Project Management Fundamentals

Role of Project Manager in Different Projects The project manager plays an instrumental role in ensuring project success. It could actually be argued that the project manager is the most important person in any project management environment (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). Essentially, the project manager carries the overall responsibility for ensuring the project is successfully planned, designed, executed, monitored, controlled, and closed (Thomsett, 2010; Young, 2013).

Whereas the role of the project manager tends to be similar in virtually all projects, there could be some differences from one type of project to another (Winch, 2010; Project Management Institute [PMI], 2013). This essay critically evaluates the role of the project manager in three contrasting types of projects.

As per the conventional project management methodology, the role of the project manager stretches across four major functions: planning (laying out a plan for achieving the overall objective of the project); execution (implementing the laid out plan); controlling (monitoring the progress of implementation); and closure (delivery of the final product to the client) (Lock, 2007; Thomsett, 2010; PMI, 2013; Young, 2013). These functions clearly demonstrate how important the role of the project manager is. The role may, however, differ from project to project (PMI, 2013).

In a construction project, for instance, the role of the project manager would encompass hiring contractors, providing detailed explanations to contractors and supervising their work, establishing budget estimates, developing the construction timetable, as well as overseeing the procurement of construction materials and inspecting their quality (Dykstra, 2011). The role of the project manager would also entail engaging senior management, providing regular status reports, coordinating with engineers, architects and other specialists, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, as well as responding to delays and unexpected changes.

Without effective execution of these roles, the project may not be completed on time, at budget, and with the expected level of quality; which shows the importance of the project manager in the construction environment. Nonetheless, the role of the project manager in a software development project would be quite different. First, it may not be necessary for a construction manager to be an architect or an engineer (Dykstra, 2011).

In a software development project, however, it is usually more useful when the project manager is considerably knowledgeable in software development and/or information technology in general (Mcmanus, 2005). This implies that the role of the project manager in a software development project may be much more active and complex compared to a construction project.

This role would, for instance, involve understanding software requirements, creating a team of software engineers and designers, explaining the objectives of the software to the project team, reporting project status to senior management, supervising the installation of the new software, coordinating staff training, and monitoring the performance of the new system (Mcmanus, 2005). The role of the project manager would also entail working closely with business stakeholders to ensure the new system resonates with the needs and expectations of the client.

Clearly, the project manager serves the most important role in a software development project. The role of the project manager may even be more complex in a project aimed at developing a new car model. A project manager in this context would ordinarily be involved in developing the strategy of the new product, coordinating market research to test the new product, designing and defining the characteristics of the new product, ensuring quality control, planning the launch of the new product, as well as engaging customers (Shina, 2014).

The role would also involve working with the sales and marketing team to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction. These roles evidently demonstrate the importance of the project manager in the success of the product.

A notable difference between the role of the project manager in car manufacturing and the other two types of projects is that their role in the former tends to be much longer depending on the lifecycle of the product in question, while in the latter their role entails delivering a project with a defined timeline and budget (Shina, 2014). In essence, a project manager in the car manufacturing context would be responsible for the continuous success of the product, particularly due to the evolving nature of customer requirements.

In conclusion, project management is undoubtedly a daunting task for the project manager. As the overall overseer, the project manager must effectively handle all the processes involved in planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project. It is, however, important to note that the complexity of project management may differ from project to project. Even so, the project manager remains the most important person in virtually every project environment. Question 2: Agile Project Management Methodology The project management environment is a constantly evolving phenomenon.

Factors such as changing client preferences and priorities, greater task complexity, increased geographical dispersion of the project team, as well as shifts in the organizational and industry landscape increasingly impose new demands on project managers in virtually all industries and sectors (Cobb, 2011). Accordingly, project managers must be in a position to adjust their project management approaches with the changing circumstances of the project environment (Wysocki, 2011). The agile project management methodology advocates for this flexibility.

In fact, the methodology has even more been deemed as the most appropriate for all projects in the increasingly dynamic modern environment (Brechner, 2015). This essay critically evaluates this assertion, clearly highlighting the merits and demerits of the methodology. Whereas there is no universally agreed definition, agile project management essentially denotes a value-driven project management approach characterized by flexibility, openness to new ideas, and willingness to embrace change even during the latest stages of the project life cycle (Chin, 2004; Brechner, 2015).

The methodology particularly calls for the adaptation of project management to the circumstances at hand. More importantly, it advocates for an incremental and repetitive approach to project delivery (Highsmith, 2010). The project is delivered in small, progressive stages, with constant adjustment to changing circumstances. This is unlike under the generally rigid conventional approach, where the project is often delivered as one large product (Wysocki, 2011).

Furthermore, as its primary focus is value, the agile methodology encourages the implementation of new changes in the execution stage with little or no consideration to budget constraints (Cobb, 2011). The agile methodology has historically been used in software development projects, where requirements tend to change frequently (Brechner, 2015). Nonetheless, the methodology has increasingly gained prominence in other project management contexts such as product development and construction (Wysocki, 2011). A major advantage of the methodology is that it permits constant responsiveness to shifting or new requirements.

Constant adjustment of project requirements often enhances the management of risks in the course of execution (Highsmith, 2010). It also places the project manager in a better position to deliver a high quality product in accordance to the needs and expectations of the client, which in turn improves customer satisfaction (Brechner, 2015). Increased customer satisfaction in agile project management particularly emanates from the fact that the methodology enables greater interaction between the project team and the client (Cobb, 2011). This improves cooperation, communication, better visibility of progress, as well as transparency.

Other important benefits of the agile methodology include earlier identification of problematic issues and less documentation (Wysocki, 2011). The above merits do not necessarily imply that the agile methodology is a straightforward project management methodology. In spite of the value it can deliver to project management, it can equally present significant challenges (Wysocki, 2011). This is particularly true for large, complex projects.

In such projects it may be quite difficult to quantitatively estimate the effort required (in terms of time and cost) to accomplish the project at the planning or commencement stage (Chin, 2004). This ambiguity and lack of predictability at the planning stage may increase the likelihood of scope creep. Moreover, software development projects on which the methodology is commonly applied are generally not as sophisticated as projects in contexts such as construction, architecture, and engineering (Chin, 2004; Wysocki, 2011).

For instance, it may be quite unrealistic or difficult to deliver products such as space shuttles, buildings, roads, and bridges in small, incremental stages (Highsmith, 2010). Such projects often require strict adherence to the initial plan as time and cost are usually of the essence -- a small deviation from the initial scope, schedule, and budget may generate disastrous consequences. Nonetheless, this does not necessarily mean that no adjustments are made to these projects once implementation kicks off. It may sometimes be impossible to ignore changes in the project environment (Chin, 2004).

For instance, changes in regulation may warrant the redesigning of a road or building. Another challenge of the agile methodology stems from the increasingly dispersed nature of project teams (Highsmith, 2010). Today, owing to globalization and increased international business, it is common for members of a project team to be situated in different geographical locations thanks to technology (Cobb, 2011). In such an environment, it is quite unlikely that the agile methodology will work.

Even though it may work, there may significant difficulties in ensuring close collaboration and active client involvement, which are important pillars of the methodology. In conclusion, whereas the agile methodology offers flexibility in a constantly changing project environment, it may not work for all projects, especially large and complex projects. Frequent interruption in schedule and cost in such projects may often have detrimental consequences. Even so, the methodology can offer valuable benefits with appropriate management.

Question 3: Implementing a New Computer System at Company X Background and Rationale Company X, a chain of outdoor sportswear shops spread over three states in the U.S., wishes to introduce a number of measures aimed at centralizing its customer data gathering processes. To achieve this, the company is considering a new point of sale system that that will instantly feed customer information into a central repository, capturing data from both its brick and mortar stores as well as online and catalogue transactions.

This paper describes the scope of the project as well as key project management challenges. Defining Project Scope The 5Ws and H. framework (why, what, where, who, when, and how) can be useful in defining the scope of the project (Nagarajan, 2004). Each element in the framework answers a certain question relating to the project.

The element of "why" seeks to answer why the project is being undertaken, or simply its objectives; while the element of "where" answers the question of where the project will be undertaken (Perrin, 2008). For Company X, the overarching objective of the management as far as the new computer system is concerned is to centralize the gathering of customer information from its three distribution channels: brick and mortar stores, online shops, and catalogue sites.

With a central repository of customer information that immediately captures data from the three distribution channels, the management will be better placed to process customer data and generate more comprehensive insights about aspects such as customer demographics, preferences, and shopping trends. The installation of new tills will also be crucial for improving service delivery, minimizing wait times, as well as serving more customers, which will ultimately drive customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty, and acquisition.

The new computer system will be installed at all brick and mortar stores, online shops, and catalogue sites of the company. The element of "what" answers the question of what should be done to accomplish the project (Perrin, 2008). This particularly relates to functionalities, inputs, deliverables, and outputs.

To implement the new computer system, the following would be required: staff awareness of the new system; a plan for engaging and managing key stakeholders; a plan for financing the procurement of the new system and tills; a plan for managing the risks associated with introducing the new system; and a contractual agreement with a system vendor. It would also be important to have a plan for implementing the project (project team structure, work breakdown structure [WBS], budget, time management plan, and change control plan).

The element of "how" answers the question of how the project will be implemented (Perrin, 2008). In this case, it will be important to create awareness across the entire organization of the need for the new system through memos, emails, meetings, and other channels. It will also be important to create a team for overseeing the implementation of the new system. Additionally, it will be imperative to secure the required financing via internal or external mechanisms, and to advertise the tender for procuring the new system.

This will be dependent on the following factors: timely acquisition of the required approval; effective involvement and engagement of stakeholders; effective management of risks; a competent and committed project team; little or no staff resistance; as well as adequate management support. The element of "when" answers the question of when the project should be delivered (Perrin, 2008). In this case, the question of time will be particularly important as the management of Company X wishes to have the new system running as soon as possible.

The following milestones, for instance, may be set to be accomplished as follows: acquisition of management approval by December 2016; comprehensive staff awareness of the planned new system by January 2017; identification of a suitable system vendor by February 2017; full implementation of the new system by May 2017. Finally, the element of "who" answers the question of who will be involved in the project (Perrin, 2008).

In this case, the management of Company X, employees, the project team, and the system vendor will be important participants in the implementation of the new system. Project Management Challenges The implementation of any project often involves challenges. These challenges particularly relate to planning activities, allocating resources, as well as managing time and activity duration (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). In this case, the two major challenges include: shifting to the system with little or no interruption to daily business activities and installing the new system throughout the geographically dispersed stores.

Project management literature provides a number of techniques that can be used to overcome this challenge, such as the work breakdown structure (WBS) and the project schedule (Kerzner, 2009; Meredith and Mantel, 2011). A WBS would be important in ensuring the new system is installed without interrupting daily business activities. The tool enables the project manager to decompose the entire project into smaller, more manageable deliverables (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). This provides a basis for schedule development and resource allocation (Berkun, 2008).

In this case, the project includes deliverables such as project team formation, staff awareness and training, a contractual agreement with a system vendor, as well as the installation of the new system and new cash registers. With a WBS, the project manager can effectively arrange the activities to ensure they occur without interrupting day-to-day activities. In essence, a WBS offers a valuable tool for managing a project. It actually lays the foundation for the entire project planning.

In addition, the tool enables the project manager to more effectively estimate and manage costs as well as develop and control the project schedule (Kerzner, 2009). Nonetheless, it is important to note that a WBS does not exhaustively list all the work required in a project (Berkun, 2008). It is also not a substitute for the project plan, schedule, or the responsibility assignment matrix -- it is merely a breakdown of the project scope (Kerzner, 2009). As mentioned, the WBS provides a basis for schedule development and resource allocation.

The project schedule basically lists the activities, milestones, and deliverables associated with a project along with their planned duration and required resources (Kerzner, 2009). Using a project schedule, the project manager in this case can more effectively overcome the challenge of installing the new system throughout the geographically dispersed store locations. For instance, the project manager can schedule when to conduct staff training and install the new system in each location. The project manager can as well estimate the amount of financial.