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Business Communication - Project Management

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Must use at least textbook (Brown, K. A., & Hyer, N. L. (2010). Managing projects: A team-based approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin) as a source material for each response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

1. What are the variables that must be considered when developing a project schedule? Give a short explanation of how they impact the schedule development.
2. How does the development of project software compare to other methods of scheduling. What are the benefits of using project software? What are the downfalls of using technology in this manner?
3. The textbook gives examples of successful scheduling. What are the benefits of having a schedule for a project?
4. Multitasking has become the norm in our everyday society. Why is it important for a project manager to be aware of multitasking during a project? Do you think there are benefits to multitasking? Explain your answer.
5. What is the "crashing" procedure? Use an example from your own project experience to help identify the steps.
6. What are factors and decisions that need to be considered when comparing crash costs and the trade-off?
7. What is the importance of scheduling and possible reasons for schedules to be modified during a project's duration? Give an example from your own experiences where this came into play.
8. What are the dimensions of project closure? Do you feel any of these factors play a bigger role in closure? Explain your answer.
9. Compare and contrast the three methods of continuous learning during a project.
10. What are the steps for a project change to be implemented once the tools have validated concerns for the project?
11. There are several phenomena listed in the textbook that can potentially affect a project. Choose one, and explain how you, as a project manager, could be aware and prepare for the possible effect of its impact on a project.

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Solution Summary

Comprehensive solution of over 2,800 words in APA format to help the student understand the context of the following questions about project management:
1. What are the variables that must be considered when developing a project schedule? Give a short explanation of how they impact the schedule development.
2. How does the development of project software compare to other methods of scheduling. What are the benefits of using project software? What are the downfalls of using technology in this manner?
3. The textbook gives examples of successful scheduling. What are the benefits of having a schedule for a project?
4. Multitasking has become the norm in our everyday society. Why is it important for a project manager to be aware of multitasking during a project? Do you think there are benefits to multitasking? Explain your answer.
5. What is the "crashing" procedure? Use an example from your own project experience to help identify the steps.
6. What are factors and decisions that need to be considered when comparing crash costs and the trade-off?
7. What is the importance of scheduling and possible reasons for schedules to be modified during a project's duration? Give an example from your own experiences where this came into play.
8. What are the dimensions of project closure? Do you feel any of these factors play a bigger role in closure? Explain your answer.
9. Compare and contrast the three methods of continuous learning during a project.
10. What are the steps for a project change to be implemented once the tools have validated concerns for the project?
11. There are several phenomena listed in the textbook that can potentially affect a project. Choose one, and explain how you, as a project manager, could be aware and prepare for the possible effect of its impact on a project.

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1. What are the variables that must be considered when developing a project schedule? Give a short explanation of how they impact the schedule development.

In project management schedules are very important because they help keep the pace of the project on track. Specifically, there are some very important variables to consider when developing a project which are as follows:

• Project calendar; the project calendar helps identify the inputs and outputs needed from labor, resources, timeline, availability, and other important factors.
• Project scope; the project scope determines the start and end dates. It also includes all the important factors that are related to the project. Project scope includes things such as assumptions inside of the plan, constraints and restrictions, stakeholder expectations, and milestones.
• Project risks; a project manager has to understand the risks and consider them as variables in order to accurately control and mitigate these risks in a project. Failure by manager to predict these risks or project them could be very costly.
• Resources; in order to successfully complete a project you must have resources identified as variables. The availability of resources and the use of these resources as the project continues will be very important to the success or failure of the project.

All of these variables will become very important for a project manager as they try to determine how to layout their project map and their charter. From having appropriate timelines and taking risks into consideration and also evaluating your resources, project management requires a good analysis of these variables in order to achieve success (Brown, et. al., 2010).

2. How does the development of project software compare to other methods of scheduling. What are the benefits of using project software? What are the downfalls of using technology in this manner?

Software development methodology for software development is a system by which technology is used to help a project manager schedule their project with accuracy. The ideal behind software development technology is to establish a framework that can be successful in helping to structure, plan, and control the project process and the information inputs and outputs. Some of the common methodologies include prototyping, waterfall, iterative, and incremental development (Doloi, 2013).

As with any technology, software development has specific guidelines and rules that are input by the user. Therefore the use of software can be very beneficial; however, it can also be very detrimental if the inputs are not correct. Therefore when comparing the use of software with traditional methods of scheduling it can become very important to utilize a system that best matches the scope of the project and the skill set of the project manager.

Benefits of software; some of the key benefits of utilizing software and project management are factors such as time-saving, accuracy, predictability, and reliability. Downfalls of software; software can be very complicated and complex at times and requires a lot of user interface. Failure by the project manager or other users to input the proper data will result in the project being taken off course (Doloi, 2013).

3. The textbook gives examples of successful scheduling. What are the benefits of having a schedule for a project?

The nature of project management is that it entails a lot of detail, planning, and oversight. Inside of projects there will always be unforeseen obstacles to overcome, challenges, and risks. To help minimize the ease complications and make the projects lifespan more successful, managers need schedules to help them meet challenging deadlines.

Successful scheduling is the process in which a manager can lay out a schedule that encompasses start dates through end dates and manage all the time in between without missing goals and targets. This would be impossible without the use of some form of schedule as there are too many complexities and activities to manage without some form of tracking system such as an accurate schedule.

The benefits of having a schedule that is accurate and reliable are many. These include things such as on-time completion, customer satisfaction, opportunities, cost savings, and cost avoidance. One of the major benefits to having a schedule is that it allows the project manager to keep his team on track and on pace and shows them if they began to slip on their promised deadlines. By having a schedule they can quickly adjust and make the ...

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