Project management plan critique flashcard

Executive Summary A project management is a directional approach of planning and guiding project process to its ultimate goal from start to finish. In this project, the main task is to develop a Web-Based system through with customers can rent video games. This online application should be able to perform all the operations online as well as provide solution for any problems. All the management and planning has been done as well as all the phases required for project management plan has been carried out which includes: a. Phase 1: Initiation b.

Phase 2: Planning or design c. Phase 3: Production or execution d. Phase 4: Monitoring and controlling e. Phase 5: Closing By using this different phase of the life cycle model, PM handles the project in very well-mannered way. In the initiation phase, project manager with four other team members are selected and assigned. Stake holders are identified, and the scope is determined with the constraints and requirement. Various techniques are used in planning phase which includes identifying milestone, Work breakdown structure, Giant chart, Network diagram, Risk management plan, and detailed budget.

After ireful planning and consideration, the project is executed in a controlled and effective manner. The project is monitored and controlled in each phase by identifying the completed milestones and responsibility assignment matrix which is then reported in a work summery report. The work done by each team member is reported by evaluating the weekly performance and quality, and change is alerted on a controlled manner in the change request form. All the details, task assignment to each team member, budget and time allocated for each task, relationship and start- end of each task are clearly mentioned in the PM.

The total budget for the project is $500, 000 and the allocated time period is twelve months. The PM is well detailed and promising. 2. Table of contents 2. Table of Contents 3. Introduction 3. 1 Name 3. 2 Description Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 3. 3 Project manager and Team Members 3. 4 Stake Holders 3. 5 Deliverables 3. 6 Definitions 4. PM critique 4. 1 Introduction 4. 2 Organization Page 5 4. 3 Management and Technical Approach 4. 4. 1 Management objectives 4. 4. 2 Project Controls 4. 4. 3 Risk Management 4. 4. 4 project Staffing 4. 4. 5 Technical processes 4. 4 Work to Perform 4. . 6 Major work packages 4. 5. 7 Key Deliveries . 5. 8 other 4. 5 Schedule 4. 6. 9 Summary 4. 6. 10 Detailed 4. 6. 11 other 4. 6 Budget 4. 7. 12 Summary 4. 7. 13 Detailed 47. 14 other 5. Conclusions 6. References Page 6 page 7 Page 8 Page 9 page PM in this case is to create a web-based service that allows customers to rent video games via the internet on a monthly basis. This business report can be used to study and examine Project Management Plan. Likewise, it can also be used to identify and outline the weakness, strength, and practicability of the project.

The main of this project is to critically analyze the roles and phases used in this management plan. . Name The name of the project is Video Delivery. The name is not very clear of whether it is online video delivery or tradition video delivery. Old members may get it but for the new one it is unclear and confusing if they don’t have the project details or description. 8. Description The description mentioned in the PM is very detailed and it gives a very good outlook of what the project will look like when completed and how much it will cost and the time frame. . Project manager and Team Members The name, email address, cost and position of all the team members and project manager is clearly mentioned. However, it forgets to mention the phone number, qualification, actual address, and back-up contact person. 10. Stake Holders All the stake holders with their details and complete responsibilities is acknowledged with their respective managing relationships. Their area of interest and level of interest in also well coated. 11. Deliverables There are no immediate and test deliverables.

A final product will be released at the end of the project cycle but it will be tested and adjusted when required during each phase. 12. Definitions Definitions are clearly mentioned and creates no confusion. So it is correct. 13. Introduction Project management critique requires a detailed and careful insight of the project. It requires a high level overview of the project and what is included in the project Management Plan, and most importantly the approach is adequate for project completion. Excessive details is not necessary but a critical comprehension is a must. 14.

Organization In project, team chart, responsibilities and work frame is clearly mentioned but the organizational chart is yet to be announced. Both roles and names are clearly visible and there are no confusions. However, the line of authority is not clear and could rate problems afterwards. Lack of organizational chart may create misunderstanding. Each team members are assigned with risks they may be responsible with the required solution. So, it would be easier to tackle if the risk arises. Also, the indication of probability and impact can make team member alert prior to the situation. 15.

Management and Technical Approach 5. 16. 1 . Management objectives Management and technical approach requires a well-defined and realistic groundwork of scope, cost analysis, cost management, time management, quality assurance and management, human resource management, communication management, risk management, and procurement management. 5. 16. 2. Project Controls Even though this project plan outlines the team members and their corresponding tasks, there is no communication planning. Each individual is supposed to inform the team member but it fails to explain if there is any back up person in case the team leader is sick.

Nevertheless, all the risks are not covered. There is no clear meeting agenda for control and monitor. Was the team leader and sponsors to meet on a weekly schedule and ascertain the completion of milestones, it would be easy to meet the scope. The weekly status reports are generated in a weekly basis which outlines the completed tasks, accomplished milestones, project quality, problems, and current status of the project. Confusions are also cleared in weekly meetings. This techniques is very helpful in monitoring and controlling the quality of the project which helps team members to deliver a high quality project on time.

The project is not well planned in budgeting. It is already exceeding the assumed amount by $120, 000. There is no back up amount for risk or scope creep. The revised budget and increase of additional fund already shows the insensitive planning of the management. The nature of complexity of this project requires more time then allocated as certain tasks can get complicated and extensive. Scope creep is when project starts off as one thing but slowly grows into something bigger/unplanned. This usually happens because of unplanned project budget, uncontrolled changes, and deadlines. To get more revenue, scope has to be well managed.

Scope creep can be a good thing when the deliveries is better than expected but uses the same amount of resources. Unlikely, in this case, the budget was revised and an additional amount was increased which is undesirable and indicates bad management. This part is not well written and planned. 5. 16. 3. Risk Management In this project for risk management, risk register and risk probability/impact matrix are used. These techniques are useful for handling risks and managing problems. In risk probability/impact matrix various fields are used are: a. ) No. B. ) Rank c. ) Risk d. ) Description e. ) Category f. ) Root Cause g. Triggers h. ) Risk Response I. ) Risk Owner J,) Probability k. ) Impact l. ) Status These fields are used for mentioning various things in the process of risk management. In the risk field, the name of the risk is mentioned. The description is written in the respective field. There are different categories of risks and organizing them makes it easier to resolve. The root cause helps to identify the main reason behind the problem so it can be avoided before any accident happens. In the risk trigger field, all the anticipated consequences are recorded. For example, a low quality product can create dissatisfaction among clients.

In this way all the fields represent some special information and this information is very helpful for managing risks. It is very necessary to discover risks related to the product for a successful completion. In risk management various techniques are used to manage risks. For example risk registers are one of a popular technique to handle risks. In the process of risk management risk registers are also used for mentioning all the risks in that register. So this part of the report is well written. 5. 16. 4. Project Staffing The types of people, numbers, and their specific Job is well recovered.

However, the absence of organizational chart can create confusion. All the reporting and communication is done on the basis of the organizational chart. Although there is team leader to handle the communication flow, an organizational chart would have en helpful. 5. 16. 5. Technical processes This part of the report is not well written. The documentation standards are good. No information about system development life cycle approach is mentioned. The technique which is used is correct. 16. Work to Perform 5. 17. 6. Major work packages This phase of the report includes the scope and work breakdown structure.

Project scope document is very important to finalize the Project Plan and word Breakdown Structure. The requirements and acceptance criteria is acknowledged in this project but more key issues like Project Boundaries, Assumptions, Initial project organization, Project configuration management requirements, detailed Project and product objectives, and Approval requirements are overlooked. It is not a well- planned scope. In work breakdown Structure various fields mentioned are: a) Task name b) Duration c) Start d) Finish e) Predecessors By using of these fields work breakdown structure works.

The WEBS is an 8-level hierarchical grouping of activities that provides for a progressively detailed definition of work elements for all levels of review, including staff, functional manager, project manager or program manager. Work Breakdown Structure (WEBS) should be created n Microsoft Project. WEBS contains work packages which are developed through close collaboration among stake holders and team members and also includes past research and input from functional managers. Proper time charging gives managers a tool to track the actual cost of projects, review the project status, and allocate resources.

In the PM report, WEBS is mentioned in a well-mannered way. 5. 17. 7. Key Deliveries This part includes the immediate and final product of the project. The project does not have an immediate or in-the-process product which could be studied for risks laity, and scope scoop. The project is solely intended for one final product but overlooks major client’s assumptions. 5. 17. 8. Other This part of the project is well written. Assumptions, Hardware/Software requirements are clearly mentioned in this part of report on the project management plan. 17. Schedule 5. 18. 9.

Summary Schedule is a significant part of project management. The project is not successful if it is not completed on time. A lot of factors and reasons are there because of which project teams have fallen behind schedule (SAME, 2011). A project must follow the proposed schedule. If a project falls behind, it is team leader’s responsibility to put the team back on schedule. There are various techniques that can be used by management like overtime. Not everyone likes to work overtime thus making it team leader’s responsibility to confront it before scheduling individual tasks to team members.

However, there is no mention of overtime in this project. Reallocate resources are another technique to tackle behind schedule problem. In this technique resource are reallocated in such a way that it can be fully utilized and more results are produced to track back on schedule. During reallocating of sources it is very necessary to allocate more resources to modules which required more resources. Crashing is also a useful way in which extra resource is allocated to critical paths. It can be sometime used to get the biggest schedule gain.

Sometimes, multiple activities are performed in the same time to cover the schedule and actual time. This is called Fast Tracking. Milestones and Giant charts are used in this project for scheduling. This part is well- written. 5. 18. 10. Detailed In detailed part, schedule is discussed in a detailed manner. Giant chart and network diagram are used for this purpose. The Giant chart is a type of bar chart which illustrate the project schedule (REF Electronics, 2011). The purpose of a Giant chart is to display a project schedule in a visual way that is easily understood.

A Giant chart looks at the activities on the left hand side, and then draws a horizontal bar that indicates the start, end and duration of each activity that is listed. In addition to providing scheduling information, a Giant chart can be used very well in the implementation of projects. You can use a Giant chart to draw every week the ACTUAL duration of activities, and to ask project team members to report back on heir activities that they were responsible for. You can also use a Giant chart to determine the cash flow of a project, and you can assign responsibilities in a Giant chart.

So in this part of report scheduled is well described by using of Giant chart and network diagrams. 5. 18. 11. Other In this part of report assumptions related to schedule are clearly mentioned and these assumptions are well described. 18. Budget 5. 19. 12. Summary A revised version of budget is mentioned in the project plan which shows the increment of $120, 000. The total budget is broken down into three areas: Hardware, Labor, and consulting and outsourcing. Budget for each areas is well detailed and defined. The management is budget is very essential for project’s success and this is not easy task.

However, there are no funds allocated for emergency or scope scoop. 5. 19. 13. Detailed Each areas have its own budget which is well formulated and organized. The tables clearly shows every details from individual salary packages, hardware costs, to third party payment for outsourcing. 5. 19. 14. Other Assumptions are described related to budget in this section of report in well manner. By reviewing project Management Plan of Video Game 20, it is understood that lancing and budgeting is very crucial for project achievement. The project is unusable if it does not yield result.