CC5001 Project Planning and Project Management

Week 1
Task 1
Consider a special project (or group of tasks) that you performed recently as a one-off, non-routine activity within a time limit. This project could be work-related, study-related or a personal project. Describe the project and consider the following: (a) How was this project planned? (b) Was there a schedule? (c) Were there clear objectives? How were these expressed? (d) How was progress evaluated? Did everything go according to plan, or was it necessary to make changes? (e) How did you know when the project had been completed? Did you consider how things might have been performed differently at this final stage?

Task 2
In the project you identified for Task 1, how were objectives, planning, scheduling, and implementation evaluated in terms of quality, time and cost? You may wish to use a grid such as that below. Quality Objectives Planning Scheduling Implementation Time Cost

Task 3
Imagine you have guests staying with you, and you are making a snack for them of tea and toast with butter and jam. (a) Identify the overall activities and component tasks that need to be performed to prepare the snack, and specify the order in which these should take place. (b) Suppose one of your guests helps you with the task; how does this affect the outcome? What effect does it have if more guests offer to help? (c) Consider whether there are any activities that can take place in parallel, or any constraints that might prevent this. Is there an upper limit to the number of people who can usefully assist, and why? (d) What happens to your plans if one of your guests requests a different snack?

Task 4
Think of a recent project that you have undertaken, for example, planning a holiday or a party, undertaking a coursework assignment, etc. You could use the same project as you chose for Task 1 above. Consider the following questions: (a) What were your reasons for undertaking the project? (b) What kinds of activities did you undertake to complete the project? (c) What resources did you use? (d) What specific constraints did you encounter? (e) What transformation occurred as a result of your project? (f) What would you do differently for a similar project in the future?