Bringing a project back to life can be hard, especially if you’ve already missed a few deadlines and milestones. The important thing to do is to gather your thoughts and take control. Start from scratch and determine the projects’ goals. The plan must be sketched out and responsibilities distributed. Setting realistic costs and deadlines can help get everything back on track. Sometimes, these problems could have been avoided if realistic cost and deadlines were established initially. Having frequent team meetings will help keep everyone on track and will help plot the projects’ improvement.
Risk management can be a heavy thing to weigh out. A good team with good management will initiate a project with little risk management. This should be standard procedure, but unfortunately we are sometimes faced with the impossible. How can one make this situation better? Following the rules for bringing a project back to life would be step one. Somewhere along the line, risk management should be weighed out. It is easier to assess risk when the project is broken down into phases. Within each phase a certain amount of risk can be recognized and prevented.
Managing volunteers can be difficult because you have no direct authority over them and they are basically doing the work for free. Volunteers can be compensated or even rewarded for their contribution. This would be a good way of ensuring they would be on board. Building a common goal and general enthusiasm on the team will help create a good atmosphere where the group can become a team where the individuals depend on each other. Communicating with the volunteers on a constant basis will keep them on track. It is important to know early on in the project if a certain volunteer needs to be replaced. Making the instruction easy to follow will help the volunteers complete the tasks, especially if the tasks are so easy that there is little room for error.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Chapter 11
Making task assignments clear is such an important part of a successful and efficient team. There is nothing more destructive than a team that doesn’t listen to the speaker and isn’t able to comprehend instruction. Unfortunately, in this day and age, respect has become less and less of a priority. Some people don’t take instruction seriously enough to handle the task and meet the deadlines. It is important to clarify what is being asked of them and how they should carry this out, and most importantly, when it is due.
The formal change management process is a crucial part of any big project or team. Changes occur regardless of what the product may be. These changes need to be documented and revisited to ensure everyone is satisfied and nothing goes unmentioned. A great example of how not using the formal change management process may have a negative effect can be evident in a dental office’s scheduling. For example, if a patient has scheduled 2 hours of the dentist’s time to prepare a tooth for a crown and does not show, 1-he wastes valuable time the dentist could have used for production, 2-the patient doesn’t get charged a cancellation fee, and 3-the patient has another appointment to cement the crown that wasn’t cancelled. All three facts make the office loose money. In fact, the 3rd mentioned point will cause the office to lose even more money because the patient will not show up again due to the fact that he/she doesn’t have a tooth prepped yet to crown.
Assigning configuration management is important. Sometimes these chores are not fully recognized and the authority is not respected. This will cause the project to be late and of poor quality. That is why I will stress again how important it is that the team be on the same page in terms of respecting each other and having the maturity to follow direction and instruction.
The formal change management process is a crucial part of any big project or team. Changes occur regardless of what the product may be. These changes need to be documented and revisited to ensure everyone is satisfied and nothing goes unmentioned. A great example of how not using the formal change management process may have a negative effect can be evident in a dental office’s scheduling. For example, if a patient has scheduled 2 hours of the dentist’s time to prepare a tooth for a crown and does not show, 1-he wastes valuable time the dentist could have used for production, 2-the patient doesn’t get charged a cancellation fee, and 3-the patient has another appointment to cement the crown that wasn’t cancelled. All three facts make the office loose money. In fact, the 3rd mentioned point will cause the office to lose even more money because the patient will not show up again due to the fact that he/she doesn’t have a tooth prepped yet to crown.
Assigning configuration management is important. Sometimes these chores are not fully recognized and the authority is not respected. This will cause the project to be late and of poor quality. That is why I will stress again how important it is that the team be on the same page in terms of respecting each other and having the maturity to follow direction and instruction.
Chapter 10
Building a positive team environment is important for project success. A positive environment should include members that are happy and feel secure in their positions. The leader can aid in this by acknowledging accomplishments and efforts made by the individual team members. Having good listening skills is important, as is having a mutual respect for everyone on the team.
Having an uncooperative group can lead to chaos and miscommunication within the group members. A leader should be decisive and effective in establishing ground rules and playing by them. When a ground rule is broken, strict consequence should follow. Collaborative problem solving is the best way to pass these milestones. Each member must by compliant and understanding. The team’s goal should be the main focus and motivational factor.
Accountability within the group is essential to its success. Leaders must keep their promises and recognize their team member’s accomplishments. Respect should be delivered all around, especially from the team members to the leader. If a schedule is prepared and tasks are organized, execution should follow. When accountability is not in order, the accomplishments of one person are not recognized by the whole because the whole project did not follow through because of one missing link. Each person should be held responsible and accountable for his/her own duties and responsibilities.
Having an uncooperative group can lead to chaos and miscommunication within the group members. A leader should be decisive and effective in establishing ground rules and playing by them. When a ground rule is broken, strict consequence should follow. Collaborative problem solving is the best way to pass these milestones. Each member must by compliant and understanding. The team’s goal should be the main focus and motivational factor.
Accountability within the group is essential to its success. Leaders must keep their promises and recognize their team member’s accomplishments. Respect should be delivered all around, especially from the team members to the leader. If a schedule is prepared and tasks are organized, execution should follow. When accountability is not in order, the accomplishments of one person are not recognized by the whole because the whole project did not follow through because of one missing link. Each person should be held responsible and accountable for his/her own duties and responsibilities.
Chapter 7
My favorite of the chapters was chapter 7. Realistic scheduling is not just an issue in terms of dealing with projects, but is also consistent with day to day living. Project overload and short deadlines can call for a poorly put together project. Taking the time to ensure quality is important. Putting the tasks in sequence of importance is crucial. A great example I can provide would be running a professional business. For example, a dental office that runs on time and allows time for external constraints is responsible for realistic scheduling. A dental office that always runs behind and schedules patients for an hour when their appointment is really 2 hours is responsible for poor scheduling.
A Gantt chart is a tool that can be used to determine a projects schedule. It is used to set deadlines and create tasks. It was developed in the early 1900’s by a man named Henry Gantt. In addition to the Gantt chart, there is also a time scaled network. The time scaled network is easier to manage because it can be compressed into little parts whereas the Gantt chart may become too large to manage.
Finish to start relationships can be helpful when used realistically. It takes experience to know which task can be realistically completed before another can begin and which task can be initiated while one is still in the process. These relationships can be helpful in maintaining organization in project completion. It’s very important not to get ahead of yourself. It is easy to just say that every task is a start to start relationship, but when the actual tasks are in process you might get caught up in the chaos due to some undetermined factors or surprises in scheduling. Once you are in that situation it is hard to stop one task and wait for the other to complete. It’s better to be safe than sorry, therefore some tasks should be assigned as having start to start relationships and others as having start to finish relationships.
A Gantt chart is a tool that can be used to determine a projects schedule. It is used to set deadlines and create tasks. It was developed in the early 1900’s by a man named Henry Gantt. In addition to the Gantt chart, there is also a time scaled network. The time scaled network is easier to manage because it can be compressed into little parts whereas the Gantt chart may become too large to manage.
Finish to start relationships can be helpful when used realistically. It takes experience to know which task can be realistically completed before another can begin and which task can be initiated while one is still in the process. These relationships can be helpful in maintaining organization in project completion. It’s very important not to get ahead of yourself. It is easy to just say that every task is a start to start relationship, but when the actual tasks are in process you might get caught up in the chaos due to some undetermined factors or surprises in scheduling. Once you are in that situation it is hard to stop one task and wait for the other to complete. It’s better to be safe than sorry, therefore some tasks should be assigned as having start to start relationships and others as having start to finish relationships.
Chapter 6
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is what clarifies and provides the necessary details for many project management activities, it can help put together a detailed illustration of the project scope, it can monitor the progress of the project, it can create accurate cost/schedule estimates, and it builds the project’s terms. In order to build a good WBS it is important to understand the relationship between summary tasks and work packages.
I seams that the hardest part of creating a WBS is just getting started. WBS might seem overwhelming because it includes so many details and steps of the project. It must be broken down well starting at the top since it is a top-down decomposition.
I learned that the secret of a successful project management is breaking the project into small, meaningful, manageable units of work. What I mean by manageable is the work units shouldn’t be so large to the extent that they would cause the project to extend dramatically.
Like they say, “Measure twice and cut once” so it is cheaper to design a product correctly than to fix it after it is built. The earlier you detect an error the cheaper it is to fix.
I seams that the hardest part of creating a WBS is just getting started. WBS might seem overwhelming because it includes so many details and steps of the project. It must be broken down well starting at the top since it is a top-down decomposition.
I learned that the secret of a successful project management is breaking the project into small, meaningful, manageable units of work. What I mean by manageable is the work units shouldn’t be so large to the extent that they would cause the project to extend dramatically.
Like they say, “Measure twice and cut once” so it is cheaper to design a product correctly than to fix it after it is built. The earlier you detect an error the cheaper it is to fix.
Chapter 5
A seasoned project manager knows the unknown, can see unexpected problems coming and always keeps in mind unexpected things always happen.
Risk management is the primary job of a project manager. Practical planning for risks at the beginning of a project is the ideal thing to do, what makes risk management successful is when its steps are repeated intentionally and applied to all risks throughout the entire project.
It is important to incorporate historical records in risk management, since history continues to be the one of the best predictors of the future which can help a project manager investigate what happened on similar projects, so risk-related information already established can be used as a reference. A well organized project manager can be his/her own source of historical records for the future by keeping organized documents that can be referred to long after the project is done.
Risk management is the primary job of a project manager. Practical planning for risks at the beginning of a project is the ideal thing to do, what makes risk management successful is when its steps are repeated intentionally and applied to all risks throughout the entire project.
It is important to incorporate historical records in risk management, since history continues to be the one of the best predictors of the future which can help a project manager investigate what happened on similar projects, so risk-related information already established can be used as a reference. A well organized project manager can be his/her own source of historical records for the future by keeping organized documents that can be referred to long after the project is done.
Chapter 4
A charter is a powerful yet simple tool. It can be in any form, paper, email or any other type of signed document. The charter verifies the manager’s right to proceed with the project. A charter basically announces the initiation of a project and states the main players. In addition to this, the charter states the manager’s name and a short statement that verifies the issuer is backing up this project.
A statement of work, also known as a “SOW,” is a signed document that basically states the rules, regulations and goals of a project. It also shows which stakeholders are participating and confirms that they agree to its’ content by making them sign it. It is somewhat of a formal agreement that all parties agree to base their project on. This aids in organizing the project and the strategies needed to make it successful.
A responsibility matrix is a simple tool that helps define the big activities and responsibilities of the stakeholders. It assigns the roles of who is to report to whom. For example, the project team reports to the project’s manager. The project manager is to report to the director and the director is to report to the sponsors.
A statement of work, also known as a “SOW,” is a signed document that basically states the rules, regulations and goals of a project. It also shows which stakeholders are participating and confirms that they agree to its’ content by making them sign it. It is somewhat of a formal agreement that all parties agree to base their project on. This aids in organizing the project and the strategies needed to make it successful.
A responsibility matrix is a simple tool that helps define the big activities and responsibilities of the stakeholders. It assigns the roles of who is to report to whom. For example, the project team reports to the project’s manager. The project manager is to report to the director and the director is to report to the sponsors.
Chapter 3
Stakeholders are the members of a whole that make up the team of persons responsible for the projects’ initiation and completion. Stakeholders play various roles and have different responsibilities. Project managers, sponsors and costumers all play very crucial roles. Let’s examine some of the roles each play. Sponsors are responsible for using their authority to assign positions and tasks. They can do this by creating a responsibility matrix. This ensures equal divisibility of the responsibilities, duties and liabilities. A sponsor is supposed to assist the project manager in overcoming obstacles, creating charters and just making sure the objective of the project is carried out to completion.
A project manager is responsible for keeping the peace. He/she is to be called upon to make timely decisions. In addition to this, a project manager oversees the work of other stakeholders and aids in solving disputes within all parameters. A project manager maintains the cost factors and delegates the responsibilities of each stakeholder. Their job is probably most important due to the fact that they are to identify which stakeholders are the decision makers and which would be interested in the project.
A customer can be hard to identify in a large group, however since the customer pays the bills, he also gives the final word in the project. In a case where there are many customers, it is important to clarify and acknowledge which ones are stakeholders and which ones are not.
A project manager is responsible for keeping the peace. He/she is to be called upon to make timely decisions. In addition to this, a project manager oversees the work of other stakeholders and aids in solving disputes within all parameters. A project manager maintains the cost factors and delegates the responsibilities of each stakeholder. Their job is probably most important due to the fact that they are to identify which stakeholders are the decision makers and which would be interested in the project.
A customer can be hard to identify in a large group, however since the customer pays the bills, he also gives the final word in the project. In a case where there are many customers, it is important to clarify and acknowledge which ones are stakeholders and which ones are not.
Chapter 2
There is a difference between ongoing operations and projects, ongoing operations happen to be the routine people do everyday, as for a project, the case is different since it follows time lines and schedules, keeping in mind that each project is unique and has to have a beginning and an end which they might not be clear in the beginning. Due to the fact that a difference between a project and the ongoing work, the two would require completely different management plans, rules, features and discipline.
In order to consider a project a successful one, the final product has to be done or delivered on time, it also has to meet a designated budget without going over since it is considered an actual investment, and finally it needs to be of a high quality in terms of functionality and performance to fulfill all expectations.
Project management is essential even when creating or producing a new product, the new product could be as simple as making a pencil or as complex as building an airport, they each have their own customer requirements, and they follow specific detailed design plans before the final products can be constructed, and even after the construction process is complete, each product has its own lifespan when the customer is actually using it, in some cases the manufacturer need to support the user or customer for many years after the product has been delivered.
In order to consider a project a successful one, the final product has to be done or delivered on time, it also has to meet a designated budget without going over since it is considered an actual investment, and finally it needs to be of a high quality in terms of functionality and performance to fulfill all expectations.
Project management is essential even when creating or producing a new product, the new product could be as simple as making a pencil or as complex as building an airport, they each have their own customer requirements, and they follow specific detailed design plans before the final products can be constructed, and even after the construction process is complete, each product has its own lifespan when the customer is actually using it, in some cases the manufacturer need to support the user or customer for many years after the product has been delivered.
Chapter 1
Thoughts and tips about Project Management
Back in the early 90s, it was rare to find a collage that offers a project management class, unlike the present time; project management is becoming a requirement for many universities. The role of every team member becomes a lot more effective once he/she understands the basics of project management which is no longer just a personal skill set; it is now an organizational competency. Project management is the combination of art and science, because by mastering the science aspect of it will result a solid foundation for the art of leadership. It is now considered commonsense to have clear goals when managing a project. Not having clear goals could have devastating and expensive consequences. In order to cater to the rapid civilization change in the world, we need successful project management, because those changes are accomplished though projects. The work of a project is done in one time and the ongoing operations is the work that is done repeatedly. They both reflect different management challenges. Every product has to be delivered on time based on a schedule and if the product is delivered late, then the whole project could be worthless, not only that, money and effort can be wasted also. Cost, schedule, and quality are primary variables of a project, a change in one of them can reflect on them all.
Back in the early 90s, it was rare to find a collage that offers a project management class, unlike the present time; project management is becoming a requirement for many universities. The role of every team member becomes a lot more effective once he/she understands the basics of project management which is no longer just a personal skill set; it is now an organizational competency. Project management is the combination of art and science, because by mastering the science aspect of it will result a solid foundation for the art of leadership. It is now considered commonsense to have clear goals when managing a project. Not having clear goals could have devastating and expensive consequences. In order to cater to the rapid civilization change in the world, we need successful project management, because those changes are accomplished though projects. The work of a project is done in one time and the ongoing operations is the work that is done repeatedly. They both reflect different management challenges. Every product has to be delivered on time based on a schedule and if the product is delivered late, then the whole project could be worthless, not only that, money and effort can be wasted also. Cost, schedule, and quality are primary variables of a project, a change in one of them can reflect on them all.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Culture Solutions ®
Sarmad Alkhayatt, Assistant Professor/Team Leader/ITO Representative at the Defense Language Institute - Foreign Language Center, has been at the current position since August 1999.
Introduction
The Defense Headquarters had expressed a need for linguists with a higher level of proficiency in language and culture graduating from DLI to undertake complex tasks in the field. Current graduates are unable to execute error free linguistic tasks.
Problem Statement
The problem is based on the foundation that the military lacks linguists that are capable of communicating or negotiating using a higher level of the language they learned at DLI.
My objective
To create a tool/resource that can be used by military personnel to strengthen their Arabic language acquisition skills by teaching them culture and the main aspects of culture. The tool can also be used by civilians, especially those aspiring to conduct business in the “new Iraq.” Each topic will emphasis its own importance relation to Iraqi culture through proper understanding of Iraq’s history, religions practiced, traditions, cuisine, body language and gestures used by common folk, politics, and geography.
Why did I choose this class and what do I expect to learn from this course?
I think it will contribute to my MIST project and help me take it to a well rounded level. Being a Team Leader, I could benefit from Project Management in my own line of work at DLI.
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