Standard Approaches for Managing Projects - Assignment Example

? Managing successful projects Supervisor; April 23, Managing successful projects Answers to question Standard approaches for managing projects, my preferred approach, and rationale for choosing the approach There are many standard approaches for managing projects and these have been developed at both national and international levels. The “Project Management Body of Knowledge,” also known as the PMBOK, is one of the standard approaches to project management (Zarafani 2011, p. 38). The America’s Project Management Institute developed the approach more than two decades ago but its latest version was published in 2008. The project management approach outlines more than 40 processes that are necessary for project management and group the processes into distinct process categories and “Knowledge areas” (Zarafani 2011, 38). The standard’s process categories are “initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing” of projects while knowledge bases are “project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, and procurement management” (Zarafani 2011, 38). The Knowledge scope has further been extended to include “project safety, environmental, financial, and claim management” (Zarafani 2011, 38). The approach values project requirements from stakeholders’ perspectives and considers clients’ level of utility, control measures, periodic improvements, and prime management’s initiatives throughout projects. It however deals with a single project at a time (Zarafani 2011, 39). The United Kingdom’s “Project Management Body of Knowledge,” also known as PM BoK, is another standard approach to project management. The approach is almost a reflection of the United States’ version but identifies 52 subjects that are considered in seven elements of project management. Some of the elements are “project management in context, planning the strategy, executing the strategy and techniques” (Zarafani 2011, 39). It is however more precise as its elements cover wide scopes that are explored in briefs. ISO 10006:2003 is another standard approach to project management. Even though it draws many of its concepts from the American based standards, it is distinct and offers elements such as “customer focus, management responsibility,” role of stakeholders to a project, quality, and periodic improvements during a project’s lifestyle (Zarafani 2011, 40). The “Competency Standards for Project Management” from Australia is another standard approach to managing project. It derives its basis from the American model but incorporates standards to ensure compliance with professionally approved procedures (Zarafani 2011, 40). PRINCE is another standard approach to project management. It identifies universality in project implementation efforts subject to specified conditions. It must be “successfully used everywhere,” must be “robust, internally consistent and free from evident fault,” is clear and easy to understand, and is “viable,” “scalable,” and “relevant” (Roberts 2013, p. 20). I have taken the United States based PRINCE approach. My choice is based on the approach’s constructs that guarantees success and efficiency besides its clarity, simplicity, and predetermined viability, scalability and relevance (Roberts 2013, p. 20). The process of developing an effective project management environment No standardized strategy exists for developing an effective project management environment. Processes for motivating members of a project team can however develop a motivated team and an effective environment for implementing a project. This can however be achieved through a comprehensive approach that meet team members’ needs such as ensuring “interesting and challenging work,” “professionally stimulating work environment,” ensuring strong leadership and growth among team members, developing interpersonal potentials, defining responsibility and restricting dynamism of involved processes in a project. Though these measures need not to be necessarily implemented in a sequence, their incorporation develops a conducive environment for effectiveness (Dinsmore and Brewin 2006, p. 155- 158). Identification and communication with project stakeholders Identification and communication with project stakeholders are essential tools to successful project because of the different roles that the stakeholders play and the stakeholders’ diversity that requires specialized approach for each class of stakeholder. Identification is therefore necessary to help a project manager in understanding involved concerns in the project and the stakeholders that can resolve the concerns timely responses to arising needs in the scope of the project. Communication is however the link between the project team and stakeholders and is fundamental to ensuring that the team acquires all the necessary resources for project implementation and the stakeholders interests are incorporated in the project. In order to ensure the benefits of identification and communication with stakeholders, a communication plan is necessary for ensuring that all stakeholders and their needs are recognized, ensuring that stakeholders remain informed throughout the project cycle, and through effective and timely communication paths (Andler 2012, n.p). Fundamentals of a business case to support a project Fundamentals of a business case that supports a project are the purpose of the case and its cost provisions. The objective of the business case explains the need for the project and the rationale behind the project’s necessity, aspects that attract stakeholders’ support for a project. Potential benefits of the project are another element of the business case objective and motivate stakeholders to play their roles in ensuring successful implementation of a project. The objective also supports a project by establishing a basis from which the project’s standards can be established and such standards ensures quality and effectiveness of processes towards the project’s success. Cost of implementing a project is another fundamental of a business case. It outlines monetary values of necessary resources for implementing the project, includes analyzed “capital, operating,” and “decommissioning costs” that must be incurred in a project and is fundamental to ensuring availability of finances for project implementation. The cost aspect of the business case also ensures that and necessities are factored and valued for uninterrupted project implementation process (Kloppenborg 2011, p. 88). Answers to question 2 Background information I work in a charity organization and our scope involves initiatives for improving welfare of the needy members of the society. One of the projects that I am likely participate in is rehabilitation of homeless children. The children’s population in the streets has been increasing with the rising cases of illegal immigrants who fail to acquire jobs and therefore remain homeless. The harsh weather and physical hostilities however endanger the people together with the children who accompanied them during their immigration or were begotten after immigration. The project’s objectives The project aims at improving the children’s long-term welfare in the society through facilitating their potential for self-reliance and productivity in the society. These shall be achieved through the following specific objectives. Providing a suitable environment that can facilitate cognitive development and psychological stability Offering learning opportunities for the children’s academic potentials Providing quality healthcare to the children Ensuring proper nutrition for the children’s physical and physiological developments The project’s lifecycle The project involves service delivery with a five-staged life cycle, initiation, conceptualization, planning and funding, implementation, and closure. Its cycle is scheduled to run for fifteen years beyond which alternatives will be explored over its life. Initiation that ran for a year and is already complete begun from a fieldwork operation that observed the need of a group of young children in the cold streets because of lack of shelter and a developed desire to help them. Empirical study followed this to explore the level and magnitude of the need and estimated of required resources for implementation. Conceptualization, planning, and identification of sources of funds are underway and are expected to run for the next eight months. A thirteen-year implementation period will follow before the project winds up. Component stages of the project The project’s life cycle identifies five distinct stages, initiation, conceptualization, planning, implementation, and winding up. The initiation stage involved definition of the need of improving the children’s long-term welfare and the intended project’s scope. The stage also identified criteria for measuring the project’s achievements and its plan. The conceptualization stage has begun and has ensured the project’s plan, prioritization of activities, and management strategies. The planning stage will however involve acquisition of chatter for undertaking the project, and analysis and disintegration of involved activities and required resources. The implementation stage will involve construction of facilities for meeting the project’s objectives such as the children’s shelter, healthcare facilities, and modalities for their education. The stage will also involve management of the services that the project will offer, and management of operational risks and financial management. The last stage of the project, its closure, will involve approval of the undertaken initiatives, evaluation of the project, its cost, and benefits, and closure of hand over of the project to another organization or government agency for sustenance. Assessment of where the project fits within operational management activities The project’s wide scope that identifies operations such as construction of facilities and service delivery incorporates the entire scope of project management and the project fits within a majority of operations management activities. The incorporated elements of operational management include identification of facilities for implementing the project’s objectives, planning for and designing products and processes, planning for and managing service delivery, “quality control,” “materials management,” and “maintenance management” (Kumar, Anil and Suresh 2009, p. 21). Financial components that should be developed for effective project design and control Availability of finances and guarantee of sustainable sources of finance during the project’s life are the major financial components that should be considered. Evaluation of involved risk of terminated sponsorships and effects of dynamic macroeconomic factors on project funders are for example necessary for ensuring effective design and control of the project subject to developed levels of confidence (Dismore and Brewin 2006, 52). Monitoring and review strategy for assessing the impact and achievement of the project Impacts of the project shall be monitored through periodic assessment of the children’s physical, cognitive, and psychological well being to determine achieved trends. The assessment criteria will compare the children’s achieved welfare with the national standards that will be reported over the project’s years. Reference list Andler, N 2012, Tools for project management, workshops and consulting: A must-have compendium of essential tools and techniques, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Dinsmore, P and Brewin, J 2006, The AMA handbook of project management, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, New York. Kloppenborg, T 2011, Contemporary project management, Cengage Learning, Mason. Kumar, S Anil, K and Suresh, N 2009, Operations management, New Age International, New Delhi. Roberts, P 2013, Guide to project management: Getting it right and achieving lasting benefit, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Zarafani E 2011, ‘Project quality management approaches: A comparative evaluation of international standards’, International Conference on Construction and Project Management, vol. 15, pp. 37-43. Read More