Economic Conditions.

Project management is a fundamental skill in an organization no matter what the economic climate. How does the current economic climate affect strategic planning for the organization as well as for project management? Provide commentary to support the importance of strategic planning in both strong and weak economies. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 1 DQ 2 PMMM

PMMM. Give a brief overview of the levels of the Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM). Review the Foundation of Excellence section of Chapter 4 of the text. Explain how strategic planning can enable a company to reach level five of their PMMM. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 2 DQ 1 Tangible Benefits

Tangible Benefits. The text describes the tangible benefits of using project management in Chapter Six, including the following areas:

Lower Cost
Shortened schedules
No sacrifice of scope or quality Higher customer satisfaction

BUS 697 Week 2 DQ 2 PM Culture

PM Culture. An organization needs to have project management built into its culture to be effective. Evaluate the maturity of the project management culture in your organization and describe improvements that can be implemented based on your text readings.

If you feel your organization does not yet have a project management culture explain why and suggest improvements that could be accomplished. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 2 Hexagon of Excellence

Hexagon of Excellence. Review the Hexagon of Excellence in Chapter 7 in your text and write a 2 to 4 page (not including title and reference pages), APA style article review paper.

Select and describe at least three characteristics that make the performance of a company excellent in terms of how they approach project management.

Provide details on how a current or previous employer used any of these areas for success in the marketplace

Analyzes how an employer aligns projects to organizational strategy. You must use a minimum of one to two sources, including the textbook.

BUS 697 Week 3 DQ 1 Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement. Many organizations focus on continuous improvement processes to aid efficiency improvement, reduce waste, and/or maximize profits. In your posting,

discuss three of the continuous improvement foci areas you have experienced in your job or organization and discuss the effectiveness (or benefits) of such initiatives. Decide what change management issues are present that limit the organization’s efforts in continuous improvement. What are the forces driving the initiative? What practices could be improved? What should be abandoned? Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 3 DQ 2 Phase Review Meetings

Phase Review Meetings. Describe the structure and importance of a project phase review meeting. Select three areas that need to be reviewed by the project manager and explain why. Create a list of stakeholders that should be invited to the meeting. Why did you choose these stakeholders?

What should all the meeting participants be able to walk away from the meeting with? Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 3 Five Phases

Five Phases. After reading this week’s assigned articles, submit a 2 to 4 page, APA-style paper that summarizes each phase of the project lifecycle and analyzes how each phase could support the organization’s business strategy.

Your paper must include a title page and a reference page, which are not included in the page length requirements. A minimum of one to two sources, including the textbook, must be used for this assignment.

BUS 697 Week 4 DQ 1 Triple Constraint and Lessons Learned

Triple Constraint and Lessons Learned. The triple constraint in Project Management is known to be time, cost and scope. The ability to manage these three items very often leads to project success. Identify two success factors from Chapter 11; then compare them with two components of failure from the same chapter. Provide an example of a project you led or were a team member where one or more of these factors came into play. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 4 DQ 2 Lessons Learned Analysis

Lessons Learned Analysis. One key concept in project management is to learn from previous projects. The Lessons Learned review allows an organization to collect and document the results of both successful and failed projects. Give an overview of a project you were involved with as a leader or team member.

Choose three of the project areas listed below and answer one question from each group of questions found in Chapter 12 of your text. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings; in your responses, try to respond to people who chose other areas/questions to answer.

Time

Cost

Quality

Scope

Line Management

Methodology

Senior Management

Customer Satisfaction

Business Opportunities

 

BUS 697 Week 4 Altex Corporation

Altex Corporation. Read Case 3: Altex Corporation in the case study section of your text. Write a summary of the case and answer the following questions from the end of the case.

Why was a risk management plan considered unnecessary?
Should risk management planning be performed in the proposal stage or after contract award, assuming that it must be done?
Does the customer have the right to expect the contractor to perform risk analysis and develop a risk management plan if it is not called out as part of the contractual statement of work?

Would Altex have been more interested in developing a risk management plan if the project were funded entirely from within?
How might the Army have responded if they were presented with a risk management plan early during the R&D activities?
Can risk management planning be justified on almost all programs and projects?

BUS 697 Week 5 DQ 1 Six Sigma

Six Sigma. Identify one of the goals of Six Sigma shown in Table 13-1 of the text and provide an example of a project you have been involved with where the method could have helped the project outcome. Comment if your organization uses Six Sigma and, if so, the influence it has had on the results of projects and the overall business. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 5 DQ 2 Earned Value

Earned Value. Review the Fleming and Koppelman article from your assigned readings. Evaluate two of the ten EVM requirements and analyze how a project you have worked on in the past could have been more effective by using the measures. Provide detailed information if your organization consistently uses EVM and the benefits that have resulted. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 6 DQ 1 Best Practices

Best Practices. List three processes in your organization that are considered best practices and describe how they meet the critical questions from Chapter 15 in the text. If your organization does not have a best practice, use the knowledge gained from the case studies and article reviews in class to describe your idea of a best practice. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 6 DQ 2 Knowledge Transfer

Knowledge Transfer. Compare how knowledge transfer for project management happens in your organization with the model shown in figure 15-4 of the text. Where can your organization make improvements to ensure knowledge transfer is a critical success area in the future? Where is your organization excelling? Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings.

BUS 697 Week 6 Final Paper

This final research paper must demonstrate the understanding of new learning in the field of project management and how it relates to the Project Management Maturity Model. This is an assignment with a length of 10- to 15- pages

(not including title and reference pages) that should integrate the reading, multi-media and class discussion boards. It is mandatory to have research from the classroom text, as well as at least 4 sources from the internet or online library to support your views. A minimum of 2 of these sources must be from the Ashford Online Library.

Consider the validity of your resources carefully before using them in academic papers. It is recommended to use examples from your professional experience where possible, or build from your learning in the discussion boards. Use at least one project you have been a team member or a project manager as an example to discuss each of the following topics:

The definition of the Project Management Maturity Model and how organizations can increase their overall productivity using the model.
The importance of organizational strategy and how project management needs to link to objectives to achieve results.

Project communication methods including who the stakeholders are and why they are important to the project manager.
The use of project quality, including earned value analysis, and examples of successful and troubled projects. A conclusion to describe how the probability of success can be found with an organization that is able to reach maturity in terms of project management.

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