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Module 7: Paper

OGL 320: Foundations of Project Management

Erica Kovarik

March 1, 2020

Part one:

First, identify and explain what you feel are the principles and practices of effectively

managing projects. You have had opportunities to develop this big question over the course

of this class already in various ways; however, now that we have addressed project

management from inception to closure, you are poised to take an even more refined view of

the process. Look back at the previous modules, as well as the content from this final

module 7, before starting this paper in order to incorporate specific examples (from the

course) to illustrate your points.

This course has taught me many principles and practices of effectively managing

projects. One big principle’s I learned about managing projects was from the article “10 Project

Management Lessons from the Titanic Disaster”. I think this whole article where all very good

principals to use when managing a project. All of these are something we should use and

remember when managing a project. But from this article, three of them really stuck out to me

the most. The first one being id that the little things add up. The article addresses how several

small factors played a role in the titanic disaster. I feel this is very useful lesson and something to

always think about when it comes to management. Sometimes we tend to think that little

mistakes or slips up don’t affect a project or team. But over time each of those little mistakes or

slips ups due add up and could result in bad things or bigger mistakes in the future. I feel this is
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something that gets forgot way too much and this is a very valuable lesson to remember when it

comes to management. The second important principal from that article was that distractions are

dangerous. The article brought up a good point on stating, how often do you start your work with

the best intentions of completing your to-do list, only to become sidetracked by chatting with co-

workers or surfing the Web? If enough members of your team encounter enough distractions,

your project will gradually fall behind. I feel this is something that also gets forgotten when in

management and cause harm in a big way. As the article addresses, distractions are always

around us. We need to be aware and watch out for those distractions and try to control ourselves

not to get distracted and stay focus. I feel this is very important when it comes to a team and

management. and management. The third and last point that is a great principal of managing

projects from this article is something that gets forgotten about. Documentation may have a

lasting benefit. I feel this is something I personally find useful because a lot of times after a

project or task is done, people think that the work or documentation is not important or useful

anymore and throw it away. I know I have been guilty of this myself. As the article addressed,

that documentation might not need to exist for one hundred years, but it should still serve the

purpose of helping your customers understand their system. I feel this is huge when it comes to a

lot of things. You may not need it in the future but having that documentation available is a

benefit. It best to have the documentation available to you, then to not have it at all.

Another great take away I learned from this course about managing projects is that as a

project manager you need to be able to understand his or her own’s organizations culture. When

you understand your organization’s culture, you are more likely to choose the right team

members, establish trust, build a strong communication, make better informed decisions on

behalf of their projects, and know which decision-makers or influencers to work with in order to
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increase the probability of success. Understanding his or her own organization’s culture will

result in shared visions, missions, values, beliefs, and expectations. If a project manager does fail

to not understand the culture, it can result in a not having trust within the organization. It can also

lead to not selecting the right team members for the organization. This is a very important

principal in project management because if you do not have the right team members within an

organization, you can set yourself up for failure in the future. With the project manager

understanding the culture within the organization, I also believe that the two most important

characteristics of the project team are that every team member should have clearly defined goals,

timelines, and associated performance metrics and to establish norms of behavior and

communication. When it comes to a team working on a project, you want everyone to understand

the mission and vision. You also want everyone to understand the culture of the project. I feel it

is most important that everyone on the team is on the same page. Everyone needs to understand

the goals of the project, when things need to be done by, and what and how each team members

performance is within the project. I also think that establishing the norms of how you should

behave and do things within the team should be addressed as well when starting a project. Every

team member needs to understand what their part is and what they need to do. Lastly, every team

member needs to communicate with each other. This is key when working on a team. You need

and must communicate in a team to be successful. Without communicate, you can set yourself up

for failure. Addressing how you will communicate all throughout the project will set you up for

success.

The last big principle and practice I am going to talk about is outlining the project scope

and requirements. This is huge when starting to plan the project and make a project plan. In that

project plan you need to include to following project title, brief project description, list of
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stakeholders and their roles, objectives, project scope, assumptions, constraints, and a

procurement plan. All this needs to be addressed and written out before even starting the project.

Then after the project plan is outlined and address you need to create work breakdown structure,

which allows you to break down tasks into smaller work packages. Then you need to create a

WBS dictionary which includes the work package names and descriptions. The next thing you

would create is a RAM (Responsibility Assignment Matrix). A RAM identifies hypothetical

project team members and stakeholders, as well as their responsibilities, who they are

accountable to, who they consult for input, and who they report their progress to. Then you will

need to address all the milestones and deliverables of the project, along with any task

dependencies that the project might have. Lastly you need to discuss what task would be the on a

Critical Path. A critical path is a chain of linked task that directly affects the projects finish date.

If any task on the critical path is late, the whole project is late. All these steps need to be done

when you are planning and addressing your project and are very important principals and

practices when it comes to having an effective project management.

Part two:

Now, think about how all this relates to your own enrichment and what you have learned

personally. Have you considered, come to recognize, or learned about different levels of

thought regarding project management, the organizations in which they exist, or even in

working through projects within your classes? What areas of project management do you

feel you excel (or at the very least have a strong understanding)? What areas do you feel

you still have much more to learn? Where has your biggest growth in knowledge and/or

skill occurred over the last seven weeks? You might want to look back at the self-

assessment quiz you took in module 1 to help you formulate your ideas.
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This class really opened my eyes and self into learning about different levels of

understanding project management. The areas that I feel that I excel in when it comes to project

managing is being able to understand the team and putting structure into place when it comes to

be a project team leader. I am one that likes to take the lead when it comes to a project and likes

to make sure everything is in line and addressed before starting the project. I want to make sure

everything is addressed and that everyone has the same understanding of the project and what the

outcome of the project is when completed. I am also one that likes to keep on track and when we

are not on track, I like to nip it in the butt right away and adjust correct are timeline. If that

includes adjusting are original plan or putting in more time and work, I will do it. I am always

willing to go above and beyond to try to get the best outcome for are project. With that, I also

like to have that project plan addressed and broken up between the project team. Each team

member knowns there part and what needs to be done to be successful. We also have back up

plans or communications that we know within the project. We set as a team a timeline that will

best suit all of us and allow us to be successful and not have to make close calls in the project.

My goal as a leader is always be able to provide a project that will set us up for success and not

failure.

Some areas that I feel I still have much to learn about is all the different types of methods

and practices that come along with project management. I know that I tend to do things a certain

way right now, but that does not allows mean it is the right way. Or that that is the best way. It

also means that not everyone does use the same practices when it comes to a project. Some work

better than others for different project leaders. It all comes down to the project and what needs to

be done for that project to be successful. As the project leader, you need to address and find the

best practice or method that will allow you and your team to be successful. This is something
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that I struggle with and need to continue to work on because I feel I tend to go to the same

method and strategies when working on a project or in a team. Just because that method might

work best for me, does not mean it is going to work best for the whole team. This all comes

together with understanding the culture of your team and project. Not everyone may understand

and perform the best doing only the one method you do the best at. You need to be able to find

the method that works best for everyone in the project at the time. Each project may be different

each time but being able to understand and adjust to the best fit, will allow you to be successful

within the team and project.