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Solution Manual for Project Management 7th Edition By Larson

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https://testbanku.eu/Solution-Manual-for-Project-Management-
7th-Edition-By-Larson

1. What Is a Project?
A. What a Project Is Not
B. The Project Life Cycle
C. The Project Manager
D. Being Part of a Project Team
2. Current Drivers of Project Management
A. Compression of the Product Life Cycle
B. Knowledge Explosion
C. Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit)
D. Increased Customer Focus
E. Small Projects Represent Big Problems
3. Project Governance
A. Alignment of Projects with Organizational Strategy
4. Project Management Today:A Socio-Technical Approach
5. Summary
6. Text Overview
7. Key Terms
8. Review Questions
9. Exercises
10. Case 1.1:A Day in the Life
11. Case1.2:The Hokie Lunch Group

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Chapter Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

LO 1-1 Understand why project management is crucial in today’s world.

LO 1-2 Distinguish a project from routine operations.

LO 1-3 Identify the different stages of project life cycle.

LO 1-4 Understand the importance of projects in implementing organization

strategy.

LO 1-5 Understand that managing projects involves balancing the technical and
sociocultural dimensions of the project.

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Review Questions
1. Define a project. What are five characteristics which help differentiate projects
from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?

A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resource,

and specifications. Differentiating characteristics of projects from routine, repetitive
daily work are below:

a. A defined life span

b. A well-defined objective
c. Typically involves people from several disciplines
d. A project life cycle
e. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.

2. What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way
projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the
management of projects?

Some environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are the
product life cycle, knowledge growth, global competition, organization downsizing,
technology changes, time-to-market. The impact of these forces is more projects per
organization, project teams responsible for implementing projects, accountability,
changing organization structures, need for rapid completion of projects, linking
projects to organization strategy and customers, prioritizing projects to conserve
organization resources, alliances with external organizations, and so on.

3. Why is the implementation of projects important to strategic planning and the

project manager?

Strategic plans are implemented primarily through projects—e.g., a new product, a

new information system, a new plant for a new product. The project manager is the
key person responsible for completing the project on time, on budget, and within
specifications so the project’s customer is satisfied. If the project is not linked to the
strategic plan of the organization, resources devoted to the project are wasted and a
customer need is not met. This lack of connectivity occurs more in practice than most
would believe.

4. The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides
to the same coin. Explain.

The system and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas. The point is
successful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful in both areas.

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5. What is the impact of governance to managing an individual project?Why is this

approach important in today’s environment?

Governance signals to the project manager that decisions at a higher level can impact
management of an individual project.Reviews (called “Gating”) during project
implementation assess current performance and priorities and decide to continue, halt,
hold, or revised the project.

Governance is most frequently used to balance resources and risk over all
organizational resources. It is also used to enforce or alter priorities and to ensure
project align with organizational strategies and goals. In today’s fast-paced world
priorities can change quickly and can impact in process projects.

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Exercises
1. Review the front page of your local newspaper, and try to identify all the
projects contained in the articles. How many were you able to find?

It is nearly impossible to open a newspaper and not find articles relating to projects.
Sunday editions are especially good for this exercise. Even experienced project
managers find the number of projects far greater than they would have predicted.
Each one is managed by a project manager! This is a good illustration of the
important role projects play in our daily lives.

2. Individually identify what you consider to be the greatest achievements

accomplished by mankind in the last five decades. Now share your list with three
to five other students in the class, and come up with an expanded list. Review
these accomplishments in terms of the definition of a project. What does your
review suggest about the importance of project management?

Typical responses center on technology, medical advances, space exploration—e.g.,

computer advances, laser operations and new drugs, building the space station. Often
you have to point out that many of these projects are really programs.

We usually select two or three student suggestions of projects (there will be plenty!)
and ask the students to identify the kinds of problems the project manager of the
project may have had to deal with. Again, once the students get into the exercise, the
problems they can envision are many. These problems are placed on the board. After
the board is near filled and most students have participated, we try to show or classify
on the board the problems by the content of the text chapters. The intent is to
demonstrate to the class the course and text will address many of the problems
suggested by the students.

3. Individually identify projects assigned in previous terms. Were both

sociocultural and technical elements factors in the success or difficulties in the
projects?

Students will naturally focus on sociocultural aspects in part because they are more
familiar with concepts such as leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork than
scope, WBS, and baseline budgets. Furthermore interpersonal friction is often a
source of consternation on student projects. The instructor may have to point out that
interpersonal conflicts often arise from ill-defined scopes, uneven work schedules,
and poor planning.

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4. Check out the Project Management Institute’s home page at www.pmi.org.

a. Review general information about PMI as well as membership information.

Answers will vary. The PMI website undergoes periodic updates.

b. See if there is a PMI chapter in your state.If not, where is the closest one?

Answers will vary depending on your location.

c. Use the search function at the PMI home page to find information on Project
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).What are the major knowledge
areas of PMBOK?

This search turns up a very wide variety of information including books the
student can purchase, how to articles, and tools and templates. It will take some
searching but the student can find that the ten knowledge areas are as follows:

1. Project Integration Management

2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Time Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Human Resource Management
7. Project Communications Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management
10. Project Stakeholder Management

d. Explore other links that PMI provides.What do these links tell you about the
nature and future of project management?

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Case 1.1
A Day in the Life
Rachel, the project manager of a large information systems project, arrives at her
office early to get caught up with work before her co-workers and project team
arrive. However, as she enters the office she meets Neil, one of her fellow project
managers, who also wants to get an early start on the day. Neil has just completed a
project overseas. They spend 10 minutes socializing and catching up on personal
news.

(Rest of case not shown due to length.)

This case shows a glimpse of what it is like to be a project manager. It also underscores
that being a project manager is more social than technical and that project managers
spend the majority of their time interacting with various people who impact a project.

Note: This case can either be used up front in the course or towards the end when the
sociocultural aspects of project management have been covered.

1. How effectively do you think Rachel spent her day?

Students will be divided in their evaluation of Rachel. Some will argue that she is
inefficient and does not have control over her time. Others will argue that this is the
nature of the job, and is to be expected. They will point out that she is appropriately
spending her time managing relations and keeping on top of things that affect the project.
We tend to observe that students with little work experience are much more critical than
those with work experience.

Note: International students often take exception to Rachel devoting lunch time to
gossiping and taking time to relax and listen to music. They feel these are inappropriate
behaviors. When used towards the end of the course the case can stimulate a lively
discussion between international and American students.

2. What does the case tell you about what it is like to be a project manager?

Rachel’s day underscores three key functions project managers spend their time
performing:

a. Building and sustaining interpersonal relations. Project managers have to network

and develop good working relations with team members and other project
stakeholders.
b. Information gathering and dissemination. Project managers are the information
hub for their projects. They are in constant communication with various
stakeholders, collecting information from various sources, and sending it to those
who have a need to know.

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c. Decision-making. Project managers consult with various people to make decisions

necessary to complete the project.

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Case 1.2
The Hokie Lunch Group
Fatma settled down for lunch at the Yank Sing Chinese restaurant. She was early
and took the time to catch up on her e-mail. Soon she would be joined by Jasper and
Viktoria, two fellow 2014 grads from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

(Rest of case not shown due to length.)

This case is designed to provide students a glimpse of what it is like to work on

projects.Over the course of monthly lunch meetings students are exposed to a variety of
management issues as well as the different phases of the project life cycle.

1. For each part (A, B, C) what phase of the project lifecycle is each project in?

Part A

Viktoria and Jasper’s projects are in the Executing phase with PAX2 entering a critical
testing stage.Fatma’s project appears to be in the Defining phase where she is working on
defining the scope of the project.

Part B

Viktoria and Jasper’s projects continue to be in the Executing phase with Jasper feeling
intense pressure after missing a second milestone.Fatma’s project appears to be in the
planning phase since she is involved in scheduling work.

Part C

Viktoria is wrapping up her successful project during the Closing phase.Jasper’s project,
on the other hand, has been canceled and he is now looking for work.Fatma’ renovation
project is now in the Executing phase.

2. What are two important things you learned about working on projects from the
case?Why are they important?

This is an open ended question and responses will vary depending upon level of
experience and exposure to project management.

The case involves a number of key project management issues:

Part A

How projects vary in the degree that scope can be defined up front, and how difficult it
can be to define the score of software projects.

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The creation of a global tag team whereby people can be working on the project around
the clock.

The importance of establishing project priorities up front.

Part B

The importance of risk management and utilizing what was learned from previous
projects.

The pressure of working on urgent projects that are behind schedule.

The political side of project management and how people try to influence each other on
projects.

Part C

The risks and rewards of working on projects.

The importance of conducting project retrospective during the Closing phase of the
project.

The sometimes boring nature of the Closing phase

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