Essay Instructions: Project Management Activities
The purpose of this paper is to select, describe, and justify an organization and project management activities for approval. I will provide the background on the projects current situation to include all pertinent personnel. Then I will breakdown what the problem and situation was and where we needed to be. In this paper the focus will remain on laying the groundwork of this project management activity.
The organization I chose is the Elmendorf Professional Military Education Center (EPME). By comparison, this would be considered small company whose purpose is to train enlisted Air Force members to become combat leader and first line managers. I have been working here for about 3 years as the Director of Education. Along with me is the commandant, Chief Murphy, who has been in charge for about 4 years. Next, there are 2 resource advisors, MSgt Copple and TSgt Bolden. Finally, the rest of the staff is made up of 10 instructors, all Tech Sergeants, with various specialties. Everyone is fully qualified to teach the PME curriculum regardless of their position and all of them have a good understanding of the requirements. The classes typically have 14 to 16 students and run every 6 weeks with 1 week off to prepare and transition to the next class. Finally, the civil engineer squadron supported us with Mr. Ben Thompson who had a background in drafting and contract management. Now that we have a better understanding of who is involved, let?s talk about the conditions that were causing some of the problems.
The schoolhouse currently occupies a 1950?s era warehouse building on Elmendorf AFB. There are 7 classrooms, 7 offices, 2 bathrooms, 1 auditorium, 1 break room, 1 snack bar, and 1storage room. The building has gone under several partial renovations that, over time, created more issues than they solved. For example: The offices where built in the larger portion of the warehouse with thin false walls. Since they only built 7 offices, some of the instructors had to share up to 3 each (ideally should be no more than 2). The classrooms were cramped with no central air and had obstacles like power poles that were installed in the center to run projectors. The bathrooms were expanded from 4 toilets 1 urinal and 2 sinks to 6 toilets 2 urinals and 2 sinks. However, This still does not satisfy the requirements of servicing over 120 people when class is in session. The auditorium only seats 60 people preventing the staff the ability to perform mass briefings. Next, there is only 1 break room for both the staff and students to share. Finally, the storage room is not adequate to support all the curriculum and office supplies. When we contacted and created a work order, THE Civil Engineer squadron sent over Mr. Thompson to do a preliminary walk through with our requirements, he said that there is enough square footage to make a complete renovation. This project has since been completed and I was involved in the entire process.
Thank you for reviewing this project management activity and I look forward to work on this as my Session Long Project.
******USE ANY REALISTIC FIGURES REQUIRED TO COMPLETE PROJECT******
Part 1 ? Project Planning
Based on the story above. Focus on the planning phase of the project. Describe the general plan and the steps involved to achieve project success (from a planning perspective). Discuss the critical elements of the plan and what the key success factors will be for the project success.
Expectations:
Write a 1 PAGE plan and draw on:
? Conduct processes to obtain project plan approval
? Analyze and refine project time and cost estimates to define project baseline, schedule and budget
? Develop a formal and comprehensive project plan, including, where applicable, a Communications plan, a Risk management plan, a Change management plan, a Resource management plan, a Quality plan, a Procurement management plan, and an Organization plan
Use in-text citations or footnotes to indicate where you use information from those (or other outside) readings. Your paper will be evaluated on the completeness of the overall plan and the specificity of the steps you identify. Critical thinking will be assessed by the identification and justification of crucial steps and success factors.
Part 2 ? Project Execution
Building on Part 1 ? Project Planning. You must identify the manner in which the project is activated and what the key elements of that activation included. Discuss what the challenges in the activation of the project and how these challenges were resolved or will be resolved.
Expectations:
Write a 1 PAGE Execution and draw on:
? Commit project resources and procedures required to initiate and monitor the performance of work in accordance with the project plan
? Implement the project plan by authorizing the execution of project activities required to produce project deliverables
This paper should address the task, as well as your ability to successfully apply reference background materials in developing your activation criteria. Pay close attention to the anticipated challenges and possible resolution.
Part 3 ? Project Control
Continuation of Part 1 and 2 - You are to evaluate your selected organization in terms on their project controls and how those controls are implemented and managed. Describe the specific control measures and how they are applied and evaluated. You should comment on the effectiveness or lack thereof and recommendations, if any, you would make to enhance the project control phase of the overall project.
Expectations:
Write a 1 PAGE paper on:
? Develop, lead and manage project teams
? Manage project scope changes
? Manage project scope changes
? Develop, lead and manage project teams
? Recognize and respond to risk events and issues
Breadth and depth are very important to this assignment. Be sure to give sufficient detail about the controls so the reader can follow your evaluation. No organization is perfect, so think critically about the effectiveness of the controls - what works and what doesn't? Give sufficient attention to recommendations for improvement and be sure your recommendations are tied to the strengths and weaknesses you identified in the paper.
Part 4 ? Project Closing
For this final component you are to discuss how your selected organization assesses the effectiveness of their projects from conceptualization through closing. Comment on your views as to the effectiveness of the overall project management approach and environment. Use the concepts and ideas gained from the readings, case assignment, and your own knowledge and experience, comment on ways you believe project management could be enhanced in this organization.
Expectations:
Write a 1 PAGE paper on:
? Ensure project has been transitioned to operation, if applicable
? Be able to obtain final acceptance of deliverables from appropriate stakeholders
? Release project resources by following appropriate organizational procedure
? Document lessons learned and preserve essential project records to adhere to legal and other requirements
? Release project resources by following appropriate organizational procedures
Your paper will be evaluated for completeness, specificity, and ability to appLy concepts gained throughout the course readings and assignments. Be sure to document your sources whenever you support your analysis with course materials or outside sources.
