Business Project Management Organization Planner

Question: Describe about the Business Project Management for Organization Planner. Answer: Case Study 1 Summary of the Case Study The case study revolves around the project named as Rockn Bands which is being managed by the organization Planners 'R Us. The organization has had past experience of managing the projects under various categories such as software development, construction projects, conference management etc. Rockn Bands is a project in a newer category and will be handled by the organization for the first time. There are twelve activities that are required to be covered during the project life cycle with three activities as starting points and all twelve shall be completed in a period of ten weeks. The case study presents the cost that is associated with the resources and the total cost of the project along with the details on penalties and late delivery of the final project deliverables as well. Key Issues The major issues that have been seen in the case study are associated with the project schedule, project budget and resource management. The project is a short term project of 10 weeks and the schedule and budget are the major constraints that are associated with the project. There is a lot of extra cost involved in the project which has come up as a striking issue and the deviation from the determined budget and schedule can also cause some major penalties. The time frame of the project is limited to ten weeks; however, there is an involvement of a number of third parties which can cause delays in terms of response and delivery. Such occurrences may also be significant to the project progress and project delivery. Lessons Learned The most valuable lessons that are acquired from the case study are the project management knowledge areas as cost management, time management and human resource management. These three areas need to be monitored, analyzed and planned accurately to avoid any potential risk to the project in terms of schedule overrun, budget overrun, resource scarcity and likewise. The case study also focuses upon the need and significance of management and managerial abilities in all these areas. It is necessary to include scheduling and budgeting in the planning phase of the project and also ensuring contract management with the supplier and vendors so that any of the legal penalties can be avoided and handled with ease (Carr, 2016). Application of Lessons Learned The lessons that are acquired through the case study can be applied in the present in the daily activities such as budget creation and maintenance at home along with the following of a designated schedule in personal and professional world. In the past, these areas could have been applied at home and at work for better cost and time management. These can also be applied in future in the routine tasks and activities at the workplace and at home as well (Hall, 2016). Factors that may cause Issues in Applying the Lessons There may be factors such as absence of resources in bulk or mis-happening at home or workplace that may hinder the application of budgeting, schedule maintenance and resource management. There may also be lesser contribution from peers and supervisors at work who may be unaware of the benefits of these three areas. Similar Lessons and Experiences There were projects in the past at the workplace that faced heavy penalties as they could not meet the deadlines that were promised. Also, there were situations of resource borrowing and lending that has been experienced at the workplace that is similar to the ones highlighted in the case study. There have also been cases associated with the positive customer feedback due to the maintenance of designed schedule and budget. There are also a number of Project Management Methodologies that lay focus on the three aspects as time, cost and resources along with their management that are connected with the lessons that were acquired from the case study (Atkinson, 2016). Change in Ideas The subjects that have been covered in the case study have allowed enhanced knowledge and awareness on the project management areas as time management, cost management and resource management. It was earlier assumed that project management restricted to the activities around resources, their monitoring and review of the activities. The same has been changed with the knowledge regarding other areas where project management is essential (Saputra and Latiffianti, 2015). Gaps and Areas of Improvement There are improvements required in the knowledge and skills associated with a number of automated tools that are now available for project management in the areas of cost, time and resource management. For instance, there are tools that can auto-generate the budget after keying in the project details or represents project schedule in the form of a chart and provides details on effort estimation as well. Case Study 2 Summary of the Case Study The case study is prepared for the Quantum Bank Inc. which is a regional bank and has a number of different branches in the southeast region. The bank launched its web site in the year 1999 and with the advancement of technology and the expansion of services, it is necessary to implement some major up-gradations to the web site. Stacey Thomas is the Vice President of the bank and has been given the responsibility to select the Project Manager for the project who believes in staffing the project internally rather than acquiring external support. Stacy has two options to select from for the role of Project Manager. Bill Fence, a computer science graduate is one of the options for the role and has the skills such as in-depth technical knowledge, past experience, managerial and leadership skills required for the same. The second option is Andy Dover, a civil engineering graduate with skills as high competency, amazing communication abilities, very basic technical knowledge and team colla boration skills. Key Issues The primary issues that have been encountered from the case study are in terms of a required mix of skills set for the role of Project Manager. The roles and responsibilities of the manager in a project are extremely critical and important and it is necessary to have a right person appointed for the same. There may be impacts of the incorrect decisions made by the senior management that may affect the project progress adversely (Petty, 2016). Lessons Learned The most important lesson that has been acquired through the case study is in terms of the skills that are necessary for the present day Project Manager. The manager should possess skills such as managerial abilities, communication skills, negotiations capabilities, team cooperation and collaboration skills along with a decent technical background to understand the project activities (Marando, 2012). Application of Lessons Learned The lessons that have been acquired from the case study can be directly applied to the professional roles and responsibilities by acquiring the required skill set in all of the managerial tasks so that the success of the project can be ensured. These lessons also apply to the daily routine and day to day activities as it is necessary to have a perfect mix of management and leadership in all walks of life. Factors that may cause Issues in Applying the Lessons There may be a certain set of factors that may prove to be a cause of hindrance in the application of the lessons that have been acquired. The primary factor may be lesser support from the senior management and preference to the age old managers over the modern day requirements for the resource. There may also be cases wherein technical abilities may be required more than the other skills mentioned for the role of the Project Manager. Similar Lessons and Experiences Project manager is a resource that is present in almost all the projects. There have been cases in the past wherein the projects have not managed to succeed due to unskilled manager and the resources were also not optimally utilized. There have also been cases wherein the Project Manager made it possible to pull of the project with success by the application of the required skills at the accurate time. Change in Ideas Project Manager is an integral part of project management and the case study enabled it to understand the importance and significance of the resource and its skill set in the project. There is a shift from the management skills that were demanded few years back and the ones that are required in the present day projects. The manager shall have a correct mix of skills so that the project success can be assured (Gillard, 2009). Gaps and Areas of Improvement There are a number of project management tools that are available in the current scenario along with a number or project management methodologies that can be studied, applied and followed in the projects to manage the activities with perfection. It is essential to gain knowledge and skills on these two areas for better management of the projects. References Atkinson, R. (2016). Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria. [online] Available at: https://notendur.hi.is/vio1/Project_management_Cost_time_and_quality.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Carr, R. (2016). Cost, Schedule, and Time Variances and Integration. [online] Available at: https://www4.hcmut.edu.vn/~ndlong/TK/mat/BaiBao-BaiTapNhom/Nhom06.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Gillard, S. (2009). Soft Skills and Technical Expertise of Effective Project Managers. [online] Available at: https://iisit.org/Vol6/IISITv6p723-729Gillard599.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Hall, K. (2015). Perceptions of Time, Cost and Quality Management on building projects. [online] Available at: https://www.icoste.org/ICMJ%20Papers/AJCEBVol2No2Bowen.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Marando, A. (2012). Balancing Project Management Hard Skills and Soft Skills. [online] Available at: https://projectmgmt.brandeis.edu/downloads/BRU_MSMPP_WP_Feb2012_Balancing_Project_Management.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Petty, A. (2016). Leadership The Project Manager Developing the Skills that Fuel High Performance. [online] Available at: https://artpetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ldrshipandprojmgrfinal.pdf [Accessed 14 Oct. 2016]. Saputra, Y. and Latiffianti, E. (2015). Project Reliability Model Considering Time Cost Resource Relationship under Uncertainty. Procedia Computer Science, 72, pp.561-568.