Card 405 and mgmt404

Card 405 and mgmt404

Objectives

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The objective of the Course Project is to give you an opportunity to practice the skills learned in class regarding the planning methodologies of a project. These skills are directly applicable toward your senior project.

Guidelines

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For this project, you may choose one that is of interest to you, or you may choose to begin planning for your senior project. When selecting a project, avoid picking one that is either too big or too small. For example, do not decide to build a new stadium for your local sports team (too big) or to plant your summer garden (too small). Here are some successful past project ideas.

• The opening of a coffee shop
• A charity event for a local social service agency
• A meditation pool and platform in the center of town
• A redevelopment of a local playground
• Design and installation of a computer network for a small business
• Software development project

A project to build a house or create a website is NOT acceptable.

You are not limited to the list of projects above. Please refer all questions concerning what is acceptable as a class project to your instructor.

Milestones

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Milestones:

• Due Week 1: Project Outline Proposal/Approval
• Due Week 2: Project Charter
• Due Week 3: Scope Statement
• Due Week 4: Work Breakdown Structure/Gantt Chart
• Due Week 5: Risk Management Plan
• Due Week 6: Project Schedule and Budget
• Due Week 7: Communication Plan
• Due Week 8: Final Project Package

Week 1

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Due Week 1: Project Outline Proposal/Approval

To begin Week 1, all students need is to form teams (the instructor can permit individual projects if necessary). This can be done by the instructor or by the student at the discretion of the instructor. Once a team is formed, students need to complete a Statement of Participation. This document is found in Doc Sharing.

Provide an outline of your proposed project to your instructor for approval. The project will be the project your team will use for the remainder of this course.

Deliverables for Week 1:

For team projects:

• Teams need to complete the entire Statement of Participation with the team and team leader assignments for Weeks 2–8. Lastly, teams need to update the status of participation for Week 1.

For individual projects:

• A one-page document outlining your proposed project. This document should contain particulars, such as what will be created, why this project is important, how long it would likely take, and how much it would likely cost.

Week 2

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Due Week 2: Project Charter

Provide a project charter of your selected project in accordance with the charter template found in Doc Sharing.

Please put this in proper business writing format. Consider me to be your boss. If working in a group, include the updated Statement of Participation for Week 2, describing how each person contributed to this project deliverable. Please place the updated Statement of Participation in your teams' Doc Sharing area for review. A charter should be a minimum of 3–5 pages long.

Deliverables for Week 2:

• Completed Project Charter (in MS Word)
• Statement of Participation and status update

Week 3

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Due Week 3: Scope Statement

Prepare a scope statement using the template in Doc Sharing. Remember to be tangible, measurable, and specific. Be sure to include all sections required in the Week 2 Lecture. A scope should be a minimum of 10–15 pages long.

Deliverables for Week 3:

• Project Scope Statement (in MS Word)
• Statement of Participation and status update

Week 4

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Due Week 4: Work Breakdown Structure

According to the PMBOK® Guide, "the WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables." In other words, it lists the project's deliverables and work packages. For this week, you will create a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project you selected during Week 1.

Remember that the WBS starts with your major deliverables (that you stated in your scope management plan) at the highest level. The lower levels have the work package required to complete those deliverables. Review the textbook (and the PMBOK® Guide, if you have it) for some suggestions on how to create a WBS. From your work breakdown structure, develop a project task list with dependencies and add durations, using MS Project.

Develop the Work Breakdown Structure

• Your WBS should have a minimum of 100–150 line items in MS Project and be three levels deep.
• Make sure to use verb-object task names (for example, "Develop software").
• Enter tasks in MS Project.
• Create the predecessor relationships.
• DO NOT LINK SUMMARY TASKS OR ASSIGN RESOURCES!

Deliverables for Week 4:

• Statement of Participation and status update
• The MS Project file (.mpp) saved from the Tracking Gantt chart screen

Week 5

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Due Week 5: Risk Management Plan

Remember, risk is an uncertain event or condition that can have a positive or negative impact on the project. This week, you will be identifying and analyzing your project risks and developing a risk management plan to monitor and track your project. You will evaluate each task in your project schedule to identify any risk factors associated with the execution of the deliverable. You will then add your list of risk to the risk register template in Doc Sharing. The number of risks will depend on the project deliverables in your schedule; however, 20–25 positive and 20–25 negative risks would be considered the minimum. Review the instructions on the first sheet of the template and complete your risk register in its entirety.

Deliverables for Week 5:

• Use the Risk ter Template spreadsheet found in Doc Sharing (there is a separate tab for each portion of the risk management plan).
• Statement of Participation and status update

Week 6

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Due Week 6: Project Schedule and Budget

A project plan cannot be considered complete until the resources have been assigned (including budget and cost estimate). This week, you will assign the resources required to work on your project to your scheduled tasks. In addition, you will add the cost of the resources per hour and any direct or indirect cost required for project contracts, materials, or supplies.

You will submit a two-part summary report (business professional format) of your project budget and resources, which includes the following:

Part 1: Project Budget (Cost Management)

1. Explain your approach to estimating the project cost (e.g., top down, bottom up, etc.) and why that method was chosen.
2. Create a table that shows the original budgeted cost (from the charter) and the actual budgeted cost (side by side). Include line items for labor, materials, contract, equipment, travel cost, and so on.
3. Compare the budget from the charter to the final budget and explain any variances that occurred from your original budgeted cost in the project charter and the current project cost (include your original estimated cost for the project).
4. Explain your budget contingency plan and how much is budgeted for contingency.

Part 2: Resource Management

1. Explain the results of your resource assignments. Did you assign enough people to the project? Were there any resources over-allocated? What approach will you take to fix any allocation problems?
2. Develop a plan to manage your project team and define how you will motivate your team and how you will handle team conflicts.
3. What structure would you select for your project: functional, weak matrix, balanced matrix, strong matrix, or pure project? Why?

Deliverables for Week 6:

1. MS project file (.mpp) updated with resource assignments and cost
2. MS Word file with report of project budget and resource management
3. Statement of Participation and status update

Week 7

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Due Week 7: Communication Plan

According to the PMBOK® Guide, "the Communications Planning process determines the information and communications needs of the stakeholders; for example, who needs what information, when they will need it, how it will be given to them, and by whom." In other words, it lists the general communication requirements for the project. This week, you will create a simple communication plan for the execution of your project. Each team will need to complete the Communications Plan found in Doc Sharing.

Deliverables for Week 7:

• Communication Plan
• Statement of Participation and status update

Week 8

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Due Week 8: Final Project Package

You will need to create a project plan. This plan should be completely integrated and presented in a logical order. It should be written professionally and should be mistake-free in terms of spelling and grammar. The final project plan should incorporate any changes that occurred along the way, including corrections and advice given by colleagues or your professor. Any tables or graphs should be labeled correctly.

Deliverables for Week 8:

1. Statement of Participation and status update
2. Your final project plan should consist of the following items.
• Executive Summary
• Project Charter
• Scope Statement
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Risk Management Plan
• Schedule and Budget
• Communication Management Plan

Grading Criteria for Weeks 2 and 7

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Category	Points	%	Description
Documenting and Formatting	5	12.5%	The deliverables should be formatted correctly as a business document and should use APA formatting for cited sources. Spelling and grammar must be accurate.
Organization and Cohesiveness	10	25%	The deliverables should be created and organized using standard templates or equivalent.
Statement of Participation	5	12.5%	The student must fully participate in team activities. Any student not participating in any team activity during the week will receive no points for the weekly course project.
Content	20	50%	Content should address the required deliverable to sufficient detail.
Total	40	100%	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.

Grading Criteria for Weeks 3–6

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Category	Points	%	Description
Documenting and Formatting	5	20%	The deliverables should be formatted correctly as a business document and should use APA formatting for cited sources. Week 4 and Week 6 deliverables should be created in MS Projects and follow standard indent/outdent format. Spelling and grammar must be accurate.
Organization and Cohesiveness	10	20%	The deliverables should be created and organized using standard template or equivalent, if appropriate. Deliverables created in MS Projects should be organized using standard MS Project methodology.
Statement of Participation	10	10%	The student must fully participate in team activities. Any student not participating in any team activity during the week will receive no points for the weekly course project.
Content	25	50%	Content should address the required deliverable to sufficient detail.
Total	50	100%	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.

Grading Criteria for Week 8

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Category	Points	%	Description
Documenting and Formatting	30	20%	The deliverable should be formatted correctly as a business document and should use APA formatting for cited sources. Spelling and grammar must be accurate.
Organization and Cohesiveness	30	20%	The deliverable should be created and organized using standard template or equivalent, if appropriate. Deliverables created in MS Project should be organized using standard MS Project methodology.
Statement of Participation	15	10%	The student must fully participate in team activities. Any student not participating in any team activity during the week will receive no points for the weekly course project.
Content	75	50%	The content should be complete (including all deliverables).
Total	150	100%	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.