William F. Slater, III -- Course Work

Class Summary – Week Six

William F. Slater, III

Project Management – CMGT 575

Professor Seth Chaikin, MS

Week of December 4 – December 10, 2003

Posted: December 8, 2003

Reading:

Read all assigned readings and Instructor’s Lecture for week six. Downloaded all class materials including the Class Supplement and study materials. Read the assigned text in the 10 Minute Guide to Project Management.

Supplemental Books and Resources:

Used these references for additional study for class.

Baker, S. and Baker, K. (2000). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management, second edition. Alpha Books: Indianapolis, IN.

Davidson, J. (2000). 10 Minute Guide to Project Management. Alpha Books: Indianapolis, IN.

Heldman, W. (2002). IT Project+ Study Guide. Sybex: San Francisco.

Keogh, J., Shtub, A., Bard, J. F., and Globerson, S. (2000). Project Planning and Implementation. (UoP Edition). Pearson Custom Publishing: Boston.

Lewis, J. P. (2000). The Project Manager’s Desk Reference, 2^nd Edition. McGraw-Hill: Boston.

Mulcahy, R. (2002). PMP Exam Prep. RMC Publications: Minneapolis.

Schwalbe, K. (2002). Information Technology Project Management, second edition. Course Technology: Boston.

Stevenson, N, (2002). MS Project 2002 for Dummies. Wiley Publishing: NY.

Supplemental URLs:

None this week.

Posting to discussions:

Posted responses to discussion questions and commented on some participants’ contributions.

Individual Class Work:

This Summary, the feedback on the projects, and the Article feedback were the big individual assignments this week. After completing this Class Summary, all that remains is the Article Feedback.

Team Work:

Worked closely and feverishly with Team members to complete the project. There was so much to do, and to try to make it look perfect. As I mentioned in my Team Project Critiques posting, I felt good about our project but wish we had had the presence of mind to list the total costs in a table, both in the paper and in the presentation. Nevertheless, it was a good effort, I feel and one in which we each learned a lot, both individually and collectively.

What I Learned in CGMT 575

I learned:

All the areas of project management, why they are each important. how to apply them and

That project planning and scheduling can make or break a project.

That a project can be controlled and managed, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

That the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed Curve in Earned-Value is a fascinating and very accurate way to visually demonstrate where a project is at any given point in time, as far as its tracking to both its schedule and to its budget.

That risk analysis and risk management are crucial parts to the planning and management of any well-run project

That a dedicated person can be successful at project management if they follow the principles laid out in this class.

That project management is something that I learned a great deal about, in several other resources and texts while we were in this class.

That James Lewis and Kathy Schwalbe may be two of the best Project Management authors in the business and that can and did learn a lot from them.

That credentials like having a PMP certification, IT Project+ certification, and even an MS degree are all things that the professional project manager should strive for. (I was inspired enough to attempt the IT Project+ certification while taking this class and it helped my level of understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the class about five-fold).

That the project management is definitely something I could do and be successful at if I work at it and convince my management that I want to try it. (But, I would insist on following the project planning and management techniques I learned in this class if I attempted it.)

I learned a lot more about MS Project and why I still believe that it’s the world’s best project planning tool. (Next class, I would suggest an exercise in getting people to cope with a crisis in their project by saying, “Great! You have a perfect project plan. Save it and then use MS Project to help you trim 25% of the costs of your project, because your budget has now been slashed by 25%. And yes – you have to keep the same target dates.”)

That if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

That having a professional project manager who does this work for a living is 100 times better than having a theoretician, for a teacher. Thank you, Professor Chaikin.

Real World Business and World Environment Application:

I will never forget how much of a positive impact this class made on my understanding and perceptions of project managers and project management. Thank you.

Class Comments:

Thank you fellow Classmates and Professor Chaikin for a great class. I hope the rest of our classes are this much fun and challenging.

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