the project tasks and activities. There are best practices and management methodologies developed and stated to achieve the same.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

· IJPM

Project effectiveness can be understood by estimating the project cost, quality, scope and schedule and determining the adherence to the same during the project execution.

· SAI Global

It is necessary to set up the expectations only up to the level of achievement of the same. Controlling of these expectations is therefore required.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

References

Project Governance

Projects can be classified in different categories and types. These may include the classification on the basis of project size or project domain. For instance, projects can be classified as small, medium and large projects. They may also be classified as manufacturing projects, construction projects, developmental projects, commercial projects and technical projects.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 1.14-1.16, & 3

Project Manager is relatively senior in the organization and comes under the category of middle level management. Functional Managers can also prove to be good project managers. The Managers shall be assisted by various resources from the project team. There are resources, such as, Project Leader, Business Analyst and Senior Advisors that shall be accountable for different managerial activities. The purpose of project management is not to transfer the responsibilities or power to line managers.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

PMI Implementing Organizational PM Chapter 2

There may be difference of career path in project driven and non-project driven organizations on the basis of the organizational structure. The fastest out of all is in the area of project management.

· IJPM

There are different types of organizational structures, such as, functional, divisional, matrix, bureaucratic structures. The simplest and easiest to understand out of all is the functional structure and complexity is more in case of matrix and bureaucratic structures.  

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

References

Project Management & Project Success

Success is like a three-legged stool and it is due to the reason that success in any area depends upon methods, mindset and mastery. The success can be determined by analysing and including all of these three elements.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter

 1.8-1.10, & 10 & 11.25

Project Manager must include the project aims and objectives, project goals and project team members, project scope and schedule along with budget, risks and communication plan in the project plan document.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

PMI Implementing Organizational PM Chapter 3;

In case of the external projects, there is a different methodology that is followed in such projects. The Project Managers follow a different approach to gain maximum profits because of this reason.

· IJPM

Age shall not be a bar for the selection and deployment of project managers. However, the skills and experience must be kept as a top priority.

· PMJ

· SAI Global

Project Manager must report the inefficiencies to the senior management and must take control steps for the project resources and line managers to take appropriate actions for mitigation and prevention.

Project Managers shall be provided with the ability to bring forward their suggestions in terms of changes in company procedures. However, the authority to implement these changes must not be given.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Project Management & Estimations

Program and project scheduling shall be preceded by excessive planning and analysis of the project requirements and schedule along with the development of the work breakdown structure to understand the nature of activities that are involved. 

In personal life, the planning for projects include the analysis of various factors such as personal, family and social norms is done followed by determination of effort and schedule that would be involved with the project.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 11.0-11.8

The complexity and the number of project schedules depend upon the project size, project scope and requirements, project resources and the nature of the project client.

In personal life, there are several functional managers that play a significant role in different phases of life, such as, parents, friends and colleagues.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Implementing Organizational PM Chapter 4;

Work Breakdown Structure makes it easier to determine the project schedule along with the allocation of the resources. This is because of the level of decomposition that is involved.

There shall be a round of feedback and comments that must be conducted to make sure that the external stakeholders such as customers and contractors clearly understand the details that are described in the statement of work and other project documents. 

· IJPM

Functional Manager provides the details on the nature of the project activities along with the requirements that need to be fulfilled for the design of the WBS.

The stakeholders are required to be informed about the project status and progress at regular intervals. It is done by circulating weekly status reports and making use of social media platforms and techniques for effective communication and sharing.

· SAI Global

There can be various conflicts that may come up in the form of disagreements, difference of opinions and disputes. These shall be handled by proper communication measures along with the involvement of Project Manager for the resolution of the same. 

Work Breakdown Structure shall be developed by making use of project information and factors, such as, project scope and requirements along with project goals and objectives. The type of WBS shall be based upon the nature of project activities.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Project Management & Project Specifications

Project specifications are developed on the basis of the results of the requirements elicitation and requirements gathering techniques that are used.

There have been cases in the workplace wherein the activities and presentations executed and created by me were transferred by the name of a senior resource. Such occurrences were handled by following an adequate chain of reporting to avoid the politics that was involved.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter

11.9-11.14, 11.22-11.29

Work Breakdown Structure is developed by making use of project information and factors, such as, project scope and requirements along with project goals and objectives. The type of WBS shall be based upon the nature of project activities.

Project charter is also one of the project deliverables that is created in the project initiation phase and it includes the project brief and highlights along with the results obtained after the conduction of the feasibility analysis.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

 PMI Implementing Organizational PM Chapter 5

There may be issues in classification of the project phases and project activities in the decomposition of the work breakdown structure. There may also be problems with the placement of the activities in different levels.

The tracking of the projects on the basis of the project plan is done to make sure that the progress is being made accordingly. Statement of Work is also an account of the activities that need to be carried out during the project. Configuration Management is the process in which different versions of the project are managed. 

· IJPM

Senior manager and top level managers are responsible for effective monitoring and control of the projects. Executives perform the role of information analysts and collectors for effective project planning. Both of these resources are important for the projects.

Project management body can enhance project planning by making sure that the project control and monitoring phases are being carried out effectively.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Project Management & Continuous Improvement

Management methodologies are necessary for efficient project management to provide a right direction and continuous improvement is a part of the same. It is method in which the steps are taking to improve the quality of the practices and methods that are executed.

Working towards achieving good grades is an example of continuous improvement in daily life. The failure in this area led to the adaptation of continuous improvement and efforts. For the students, there is a requirement to involve continuous improvement in all of their academic studies and processes that are carried out.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 20.0-20.8, & 21.0-21.4

Quality is one of the parameters that are associated with the tasks and activities that determines the satisfaction of the end users. There are efforts that are done by the organizations to make sure that the service quality is also improved.

Quality in life and daily routine is determined by the level of adherence to the quality practices and standards along with the determination of the impact of the activities on the family, friends and society which shall be positive.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

 PMI Implementing Organizational PM PM Appendices X2 & X3

Quality movement began in medieval Europe when the craftsmen focussed upon quality as one of the important characteristics. It continued till 19^th century as it was followed by the manufacturing units. This was then replaced by technical tools and concepts.  

There are processes carried out in terms of the validation and verification checks to ensure that quality is maintained.

Topic and Reading Samples

Personal Learnings

Learnings from Experience

References

Project Management & Project Resources

It is necessary to carry out resource analysis processes to make sure that the number of resources that are allocated to the project activities are adequate. Also, it is required to make sure that there is no overlapping of resources involved in any of the project tasks and activities.

Changes in the project happen due to the changes in the project scope, project related technologies, expectations of the customers along with change in trends and patterns that are involved.

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. [online] Available at: https://leseprobe.buch.de/images-adb/01/a0/01a0f1b5-054e-46ba-a3d3-4d33b63eb326.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Kerzner Chapter 21.5-21.8, & 22;

The determination of the skills and knowledge of the project resources shall be done on the basis of their skill sets, past experience along with the logical abilities to handle project risks and conflicts.

Change is also a part of daily life as the need for change in the daily routine and activities is felt after a certain period of time. This change is often handled by getting involved in refreshing and recreational activities such as taking up a hobby or going for a vacation.

Pmi (2017). Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook. [online] Available at: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].