Sunday, September 15, 2013

Project Management CAPM

Chapter 10

Problems P.383

10-2, You have been called in by the executive management of a major utility company and asked to give a “selling” speech on why the company should go to project management. What are you going to say? What areas will you stress? What questions would you expect the executives to ask? What fears do you think the executives might have?

 

As an organization matures in project management, executives begin to trust middle- and lower-level management to function as sponsors. There are several reasons for supporting this:

·       Executives do not have time to function as sponsors on each and every project.

·       Not all projects require sponsorship from the executive levels.

·       Middle management is closer to where the work is being performed.

·       Middle management is in a better position to provide advice on certain risks.

·       Project personnel have easier access to middle management.

 

It is common practice for steering committee executives to function as sponsors for the projects that the steering committee oversees.

 

If an executive has to function as a sponsor on several problems at once, problems can occur such as:

 

·       Slow decision-marking resulting in problem-solving delays

·       Policy issues that remain unresolved and impact decisions

·       Inability to prioritize projects when necessary

 

10-5, The director of engineering services of R. P. Corporation believes that a project organizational structure of some sort would help resolve several of his problems. As part of the discussion, the director has made the following remarks: “All of our activities (or so-called projects if you wish) are loaded with up-front engineering. We have found in the past that time is the important parameter, not quality control or cost. Sometimes we rush into projects so fast that we have no choice but to cut corners, and, of course, quality must suffer.” What questions, if any, would you like to ask before recommending a project organizational form? Which form will you recommend?

Would like to know if the project before implementation step has been tested in controlling and monitoring phase? Seems that the project need more improvement in controlling and monitoring phase, which project managers will compare project status and progress to the actual plan, as resources perform the scheduled work.

 

10-9 During the implementation of project management, you find that line managers are reluctant to release any information showing utilization of resources in their line function. How should this situation be handled, and by whom?

                                                

In this case, project manager can be return to functional manager. A functional manager is a person who has management authority over an organizational unit such as, a department - within a business, company, or other organization. Functional managers have ongoing responsibilities.

Chapter 11

Problems P.483

11-2, What planning steps should precede total program scheduling? What steps are necessary?

·       Objective

·       Program

·       Schedule

·       Budget

·       Forecast

·       Organization

·       Policy

·       Procedure

·       Standard

Important steps:

·       Objective

·       Schedule

·       Budget

11-6, Who determines the work necessary to accomplish an objective?

         Project manager

11-15, Can activities 5 and 6 of Figure 11–11 be eliminated? What risks does a project manager incur if these activities are eliminated?

Any delay in these activities that may cause delay in rest of project. Project manager will be responsible will be asked from senior management about the reasons that affected program plans review.

11-18, Consider a project in which all project planning is performed by a group. After all planning is completed, including the program plan and schedules, a project manager is selected. Is there anything wrong with this arrangement? Can it work?

Project plan should be following this framework:

·       Eliminates conflicts between functional managers

·       Eliminates conflicts between functional management and program management

·       Provides a standard communications tool throughout the lifetime of the project (It should be geared to the work breakdown structure)

·       Provides verification that the contractor understands the customer’s objectives and requirements

·       Provides a means for identifying inconsistencies in the planning phase

·       Provides a means for early identification of problem areas and risks so that no surprises occur downstream

·       Contains all of the s11-20 Should a good project plan formulate methods for anticipating problems?

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