Week Thirteen - Project Management

Explain the triple constraint and its importance in project management.

The triple constraint involves making tradeoffs between scope, time and cost for a project.  It is inevitable in a project life cycle that there will be changes to the scope, time or cost of the project. These three variables are interdependent: You cannot change one without changing the others. Project management is the science of making intelligent trade-offs among time, cost, and scope.

2. Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning

Two primary diagrams used in project planning include PERT and Gantt charts:

PERT chart – a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks 

1. Dependency
2. Critical path

 

 

Gantt chart – a simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar.

 

3.Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success

A project manager must focus on managing three primary areas to ensure success:
1. Managing people
2. Managing communications
3. Managing change

Managing people is one of the hardest and most critical efforts a project manager undertakes. Resolving conflicts within the team and balancing the needs of the project with the personal and professional needs of the team are two of the challenges facing project managers.

4.Outline 2 reasons why projects fail and two reasons why projects succeed.

WHY PROJECTS FAIL	WHY THEY SUCCEED
Failure to align project with organizational objectives Poor scope Unrealistic expectations Lack of executive sponsorship Lack of project management Inability to move beyond individual and personality conflicts Politics	Project Sponsorship at executive level Good project charter Strong project management The right mix of team players Good decision making structure Good communication Team members are working toward common goals