Project life cycle stages and nuclear power plant construction planning

Project Management

Your company planning construct a nuclear power plant Oregon.

What is a project life cycle, and how does it support project success? Ensure you define the basic stages of a project life cycle and the primary activities that take place.

According to Bin and Heiser (2004)

project life cycle refers to the stages a project goes through from the beginning till it is completed. The project life cycle will indicate how a project will be controlled, planned, and monitored. To ensure that a specific project does progress as required, there is need to have a project life cycle that will model the different phases that the project will go through. The phases make it easy for a project manager to establish exactly where the project has reached, and to identify how long the project will take at each particular phase. Without a project life cycle, one would not be able to manage a project properly as the project will not have set milestones that need to be completed within specific timeframes.

A project life cycle has four basic stages namely initiation, planning, execution, and closure. At the initiation phase, information is gathered in regards to the planned project in order to determine if the project is viable. This is the stage where justification of the project takes place. Once the project has received a go ahead, the next stage is planning. Identification of the specific problem and the solution that will be employed to solve the problem takes place. Development of the implementation plan also takes place in this phase. During the execution phase, the various project tasks are implemented in a structured and organized manner. There should be project management processes taking place continuously to ensure the project is executed as planned. The closure phase is the final phase of the project. This is the phase where a project audit is conducted by evaluating and reviewing of the project and the outputs. Once the project has passed evaluation it is officially signed off.

Your company is planning to construct a nuclear power plant in Oregon. Why is stakeholder analysis important as a precondition of the decision whether or not to follow through with the plan? Conduct a stakeholder analysis for a planned upgrade to a successful software product. Who are the key stakeholders?

Stakeholder analysis is important for planning purposes as it assists the company to identify the key decision makers, and to establish how the project will affect the people and the community Borisova, Racevskis, & Kipp, 2012.

Stakeholder analysis will also assist the company to determine if the people will be interested in the project and the long-term effects the project might have on the community. The needs of the people will provide valuable insights as to whether the company should progress with the project or not. The stakeholder analysis will allow the company to access both the positive and negative effects that the project might have on the people.

For a software product, the analysis will begin by first establishing the stakeholders who will be affected by the upgrade. This will allow the company to identify and group the stakeholders as per their various roles and the impact of the upgrade. Next, a plan on how the upgrade will be conducted will be developed. The plan will include how the software will be upgraded, and the timeframes the upgrade will take. Execution is the final stage. At this stage, the planned activities are executed based on the plan. Once execution is completed, the upgrade is accessed to determine if it has gone according to plan. The key stakeholders will include Chief Executive Officer, IT Manager, Departmental Managers, Administrators, key employees who use the software and the IT staff who will provide support to all other users.

Explain organizational culture. In your explanation include the different elements of culture, how a culture forms, and the affect it has on project management.

Organizational culture refers to the collective behavior of the employees who form an organization and the different meanings that the employees attach to their actions Valentine, 2011.

An organization's culture will include its values, norms, vision, habits, systems, working language, and beliefs. Organizational culture is taught to new employees through informal trainings like stories, rituals, myths, and shared behavior. It is mostly formed from how an organization is structured, how it uses its resources, the employees in the organization, and how work is completed or the process of completing work in the organization. A good culture is formed when there is balance and harmony with the organization's goals and mission. The elements of a good organizational culture are mission, respect, solid communication, and superior performance.

An organization's culture will affect the success of a project either positively or negatively. If the organization's mission is not clear the employees will not understand why a specific project is being implemented, which might lead to resistance. Having a solid communication culture in an organization will ensure that the project manager is able to communicate to the employees in regards to the project, which will ensure that all employees understand and those who do not can ask questions freely. For a successful project, there should be respect among the employees. This will allow the employees to respect each other during the project implementation and management.

What are some of the key organizational elements that can affect the development and maintenance of a supportive organizational culture? As a consultant, what advice would you give to a functional organization that was seeking to move from an old, adversarial culture, where the various departments actively resisted helping one another, to one that encourages project thinking and cross-functional cooperation?

The key elements that would affect an organization's supportive culture are respect, communication, and clear mission. These three elements will affect how the employees interact and value with each other. In order for an organization to change its culture to one that departments support each other, it will need to clearly define its mission, change its communication methods, and develop a culture of respect amongst the various departments. A clear mission will define what the organization would want to accomplish and how it intends to accomplish it, which will allow the departments to better understand the organization. Open lines of communication from the top managers will ensure that employees can communicate freely with other employees and the different managers irrespective of department. Respect for individuals, will allow the employees to start valuing each department and appreciate its contribution to the organization.