Solution Manual & Test Bank for Project Management: The Managerial Process 7th Edition by Erik W. Larson

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Solution Manual & Test Bank for Project Management: The Managerial Process 7th Edition by Erik W. Larson Chapter 1 Modern Project Management Chapter Outline 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 Project Management: The Managerial Process 2 of 9 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. Project Management: The Managerial Process 3 of 9 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. Project Management: The Managerial Process 4 of 9 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. [Show More]

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