2 Keeping the Project on course
Pamela Hines
Strayer University
Keeping the Project on Course
Lorna Thomas
11/12/2021
No professor notes
Discuss or critique whether the project was planned correctly.
The Trophy Project was essentially botched from the onset. Hence, the project was not planned appropriately. There are several reasons why the project was over budget and did not meet the allocated timelines goals. I believe that the issues began in the planning stage. They should have set daily, weekly, monthly, meetings to keep everyone apprised of the progress or lack thereof of the project. Regular communication to inform management of conflicts, issues, and concerns would have been helpful for the key stakeholders. By doing this, the project could not have gone behind schedule without management being fully aware. This would allow them to examine what was going and what needed to change from the beginning. With the proper administration of this concept, customer expectations would be more defined and scope creep would not have been allowed to take place.
The next issue was staffing. To have resources working on a myriad of duties outside of the project, yet be paid from the project budget was mismanagement, to say the least. If by chance it was a mandate to use the aforementioned resources on more than this assignment, their time should have been prorated. They would thus, only be paid for the time devoted to the project. Their other hours would be paid from another budget accordingly. Additionally, the project needed to hire or delegate specific team members only for the project to increase the possibility of meeting the deadlines.
Lastly, the executive team should have given control of the project to an effective project manager. Hence, this strategy would have allowed the project manager to lead the project. The project manager would therefore be the primary source of information and communication. They would be responsible for directing personnel and resources. The team would then know to whom to follow and get directions. This would alleviate mixed messages and allow for a more concise communication plan.
Discuss whether management was committed to the project.
Senior management was not supportive or fully engaged in the project. They did not supply what was needed most for the project manager and his team to succeed. That would have been clear and realistic expectations and fully vesting from the executive team. There were complications identified initially with the resources. However, the replacements were an even bigger detriment. Training them and getting them on top of things took the precious time they did not have built into the timeline goals. Apprising the senior management of problems at an early stage should have resulted in collaboration and assistance that would have served the interests of the project manager, team, and customer. Instead, the senior management team issued intimidations and unapproachable management methods.
Discuss whether or not fostering more cooperation was within the scope of the project.
Absolutely better cooperation was within the scope of the project. In a project, it is necessary to have lucid cooperation within the team, back and forth between the project manager and the team, and among the executives and the project manager. There seemed to be a matrix organizational structure in place. However, I believe communication channels would have been strengthened if they adopted a more cooperative approach. It was important that each key stakeholder be involved with the project’s evolution. Having a positive cooperative relationship from the top down would encourage everyone to be open and honest and seek resolutions rather than excuses and blaming.
Is it possible or even desirable, when doing strategic planning for project management, to include ways to improve cooperation and working relationships? Or is this beyond the scope of strategic planning for project management?
I have worked as a project manager on a few projects. They all met the predefined budget and timeline goals. Primarily my success was due to a well-thought-out strategic plan. It is very possible and should be desired to include cooperation and working relationships. To begin, there should be some time set aside to get to know one another. I would suggest a luncheon where all the key stakeholders could introduce themselves, explain their level of involvement, and give a brief description of how the positive project outcome would affect them or their work-life. At that meeting, they could exchange information, set up a project charter, and establish the reporting methods and timelines to be used. The is a necessary step in strategic planning. In my opinion, it should be included in the inception of every project.
Examine actions that could have been taken to get the project back on track.
To get the project back on track, I would have begun by establishing a project charter. I would also have recommended that they followed a project organizational structure and that the project manager be given the autonomy to make decisions. This organizational structuring method uses a combination of functional and project management to execute a variety of tasks, objectives, and projects (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, & Wells, 2019). Additionally, the project leader would have needed to encourage the understanding that the team members would be dedicated for explicitly the Trophy Project. This would have also eliminated the conflict of resources being stretched across several projects. It would have also inspired a team culture with the project manager as the spearhead. One leader would afford the opportunity to identify issues and resolve them proactively more quickly.
Finally, I would have begun with an efficacious plan of quality management: quality planning, control, and improvement. I would have had weekly status assessment meetings beginning at the inception of the project. The primary goal of the sessions would have been to ensure that hindrances be addressed as rapidly as they arise rather than when they become festered out of control. We would have also examined the budget and made tweaks as required. I would have also advocated the use of a project charter, Gantt charts, or supplementary tools to track the consistent progress of the project. Most pertinently, I would have worked closely with the management team and continually discussed how their support and involvement were mandates to assure a better project execution. Once the project was complete, I would have met with the executive team again to review the results both positive and negative. Lastly, I would have created a list of best practices for the next project.
Reference:
Kloppenborg, T., Anantatmula, V., & Wells, K. (2019). Contemporary Project Management (4th ed.). Retrieved from: Strayer University Bookshelf: Contemporary Project Management (vitalsource.com)
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