Foundation of Project Management Communication, Risk, and Human Resources.

DISCUSSION: Respond to the assigned questions using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading.
Team Building and Ignoring Risk

Address one of the following questions for the Foundation of Project Management

Question 1:
Project Teams: Team building is an important aspect of managing a project team. Propose the right time to begin the team-building process. Justify what you believe to be the best approach for building a project team. Analyze some of the challenges that project teams face along with strategies to overcome those challenges.

Question 2:
Ignoring Project Risk: Scenario: A new executive education course was proposed and approved by the once dynamic, but now visibly ailing, Vice President (VP) for human resources. Consultants were employed to gathered requirements across all company units. The course idea was widely applauded as a necessary step for executive development in the fast-paced enterprise. A course outline had been completed and approved when the sick VP for human resources had suddenly retired. After a few weeks, a new VP for human resources was hired. The new VP was unconvinced that the course was necessary. Her charge was to cut costs and streamline the human resources department to fit the new image of the company.
Result: The course was watered down from a week of dynamic, intensive training to a few insignificant handouts and, after a budget cut, was discontinued before implementation.
Discuss:
Evaluate the scenario. Was this result foreseeable? Why or Why not? Explain what you think could have been done to enhance the risk readiness for this project.
Choose some techniques that the team could have used in this situation to identify both internal and external risks to project success. Justify your choices. Describe the techniques for evaluating the likelihood of each risk and its impact on the project if it occurs.
Evaluate which elements should be part of a written plan to deal with high potential risks and elements that might have major consequences for a project.

Question 3:
Communicate for Project Success: Scenario: A major enterprise-level business process development project was initiated. Early in the project, it was clear that each constituent business unit had different needs. An active executive sponsor pushed for a steering committee representation from all business units. The team began by gathering requirements across business units. All levels of the organization were represented—executives, middle managers, and frontline workers. Requirements were translated into specifications and communicated to the business units. Prior to steering committee meetings, decision makers received detailed information on the project’s status and progress in meeting requirements.
Result: The team developed a broad approach toward developing a new process with an enterprise-level core that allowed customization among the business units. The project achieved the desired results and received customer acceptance at the business unit level. The executive sponsor (also the primary customer at the enterprise level) was applauded for his business acumen, while the direct project sponsor continued on her path for promotion from the assistant VP to being the VP of the organization.

Analyze the critical factors in the success of the Foundation of Project Management

Discuss
For a project like the one described above, propose the key components of a project communication plan.
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1 to 2 pages (500–1000 words) in length.
PROJECT CONTINUE FROM WEEK TWO
Week 3 Project
Instructions
Communication, Risk, and Human Resources.
The communications plan: Determine stakeholders from the requirements determination section. Add a new stakeholder and determine the following information for him or her:
o Information need
o The messages to be communicated
o The timing and frequency of communication
o The person responsible for communication
o The medium for communication
Risk assessment: Determine potential risks that can prevent the project’s objectives from being met on time and within the budget. Develop a risk mitigation plan to manage the risks. The plan should have a severity ranking for each risk. For the most severe risk, develop a risk mitigation strategy that includes risk triggers and the team members responsible for responding to the risk.
The organization and human resources plan: Prepare an organizational structure for the project and identify the skills required to perform the work effectively and efficiently. Identify project team members and define their functions, responsibilities, qualifications, and capabilities. Explain where each team member fits into the organizational structure, including the details of the stage of the project where the team member will be assigned. Create a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
Provide a summary of the key information you have learned in the project so far. What seem to be the most important ideas? What ideas are you still finding challenging? What practical ways can you apply what you are learning?