Project Management - Week Twelve Questions

Explain the triple constraint and its importance in project management. Within a project there are three primary variables, these are cost, scope and time. They have an interdependent relationship and all projects are limited in some way by one of these variables. The framework for evaluating these competing demands is known as the triple constraint. If one of these factors changes, at least one of the other factors will also be affected. Project management involves making trade-offs between the time, cost and scope of the project. Each of the factors plays a significant part in the value of a project. The triple constraint makes necessary contributions to projects when considering establishing success. 2.      Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning Two diagrams most frequently used in project planning are PERT charts and Gantt Charts. A PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart is a graphical network model that depicts projects tasks and the relationships between these tasks. It defines the dependency between project tasks before the tasks are scheduled. In the diagram boxes display various attributes for the project such as schedule and the arrows indicate the one task that is dependent on the start or completion of another task. A Gantt Chart is a simple bar chart that depicts tasks against a calendar. Within this chart the tasks are listed vertically against the schedule which is horizontal. This particular diagram is ideal for representing the schedule of a project Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success The three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success include: 1)      People 2)      Communications and 3)      Change People involve managing those who participate in completing the project and any conflicts that may arise during the duration of the project. Managing people is a difficult facto in ensuring the smooth completion of the project. Communication is the key to a successful project and it is often helpful if the project manager plans what and how to communicate as a formal part of the project management plan. A communication plan is where the manager distributes timely, accurate and meaningful information such as time, cost, quality and scope. Also involved with the communication is the need for the project manager to update stakeholders of the progress. Change can come in the form of a crisis, market, shift or even a technological development. Every successful project manager must learn how to adapt to and predict changes over the course of the project. Change within the duration of the project in inevitable and with the challenges and complexities that organisations face in todays rapidly sparse changing environment, effective change management is essential and a critical core competency. Change management is a set of techniques that aid in the evolution, composition and policy management of the design implementation of a system. Outline 2 reasons why projects fail and two reasons why projects succeed.

Two reasons as to why people fail consist of the following: 1.      Poor scope – Essentially referring to the work that must be completed in order to deliver products with the specified functions and features. A project scope statement includes assumptions, requirements and constraints. If the scope of a project is not adequately organised and planned the final products won’t be achieved due to either not meeting the requirements or the work will also affect the time and cost of the project. With the poor scope, the designated work will take longer than initially estimated or even come in over budget. 2.      Lack of project management – Essentially can lead to numerous issues such as unreasonable time, cost and scope, there is a need to seek a good balance on these competing demands throughout the project. Between 30-70% of projects fail due to a project not being delivered upon schedule, come in over budget or do not deliver the scope initially agreed upon. Two reasons as to why people fail consist of the following: 1.      Good communication – A project will have the adequate support of all involved due to the fact that they will be informed and understand the requirements of the project. It everything involved is kept in adequate communicative bounds they will be able to contribute effectively whilst also feeling part of a team or group environment. 2.      Good decision making structure – This reason involved initially choosing the correct people, cost, time and scope of the project. It can also mean making decisions regarding whether or not to outsource the project, these are vital in the success of the project. Good decision making can also be a factor when changes occur during the project duration and a manager must make crucial decisions to ensure success.