14 Jan Organizational demands/requirements

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 FROM CORPORATE STRATEGY TO PROJECT STRATEGY

How can an organization transfer corporate strategy into meaningful project strategy? What is the relationship between corporate strategy and project strategy?

DQ2 PORTFOLIOS, PROGRAMS, AND PROJECTS

Portfolio, program, and projects: What are they, how do they differ, and what is their relationship to the corporate strategy?

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 PROJECT PORTFOLIO SELECTION

An effective project portfolio does not just happen. There is a process that must be developed and then followed to help ensure a successful portfolio. Let’s start this discussion by examining what decisions must be made before a project is actually looked at or considered. So where do you start in the preprocess stage? Be sure to justify your answer.

DQ2 PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Define the process groups and knowledge areas included in the portfolio management process and explain what happens in each area. How do these areas interact with one another as a group?

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 PM, PGM, AND PPM

Project management, program management, and project portfolio management all sound alike. They are different names for possibly the same thing. These are very different topics. Compare and contrast project management, program management, and project portfolio management.

DQ2 PROJECT COST

Whether you are a project manager or a program manager, you will be concerned with project cost. Below is a list of terms that you would see and use when working with project cost. Choose only one, explain it, and give some examples of how it works.

Planned Value (PV)

Actual Cost (AC)

Earned Value (EV)

Budget at Completion (BAC)

Cost Variance (CV)

Schedule Variance (SV)

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Estimate to Complete (ETC)

Variance At Completion (VAC)

Probability (P)

Impact (I)

Expected Monetary Value (EMV)

Expected Activity Duration (EAD)

Standard Deviation (SD)

Late Start, Early Start, Late Finish, Early Finish (LS, ES, LF, EF)

Point of Total Assumption (PTA)

To Complete Performance Index [TCPI]

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 CHANGE MANAGEMENT

You have just been hired to manage a new project that will involve not only the installation of a new company-wide computer system but also the implementation of new processes. As project manager, you must create a project plan and a change management plan. Where do you begin? What should be your first task and why?

Who should be part of the planning process? What problems could arise due to the changes? How will you measure the success of the change management plan?

DQ2 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Every organization and project has its share of conflict. What matters is how that conflict is handled. Let’s start this discussion by addressing the causes of conflict in an organization or on a project. Whenever possible, share your personal experiences.

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEAMS

What characteristics differentiate a high-performance team from the normal or average team?

DQ2 LEADING HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEAMS

In your own words, write a description of an effective leader. List and explain five qualities that you believe are found in effective leaders. (Try to choose qualities that have not already been described.)

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Review the PMP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct located in the Files section. Let’s start with addressing the two scenarios below.

While working on an external project, your customer asks you to perform some additional tasks that are not included in the formal contract. What should you do?

You are managing an internal R & D project. The initial test results are very poor. You are afraid your management might cancel the project, and this could reflect poorly upon you. Verification testing could be done quickly and inexpensively. What should you do?

Pick a question to answer or comment on your classmates’ comments. These questions generate a great deal of discussion in the classroom. I’ll be interested to see how we do here!

DQ2 COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT

Chapter 7 of our PMI Standard Portfolio text looks at the communication management knowledge area and the processes to develop the plans required to align the company with the strategic, governance, performance, and risk management processes.

What are the components required to complete a communications plan? How do you go about identifying the stakeholders for communications? Why is it important to align these processes with other portfolio processes?

PROJ587 Advanced Program Management

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 OPTIMIZING RESOURCES

Chapter 15 in the Bender text discusses resource optimization. Bender describes two types of work estimates: effort and duration. Compare and contrast these estimation types and discuss how these can impact the overall project portfolio.

DQ2 TRENDS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The lesson this week mentioned several trends in project management. Using the Internet, choose a trend to discuss and include how it could influence or change the profession.

Here are some areas to get you started. You may choose to discuss a trend that is not listed.

Agile

SCRUM

PgM

Lean

Organizational demands/requirements of PM

PM/BA

CCM

ALM