BUS 528 – PM / Chapter 3 & 4

Chapter 3 – Know Your Key Stakeholders and Win Their Cooperation

1. Identifying stakeholders is a primary task for successful projects. Besides delivering on the customer’s requirements, projects also need to meet all stakeholder expectations because so many important decisions during the initiation, planning and execution stages of the project are made by these stakeholders. The five primary project stakeholders are the project manager, the project team, the functional management, the sponsor, and the customer. Anyone who involves in the project has an essential contribution and will be affected by the results of this project.

2. Project team is a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result with which a set of methods, theories and techniques in a complex work. Many team members have their essential function or roles in the project. As a project manager, he has to distinguish between these part-time or temporary members and the core teams, get everyone involved with efficient communication, functional resources, and then achieve the output successfully from the project on time.

3. Three kinds of management contributions supporting project stakeholders:

Sponsor can be an independent person or a group with formal authority title and position in the organization, who supports financial budget and act as the advocate of the project. Sponsor oversees the project, acts as a liaison between the upper management team and the project leader, and helps to overcome organizational obstacles.

Resource Manager (also known as functional managers) who provide company policy a resources, particularly people who are involved in the project. So, the project manager must work closely with functional managers in getting the best members to perform their skills for the project plan.

Decision Authority Manager represents other stakeholders, even the customer to make decisions timely, wisely, and responsibly. Good decisions make good projects.

Chapter 4 – Write the Rules

1. Project managers define a successful project as on time, on scope and on budget, in other words – “A successful project is where everyone involved is happy with the final outcome”. Write the rules are the foundation of projects. Three basic factors for project managers to write the rules:

A- Agreement on the goals of the project among all parties involved, and then everyone knows what this project is going, how this project process and what results are expected for. Really collaborate with each other and build up a strong relationship in the project team.

B- Control over the scope of the project. Not only stay close to the customer, but also keep eye on the overall project promises. It’s pretty easy to lose sight especially the project work is difficult with critical time schedule. The project managers should remind the team of the overall promises and how to keep fulfilling the project goals.

C- Management support. In order to take care of project team and to coordinate meticulously, a sponsor can help to define and finalize scope for the project; he can also ensure the funding available and signatory responsibility for the project. Due to the team members are temporary support the project, the management sponsor will make the job easier by navigation complex policy across the organization, negotiating conflict when departments collide.

2. SOW (Statement of work) helps us to define the scope of work required and define success,  and when this project outcome should be expected and be performed, which includes what  resources are required or to be used for the project, and who will pay the cost. Write SOW short, easy understand and specific.

3. Use Responsibility Matrix to show who does what in the projects. The matrix lay out each team member to know his/her roles, function, responsibility and expected contribution in the project. This helps project manager and project sponsor to review overall progress and specify individual creation requirements.

4. Communication plan provides essential information to the project team. This will help us to communicate the right information, to the right people, at the right time, so that the project manager can efficiently monitor the communications events completed, keep project stakeholders informed all the time and get feedback from stakeholders on communications events and then to improve communication process.

BUS 552 Accounting / Week 1 HW

BUS 528 – PM / Chapter 1 & 2

A project a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result, with which a set of methods, theories and techniques involve to manage a complex work. Here “temporary” means a defined beginning and end in time, and a defined scope and resources. The project is “unique”, it means it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to achieve an especial goal. The team members work together just for a project, but normally they are from different organization and across multiple departments.

The development of software help to improve business process which are composed with many different projects ant they all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.

So, project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. There are four successful processes used by project life cycle: Definition, Planning, Execution, and Closeout. It also a part of strategies for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals, and better compete in their market. Applying these concepts to my project – Starting up my new business, I need to get a written approval that all interested parties understand and agree on my business goals, rules, and are willing to follow the three primary variables of the project: Cost, Schedule and Quality equilibrium. Break down the detailed items on a schedule chart (time-framed), such as getting funding, looking for an office, recruiting employee, and setting up design team...in 15 months. During execution, the project organization should keep a flexibility adjusted by practical changes. The project will closeout when the business is running operation and product produced successfully.

A title said “Project Manager”, it is with greater success hinges upon the leadership abilities which can solidify the status as the project management authority in an organization. Managing expectations is one of the main jobs of a project manager who is able to carry the related management functions to finally control the project.

BUS 528 Project Management - Preparation

Introduction
Hello everyone:
I'm glad to be with you guys in CALMAT class. I've lived in Bay Area for over 10 years and worked in semiconductor company there, but now I live in Oregon and I am a high school teacher currently. My daughter is going to be a senior after summer, I wish I would be back to industrial career when I finish my MBA program and get a chance to start my own business in the future. I really enjoy the classes in CALMAT and I appreciate that all of the professors are so nice and helpful to share their experiences that supports students to achieve their dream as a possible goal. Unfortunately I have a long trip (for both teaching training and vacation) staying in Beijing and Taiwan the most of time of this summer, I hope I could catch the courses progress very well.

Project with SMART goals

I'll use my Capstone project as my project. The goal of this project is how to use time wisely to run my project progress smoothly and get starting with my business plan achievement. The product of my business is 3D Grace Contour System which provides virtual images for end users to choose the right dresses & apparels. The system also serves as a platform to interface between our business partners and end customers. Further help the Partners to filter out and analyze customers’ interest and further promote their products and images thru our system database. The goal of my business is to provide the efficient and best value for all our business and end customers.

Follow by the SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic and Time-framed,  my project is to get my business starting and ready to catch the opportunity of market demand and supply.