PSC 450 Discussion Answers Week 1 – 8
PSC 450 Week 1 Discussion Question 1
In your own words, define organizational strategy. Explain the relationship between a business’s organizational strategy and its projects. Based on your budding understanding of project management, predict which elements of project management are most influenced by the business’s organizational strategy? Provide specific examples.
PSC 450 Week 1 Discussion Question 2
Review two of the project management software tools available via links in the course syllabus. Provide an overview of each software and decide if you will use either of the software for projects throughout the course and why. If you decide to use the software, what challenges, if any, do you foresee with using it? If you have used any of the software before, please share your experience and any tips you may have.
PSC 450 Week 2 Discussion Question 1
Discuss the process your CLC team went through to assess your team’s project proposals, prioritize them, and select the first project to be undertaken by your retail store. What challenges did you have, if any? What worked well? Were you surprised by anything as it relates to the communication among your team in completing the assignment? What are your team plans for completing the work breakdown structure? Which software will you be using and why?
PSC 450 Week 2 Discussion Question 2
How would you go about analyzing an organizational structure in terms of creating a work breakdown structure? What are the major organizational characteristics that you would evaluate? Provide an example to support your response. You may use your CLC assignment and background information as your support.
PSC 450 Week 3 Discussion Question 1
What are the differences between bottom-up and top-down estimating approaches? Determine advantages and disadvantages for using each approach. Under what conditions would you prefer one over the other? Provide a specific example to support your response.
PSC 450 Week 3 Discussion Question 2
Why bother creating a WBS? Why not go straight to a project network and forget the WBS?
PSC 450 Week 4 Discussion Question 1
Explain, in your own words, the relationship between a project network and a project plan. Can a project plan be created without a project network? Why or why not? Provide a specific example and evidence from the readings to support your response.
PSC 450 Week 4 Discussion Question 2
Share a source you will use in writing your resource scheduling methods analysis paper. Provide an APA citation for the source. Provide a brief summary of the source, an evaluation of the merits or reliability of the source, and your personal reaction to the contents of the source such as whether or not you learned anything new regarding project management.
PSC 450 Week 5 Discussion Question 1
The Manchester United Soccer Tournament project team (refer to the Manchester United Soccer club case study in chapter 4 of the text) has identified the following potential risks to their project:
- Referees failing to show up at designated games
- Fighting between teams
- Pivotal error committed by a referee that determines the outcome of a game
- Abusive behavior along the sidelines by parents
- Inadequate parking
- Not enough teams sign up for different age brackets
- Serious injury
PSC 450 Week 5 Discussion Question 2
Consider the following statement: “The essence of project management is risk management.” What does it mean in terms of completing a project successfully? Support your response with evidence from the readings or other materials. Be sure to use APA format for citing your source.
PSC 450 Week 6 Discussion Question 1
Reflect upon the projects completed in your CLC team. Analyze the development of the team in terms of the five-phase model or the punctuated equilibrium model. Choose the model that does the best job of explaining how your team evolved. Provide specific examples from your experience working in your team as to why the model is the best fit for explaining the development of your team.
PSC 450 Week 6 Discussion Question 2
As a project manager, describe your approach to managing conflict within a team. How would you approach resolving a personality conflict within a team?
PSC 450 Week 7 Discussion Question 1
Why is it important for project managers to resist changes to the project baseline? Under what conditions would a project manager make changes to a baseline? When would a project manager not allow changes to a baseline?
PSC 450 Week 7 Discussion Question 2
Describe your approach to tracking a project. What kinds of issues would you focus on if you were a project manager? Why?
PSC 450 Week 8 Discussion Question 1
What challenges may arise if a U.S. project manager moves to a foreign country to manage a project for 5 years? Discuss specific strategies that the U.S. project manager could use to be successful in a situation such as this. Be specific and support your response with evidence from the readings or other materials. Please be sure to use APA format for citing your source(s).
PSC 450 Week 8 Discussion Question 2
Reflect upon your experiences throughout the course. What was the most surprising thing you learned about project management and why? ……………. to use as a current or future project manager?