devry mgmt404 week 1 to week 4 discussions

Read the case study 3.1 on pages 103–104 of the text.

The Keflavik Paper Company is a case with the problem of determining a project management process for new product development. Answer the following questions:

What does this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening methods on a firm’s ability to manage projects effectively?

How would project portfolio management help to improve the situation at Keflavik?

If you think about it, all business problems are case studies. To effectively evaluate the situation, you must approach the problem in a methodological manner. A proven technique to do this is to

1. list the facts;
2. identify the issues;
3. based on the facts of the case and your knowledge, analyze the issues of the case;
4. prepare recommended solutions and their possible outcomes;
5. implement the optimal solution (not always the one with the best outcome, since the cost or other things could be impractical); and
6. monitor the implementation and the outcomes.

So when you read and prepare to respond to this case, please follow the above guidelines. I don't necessarily expect you to perform steps 4–6, but I do expect your response to be based on the facts and your knowledge.

Remember—your first impressions may not be correct!

Read the case study 2.4 on pages 65–66 of the text.

The Widgets ‘R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the company is set up and how the company will handle operations with its projected growth. Answer the following questions:

You have been called in as a consultant to analyze the operations at WRU. Based on the readings, what would you advise Widgets ‘R Us to do in order to sustain the competitive advantage in the widget market?

What structural design changes might be undertaken to improve the operations at the company?

This section lists options that can be used to view responses.

week 2 discnn

The project scope defines what will be delivered as part of the project, and in some ways, it can be likened to the term vision. That said, whose view and needs should be expressed in a project's scope? What items need to be addressed in defining the scope? Why are these items important to define?

Read the case study 5.3 Project Management at Dotcom.com in the text on pages 166–167.

Dotcom.com is a software engineering and systems development consulting firm that needs some organizational improvements in the area of project management processes that will cut cost and potentially increase the profit margin for the company. Answer the following questions:

Discuss how you would begin redesigning dotcom.com’s project management processes to minimize the problems it is experiencing with poor scope management.

Why do you think configuration management and project change control are difficult to perform in the middle of a complex software development project, such as those implemented at dotcom.com? Share any experiences you have with project change requests.

week 3 disn

To develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a project network, which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown structure and organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships governing when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work activities with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the activities, we can create a schedule for the project work. What types of information can we learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule and all the information used to generate it?

This section lists options that can be used to view responses.

Assume you have just been assigned to a project risk team of five members. Because this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out their proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include but not be limited to the following information:

• Team objectives
  
• Process for handling risk events
  
• Team activities
  
• Team outputs

Please post your outline and comment on at least two other posts.

week 4 discnn

Read the case study 12.1, The Problems of Multitasking in the text on pages 405–406. Answer the following questions:

1. How does multitasking confuse the resource availability of project team personnel?
2. In modern organizations, it is impossible to eliminate multitasking for the average employee? Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
3. How would resource loading and/or resource leveling help this situation?

In your own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope reduction as means of schedule compression. When would each be appropriate? Which methods are considered better first-choice methods by most project sponsors?