Enrique Caceres Melendez

Professor Matthew Rodgers

Project Risk Management

15 January 2022

What are Projects and Who are Project Managers?

1. After watching “Introduction to Project Management,” reflect on the roles of projects

and Project Managers in an organization. What is a project? What is the PM responsible

for? How does a PM know if a project is successful or not?

As stated in the given material, a project can be defined as a temporary endeavor that is

undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result (365 Careers, 2018). A project has also

been described as a temporary complex initiative that is agreed, planned, and executed in order

to achieve a specific goal. Regardless of what the goal is, it must require the three foundations

that make up a project: time, scope, and cost. The PM is responsible for making sure that those

three key factors are being taken under control and properly utilized. The project manager is the

person held accountable for the project as they are the CEO of the project and must undertake

every step of the process. They do so by adequately assessing, discussing, negotiating, and

adjusting (365 Careers, 2018) throughout the lifetime of the project. While doing so, the PM

should be aware that they are the face of the project and is also responsible for the project image.

Ways of protecting that image is by remaking professional, having a high moral, practicing

strong ethics, and obtaining solid credibility. Ultimately, a project manager knows if the project

is successful or not based on how the outcome compares to the scope, timeframe, and budget set
at the beginning with the client and/or sponsors. Some methods that would increase those odds

are by using a Gantt chart or utilizing the critical path method.

2. Reflect on a project you have been involved in. What was the project, and what role did

you serve in this project? How was this project run and what was the outcome of this

project?

A few years back I joined a project management group and the project at hand was setting up a

TEDx talk event on university campus. I was originally not intended to have any major role on

the project, however the person who was assigned to lead the group of people that I was a part of

got overwhelmed so she asked me to step in for her. Her and I had known each other prior and I

guess she thought I could handle it. I served the role of one of the many project managers

involved. More specifically, I was in charge of about two dozen volunteers as well as making

sure that the venue looked presentable and ready for the guests. Overall, the project ran pretty

hecticly but ultimately the event ended up turning out a success. The outcome of the project was

having a completed stage, setting up the decor, and final details being done on time while still

meeting quality standards. Each one of the leaders was in charge of a certain puzzle piece so that

at the end we were able to put it together before our deadline. As frantic as it was at times, all the

leaders knew our given tasks and what we needed to get done. Thankfully, there was no

micromanaging and we were all given freedom to lead in order to accomplish the project at hand.
References

365 Careers. (2018). Introduction to Project Management (2020). YouTube. Retrieved January

12, 2022, from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rBSCvPYGnTc&ab_channel=365Careers.