Project Management Lessons Learned

This document presents a reflection on a project management assignment. The author outlines the understanding of the assignment's success criteria, which focused on team collaboration and task allocation based on individual strengths. They describe meeting these criteria and contributing to the project's completion. Key lessons learned include the importance of continuous evaluation throughout the project lifecycle and effective team coordination. The reflection also highlights both successful aspects, such as smooth information flow within the team, and areas for improvement, like time management.

IT Project Management Techniques

Table of Contents
TEAM PMP DELIVERABLES......................................................................................................1
Introduction..................................................................................................................................1
Organization................................................................................................................................1
Management and technical approaches.......................................................................................1
Work to perform..........................................................................................................................1
Schedule.......................................................................................................................................1
Budget..........................................................................................................................................3
TEAM PROJECT UPDATE DESCRIPTION REPORT................................................................3
Two weeks after project commencement....................................................................................3
One month after project commencement.....................................................................................4
Four and half months after project commencement....................................................................4
Six months after project commencement....................................................................................4
INDIVIDUAL REPORT DELIVERABLES..................................................................................4
Statement of contribution............................................................................................................4
Weekly assignment status report.................................................................................................5
Peer review of assignment...........................................................................................................6
Project management lessons learned in the assignment..............................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
List of tables and figures
Figure 1: Gantt chart........................................................................................................................3
Figure 2: Crtical path method..........................................................................................................3

Table 1: Project Schedule................................................................................................................2

TEAM PMP DELIVERABLES
Introduction
The current project is based on the development of WOWS project which helps in
managing the clinical data effectively whereby patients can get the right treatment in an effectual
manner. It will be accessible to WOWS' users only who can effectively search for the record of
the patients and ensure the reporting aspect. The entire system will work online that provides
overall technical proficiency.
Organization
The overall project activities are organized through the association of important members of the
project. The team of 6 analyst programmers has been hired who will work on several phases of
the project. They are expert in their field who can ensure the work related to developing, testing
and evaluation in an effectual manner.
Management and technical approaches
The technical approaches are used for testing, coding and quality audit of the software.
Furthermore, hybrid SCRUM project management methodology has been used in order to
develop the WOWS software1. In this context, two analysts are hired in analyzing and Designing
the SLDC phases. In this manner, technical approaches are incorporated for the successful
management of the project.
Work to perform
The work performed on the project is related to coding and assembly for the development of the
final system in accordance with the requirement of the organization. However, another related
task such as evaluation will also be performed for smooth operation of all necessary activities
associated with the project .
1 Rolstadås, Asbjørn, Tommelein, Iris, Schiefloe, Per Morten and Ballard, Glenn, ‘Understanding project success
through analysis of project management approach.’ (2014) International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
7(4) pp.638-660,
1

Schedule
The schedule of the WOWS project has been provided in the below-mentioned table that consists
of information related to the activities to be performed and time required for each particular
activity. For this purpose, MS project management has been applied in order to present the Gantt
chart and critical path of the project2. This facilitates to save the time and cost both.
Table 1: Project Schedule
Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Assessing the
requirement 1 wk Mon 25-09-
17 Fri 29-09-17 -
Collecting information 1 wk Mon 02-10-
17 Fri 06-10-17 1
Completing the
documentation related to
the requirement
1 wk Mon 09-10-
17 Fri 13-10-17 1,2
Drafting final
requirement 2 wks Mon 16-10-
17 Fri 27-10-17 3
Listing out all the
important task 1 wk Mon 30-10-
17 Fri 03-11-17 4
Engaging personnel or
students or team 1 wk Mon 02-10-
17 Fri 06-10-17 1
Allocation of the
authority and
responsibility
3 wks Mon 06-11-
17 Fri 24-11-17 4,5
Assign the duties 2 wks Mon 09-10-
17 Fri 20-10-17 6
Starting the work 4 wks Mon 27-11-
17 Fri 22-12-17 7,8
Checking the work as per
the requirement 5 wks Mon 25-12-
17 Fri 26-01-18 9,3,4
Modification 1 wk Mon 29-01-
18 Fri 02-02-18 10
Completion 1 wk Mon 05-02-
18 Fri 09-02-18 11
Execution 1 wk Mon 12-02-
18 Fri 16-02-18 12
2 East, William, Critical Path Method (CPM) Tutor for Construction Planning and Scheduling (McGraw Hill
Professional, 2015)
2

Figure 1: Gantt chart
The activities covered under the critical path are=1+2+3+4+5+7+9+10+11+12+13=21. It aids to
save the time and resources because more than two activities are being completed at a time3.
Figure 2: Crtical path method
Budget
The budget allocated for the project is $700,000 which will help in funding all the important
activities associated with the project.
TEAM PROJECT UPDATE DESCRIPTION REPORT
Two weeks after project commencement
At the expiry of two weeks, an issue related to leaving of key staff was faced for which
functionalities of the project was made flexible with the merger of several events into the one.
3 Dey, Prasanta Kumar, Kinch, Jason and Ogunlana, Stephen, ‘Managing risk in software development projects: a
case study.’ (2007) Industrial Management & Data Systems, 107(2) pp.284-303
3

Also, the contingency budget was kept aside along with the minor alteration in the project
activities4.
One month after project commencement
Project sponsors provided the mix reviews and requirement of the more detailed meeting was
realized. With this effect, little modification was made related to the project requirement and
communication as well as testing function. It aids to keep the project on track. However, the
review of quality audit brought out some issues so the project progress was reviewed again.
Four and half months after project commencement
Some issues were discovered in the project before the time of launching the final version. Owing
to this, pre-planning was done by taking the necessary action to assess that project will be
delivered on time or not. In this regard, testing was also done before the final issue.
Six months after project commencement
The review of the project was favourable and all the stakeholders were happy with the outcome.
However, flexible extension in the project was decided.
INDIVIDUAL REPORT DELIVERABLES
Statement of contribution
Clear description of all roles and responsibilities taken on by the student
Every project is backed by a good leader of the project who performed several roles and
responsibilities in its successful completion. The roles and responsibilities to complete the
project are listed as follows-
During each phase of the project, student ensures to complete all the project activities on
right time which aids to meet the objective of the project. In this regard, all activities related to
the project were integrated with the effective planning and monitoring. At the same time, project
risks were identified effectively that help in bringing necessary changes in the project in case of
requirement. In addition to this, configuration management process was also applied so as
4 Gowan Jr, Art and Mathieu, Richard, The importance of management practices in IS project performance: An
empirical study.’ (2005) Journal of Enterprise Information Management 18(2) pp.235-255
4

implement the WOWS project. Apart from the responsibility related to the free flow of
communication was also managed5. At this juncture, timely messages were delivered to staff
regarding the deadline of the project or specific task.
Moreover, an important role as the advisor was also performed so that all work can be
performed as per the standard guidelines. Not only this but the responsibility related to
motivation among staff member was also performed by the student. The agreed project plan and
detailed stages of the plan will be communicated among the team members. This proves to be
effective in applying the proper risk management processes. It reflects that varied kinds of
responsibilities were undertaken by the students. However, the role as evaluator and motivator
was also performed by the student as he was leading the project team6. Moreover, all the
important procedures of the project were evaluated by the students in the light of set standards. It
leads to deliver the appropriate outcome and meet the expectations of clients effectively. Lastly,
good working relationship management was the crucial responsibility that was fulfilled by the
student.
Table describing all project and assignment team deliverables
The project deliverables are mentioned in the below-mentioned table-
Details of the project
Deliverable Name: XYZ
Description : The project aims to design Web-based Oncological Working System (WOWS) for
effective data handling
Purpose: Developing effective system for the easy recovery of information in order to store and
summarize the patients’ clinical data
Estimate of work completion: The estimated time for completion of the project is 6 months.
Weekly assignment status report
The weekly assignment of the report has been provided in the below-mentioned table-
5 Rolstadås, Asbjørn, Tommelein, Iris, Schiefloe, Per Morten and Ballard, Glenn, ‘Understanding project success
through analysis of project management approach.’ (2014) International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
7(4) pp.638-660
6 Hillson, David, ‘Assessing organisational project management capability.’ (2003) Journal of Facilities
Management 2(3) pp.298-311
5

Project Name: WOWS project
Team Name: XYZ team
Team Member Name:
Date: 25 October 2017
Assignment Reporting Period: Monday 25- 9-2017 and Friday 29-9-2017
Work completed this reporting period: The initial phase related to the collection of
data and assessing the requirement of the project has been completed.
Work to complete next reporting period: In the next reporting period, the important
data related to the project will be collected. It facilitates to understand the requirement
and accordingly proceed the project.
What’s going well and why: Everything is going well as the important information has
collected.
What’s not going well and why: The key staff were leaving so the issues were faced in
completing the related activities.
Suggestions/Issues: The issue was related to staff but it was managed through the
association of multiple activities into the one.
Project changes: The changes were made in the activities by involving several activities
into the one for resolving the issue of staff
Peer review of assignment
All the requirement related to peer review of assignment are provided in the below-mentioned
heads-
Contribution percentage
6

The contribution of the student was significant as she/he played a role as the leader in the
WOWS project. For this purpose, he contributed 40% in the project due to a number of tasks to
be performed.
Justification of contribution percentage given
As per the roles and responsibilities mentioned in the aforementioned task, the student was very
important for completion of the entire project as the task related to evaluation, team
communication and assessment was performed by him or her. Therefore, 40% contribution can
be justified.
Meeting attended
All the meetings related to the project was attended and headed by the student as some of them
were organized by him/her.
Weekly status report submitted
Weekly status reports were submitted timely in order to accomplish the given task in the right
manner and ensure smooth functioning of the projects. It helped in getting the necessary
feedback and guidance from the respective authority7.
Any issues and how they were dealt with
The major issue with which they dealt with was coordination due to lack of time. However, the
issue was managed through clear communication and application of suitable mode of
communication such as mobile phone, email and written notes8.
Project management lessons learned in the assignment
The project lessons learned in the assignments are presented with the help of following format
Prepared by(Team Member): Date: 25 September 2017
7 Ziek, Paul and Anderson, J. Dwight, ‘Communication, dialogue and project management.’ (2015) International
Journal of Managing Projects in Business 8(4) pp.788-803
8 Eve, Anthony, Development of project management systems.’ (2007) Industrial and Commercial Training 39(2)
pp.85-90
7

Team Name: XYZ
Project Name: WOWS project
Project Sponsor:
Project Manager:
Project Dates:
Assignment Dates:
1. What did you understand the success criteria of the assignment?
The success criteria is collaboration of team and allocation of task as per the qualities of
each student
2. Reflect on whether or not you met the assignment success criteria.
I met the assignment success criteria and contributed in the completion of the entire task
3. In terms of managing a project through this assignment, what were the main
lessons you learned?
I learned that we should learn from each member and ensure evaluation of each single
step of the project on right time.
4. From a project management perspective, describe one example of what went right
on this assignment.
Team coordination went perfectly due to a smooth flow of information in the group.
5. From a project management perspective, describe one example of what went
wrong on this assignment.
The time management was little ineffective otherwise project could be delivered before
the expected time.
Also, I gained knowledge related to technical issues which might occur during the course of
such kind of software development. I got to know how to deal with sudden technical issues
which affect the performance of the project. Apart from this, some of the non-technical lessons
such as the role of team coordination, time management and communication are learned. This
would be effective for me to work on future projects in the right manner.
8

9

REFERENCES
Dey, Prasanta Kumar, Kinch, Jason and Ogunlana, Stephen, ‘Managing risk in software
development projects: a case study.’ (2007) Industrial Management & Data Systems, 107(2)
pp.284-303
Düren, Petra, Landøy, Ane and Saarti, Jarmo, ‘New public management and libraries: a success
story or just an excuse for cost reduction.’ (2017) Library Management 38(8/9) pp.477-487
East, William, Critical Path Method (CPM) Tutor for Construction Planning and Scheduling
(McGraw Hill Professional, 2015)
Eve, Anthony, Development of project management systems.’ (2007) Industrial and Commercial
Training 39(2) pp.85-90
Gowan Jr, Art and Mathieu, Richard, The importance of management practices in IS project
performance: An empirical study.’ (2005) Journal of Enterprise Information Management 18(2)
pp.235-255
Hillson, David, ‘Assessing organisational project management capability.’ (2003) Journal of
Facilities Management 2(3) pp.298-311
Rolstadås, Asbjørn, Tommelein, Iris, Schiefloe, Per Morten and Ballard, Glenn, ‘Understanding
project success through analysis of project management approach.’ (2014) International Journal
of Managing Projects in Business 7(4) pp.638-660,
Ziek, Paul and Anderson, J. Dwight, ‘Communication, dialogue and project management.’
(2015) International Journal of Managing Projects in Business 8(4) pp.788-803
10