Employing project management

Employing project management

Employing project management concepts in an organization improvement initiative is critical in ensuring the success of the project. Consequently, the Growing Minds Academy (GMA) project needs to adopt such principles to ensure that its goals and objectives are attained. The concepts include project management scheduling, knowledge areas, and process groups, as well as the requisite documentation. In this exercise, an assessment of these conceptions as they relate to the GMA will occur.

Project Schedule Management

Project scheduling is a vital component of project management. It forms one of the core knowledge management areas. According to Kannimuthu et al. (2018), it provides a basis for the organization of all the activities and deliverables of a project. Such an aspect is essential, considering the growing complexity of projects in the modern-day context. The complexity arises because of the rising number of stakeholders required to execute a project, as well as the toughening of quality standards. For instance, in the case of GMA’s organizational improvement initiatives, the stakeholders for the Employee Incentive Program (EIP) include the teachers, parents, students, and the institution’s management. While the focus of the initiative is the teachers, the other stakeholders also play vital roles; hence, it is necessary to plan for their contributions to the process. A properly structured project schedule helps the project manager to attain this goal.

Additionally, project scheduling helps the project manager in the allocation of resources. Consequently, this aspect is integral because not only is the timeline of activities drawn, but the budgeting process also occurs. For instance, the state offers rewards and bonuses to schools whose staff members have specific qualifications. Project scheduling may help the school to structure its continuing education initiative in a way that meets the requirements of the state, and teachers can graduate from the courses in time for the period when the state makes the evaluations for the bonuses and awards. Such a step would help the management of GMA to not only benefit from such recognition but also to have a tangible metric with which they can assess the success of the project. Essentially, this knowledge area helps in the identification of vital concepts like the estimate activity duration. Having a conception of the information above then implies that the management can perform costing for all the activities.

Project Schedule Management Documentation

Project documentation is a critical task for a project manager. The documentation is necessary for the monitoring and control process by improving the traceability of documented tasks. It also ensures that alignment exists between a project’s objectives and actual progress. According to Carson (2011), the project’s planning process is contained mainly in the project schedule management knowledge area. Therefore, the documentation in this category forms the bulk of that required in an entire project.

Below is an evaluation of some of the documentation that would be required in this knowledge area. The project charter is an essential document because it offers an overview of the project (Carson, 2011). For example, regarding the GMA’s organization improvement initiative, the project charter would highlight the importance of the EIP in improving the uptake of continuing education for the institution’s teachers to enhance students’ performance. Another crucial document is the activity list. It is an itemized list of all the activities that are expected to occur throughout the project. The stakeholder register is also necessary because it identifies all the stakeholders in the organizational improvement project. It also showcases their roles and responsibilities throughout the initiative.

The risk management plan is also devised at this stage. It denotes all the possible risks that might arise during the process of project execution, as well as the necessary mitigation measures. A list of all the applicable quality metrics is also created during the project scheduling phase. Most importantly, crafting a budget for the initiative occurs at this stage. The budget is a vital document in project management because it acts as a control tool to ensure that the project is delivered within the set time and budgeted costs.

Process Group and Knowledge Area

Process groups define clustered and procedural steps that a project manager must employ during the life cycle. A knowledge area fits into a specific process group. Project schedule management is a unique knowledge area because it strides across multiple process groups. According to San Cristobal et al. (2018), project scheduling forms part of both the initiating and planning phases. The former serves as the basis for the planning phase. Therefore, the applicable activities include brainstorming ideas on the proposed organization improvement initiative, its intended objectives, and its implementation modalities. Additionally, an assessment of the required documentation occurs at this stage. Contrarily, the planning phase forms the basis for the project’s implementation.

Summary

Project schedule management is a core knowledge area in project management. It sets the tone for the success of a project because it defines the appropriate resources and activities required throughout the rest of the processes. Further, the bulk of the documentation for a project falls under this knowledge area. Some of the pertinent documents include a budget, stakeholder register, and an activity list. Given that its main preoccupation is laying the foundation for a project, it lies within the initiating and planning process groups. Consequently, the management of GMA needs to invest considerable resources of scheduling for the project if it is to be successful.

References

Carson, C. W. (2011). Design and development of a schedule management plan. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Kannimuthu, M., Ekambaram, P., Raphael, B., & Kuppuswamy, A. (2018). Resource Unconstrained and Constrained Project Scheduling Problems and Practices in a Multiproject Environment. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2018, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9579273

San Cristóbal, J. R., Carral, L., Diaz, E., Fraguela, J. A., & Iglesias, G. (2018). Complexity and Project Management: A General Overview. Complexity, 2018, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4891286