week 1Case Study: Keflavik Paper Company (graded)Read Case Study 3.1The Keflavik Paper Company is a case with a problem in determining a project management process for new product development.Answer the following questions:What does this case demonstrate about the effect of poor project screening methods on a firms ability to manage projects effectively?How would project portfolio management help to improve the situation at Keflavik?If you think about it, all business problems are case studies. To effectively evaluate the situation, you must approach the problem in a methodological manner. A proven technique to do this is to do the following:list the facts;identify the issues;based on the facts of the case and your knowledge, analyze the issues of the case;prepare recommended solutions and their possible outcomes;implement the optimal solution (not always the one with the best outcome, because the cost or other things could be impractical); andmonitor the implementation and outcomes.So when you read and prepare to respond to this case, please follow the above guidelines. I don’t necessarily expect you to perform Steps 46, but I do expect your response to be based on the facts and your knowledge. Rememberyour first impressions may not be correct!diss 2Case Study: Widgets ‘R Us (graded)Read Case Study 2.4The Widgets R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the company is set up and how the company will handle operations with its projected growth.Answer the following questions:You have been called in as a consultant to analyze the operations at WRU. Based on the readings, what would you advise Widgets R Us to do in order to sustain the competitive advantage in the widget market?What structural design changes might be undertaken to improve the operations at the company?week 2Project Scope (graded)As we have seen this week, project scope creation is very different in traditional project management versus Agile project management. What advantages and disadvantages can you see with the process of scope creation in the traditional project management world? What advantages and disadvantages can you see with the process of scope creation in the Agile project management world? Share your experiences with projects that were created using either Agile or traditional project management techniques.Case Study: Project Management at Dotcom.com (graded)Read Case Study 5.3: Project Management at Dotcom.com. Dotcom.com is a software engineering and systems development consulting firm that needs some organizational improvements in the area of project management processes that will cut cost and potentially increase the profit margin for the company.Answer the following questions:Discuss how you would begin redesigning dotcom.coms project management processes to minimize the problems it is experiencing with poor scope management.Why do you think configuration management and project change control are difficult to perform in the middle of a complex software development project, such as those implemented at dotcom.com?Share any experiences you have with project change requests.week 3Project Schedule (graded)To develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a project network, which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown structure and is organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships governing when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work activities with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the activities, we can create a schedule for the project work. What types of information can we learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule and all the information used to generate it?Agile Schedule Development (graded)As we have seen, traditional and Agile schedule developments are quite different. Agile project management was originally developed to do software development. Could a traditional process be successfully used to develop a new software program? Why or why not? Could an Agile methodology be used to build a strip mall in your home town? Why or why not?week 4Risk Management (graded)Assume you have just been assigned to a project risk team composed of five members. Your task, as project manager, is to develop a process for handling risks to the project.Because this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out his or her proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include, but not be limited to, the following information:What methods should be used for identifying risks?Who should be involved in identifying risks?What should be considered when identifying risks?Risk Management Part II(graded)As the work of your risk management team (from the first discussion question) continues, the discussion of your team’s risk management plan outline moves on and considers the following questions:How should the risks be prioritized?Who should do the prioritization of the project risks?How should project risks be monitored and controlled?Who should develop risk responses and contingency plans?Who should own these responses and plans?week 5week 5Case Study: The Problems of Multitasking (graded)Read Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking. Answer the following questions:How does multitasking confuse the resource availability of project team personnel?In modern organizations, it is impossible to eliminate multitasking for the average employee. Why?How would resource loading or resource leveling help address multitasking situations?dq 2Reducing Project Duration (graded)In your own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope reduction as means of schedule compression. When would each be appropriate? Which methods would you consider better first-choice methods by most project sponsors? Would any of these methods apply to Agile projects? How does Agile address schedule compression?week 6week6Project Communications (graded)Discuss the importance of communication and information exchange to project success. What are the crucial features and elements of effective communication and information exchange in successful projects? How are key stakeholders involved in this process? Are communication requirements different on an Agile project versus a traditional project?dq2Case Study: Finding the Emotional Intelligence (graded)Read Case Study 4.2: Finding the Emotional Intelligence.What are the differences between leaders and managers?Can anyone be a leader? Which would you prefer to work for: a leader or a manager? Why?Select one of the characteristics of an effective project manager and tell why it is important.Is leadership of a project different in an Agile environment than in a traditional project environment?Take the Future Time Perspective scale on page 129. Share your results and comments with the class.week 7Project Baseline (graded)We have now moved from the planning stage to the execution stage of project management. Following good project management practices, we have set a baseline. How is a project baseline used to guide the execution of the project’s work, to evaluate progress and performance, and to control the project? Also, as you continue to think about monitoring and controlling the project, specifically consider the question: How can the project baseline and the earned value approach for variance analysis be used to monitor and report project progress?dq 2Agile Project Control (graded)In the first discussion, we looked at traditional project control. Is project control different in an Agile project? What is the role of a project manager in controlling an Agile project? What is the role of the project client, sponsor, or customer at controlling project changes?Read Case Study 3.1The Keflavik Paper Company is a case with a problem in determining a project management process for new product development.Answer the following questions:So when you read and prepare to respond to this case, please follow the above guidelines. I don’t necessarily expect you to perform Steps 46, but I do expect your response to be based on the facts and your knowledge. Rememberyour first impressions may not be correct!diss 2Read Case Study 2.4The Widgets R Us case study is a case with a problem of how the company is set up and how the company will handle operations with its projected growth.Answer the following questions:As we have seen this week, project scope creation is very different in traditional project management versus Agile project management. What advantages and disadvantages can you see with the process of scope creation in the traditional project management world? What advantages and disadvantages can you see with the process of scope creation in the Agile project management world? Share your experiences with projects that were created using either Agile or traditional project management techniques.Read Case Study 5.3: Project Management at Dotcom.com. Dotcom.com is a software engineering and systems development consulting firm that needs some organizational improvements in the area of project management processes that will cut cost and potentially increase the profit margin for the company.Answer the following questions:To develop a schedule for a project, we will use the concept of a project network, which shows work activities taken from the work breakdown structure and is organized according to the logical flow in time and relationships governing when the work will be performed. By combining this network of work activities with estimates of the time duration for performing each of the activities, we can create a schedule for the project work. What types of information can we learn about the project by reviewing the project schedule and all the information used to generate it?As we have seen, traditional and Agile schedule developments are quite different. Agile project management was originally developed to do software development. Could a traditional process be successfully used to develop a new software program? Why or why not? Could an Agile methodology be used to build a strip mall in your home town? Why or why not?week 4Assume you have just been assigned to a project risk team composed of five members. Your task, as project manager, is to develop a process for handling risks to the project.Because this is the first time your organization has formally set up a risk team for a project, it is hoped that your team will develop a process that can be used on all future projects. Your first team meeting is next Monday morning. Each team member has been asked to prepare for the meeting by developing, in as much detail as possible, an outline that describes how you believe the team should proceed in handling project risks. Each team member will hand out his or her proposed outline at the beginning of the meeting. Your outline should include, but not be limited to, the following information:As the work of your risk management team (from the first discussion question) continues, the discussion of your team’s risk management plan outline moves on and considers the following questions:Read Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking. Answer the following questions:In your own words, describe crashing, fast tracking, and scope reduction as means of schedule compression. When would each be appropriate? Which methods would you consider better first-choice methods by most project sponsors? Would any of these methods apply to Agile projects? How does Agile address schedule compression?Discuss the importance of communication and information exchange to project success. What are the crucial features and elements of effective communication and information exchange in successful projects? How are key stakeholders involved in this process? Are communication requirements different on an Agile project versus a traditional project?dq2Read Case Study 4.2: Finding the Emotional Intelligence.We have now moved from the planning stage to the execution stage of project management. Following good project management practices, we have set a baseline. How is a project baseline used to guide the execution of the project’s work, to evaluate progress and performance, and to control the project? Also, as you continue to think about monitoring and controlling the project, specifically consider the question: How can the project baseline and the earned value approach for variance analysis be used to monitor and report project progress?dq 2In the first discussion, we looked at traditional project control. Is project control different in an Agile project? What is the role of a project manager in controlling an Agile project? What is the role of the project client, sponsor, or customer at controlling project changes?