PROJ6000 Principles of Project Management Online Tutoring

Context:

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to provide an expected and beneficial outcome. A project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure. Project goals should align with organizational goals such as improved operations or increased revenues, reducing costs or improving efficiencies. Before resources can be committed to a project, the reason for its proposal and the benefits it is expected to deliver need to be understood by people in positions empowered to make decisions about the expenditure of an organization’s resources. The selection of organizational projects is typically performed through a method of classification and review of the project’s business case. That method of course should be applied consistently to all project proposals.

Instructions:

For this assessment, you are required to demonstrate your knowledge on different methods used in the project selection and the project initiation process. Throughout the assessment, you will consider the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide and focus, more specifically, on the initiation documents.

Assessment 2: Project Selection Methods and Initiation Documents (35%)
In essay writing, use the given/approved project throughout this assessment. As you have discovered in your learning resources, this assessment requires you to: Carefully Identify and justify suitable project selection methods to the given project Critically discuss the processes to conduct the above project selection methods. Consider the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and appropriately describe the initiation process group and project documents that are created or used as inputs for a new project.

Your assessment should contain 1500 words.
Output and Submission:
Submit your completed assessment by the end of Module 3

Solution

Project Selection Methods and Initiation Documents

Project management is a vast domain that has different aims attached to it. The main aim is to achieve the main goal of the project at a certain given time. This has to be done in accordance with the scope of the project. Not only scope but various aspects have to be seen for the success of a project, most important are the cost and the time. These three parameters do tend to make a product the way the manager wants it to be, but it cannot ensure the success of the product in the market. This is because, over the last decade, people came to realize that it is not the budget or the time that matters, but the value that the project adds to the organization or the users, takes precedence. This is the reason why the companies and organizations must brainstorm in order to pre define the scope of the project in such a way that it can prove to be a success. They cannot risk their resources over a project that cannot repay them in the way they wanted it.

What is a Project?

A project is a process that is used to create a unique service, product, or result. It usually has a definite beginning and end. The end point is when the project objective is reached, or when it is stopped due to not achieving the targets. A project basically is aimed at solving an existing problem in the society or market that needs to be addressed (Laureate Education Producer,2013). These projects can be an innovation, an upgrade to an existing product, or providing some remedy to a problem. The main aim that organizations have nowadays is to solve the problem or the end product and not the way it has been solved. The looks of the project do not carry primary importance for an organization. “if you don’t have a Project Selection process in place – one that is rigorously followed – you will falter.” This is what six sigma Qualtec had to say regarding project selection (Master, 2020).

Importance of Project Selection:

Project selection is really important for any organization or startup. In addition to the project management plan techniques, selecting the right project can prove to be the turning point (Government of Tasmania n. d.,2018). Unrealistic goals or project scope can lead to an enormous loss of budget and the productivity level. Selecting the right project for the company requires some calculations which can be done by Benefit Measurement Methods or the Constrained Optimization Methods.

Vadis – analytical business intelligence consulting:

Vadis is a company that has two primary services including analytical business intelligence consulting and solution development that allow the businessmen to understand their client’s demands. This helps them to predict the client’s acceptance ratio for any offer. It involves a team that constantly does Research and development, which is also carried out in collaboration with universities. The R&D of Vadis is strictly focused on the business domain, with on-field experience in the market. The research work is done with full focus while reviewing the objectives and budget each month. The R&D results in new technologies, that includes software tools providing services and business models. Another thing that is taken care of in the privacy of research data.

The R&D of Vadis involves a good understanding of business models and the problems that have to be solved by initiating any new product. The skills needed for the job are specifically mentioned. The stages used in the R&D include the identification, specifications, and planning of the project, its budget, and then the testing process.

The Projects that Vadis launches take a path of huge research in the field. The recent project that is under work is an application that presents and tracks the business activities around the world. The skills used here include mathematics, IT, and statistics. Analyzing the way, the company has invested in the R&D, it can be stated that it is really impressive to see the models it is following. With constant work going on in the field of research, it is satisfying to see them follow the correct standard operating procedures. The R&D focusses on the business domain which is one of the most important ones. Collaborating with the people who have worked in the field is another thing that is impressive. Taking opinions of the experienced people in the field can prove vital in selecting the projects to work on.

Another step that the company takes in its improvement of R&D which leads to a better project selection is the constant improvement in this field. A technique that has been suggested includes short term courses related to R&D which could help the workforce in learning skills. Since the market is based on the profit ratio, so targeting such projects that can help in achieving these goals is a plus point. Business research is a whole new domain which includes reading the behavior of the customers, how they react to the product, or what kind of product they want.

In order to research the business strategies, going to the field is very important (Wysocki, R. K.,2014). The overall R&D of the company looks reasonable since it collaborates with man professionals from different fields. Although expanding this domain can prove to be even more vital and beneficial. Covering other areas and getting the opinion of locals will give another dimension to target. The time period that the company takes to launch a project is extensive, which does mean hat a lot of work was done in actually putting up the idea. The use of technology to do analysis is also an impressive part of the company. The privacy issues that were mentioned have to be dealt with properly since the ideas of projects must stay confidential.

Initiation Process Group

Initiating Process Group is composed of those processes that are used to define a new project or a new phase of the project under consideration (Project Management Institute,2017). This is done by taking the authorization to start working on it. Firstly, the initial scope of the project is defined, and the financial resources are defined. Here the stakeholders which will be influential in the whole production and launching the project be it internal or external, are identified. After this, one of the main parts is the selection of the project manager. A project manager has to be the one who can lead the team efficiently whilst meeting the targets confidently. Tackling the difficult scenarios is one of the major jobs that a project manager has to do. So, this decision is vital for the success of the project. All the important information is captured in the stakeholder register and the project charter (Project Management Institute. 2013). After the approval of the project charter, the project is deemed as officially authorized work. The business domain work, assessment, funding, and approval are the significant parts, which although are considered as outside project boundaries but have to be taken care of side by side. The project boundary is the point when the project is authorized to be completed.

The main target of this group is to make sure that the stakeholders have expectations aligned with the project’s purpose. This will give them the idea of the scope and the objectives of the project whilst showing them how their participation in the project can be beneficial to it. This helps in setting the actual vision of the project that is needed to be achieved. In larger projects, the work is divided into different phases. Initiating processes are used to validate the decisions made during the starting phase. It helps to keep the project focused on the right path with business needs being fulfilled. The influence and objectives of the project are reviewed. Decisions are made regarding the continuity, delay or discontinuity of the project. Involving the customers, sponsors, and stakeholders during this process creates a satisfactory environment. It can be performed at the organizational level.

The documentation contains the initial scope of the project that was to be targeted. It also contains the deliverables and the duration of the project along with the forecast of the resources for the analysis. A document known as a project charter has to be developed which identifies the need for the project, the business case for it, goals associated with it, and environmental factors involved in it. A risk management plan is another document that is vital for the safety and success of the project. It involves potential risks while carrying out the project and how those risks will be addressed.

References

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: PMI.

Laureate Education (Producer) (2013) The practice of project management [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Government of Tasmania (n. d.). PM-902 Business Case (Small) Template & Guide. Retrieved from http://www.egovernment.tas.gov.au/project_management/getting_started_in_project_ma nagement

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: PMI.

Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme (7th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.

Master, Y. (2020). 13 Project Selection Methods – PMT Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2020, from https://www.4pmti.com/blog/project-selection-methods/