Project Management Essentials

This document delves into crucial aspects of project management. It emphasizes the importance of interdepartmental teamwork and effective communication between project managers and clients. The text highlights the significance of a statement of work (SOW) in outlining project details and expectations. Furthermore, it discusses the role of strategic planning, contingency plans, and risk management in ensuring project success.

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Continuous Improvement
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note
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Table of Contents
Weekly Portfolio Learning Table.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Portfolio Reflection........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Reference List................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
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Weekly Portfolio Learning Table
Topic and
reading samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from this course.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation
including your prior learnings.
How do you
develop
specifications in a
project?
 Estimating the cost and time required
for a project.
In my experience, the time and cost
estimation is essential for providing a
budget and timeline to the client. Making
the project energy efficient can also help to
prevent excess cost.
Khodakarami, V., & Abdi, A. (2014). Project cost
risk analysis: A Bayesian networks approach for
modeling dependencies between cost
items. International Journal of Project
Management, 32(7), 1233-1245.
Describe the steps
in developing a
Work Breakdown
Structure
 All the processes and steps in a
project are broken down into simpler
tasks.
Complex tasks can be broken down into
simple tasks based on functional
requirements, which are then described to
the team for effective accomplishment.
Ashtiani, B. N., Jiang, Q., Tayah, M., Welcker, B.
L., Patton, T. G., Panvalkar, S. S., & Chan, W. K.
T. (2017). U.S. Patent No. 9,720,737.
Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office.
List some of the
problems in
decomposition of a
WBS
 Not comprehending that further
decomposition will not be
productive.
 Difficulties due to different group
dynamics.
 Conducting excessive meetings.
 The deliverables do not provide
enough elaboration.
 Lack of team building activities.
These problems arise mostly due to
inexperienced project managers who do not
understand the process, especially by
ignoring varying group dynamics.
Sharon, A., & Dori, D. (2015). A Project–product
model–based approach to planning work
breakdown structures of complex system
projects. IEEE Systems Journal, 9(2), 366-376.
Describe what is
the role of a senior
manager or top-
level manager or
executive
 Providing management to the
project.
 Providing management to the team
 Understanding the client’s
requirements and making certain
that the project successfully delivers.
Providing proper project management as
well as team management is essential. The
project manager is not just meant for filing
papers. He or she is also responsible for the
team and its productivity. The project
management must also supervise the team
to meet the project objectives.
Martinelli, R. J., & Milosevic, D. Z.
(2016). Project management toolbox: tools and
techniques for the practicing project manager.
John Wiley & Sons.
Are senior
management
important for a
project?
 Yes, senior management is important
for a project.
Senior management has the responsibility
of overseeing that the project is successfully
completed along with accomplishing all the
project objectives and fulfilling the
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a
systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
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Running head: (Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009 Course Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Topic and
reading samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from this course.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation
including your prior learnings.
requirements of the client.
What is the role of
the executive
during planning?
 The executive determines the
objectives and the scope of the
project.
The executive initiates the project by stating
the goals and objectives of the project that
must be fulfilled.
In your personal
experience
describe a
situation where
someone else
“owned” the event.
Describe how you
managed the
owner who was
paying for the
event. Describe
any politics or
tensions. How did
you manage the
situation?
 The client must never be exposed to
the intricacies of project
management. They must only be
privy of the results.
 I have focussed on making a good
presentation.
 The client requested many changes
after the initial planning and
budgeting. All of the changes were
documented and approved so that
the client can be billed on the
changes made.
 I made certain that all of the
client’s requirements were being
addressed to.
Describe the
different types of
plans that a Project
Manager needs to
develop
 Strategic Planning
 Tactical Planning
 Operational Planning
 Contingency Planning
A project manager implements strategic
planning, tactical planning and operational
planning to meet the outcome of a project.
However, a good project manager also
prepares contingency plans that would
prevent the project from failing in case of
any unforeseen disasters.
What is a Project
Charter? And how
do you develop
one?
 It determines the roles and
responsibilities, project objectives
and the project manager’s level of
authority.
 Developing a project charter requires
identifying project vision, project
organization description,
The project charter defines the outlines of
the project that the project team members
and the project manager adhere to.
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Running head: (Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009 Course Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Topic and
reading samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from this course.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation
including your prior learnings.
implementation, risk management.
If you have a plan,
how do you
personally keep to
it? How do you
make sure the
work assigned is
being done?
 By utilising WBS. Using WBS, I am able to break my project
plan down into steps that easy to complete.
These steps are then completed
successively to accomplish the project
objectives in a well defined timeline.
What is a SOW? A statement of work is a plan that is
documented to provide the client with a
timeline of the project from the vendor.
The targets of project completion are
defined in the SOW so that the client is well
informed about the deliverables and
timeline of the project.
What is
Configuration
Management?
Consistent outcomes and quality assurance in
projects is guaranteed by Configuration
Management.
The client expects assurance of the quality
of project outcome. Such assurance can
only be provided by employing
Configuration Management.
How can a Project
Management
methodology
enhance project
planning?
PMM can be utilized for developing accurate
project plans and executing them to
accomplish the necessary goals and
objectives.
I have successfully applied PMM to make
my projects methodical and structured.
Journals &
Standards
 IJPM Continuous improvement plans are analysed
and elaborated in these journals.
I learnt a more methodical approach to the
project management process.
Management, I. (2018). International Journal of
Project Management. Journals.elsevier.com.
Retrieved 25 January 2018, from
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/internationa
l-journal-of-project-management
 PMJ Details of continuous Improvement is
provided.
A clear justification of project improvement
would definitely help me in future projects.
Project Management Journal | PMI. (2018).
Pmi.org. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from
https://www.pmi.org/learning/publications/pro
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Topic and
reading samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from this course.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation
including your prior learnings.
ject-management-journal
 SAI Global An illustration of the continuous improvement
plans is presented.
The discussed added great value to my
project management methodologies.
Ethics & compliance - SAI Global. (2018).
SAIGlobal. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from
https://www.saiglobal.com/en-au/ethics_and_c
ompliance/
Portfolio Reflection
In my study, I have learnt that project management methodologies can be used to design a systematic project management. Developing a proper
project management has been a challenge to many project managers.
The specifications of a project should be established before starting the planning phase, as the stakeholders must be informed of the deliverables of
the project.
Each functional role in a project must be identified before commencing the execution phase. The Work Breakdown Structure is a method where
each functional division is further decomposed into smaller fragments of work. The entire project timeline is divided into several bits of time intervals. Each
task is assigned a time interval within which it must be completed. WBS increases the project planning efficiency. However, we must be aware of the
certain limitations to using this process. The person using WBS to plan a project must not decompose or the break the tasks down into too many pieces.
This would make the entire process inefficient, as too much effort would be wasted on completing multiple similar bits of work and documenting them
separately. I have also learnt that the project manager must consider the interdepartmental teamwork skills before assigning them work that would
require them to perform as a team. A healthy team dynamics is needed to properly execute a project and without teamwork, the project is bound to fail.
The top management in a project holds the most important responsibilities, as that person is responsible for the success or failure of a project. I
have seen that these responsibilities include managing the project, managing the team responsible for the project and most importantly supervising that
the outcome of the project meets the entire requirement of the client. Most of the time the client is unable to convey their exact requirement to the
project team. Information is often altered and manipulated in the transition process. Therefore, according to my understanding, it is the duty of the project
manager to deliver what the client needs and not what the client wants.
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A statement of work is needed to provide a documented information to the client about the details of the plans and the timeline of the project.
SOW is utilized to give the clients a timeframe and the outcome that they should expect from the project in that period. It is also essential that similar
projects must maintain similar outcomes. A uniformity in quality and productivity must be maintained to provide value assurance to the client.
A project manager thus needs to develop certain plans that determines the execution and the outcome of the project. These plans aids in
developing strategic and tactical ideas for the project that would assist in making the operational plan successful. A contingency plan is developed as well
that would tend to unanticipated events. These plans are a part of the risk management process that is desired to prevent failures in projects. From the
literature, I can conclude that a good project manager always has a perfect contingency plan.
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Reference List
Ashtiani, B. N., Jiang, Q., Tayah, M., Welcker, B. L., Patton, T. G., Panvalkar, S. S., & Chan, W. K. T. (2017). U.S. Patent No. 9,720,737. Washington, DC: U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office.
Ethics & compliance - SAI Global. (2018). SAIGlobal. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://www.saiglobal.com/en-au/ethics_and_compliance/
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Khodakarami, V., & Abdi, A. (2014). Project cost risk analysis: A Bayesian networks approach for modeling dependencies between cost items. International
Journal of Project Management, 32(7), 1233-1245.
Management, I. (2018). International Journal of Project Management. Journals.elsevier.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-project-management
Martinelli, R. J., & Milosevic, D. Z. (2016). Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons.
Project Management Journal | PMI. (2018). Pmi.org. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://www.pmi.org/learning/publications/project-management-
journal
Sharon, A., & Dori, D. (2015). A Project–product model–based approach to planning work breakdown structures of complex system projects. IEEE Systems
Journal, 9(2), 366-376.
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