1. What do you think must be done to prevent failure of the implementation of this system?
Failures are meant to be happened in reality, and if failure could be the will then it would happened, but getting fail, Isn’t mean the it’s a big lost, it also gives a lesson to us, we could be learn and experience what would be the feeling of being failure in some areas of our lives, why because we have our ups and downs, but only we could help ourselves by thinking ,planning, and implementing a discipline to ourselves. As an individual we are supposed to do such things that we could make ourselves satisfied, In some case failure are has a reason why we fail, because? , maybe, we plan to fail or we fail to plan, and it’s not only the reasons there are some. But only few people are really had a passion to had a successful project, that they didn’t want to fail, A project manager, or a Head of is a person which is assigned to do a task which they will be assigning on specific tasks or a certain tasks. But that is not they will do all along. A project manager, Head or a team leader must act as well to be able for them to achieve a given goal. Many of the individual who are assigned to lead like the president or as a team leader , project manager and a team leader only acts as if they are the boss and not as a leader. A leader must be someone who is willing to help whenever the team needs them to be. A willing person who wants to do the tasks by himself and not just because his or her member told him to do so. Yes a leader or head of the team is assigned to point out who will be doing the things with their own specialties. If there is a leader, a president, team leader and a project manager there should also be members who will complete the team they will be the person which will be doing or assigned on specific tasks. The members of the team for example is compose of a web developer and a system analyst which has their own specific specialties this is an example of a team which is a team whom is working for a web site or a site for a specific company. One another example of a team is a team on a basketball it is compose of a 12 members which would be competing to another teams. There is one captain ball which will lead the members. And to secure that all of the members should really oriented of what they doing in a certain time. Just like in the stated example a project team must have all of these factors in order for them to be synchronized and to be able to know what the things each must do are. In this matter a work may be lessen in a way that the span of their work will be lesser and would result to a success of the given work. Project management has always been one important factor on doing a specific project. In that way we can manage all of the things which must not and must have done to achieve a success of a project given. One way or another would make a work easier than the usual because there are steps or procedures to be followed. On the situation given a large development hospital developed an Electronic Medical record System which did not work for six weeks. The project was investigated and which result to not following the project management. What does the project management does? Project management is the application or the practice of your knowledge, skills and techniques to achieve the appropriate project requirement. Managing a project typically includes the following but not limited to identifying the requirements, addressing the various needs, concerns, and expectation of the stakeholder in planning and executing the project, setting up, maintaining, and carrying out communication among the stake holders that are active and effective. These are just some of the example of managing a typical project. It is a process which includes initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing. First thing to do is to initiate the things or requirements which will be needed for the project. It is a process which will be done to start a given project. Second is planning, if a project is given on a team or any person that person must plan on what will be the process or the steps they must do to accomplish the task. Scope of a project is one of the important things to be considered this is a phase which the project team will know what will be the basic information of the project given to them. Time is also part of a planning this is where a person or the clients makes a specific deadline for the project to end. For example, a client wants a web site which will be a site for online information of all the things they are selling. A range of 2 months is given to a project team. The project team must finish or accomplish on the site before or on that date if the project team did not finished in that range then the project given to them is a failure. A budget for the project given must also be considered in a way that this will be the total breakdown of all the expenses of the things which a project team will know on how much are the expenses on the project. The expenses matter on how much will the clients will pay for the project team or this would result to their individual salaries. Trust is also one of the requirements for a successful project. If you do not trust each other then there is a big possibility that you and your co members may fail. It is not just you plan on the things which will be needed to achieve failure. The project team must also execute the things or steps that you have planned. Planning without execution is also a failure. With just planning on those things we were not able to provide the requirements. For example, an assignment and projects are given to the students because it is now Christmas break. Those assignments and projects must have been done earlier because you will be going out of town. You planned to do it this week and then suddenly tardiness was all over you. The next week you went out of town not thinking of the things to do. And when you went back there is no time for you now to make on all the assignments. When the Christmas vacation was over and it is now time for the assignments and project to be pass. You do not have anything to be passed. In this example it is stated that when you plan something you must do it immediately and do not wait for the deadline to arrive. Planning without actions will always fail. If you just plan and did not do anything then it is still you lost because you are the one responsible for all you are doing. Third, monitoring unto the things that you have planned and executed. In most cases this happens during the interview you should give attention to the applicant behavior interview choose applicant who are polite in answering questions and those who are confident in answering questions. The next question is ? Is she slow to pick up skills and finish tasks or too quick to suggest new projects and processes ?” this refers to employees who are good in suggesting projects, who are very full ideas but when it is time that you are already going to start working on the project he or she is being very unproductive already. As a Project manager you don’t want this to happen. If the answer to those questions are yes then I would say that you need take some damage control actions, or you think there are just some things that may be preventing your member from being productive and effective monitor that member put him in this so called six month action plan, to correct he’s deficiencies, he you see no improvement at all dismissed the employee in that case its never too late to look for another hire. But to really avoid hiring the wrong team member in the first place, you should make sure that the person you are trying to get involved in the team has the knowledge of what he is doing. A manager who does not ensure that the person is he is trying to hire has enough knowledge on the job his trying to get into and most of all if he does not have a good critical thinking, You as project manager will surely have a high risk of picking manager who is not capable of surviving project that is already very complex and even the most fundamental challenges. In hiring new members you should define directly your expectations to the one you are interviewing you should define what outcomes you want to find when he or she is already working in that position and lastly. You should define also that he or she must have a positive behavior as he or she is filling that position, Aside from that you should also investigate on the person previous back ground investigate about that person project achievement and also if the person have history in being kicked out on his job. So if those matter must go on of course as a person we need to have a solutions, or lets just we say we need a discipline, to know what is our still missing or what part of ours should be change or improved, so if that is the case then we need really to have a plan, for us to have a very successful tasks that would make us proud. there are some process to be followed: the processes needed to ensure the project includes all the works required and only the work required to complete the project successfully. It consist of initiation, scope planning, scope definition, scope verification and scope change control. This area defines the needed works to use on the completion of the project. Project Time Management is entirely different area. This describes the processes require to ensure timely completion of the project. It consist of activity definition, activity sequencing, activity duration estimating, schedule development and schedule control. Moving on the area of Project Cost Management, this describes the processes required to ensure that the project is taken within the approved budget. It consists of resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting and cost control. The area of Project Quality Management describes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs which it was undertaken. It consists of quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Now you might be wondering why I’m trying so hard to list down these major areas and process. It’s because these things I have mentioned will help the prevention of the system’s failure and because this has been based to a lot of projects that have successfully finished. I have just further explained some of the areas included in the Project Management Knowledge Areas because it can be seen in the PMBOK guide. And there are a lot of guides that be followed, that if we follow then we will have a very successful project, yes as Ive mentioned as a project manager we have to discipline ourselves, then all the tasks would follow, so what do I think must be done to prevent failure on this project? My answer is what’s in the above. for me I have mentioned the process needed for the project to succeed, the only thing needed is for the team to thoroughly manage and execute this processes that will ensure the project’s success. These processes are essentially needed for meeting the desires of the end clients. Furthermore, this will allow the team not to plan for failure but for success.
2. As a project manager, how would you handle this type of project scenario?
As a project manager we have to be really responsible in what tasks has been given because we give a privillage to lead that certain team because we have the capability or the ability to lead as they see, in we are chosen because of what we are did in some tasks maybe the see that we are really make the best, and we are the model of that particular team so we need to guide them what is right just to have successful output, and that scenario would encounter for sure there are some things need to improve, because we could not encounter that if we have really did whats the right and what the best for, of if we plant a healthy seed it will be grown beautifully, and we have to pick a results, maybe positive or negative, well as a person we already know that we fail in that certain tasks because maybe we didn’t follow what is right way, so even if we didn’t see or know the result in ourselves we already know, so in that case we should think twice before we proceed, yes in decision making, that is the hard part for us to do, because sometimes we comprised our tasks the reason why we hardly make a decision in some areas in our lives, we are afraid of risking something, that we didn’t know that is the thing or the solution of making our certain tasks to be done successfully and we have attitude to be applied to be a optimistic project manager. A project manager acts a crucial part within a project team. There are many things that are needed to be considered before one can be called as a project manager. The role of a project manager is bind with burdens. The failure and success of the project will be in your hands depending on how you manage the team. Project manager carries a significant role. In fact, it is the most challenging role He is not just an ordinary person on the team, he takes over the team. He thinks through about all the certain things that must be done for the good of the team and the project’s progress. Positioning myself as the project manager of the project scenario, I would contemplate over the things that should be than. But before I continue to mumble the deeds that I would do to handle the project scenario, allow me to walk you through the nature of being a project manager. A project manager leads the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives by the assignation of the performing organization. He needs to be knowledgeable enough with project management. An effective project manager requires a balance of ethical, interpersonal, and conceptual skills that help them analyze situations and interact appropriately as stated in the PMBOK Guide. The role of a project manager requires more than just knowledge. He needs to have good skills, and talking about skills, it does not just simply focuses on what is already there, it is more of challenging yourself. A project manager does not just simply become a project manager without the approval of the higher officials. To be promoted as a project manager you need to have exceptional skills enough for the higher executives to appoint you. Now back to the case scenario, if I were the project manager, I will definitely consider a lot of things before I assign the whole team on working with the project. From what I have learned from our educator, Sir Gamboa, one should follow the PDOC rule which basically stands for Plan, Direct, Organize, and Control. A project manager needs to have a plan, for the team and as well as for the project. The plan would lead the team. He needs to be directive. Giving the right directions to the team members will eventually help them. To become organized when handling things is good for a project manager. A team with organized management will let things go smoothly. Though it may not ease the difficulty of a project, it would somehow assist the team. And lastly, a project manager have control over things going on. He has the right to demand to his team members what should be done. Leaving the rules, with the given case scenario, first thing to be done would be evaluating the members of the team. Assessing what they have to become part of the team will be looked further. It is vital for a team to be composed of individuals who have unique skills. It is the most effective project team. Depending on the scope and limitation of a given project, it is important to have the right people within a team. That way, the plan will not just go smoothly but it would give satisfying results. After evaluating the team, communicating with them from the start of the project until the end is recommendable. It is good to have frequent discussions and become updated of each of the members’ progress with their parts for the project. It will synchronize things which is good for the team. The instance that had happened as mentioned in the scenario where the hospital had signed a contract without getting legal advice basically depicts the ignorance of the client. If proper project management was considered then it would have saved the millions of pesos spend in implementing the system. As a project manager, I should consider the budget of the project. It is comprise of a scope, money, and time. The given scope to the team should be contemplated. They need to anticipate the possible occurrence of unforeseen events. A project should be stated with a scope, money, and time. With this three, the team would need to balance it out in order for the project to become successful. One entity would greatly affect the other. If the deliverables of a project are not reached within the duration of the project, it will let the project go to failure. From what had happened in the scenario, I need to manage effectively my team. I need to appropriately negotiate or interact with the client to settle things. A project manager needs to listen to the other side of the project to straighten things out. Through negotiation, it will help overcome number of phases without troubling with a phase. The scenario shows that negotiation is absent between the IT service team and the management of the hospital which eventually mislead the IT service team. Another thing is the problem with the budgeting of the project. If I were the project manager, looking first and mulling over carefully with the things such as the budget cost of the project and the schedule which is part of the soul of the project. If the project budget is not closely pondered, it will be misused and wasted. While in the process of developing the project, hurdles might really come in our way, but as a project manager, I need to focus on solving it effectively. Overcoming obstacles when it comes to dealing with a project, a project manager needs to have an open-mind. A project manager needs to have a flexible knowledge with the project management. I need to become versatile. There is a need for a project manager to not just focus solely on what happens, he should consider things in a wider perspective. Since things had already happened with the project, I believe the failing project can still be fixed with going back and making a more effective plan this time. Firstly, reviewing the documents that were needed for the project. The deliverables that were made should be proofread and reviewing it might help the team in finding out what have been followed and not that may have made the project go to failure. Meeting the deliverables, of course, would mean termination of the project. But if the team fails to meet those, then they get unsuccessful results. Second that should be considered is reconsidering the schedule and cost which becomes the main reason of the project’s failure. From what had already happened, with the time that had lost and the money that had been spent, the team now needs to make a new outline. The team would need to recalculate everything. There is a need for renewing everything and that way is the best way possible for making things right. Instead of contemplating what had already happened, the mind-set of the team especially the project manager should now only focus on what needs to be done and fixed. The project had already step into failure but that does not mean that they cannot go back up. They would need to have another plan or alternative plans – the most effective one, given the time left. Of course formulating another plan would not be as easy as counting one-two-three. The team or should I say the project manager needs to clear up his mind and formulate the best plan possible. This way, turning back would not become an option. Proofreading the documents is not just the only task that the team needs, there is also a need for assessment of the individuals within the team. There are a lot to learn and each members should have the uniqueness to play with the team. Individuals that have different skills within a group is considered as an ideal project team. Then after evaluating the team, they just need to know what went wrong from going back into the deliverables. This might turn out to be effective. Looking out for the possible cause of current failure might give the team a hint and would make them formulate a solution. Checking what the aim of the project is would also be considered as a solution. The one that the team had committed from the beginning to the project should be evaluated. The team might be able to formulate solutions from that. After doing those things, if ever the team were able to find out the causes of the problems, they need to decide whether to continue what they had started or not. It is important that the team discuss the issue within the team before coming up into a decision. If they decide to continue the task, then they should know how to value their remaining time and budget. They need to know how to prioritize things. After settling things, we do not just of course focus our attention solely into the documents and personnel involved in the scenario. The available resources such as equipment used or unused should also be consider. The software configuration that are needed for the implementation of the system should be checked thoroughly to avoid making things more complicated as it is. Playing as a project manager in a failing project would have been a devastation to himself. But failure is another way of learning. It keeps the group motivated to making their way out of the failure. But it does not mean that the project needs to fail all the time. I am saying that without experiencing failure, it is the same as not trying anything new as what a famous scientist said. And back to the scenario, before I even forget, consultations to experts should also be considered. There are a lot of things that are needed to be learned. Asking for guidance from an expert would not hurt the business. It will help the team to provide a more satisfying performance to the client. If an expert is hired, then it can help the team as well as the project manager learn to gather their thoughts and make their way to success. And lastly, from what had happened, review of the lessons that have been learned should be pondered. There is a need for a team to meet up and discuss. Exchanging of ideas of a particular task would help not just the team but for the project to move and improve. While pointing out what is lacking that blocks the way of the team to achieve the objectives of the project, then turning the table back would be easy. Reviewing lessons learned would help the team to avoid the same thing happening next time again. The main thing about the scenario is that it makes you realize that a project would eventually fail when even a basic project management is not engaged to the development of the project. Starting a fresh and new plan would definitely give new lease on a project. If ever plan had been formulated, the team responsible to the project needs to work out the plan and make sure to incorporate the lessons that have been learned from the past experiences in handling a project. And before a team continues working on a project, make sure that the right people are involved at the beginning of the project. I have always been repeating this above though but in any way, it will really be a great help to reaching successfulness of the project if ever the team working on the project are the right individuals with the right skills. There are a lot of realization that comes from the case and the bottom line that I was able to think is that no matter how large the number of money involved, if the project is given to the wrong management, it will eventually be wasted and will be spent unworthily and putting blame to someone is not the right thing to do.
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RE: CASE 3
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1. What do you think must be done to prevent failure of the implementation of this system?
An Electronic Medical record isthe center of any computerized health systems. It improves the quality of careto every patient by making patients’ medical history easily accessible to allwho treat them. Without them other modern technologies such as decision supportsystems cannot be effectively integrated into routine clinical workflow. But ashealth care providers adopt electronic records, the challenges have proveddaunting, with a potential for mix-ups and confusion that can be frustrating,costly and even dangerous. Some doctors complain that the electronic medicalrecord is time-consuming and clunky at the same time. As doctors, everythingthat is related to them must be very light in addition to the fact that theyare needed by most patients. Indeed the electronic medical record system is afailure to some health institutions.
A project manager is usuallyresponsible for the success or the failure of the project. They first need todefine the project and then build its work plan. If the scope of the project isnot very clear, or the project is executing poorly, the manager is heldaccountable. However, this does not mean that the manager does all the work byhimself (which is practically impossible). There is an entire team under the projectmanager, which helps to achieve all the objectives of the project. However, ifsomething goes wrong, the project manager is ultimately accountable. Apart fromthis, depending on the size and the complexity of the project, they may need totake on multiple roles. The project manager may need to assist with gatheringbusiness requirements, help to design a database management system or mayprepare project documentation. They may work full time on a large project, ormay work part-time on various projects of a smaller nature; or mayalternatively handle various projects as well as handle other responsibilitieslike business analysis and business development.
Thus I can say that theElectronic Medical Record system needs an edible solution. A better preparationis indeed a need. For the failure to prevent the health institution must havedeveloped a wide communication with the EMR producers and the patients as well.At least, test and procedures must be done before coming up into a decision ofputting up EMR. Both must have given its full cooperation and understanding ofthe situation. They must have given enough consideration as well as it isimportant for the development of both parties. Cooperation involves workinghand-in-hand with other individuals, groups, companies, or organizations toachieve a certain goal or to do a certain job. With cooperation, more people will be working with the same purposes in mind leading to a fasterand more efficient way of achieving things. Effectivecommunication enhances client relations, which are crucial to a company'ssuccess. The project manager must therefore settle everything. He/she must analyzehow things would possibly flow if they pursue the EMR project. If ever thingsbecome complicated during the procedures it can be easily corrected by bothparties and somehow they’ll get a chance to develop the mistakes done by theprevious system. The project manager must also have a back-up plan or anotheridea if ever things get worse. It is his/her responsible to manage every detailon the project. The project manager should remember to stick out on thedecision of their management, he/she must also give its full support to theproject.
All projects are carried outunder constraints - traditionally cost, time and scope. These three importantfactors, commonly called the triple constraint, are often represented as atriangle. More recently the triangle has given way to a project managementdiamond, with cost, time, scope and quality the four vertices with customerexpectations as a central theme.
The failure can alsobe prevented by drawing out the capabilities of each person present on the saidevent. The project manager must always think of the results and benefits thatthe system can provide to the patients. His/her work must be define clearly sothat when problem arises it can be easily resolved. It should be clear that thescope of the project manager’s work does not end with just it. Everyoneincluding the project manager is liable to the project and therefore must thinkof each detail. The project manager has the overall responsibility on theproject. It is much better if certain changes to the process of the project hasdone, it must be open to the management. An outstanding manager evokespossibility on others thus giving chances to others. Project managersspend a great deal of time managing what other people are doing, creating processesfor the team to follow, and making sure that everyone is working at their fullpotential. It can be just as important for a project manager to make sure he orshe is performing at their best as it is for a project manager to make surethat their team is performing at their best.
There are some sure signs forproject managers that a project needs a reality check. One is rebaselining theproject plan with seventy hour work weeks and still having resources overallocated. Another is risk planning taking up more time than project planning.And yet another is when the project manager has lost count how many times theproject charter and the requirements have been redefined and scrapped andredefined again.
Time management can also be afactor of the failure of such project. The project manager must carefullydivide the time without affecting the development of the work done by his/herteammates. Also the time must be divided properly without any confusion fromthe personal time management done by each of the members or even the leader. Time management is the act or processof planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent onspecific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency orproductivity. In a team with a manager the total work time would be higher –purely because the project manager has to sit in the meeting too.
The project manager shouldconsider the cost of resources. It is where the manager can identify whether theproject do need an extra effort to be done in order for it to work successfullyand effectively. One of the many skills required of a project manager is theability to ask searching questions and persevere until a clear answer isobtained. Many of the pitfalls in projects could be avoided if questions werearticulated fully and if the answers were given clearly and in detail. If someof the details are still unclear it is the manager’s job to seek for it as wellas the members of the management. The project must always be clear. Thiscovers developing a schedule, allocating resources and managing funds for theproject. This involves taking care of the quality of the process in questionsuch that it meets or even exceeds various quality parameters set earlier.
Another thing that the managermust always remember to prevent the failure is to make sure that you are usinggood story techniques to advance in your occupation by showing others yourstory, not just telling. The act of showing, rather than telling, is verypowerful. Become a captivating author of your career by following theseessential tips. What it means is to motivate your group mates so that you canbe sure of the project’s success. The manager must therefore communicate withthe others including the important persons on the project. The plan must becarried out properly. He/she must demand effort to his/her group mates as it isa normal stuff to do. The project manager must assure that everything is fineand is smoothly following the plan, not to say that the actual plan must bebrought up but at least the result must be overwhelming. The manager shouldmonitor the quality requirements needed to ensure the best result. He/she mustkeep all the records and statements done, the project manager must also trackthe best sources for the project. Option is a need and is sometimes consideredas a requirement. The team must alsoconsider the different feed backs from the trial done.
The project won’t be a success ifthe member of the group is not as effective as the manager. It is the manager’sright to pick persons with such earnest, accountable and reliable to any kindof situations. Human resources is an important, no one works alone. The Project Team Members are responsiblefor executing tasks and producing deliverables as outlined in the Project Planand directed by the Project Manager, at whatever level of effort orparticipation has been defined for them. Successful delegation is crucial tosuccessful project management. Many people involved as leaders in projectmanagement are, however, afraid of delegation. They fear that if they delegate,the work won't be done properly. Deadlines won't be met. They cannot trustcollaboration and teamwork to others; they have to do most things themselvesand directly oversee the rest. A manager needs to take care of his team,encourage and motivate them and make sure the team moves in the rightdirection. The project manager must be aware of the issues and updates of the reportsby its team.
Anotherimportant factor of success within the project is to hold a healthycommunication between the two companies. Communication is vital in projectmanagement. In fact, good communication skills are one of the most importantqualities a project manager can possess. Time taken to communicate among ateam rises dramatically with team size. The most effective way to reduce thisis to hold meetings, so team members don’t have to repeat themselves with eachother member. Projectmanagers can aid communication if they act as a central collation point. But the best improvement incommunication comes if the project manager condenses or filters theinformation. In otherwords, you need to be more than good at talking. A project manager needs tounderstand the project well enough to know whoneeds to know which pieces of information, and just as importantly, whichpieces of information are of no use to other members. You need to act as afilter, to make sure you’re not wasting the time of your team members .Communicationis not about how much you say to everyone, it’s about saying the right things tothe right people.
Various risks involved in a projectshould be identified and a mitigation and contingency plan needs to bedeveloped to ensure that the project is not derailed at any point. The projectmanager should be able to hold the pressure and can withstand the vigors. Themanager must also decide in time of risks and problems. He/she should managethe ups and downs of the project. A good manager facilitates the exchange ofinformation and expertise across countries and across disciplines. The purposeis to generate ideas and promote good practice for those involved in thebusiness of managing risk. All too often assessments of risk are crudely madeand the consequences of getting things wrong can be serious, including lostopportunities, loss of business, loss of reputation and even life the managermust examine both the problems and potential solutions.
Various materials needed during theproject need to be procured and managed with the vendors and suppliers forsuccessful completion of the project. The manager must be aware of theprocurement process. Procurement management is the process companies use to purchase economic resources andbusiness input from suppliers or vendors. This process helps companies negotiate prices and get the bestquality resources for production processes. Smaller businesses do not usuallyhave a department dedicated to procurement since they have much smallerbusiness operations. Usually,small business owners or entrepreneurs are responsible for working withvendors and suppliers to obtain the necessary goods for business operations.Larger companies are able to purchase resources and inputs in large volumequantities; high volume purchases usually require a procurement management process. A procurement process also specifies how the supplierrelationships will be managed, to ensure a high level of service is received.This is a critical task in Procurement Management. In essence, the procurementprocess helps you "get what you have paid for". The manager needs toimplement a Procurement Process any time he/she wants to buy items fromexternal suppliers. By using this Procurement Management Process, he/she canensure that the items provided meet your need. It also helps the manager tomanage the supplier relationship, ensuring that any issues are resolvedquickly. By implementing a Procurement Process, the team can ensure to get themaximum value from the supplier relationship.
At times,the project manager may have accountability but not authority. For example, heor she may be using certain resources but might not have direct control overthose resources. At such times, the manager might find certain limitations overtask execution, which might not take place as they might have liked. Not havingdirect control over the state of finances and finance allocation might causeambiguity.
In order to be successful, the project manager must be given support and authority by senior management.
2. As a project manager, how would you handle this type of project scenario?
Project managers are the point people responsible for coordinating activities of project team members to achieve project objectives. Whereas project team members tend to have narrowly focused skills and expertise, and are primarily concerned with day-to-day functions,Project Managers focus equal attention on near- and long-term activities.Historically the role of Project Manager focused on the larger, more technical projects. However, in recent years it is being applied to a variety of smaller,less technical projects as well. The Project Management function has received a lot of attention over the last 10 years and has become a highly desired competency in most organizations. At a crucial situation like the one given,the manager must carefully and effectively manage its team without minding the pressure.
Somehow, the project manager along with his group must learn how to acquire and cope up with the situation. The manager must lead the group perform the tasks until the problem is solve and that the project is successful at last. He or she must lead the group with no hesitations. He or she must fill up his or her responsibilities. There are certain roles for a project manager to manage. As a project manager, I should remember and do my roles for the project to be a success. Of course this will need a constant preparation and mind-settling plans to work.
We don’t want for next project to fail again just like the first one so the first thing I would do is to define my project roles and responsibilities. It is important to analyze the problem seriously. For the problem, an electronic medical record system failed to function properly and that the problem continued to risen. However, the best solution so far is with the help of the Information technology students. The solution had a very wide scope of information to the fact that the management needs to start again for the convenience of everyone. Preparation is a key part of project management.If the project is not started correctly, it will end up with problems such as rework, scope creep, schedule delays, etc. While some might be tempted to jump n with both feet and start writing code or tearing down walls, the project manager needs to help provide a solid starting point for the project. It is this starting point that will help determine whether the project will eventually be successful or not. This starting point is the jumping off point for the project and the team, and it is worth the time and effort to make sure that there is a good foundation for the project in the long run instead of jumping blindly into something that is not fully understood by the project team. Of course through scope management we are able to set our minds to a certain goal. Scope management is a key component of project management. While scope management will be a part of project management throughout the project life cycle, there are a few steps that a project manager or must I say I can take at the beginning to minimize the issues of scope creep. The first step is to define the scope for the project;this definition does not have to be detailed, but it should be understood by everyone involved. The scope of the project should contain light statements that can be understood by everybody so that complications can be easily corrected.It would be better if there are any feed backs from everyone involved. Everyone should cooperate. The second step is to get sign off on the scope. This sign off might be a legal binding document or it might be an agreement between the project sponsor and the project manager. In either case it is important to stress that if the scope is changed; there will be changes to the project. The scope statement must be clearly understood before the project work starts or there will inevitably be trouble down the line.
After the scope is defined and agreed to, then a draft baseline plan can be developed. This does not have to include every small task that will be done by the project team, but it should include the key milestones and the outline of how the project work will be executed. This initial baseline will be the first step in the full project schedule that will be developed and updated throughout the project. Just like the scope, this preliminary baseline draft should be understood and agreed to by the stakeholders and project sponsors before the project work starts. As this initial baseline is developed, the project manager should also address how status updates will be provided to the project sponsors while the project is being executed. One last point that should be covered with the project team that will be working on the project is to establish how the team will function together. Let all of the resources know who is on the team and what their roles are on the team. It is important to communicate who will be responsible for what and how they will be accountable to the project manager. Being open and honest about the project work and how the project will be managed is the best way to get a project team to start collaborating immediately. Getting the team to work together from the beginning can help the project start on the right foot and avoid the awkward period where team members are getting to know each other and trying to figure out what to do. It is much better if I will chose my teammates their earnest,reliability and accountability.
Of course I must learn to manage every tasks, schedules and budgets as it is my role for the success of such project. I should define the deliverables and be open for the different possibilities for our project to prosper.This is the time when I define how I will achieve the desired outcome of the project embodied within the objectives and definition of deliverables. Planning requires that the project manager decides which people, resources and budget are required to complete the project. I will need to decide if I will break up my project into manageable phases, decide which products will be delivered in each phase, and decide the composition of my project team. Since I have already defined the deliverables, I must decide what activities are required to produce each deliverable. I can also use some techniques to help us out. An estimated time and effort is required to complete each activity, dependencies between related activities and decide on a realistic schedule to complete the activities. It's always a good idea to involve the project team in estimating how long the activities will take since they will be the ones actually doing the work. Capture all of this into the project plan document. It is important to get the key stakeholders to review and agree to the plan. It is also important that as a project manager to come up with a realistic schedule - one which he/she thinks is realistic to achieve.
As a project manager it is my duty to keep the track of my project. It is needed to constantly monitor the actual progress of the project against the planned progress. To do this, I will need to get reports of progress from the project team members who are actually doing the work. I will need to record any variations between the actual and planned cost, schedule and scope. I will need to report any variations to the manager and key stakeholder sand take corrective actions if the variations get too large.
There arelots of ways in which a project manager can adjust the plan in order to get the project back on track rearrange the order of tasks, assign tasks in parallel ifthe variation is small, or add more staff to the project or reduce the scope ifthe variation is very large. All projects require the project manager to constantlyjuggle three things: cost, scope and schedule. If the project manager increasesone of these, then one of the other elements will inevitably need to be changedas well. So, for a project which is running behind schedule to recover so itcan be delivered to its original planned schedule, the budget might beincreased by employing more staff although this invariably never achieves thedesired result of reducing the time left to complete the project, or the scopewill need to be reduced. It is the juggling of
these three elements - known as the project triangle that typically causes a projectmanager to frustration
It is the manager’s task to keep the communication healthy for both parties. Even the best made project plans are useless unless they have been communicated effectively to the project team. Everyone on the team needs to know exactly what is expected of them, what their responsibilities are, and what they are accountable for. Needless to say the project hit all kinds of problems with people going off and doing the activities which they deemed important rather than doing the activities assigned by the project manager. The ability to communicate with people at all levels is almost always named as the second most important skill by project managers and team members.Project leadership calls for clear communication about goals, responsibility,performance, expectations and feedback. There is a great deal of value placed on openness and directness. The project leader is also the team's link to the larger organisation. The leader must have the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication, project leaders support individual and team achievements by creating explicit guidelines for accomplishing results and for the career advancement of team members.
I should perform risk management.Risks will vary from project to project but it is important to identify the main risks to a project as soon as possible and to plan the actions necessary to avoid the risk, or, if the risk cannot be avoided, to at least mitigate the risk in order to lessen its impact if it does occur. This is what is known as risk management. As a manager I must first identify the risks during the project making. It is just to manage the top risks, Constantly review the risks and constantly be on the lookout for new risks since they have a habit of jumping up at unforeseen moments.Not managing risks effectively is also often cited as a major reason why projects fail. It is normal to coach and mentor my team members as it results to a more effective work during the progress.Guiding my fellow team members can also help is to cope any changes with the project. All projects change in some way. By managing changes, the project manager can make decisions about whether or not to incorporate the changes immediately or in the future, or to reject them. This increases the chances of project success because the project manager controls how the changes are incorporated, can allocate resources accordingly and can plan when and how the changes are made. Not managing changes effectively is often cited as a major reason why projects fail.Always report the project status and present it to the higher management. The last decision will be theirs.
In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. But we don't live in a perfect world - projects have problems. A leader with a hardy attitude will take these problems in stride.When leaders encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. So as a project manager I must be cool under pressure in any way.
Also it is better if I would show my team-building skills. A team builder can best be defined as a strong person who provides the substance that holds the team together in common purpose toward the right objective. In order for a team to progress from a group of strangers to a single cohesive unit, the leader must understand the process and dynamics required for this transformation. He or she must also know the appropriate leadership style to use during each stage of team development. The leader must also have an understanding of the different team players styles and how to capitalize on each at the proper time, for the problem at hand.
If ever I would handle this kind of situation I would probably do these things, from planning up until submitting the reports. I am not expecting that I can do the exact but it is better if I will try. I think, by knowing the roles of a project manager can definitely result to a success.
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