Friday, May 14, 2010

Week Ten: Weekly Questions


1. Explain the triple constraint and its importance in project management

The triple constraint involves the process of managing the scope, time and cost of a project. These characteristics are ‘constrained’ in a sense as changes to such inputs are inevitable. It is essential to effectively plan such three constraints as “failing to plan is planning to fail”. This is evident as between 30% and 70% of IT projects fail due to late delivery, exceeding budget or not delivering what was agreed upon. The triple constraint is used as a tool to understand whether a project’s objectives are being met and can be represented in a dempster triangle shown below. (http://brianherman.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/triple-constraint.png)

2. Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning

In project planning, gantt and pert charts are commonly used.

3. Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success

To ensure success is achieved, a manager must effectively be able to manage people, ensure effective communication is performed in groups and change is managed effectively.

Managing People - http://www.truesolutions.com/images/People1.jpg

4. Outline 2 reasons why projects fail and 2 reasons why projects succeed

There are various attributes allowing projects to both fail and succeed. Many businesses IT projects fail because firms create unrealistic expectations. For example, a business may wish to perform a project with 10% of the funding which is required. Another reason in which projects fail is because of poor scope. This means that firms may set unrealistic time frames for a project to be completed. However, projects commonly succeed if the project is headed by a good leader and is performed using a good mix of team players who can share their expertise. Additionally, projects succeed in many cases due to good communication which is inevitable in any team work.

Business teamwork: http://www.asisourcing.com/uploads/bigstockphoto_business_teamwork_-_puzzle_pie_1017860.jpg


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