Program Management Standards and Processes

Abstract

The short and long-term objectives of a project should be analyzed before examining possible implications on the resources to be involved for its completion. It is critical to examine the budgetary provision, expected efficiencies for the project, and draft a schedule to meet the project deadline and limit risks during implementation.

This paper seeks to establish project management, process, and roles with a focus on aiding interns understand how to limit risks in a project.

Introduction

Communication planning

One of the most important aspects of effective project management is effective communication. Accordingly, communication planning in different levels of project development forms the core of its ability to be carried out smoothly (Pearce & Robinson, 2013).

A well-planned communication is a two-way mode system with established direct and negative feedback systems to assess the effectiveness of the operations of a project, propositions, and requirements.

In project management, communication is especially critical since management requires getting in touch with a workforce. Lack of proper channels of communication to efficiently bridge departments and workers with top management affects the progress of a project.

Project managers, middle managers, and foremen play a major role in providing the required communication between the top management and workers. A strong hierarchical mode of operation where communication is established highly enhances efficacies in project operations.

Planning is therefore critical for better and effective communication that management should take into consideration at all levels of project development.

Program Cost Budgeting

To effectively complete a project, it is imperative for a project manager to develop a budget that will ensure project costs are met.

It is critical to first identify possible uncertainties that may arise from the lack of a program cost budget. Besides, the short and long-term objectives of the project should further be analyzed before examining possible implications on the resources to be involved for its completion; a consideration leading to costrelated and economic effects risks.

At this point, it would be critical to examine the budgetary provision in establishing uncertainties on its funding. Notably, this step should also incorporate professionalism. Quality Assurance

Due to the sensitive nature of a project, the determination of quality assurance before commencement is crucial (Thiry, 2010). As a result, prior analysis of all quality standards should be examined.

Quality assurance analysis is prudent in decision making. In addition, the mitigation measures to be executed should be established to create the needed emphasis on quality assurance. Besides, availability of resources, monitoring, and assessment is paramount in providing the required quality.

Resource Plan

Effective planning of resource allocation and use is one of the best methods of providing cohesive structures that facilitate easier examination of options.

Resource planning should be effected in the whole project by considering all the possible alternatives and drawing outlines from risks. Thereafter, a resource plan should provide a description of resource details and allocation as well as costs.

Most importantly, costing is done to gauge efficacy. A resource plan, therefore, comprises of resource analysis, cost of choice of resource, its probability, and expected efficiency. Besides the market reaction to the project is important.

Program Schedule and Management

Program based schedule seeks to facilitate effective achievement of the established objectives in project management.

Factors related to the time provided for the project would be a very critical factor in establishing a realistic time frame. By considering the available time, a project program schedule would be seen as a factor of the project as opposed to an external entity. Besides, the schedule should factor in the available resources for the project.

At this point, the cost-effectiveness, risk reduction, and prevention consideration should be intrinsically considered. In addition, an effective management team ought to be put in place to ensure the schedule is adhered to.

Program Scope Planning and Control

Understanding the scope of a program is critical for planning and controlling project activities.

An effective control process is critical as it ensures that a project plan, goal, and expectations are met. It also provides an effective mechanism for addressing different risks. This is crucial as it serves as the main guideline for the whole project.

In project management, program scope planning and control creates a platform for key assessments and possible reduction strategies for risks identified for the project. Besides, it ensures set standards of risk reduction are met and therefore making the key objective of a project possible.

Scope planning as a process ensures all activities and operations of a project are conducted within the established budgetary allocation in minimizing or addressing all the risks in the project (Project Management Institute, 2013).

Program Risk Analysis

To effectively meet the objectives of the project, a project manager should understand and make clear the description of the project. This includes an effective risk identification strategy that covers all areas of the project implementation.

It is imperative to constitute a holistic analysis that can establish a risk occurrence probability. In addition, mitigation or a reduction strategy should be incorporated with a final outline for monitoring risks.

Conclusion

Effective project management incorporates risk management, scope planning, control, and communication. Besides, resource planning and program cost budgeting are important in project decision making and important in facilitating holistic acceptance of project management requirements.

Control-This will help mitigate the risks by early identification and an effective follow-up to facilitate articulation of the established strategies.

References

Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic management: Planning for domestic & global competition (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Project Management Institute (2013). The standard for program management. (3rd ed.). Newtown Square, PA: The Project Management Institute.

Thiry, M. (2010). Program management (fundamentals of project management). Surrey, England: Gower Publishing, Limited.

Project Stakeholder Management and Measures of Success

List and explain ways to measure project success. Why does success need to be monitored during the progression of the project?

The success of a project can be measured through evaluation of stakeholders satisfaction, end user adoption, the governance criteria and the extent to which the project objectives are met. Evaluation of stakeholders satisfaction has to do with asking all the stakeholders whether they are satisfied with the final result of a project. This enables the managers to identify areas of inefficiency and correct them in future projects (Margoluis & Salafsky, 1998).

End-user adoption has to do with ascertaining whether the customers of a project are actually utilizing the results of the project as envisioned in the project document. It helps the project managers to make the necessary changes so as to make the customers fully utilize the results of a project as expected.

Evaluating the governance criteria has to do with reviewing the administration of a project. The managers need to ask critical questions such as whether the project administrator constantly consulted the advisory committee or not, whether the project was adequately reviewed and whether the review process was adequate or inadequate. These questions help the managers to review the governance policy accordingly (Rad & Levin, 2003).

Meeting project objectives have to do with ascertaining whether the project actually achieved what it was intended to achieve. This helps the managers in correcting the project design in future projects for effective achievement of objectives.

The success of a project should be monitored during the life of the project because it enables the project managers to make the necessary changes in the project design so as to increase stakeholder satisfaction.

Why do stakeholders need to be informed throughout the project? What are some effective ways to communicate with stakeholders?

Project stakeholders are the people who are directly or indirectly involved in a project. They include the beneficiaries of the project, the donors, and other partners. All these stakeholders play a critical role in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of a project. For any project to be successful, there is a need to inform the stakeholders about the progress of the project throughout the project cycle (Roeder, 2013).

Before a project is started, stakeholders need to be aware of the rationale behind the project, the potential benefits, the scope of the project, and its side effects. This makes the project acceptable to the stakeholders and also reduces resistance by community members.

During the progress of a project, stakeholders need to be updated on what is achieved at each stage and what is not achieved, and why. This helps them appreciate the outcome even if it is not as envisioned at the start of the project. Failure to inform them may lead to suspicion and resistance especially if the project does not meet the desired objectives. At the end of the project, stakeholders need to be informed of the overall performance of the project as well as the areas of success and failure of the project (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2013).

Some effective ways to communicate with stakeholders include stakeholders meetings or workshops, community meetings, community sensitization, and through group infrastructure.

How do contractual relationships impact project initiation? What are the factors to be considered in a project contract? Why does the project team need to be aware of these contracts before they begin the project?

Contractual relationships are the agreements made between all stakeholders of a project. Most projects are funded by donors through individual organizations. For the donors to get the value of their money, they have to enter into an agreement with the implementing organizations. The contracts act as mitigation measures against misappropriation of funds by the implementing organizations because the contracts are legally binding, meaning that in case of any breach of a contract, legal action can be taken against the party who breaches the contract (Molenaar, 2007).

The factors to consider in a project contract include the targets of the project, the scope, the time frame of a project, and a budget outlining allowed and disallowed costs (Heldman & Mangano, 2009).

The project team needs to be aware of all the contractual agreements before the beginning of a project because the contract affects them directly or indirectly. They also need to know the amount of money allocated for each project activity, the time frame for each activity, and what is expected from each project activity. Having knowledge of the contracts also helps the team members work together towards the achievements of the set goals and objectives (Brown & Hyer, 2010).

Compare the elements involved in project initiation. Are there any elements that are more important than others when looking at the initiation process? Explain your answer.

The elements of project initiation include the availability of funds, permits from the relevant authorities, baseline survey, stakeholders awareness, terms, and conditions of the project, and availability of human resources for project implementation. Availability of funds has to do with whether the implementing organization has the financial resources for the project and if it does not have them, whether it can source them elsewhere. Permits have to do with licenses or authorizations to implement a project. Before a project is initiated, there is a need to seek approval from environmental management authorities and also to have what is referred to as an environmental impact assessment of the project to know the social, psychological, and economic effects of the project on the people. Stakeholder awareness has to do with creating awareness about the project among the targeted beneficiaries while the terms and conditions of the project have to do with the contractual agreement between the stakeholders. Human resources are the people who are directly responsible for implementing the project. They need to have the necessary skills, education, and experience to implement the project (Remington & Pollack, 2007).

There are no elements that are important than others in the initiation of a project because each element plays a crucial role in the success of a project. If the project implementers overlook some elements and emphasize others, the project may not achieve its targeted objectives and therefore, it is important to consider all the elements at equal measure for the project to be successful.

References

Brown, K. A., & Hyer, N. L. (2010). Managing projects: A team-based approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Eskerod, P., & Jepsen, A.L. (2013). Project stakeholder management. Burlington, VT : Gower.

Heldman, K., & Mangano, V. (2009). PMP : project management professional exam review guide. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Pub.

Margoluis, R., & Salafsky, N. (1998). Measures of success: designing, managing, and monitoring conservation and development projects. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Molenaar, K.R. (2007). Alternative project delivery, procurement, and contracting methods for highways. Reston: American Society of Civil Engineers, cop.

Rad, P.F & Levin, G. (2003). Achieving project management success using virtual teams. Boca Raton, Flor: J. Ross.

Remington, K., & Pollack, J. (2007). Tools for complex projects. Burlington, VT: Gower.

Roeder, T.(2013). Managing project stakeholders: building a foundation to achieve project goals. Hoboken: Wiley.

Project Management Need in the Business World

The definition of project management and the importance to the business world

In organizations, capital investments and major developments are implemented through a project; the success of a project depends on how well it has been planned for, implemented, monitored, and controlled. Project management is the process through which projects are initiated, implemented, managed, and controlled for successful project goals and objectives attainment; the process has a time and costs framework that it must meet.

An effective project must undergo a full cycle of project management which are planning, organizing, securing, and managing resource; the cycle is the same in different projects but follows each other in chronological order. According to Pons, 2008, project management is a discipline of planning, organizing, mobilizing, monitoring, and controlling both human and physical resources, to attain a certain corporate goal and objective; project managers assisted with project implementation team have the role of managing a project (Pons, 2008)

Projects utilize organizations resources so they need to be well managed to ensure the results they bring are beneficial, leaders if a project is crucial. Projects require distinct technical skills, expertise, funding, and adoption of a strategic project management approach applicable to the particular project. The following diagram analyses project management stages:

Analyses project management stages

Numerous benefits that a company gets from effective project management, they are:

  • Its manages resources effectively making the final cost of a project fair and cost-effective.
  • Ensures that projects are completed with and within the time and costs allocated.
  • Leads to the attainment of project goals and objectives.

Mobilizes resources and improves motivation among team members and staffs (Pons, 2008)

Project life-cycle management and the benefits of project management to an organization

Effective project management follows a certain cycle, which guarantees the projects success. Projects are temporary engagements that have five main stages they are initiation/project planning, development, enactment/implementing, monitoring, and closing. To complete effectively a project cycle, having attained set objectives and goals of the project, project managers must have developed strategies for effective implementation.

Advantages of a project cycle

When managing a project, it is important to understand at what point to do what, the project cycles offer an answer to this question since it gives the activities that should be undertaken in a certain stage, the following are the main advantages of following a project cycle:

  • It assists in keeping the project on course.
  • It assists in resources allocation.
  • Keeps the project on track and ensures that all minute activities and processes are well implemented (Andersenn& Vaagaasar, 2009).

The concept of planning in the project life cycle and how research and critical thinking is mandatory in planning

At the planning stage, the project manager analyses the problems within the organization that is calling for a project; if the project had been chosen, then the manager has to lay the base on which the project will be laid on. The stage is more of a forecast and laying a plan that will be used in the future to see the project a success; the stage also involves taking an analysis of the current business situation and developing a measure that can be used in making the project a success. Initially, the project manager aims at developing a scope of the project and understanding different dynamics that are likely to affect the project; the following diagram shows the first stages in the planning stage:

The first stages in the planning stage

The following are functions that are involved in a project planning stage:

  • Determining how to plan: this means developing the project start point.
  • developing the scope statement: The coverage of the project and the areas that will be affected are analyzed, there should be proper documentation of the project and how it will affect different areas.
  • selecting the planning team: the team should have the right people in number and experience.
  • identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure: different tools of project management are used.
  • identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence: this involves creating the pathway that will be followed by the project from the start to the end; it involves cost, time, and resources.
  • estimating the resource requirements for the activities: resources should be both human and physical resources.
  • developing the budget and risk planning (Andersenn& Vaagaasar, 2009).

How research and critical thinking is mandatory in planning

Different projects need different preparation styles, they need to be initiated and developed effectively respecting their diversity with others. To manage them effectively, then there is a need for research and critical thinking. Secondly, numerous changes that occur in contemporary project management, to encompass and take their advantages, then a company needs to regularly research and think critically when planning.

Planning itself need to be planned, at this stage the manager analyses the information and the project ahead of him and decides the best approach he wants to use to see to successes. The decision at this stage involves the team members to be involved, services to be outsourced, and sensitization to be done, seeking internal authority and external authority, and establishing an operation base (Huiling & Xin, 2008).

Project organizations and the importance of leadership and sponsorship

Planning a project gives the project managers a written document of the process that should be followed for the effective completion of a project. The time and cost of the project are also important in the attainment of project goals and organization. Leaders are involved right from deciding that the project will be initiated until the final stage of the project; their main role is to guide and manage the project in the right direction, they undertake this task via decision-making.

The success of a leader has the role of seeing the project to success; the definition of project management involves mobilization, planning, managing, organizing, and controlling resources within an organization; these are the tasks of leaders in the project thus the need for proper leadership is an integral part in the success of a project.

Sponsorship of a project comes in two folds, support of the top management and team members and resources sponsorship, resources are needed for the success of the project, and support from all corners is also important.

Project team building, including techniques of successful team building

In managing a project, an organization needs to be dedicated and goal-oriented human resources, they need people who can support the project in different aspects for the good of the organization. An orchestrate team is developed when people with diverse knowledge, experiences, and profession. When developing a project management team, the following is the main stages:

  • Determine the need that the project has as far as employees are concerned.
  • Interpolate the rate at which internal staffs can meet the needs of the project, if the internal staffs cannot meet the project expectations, then management should consider outsourcing for some staffs.
  • With the right number in quality and quantity, the next step is to train, mentor, and coach the employees on the needs of the projects.
  • The final stage in developing a successful team is motivating them through policies like delegation and involvement in decision-making.

Creation of a work breakdown structure, and how a project manager breaks down the overall project into packages

When managing projects, some processes need to take place before others, some need to be taken simultaneously, some can be delayed and others are predecessors of others; to have a framework of the project, work breakdown structures are important. When making the work breakdown structures, managers have to analyze the different processes and procedures to be undertaken in the process, then allocate resources and time for the particular process. The structure should have a flow that stretches from initialization to the start about the stage need to be done and when.

After coming up with the structure, managers should determine the critical path and the way that resources will be allocated. An effective structure ensures that the project is completed with and within the estimated period of work. Project leaders are mandated with the task of ensuring that a project is run effectively and is completed within the set period. When making objectives of a project, managers should ensure that they not only have the goals and objectives set but should be pioneers of policies to see their attainment. In case management fails to fulfill its leadership role, then the project is likely to fail. Interlink and collaboration of several micro-projects call for the integration of management and their skills so as micro-project leaders can enjoy intellectualism from the other.

When coming up with a project worksheet, emphasis should be on how different programs and stags interlink with each other (Anderson, 2010).

The need for project management software in large integrated programs and the benefits to the overall project management organization

project management software are used as the tools of guiding and managing of the project; large and small projects cannot be evaluated using a similar level of software and technology; management should ensure they have attained the most current yet the less expensive and most effective computer software. Project management software offers an effective management tool when the right technology has been used but when they have been misused, they can lead to failure and misguiding to an entire project.

The benefits of project management software in project management are:

  • they give a framework of the pathway that the project should follow and traces the project back in case of deviation.
  • Cost and benefits measurement, Progress reporting, and communication of key project data.
  • Resource and capacity planning.
  • Cost and benefits tracking (Andersenn& Vaagaasar, 2009).

References

Anderson, B. (2010). Project Leadership and The Art Of Managing Relationship. Project management, 64(3), 58.

Andersen, E. S., & Vaagaasar, A. (2009). Project management improvement effortscreating project management value by uniqueness or mainstream thinking?. Project Management Journal, 40(1), 19-27.

Pons, D. (2008). Project management for new product development. Project Management Journal, 39(2), 82-97.

Aspects of Project Management

Introduction

There are many definitions of project management, when using the word project today, users most often do not have a clear idea of the models, methods, tools and technologies of project management. It is believed that the project is a very simple way to prepare and implement ideas and plans, as long as there is money. But as soon as the money appears, unprofessionalism leads to significant delays in project time and cost overruns. As a result, the project becomes unprofitable even if the idea is super profitable.

The Meaning of the Project Management

It is important to understand that project management is first and foremost a professional activity with its own specific features and goals, and supported by scientific knowledge and tools. Application of project management methodology enables to clearly define goals and project results, give them quantitative characteristics, time, cost and quality parameters of the project, create a clear project plan, identify, assess risks and prevent possible negative consequences during project implementation (Bodea & Torres-Lima & Cuevas, 2020). To date, project management methodology has proven its right to be one of the most effective ways of successful project implementation. Project management is a synthetic discipline that combines both specialized and professional knowledge (Bodea & Torres-Lima & Cuevas, 2020). Special knowledge reflects the peculiarities of the field of activity to which the projects belong. However, project management became a truly independent discipline due to the knowledge gained from the study of general patterns inherent in projects in all areas of activity. Modern project management methods have their roots in the 1950s.

It is important to point out that several effective theories have already been developed for project management. One of them is Webers theory, mainly focused on the bureaucratic area of project management. The essence of this alternative is to take into account and control all financial and scientific components of the project, thus avoiding complications of such projects. Another alternative can be called the administrative theory, which includes management by specialties. In other words, this theory uses imperative methods of influencing each of the elements of the project, combining them into a single mechanism. It is noteworthy that the example below used exactly this theory, but there were a large number of errors.

Issues of National Health Service Project

On the example of the IT project of the National Health Service it is necessary to analyze the need for professional project management and the consequences to which a negligent attitude can lead. The essence of this case study is that the idea of optimizing the medical system through the introduction of computers and electronic databases was extremely promising, but ended up failing. The main problem was that the project was expensive and extremely costly, but it should be noted that this final problem consists of several mistakes and is cumulative. The fact that ineffective and incompetent management of the IT project was the basis of the fiasco, because the cost of all the expenses turned out to be almost half as much as originally indicated (NHS IT system one of worst fiascos ever, say MPs, 2013). From this follows the first error, namely unsuccessful or unprofessional calculations of costs, values and additional costs. This is at variance with the theory of project management, since one of the principles of this theory is the realization of a limited amount of resources, in this case, financial. Consequently, a weak point is the accounting activity and the evaluation of opportunities.

The second problem is the multiplicity of contracts, which means that there is a large number of them and they are not coordinated with each other. The situation is aggravated by the absence of conditions safeguarding a potential project. This means additional agreements on costs, contingencies, and resource control. The theory of project management notes that the characteristics of any project is the inevitability of conflicts and the potential for failure, which must be agreed in advance. As can be seen from the case, this work was not done, so the initiators did not even have the opportunity to cancel or close the project without major losses for the economy and investors.

The next, and most important problem of this project is the neglect of certain costs and potential expenses, for example, as a result of contracting with Lorenzo or Fujitsu (NHS IT system one of worst fiascos ever, say MPs, 2013). It indicates complete incompetence and unprofessionalism of responsible persons, whose mistakes led to incorrect calculations, and the high cost of the project or individual contracts was not noticed in time. According to the theory of project management, internal and external interrelationships of operations, tasks and resources, require coordination during project implementation. However, the activities of management and separate areas of the project, such as legal and accounting, were fragmented. All of the above problems combined to cause the collapse of the medical system optimization, which turned out to be not only a failure, but also caused a huge loss.

Critical Analysis

Project management methodology is completely different from the purely technical methodology that is often associated with most projects. In real life, there are many aspects of a project that lie outside the boundaries of technical areas and that need to be organized with the utmost care and attention (Piraquive et al., 2020). That is, in order to achieve project objectives with optimal use of resources and maximum satisfaction of project participants, such non-technical aspects of projects must be well managed, and this largely depends on the competence of project managers and project management teams.

In a competitive market environment, IT project should be treated as an independent investment project, that is, as a way to invest funds in qualitative improvement of company management. IT project in an organization should be considered as part of a large system, because the changes caused by the implementation of an IT project affect all business processes of the company, as well as its organizational structure (Piraquive et al., 2020). In the implementation of any IT project, the objectives should be fixed and considered several times in all possible aspects, also highlighting all the characteristics of each sub-objective. This is explained by the fact that the sequential implementation of each of the objectives should be paired with an analysis of their implementation. This is one of the most important features of such orders.

In addition, a measurable goal is necessary to avoid subjectivity in assessing whether the project is fully implemented or not, and if implemented, to what extent. If treat an IT project as an investment project, this position itself implies a profit from the project after a certain period of time (Silva et al., 2019). Therefore, at the very beginning of the project, it is necessary to use a well-known method of determining the effectiveness. This implies the allocation of some well-known indicators, and the construction of appropriate models, discounting cash flows for the periods of calculation (Fernez-Walch, 2018). Allocation of these parameters and their evaluation in a specific IT-project is certainly an obligatory and difficult task that requires a separate consideration. The peculiarity of IT projects is the fact that their effectiveness is not always expressed in money (Fernez-Walch, 2018). Time as a parameter of project efficiency also has the right to exist. For example, a reduction in time to perform some operation as a result of an IT project is a very good effect. The problem is how to define the goals of the project to highlight the time parameter as an efficiency.

Based on the above theory, in order to solve the problems of the medical system optimization project, several steps had to be taken. First, the planning stage should be much deeper, anticipating all possible developments of circumstances. In order to increase the efficiency of planning, it is necessary to hire specialists in this field. In the area of contracts and cost and resource control, the Six Sigma system would be a simple, yet very effective solution.

Project Managers Report

The essence of project management methodology is that the responsibility for project execution and achievement of project results lies with a specific individual or a limited group of individuals. An information system by itself does not increase the profitability of an enterprise. It can only increase efficiency and speed up data processing. What improves profitability is managements ability to make effective decisions based on that information. The customer is the main stakeholder of an IT project. In an organization where this factor is absent, the project is doomed to failure and a professional project manager will never undertake such a project.

It is necessary to understand exactly what role the project manager plays in the entire system. First of all, it is a responsible person who has a number of professional qualities, among which can be distinguished leadership and the ability to select personnel. Such actions do not have complete freedom, but are focused on the criteria, which are predominantly set before the project by the customer. This all explains the necessity of appointing a handler in the shortest possible time, and at the beginning of the project. The project manager is usually appointed by the client. The art of managing and coordinating human resources in a project is accomplished by the manager by applying administrative and behavioral knowledge to achieve certain project goals in content, cost, time, quality, and satisfaction of project participants (Silva et al., 2019). The project manager is a key figure in the project team. All the professional skills of such a person, including charisma and the ability to work with conflicts, predetermine how each task will be carried out and the overall success of the whole project.

It is necessary to analyze the varieties of managers reports and the peculiarity of each of them. A project status report is necessary precisely to communicate the status of the project. It should be detailed enough to allow one to assess the health of the project, but not too detailed, so that the readers of this report do not fall asleep over it from a lot of unnecessary details. A risk register, or, in a more compact form, Project Risk Overview is another vital report that will be needed for design (Clegg, Skyttermoen, and Vaagaasar, 2020). The Risk Register contains the results of risk identification, risk analysis data, and response plans for the most significant risks. The Project Risk Overview can be included in the Project Status Report as one of the key metrics. For example, you can specify the total number of still existing risks and classify them by the degree of negative impact on the project. This will give the recipient of the report a clear picture of the overall risk status of the project.

Finally, the third type of register of urgent issues. This tells one how to handle incoming risks, as well as with contingencies and issues that need to be dealt with urgently. For example, there may be a risk of a key employee leaving the team. After he has moved on to another job, the manager has to address the urgent issue of replacing him. In this case, management has to make a choice between hiring a new employee or reinforcing the team with another project, and then it is possible to plan its next steps (Clegg, Skyttermoen, and Vaagaasar, 2020). The register of urgent issues should show what actions are actively being taken on each of these issues, as well as the priorities of these issues in terms of the scale of impact on the project. Priorities can range from minor to critical and serve as a guide to what needs to be done first and what needs to be done second to keep the project within the given limits.

To maximize the effectiveness of the managers reports, it is recommended to use a work structure that stands out as a matrix structure. The fact is that such an approach combines both functionality, which is responsible for speed and coherence, and design, which is responsible for ideology and implementation. Three varieties of project matrix structure can be distinguished: weak matrix, when the project coordinator is responsible for coordination of project works, but has limited power over resources; balanced matrix, when the project manager coordinates all works and shares responsibility for achieving the goal with heads of functional departments; rigid matrix, when the project manager has maximum power, but also has full responsibility for achieving project goals.

The most important part of project management, which the project manager influences, is dealing with risk. Risks are caused by the uncertainties that exist in each project. Risks can be known  those that are identified, assessed, for which it is possible to plan. Unknown risks  those that are not identified and cannot be predicted (Silva et al., 2019). Although specific risks and their conditions are not identified, project managers know, based on past experience, that most risks are foreseeable. Implementing projects with a high degree of uncertainty in such elements as goals and technologies to achieve them, many companies pay attention to the development and application of corporate risk management methods. These methods take into account both the specifics of projects and corporate management methods.

Project managers must have many leadership qualities in order to improve team effectiveness. This matters in any field of work. It is necessary to analyze those qualities of project managers that require close attention. Few decisions are as important as hiring decisions. The need to get the job right for each person is obvious, but it is a daunting task. Next, the ability to avoid hostility among stakeholders is a prerequisite for success. The project manager must convince all stakeholders that the decisions made and priorities set are correct, and prove that the achievements are in line with the goals set. In practice, persuasion requires lengthy negotiations and not always simple compromises.

The Importance of the Project Managers Report

Finally, it is necessary to understand why management reporting and activity is important for project implementation. Despite the fact that any large project has many areas and responsible persons, it is the manager who is able to have the most complete information about what is happening. Awareness and control of all activities conducted on an order, a manager, guided by his own experience, in time to see any potential changes in the plans (Silva et al., 2019). Timely reporting by such a specialist makes it possible to avoid major and dangerous risks, as well as in advance, in a safe period of time, warns of innovations in the plans.

If one considers this factor in terms of theories, namely administrative and Weber, the importance of the managers report becomes more obvious. The fact is that, for example, if the administrative theory is taken as a basis, which was used in the example discussed above, such a report contributes to the control and timely introduction of changes in each area. As a result, this would not lead to negative consequences of improper management. In Webers theory, such a report would have helped to prevent or prevent unnecessary financial costs even earlier. This is precisely the specialization of this theory, which would have been almost as effective as the Six Sigma system.

In other words, such activities increase the chances of successful and successful implementation of the project. The basic idea of project management  concentration of responsibility for the whole project on a particular person  the project manager  is important and effective for the management culture in general. The sooner the top management realizes the necessity and advantages of this idea and project management methodology in their activities, the sooner the effect from its application will appear, consequently, the competitiveness of enterprises in the market will increase. On the example of IT project on optimization of medical system, it can be seen that timely and professional reporting on the activities associated with the project contributes to the elimination or control of risks (Silva et al., 2019). The absence of such an element as management can ensure failure, which will affect both the contractors performance and the position of each party, who will incur huge losses.

The point of describing the risks of implementing IT projects is to identify these risks in advance and carry out a set of preventive measures, rather than obtain intractable problems during project implementation. The main activities aimed at avoiding these risk situations in IT projects are:

  • Mandatory documentation of project goals, as well as all changes in project documentation that occur during project implementation.
  • Increasing the motivation of rank-and-file employees by means of financial incentives.
  • Attracting third-party qualified specialists.
  • Training team members and top management in project management methodology.

Reference List

Bodea, C. N., Torres-Lima, P., and Cuevas, R. (Ed.). (2020). Research on Project, Programme and Portfolio Management. Integrating Sustainability into Project Management. New York: Springer International Publishing.

Clegg, S. R., Skyttermoen, T., and Vaagaasar, A. L. (2020). Project Management: A Value Creation Approach. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Fernez-Walch, S. (2018). The Multiple Facets of Innovation Project Management. New Jersey: Wiley.

NHS IT system one of worst fiascos ever, say MPs (2013).

Piraquive, F. N. D., Diez-Silva, M., Monsalve. N. A. M., and Uribe, R. I. P. (Ed). (2020). Handbook of Research on Project Management Strategies and Tools for Organizational Success. Hershey: IGI Global.

Silva, A. M., Ribeiro, F., Jamil, G. L., and Lopes, S. M. (Ed.). (2019). Handbook of Research on Emerging Technologies for Effective Project Management. Hershey: IGI Global.

Project Management: Examples and Types of Closure

Managing various issues is natural for most people, there are several aspects of our lives that we are in full control of. In other words, learning the skills necessary for project management is possible in most scenarios. I was introduced to the concept of project management as I was assigned the task of completing an academic course. Although the task in question did not require any major efforts in terms of building a team spirit and learning to work in a team, it still provided a plethora of information on how to become a project manager and how to attain the required skills.

The course mentioned earlier can be considered a rather solid project, as it embraced a variety of topics and served as a decent platform for developing management skills, as well as training them successfully. The course in question was completed in the allotted time, but the existing resources to efficient use, and was closed accordingly. The participants, therefore, managed to not only learn new information but also remember it to use it in the future (Heagney, 2014).

As far as the essential elements of the project closure are concerned, the documentalization part was the most challenging task in finishing the specified project. Since some of the project members defaulted on their records of the key stages of the project completion, some of the elements containing bits of essential information on the key transactions had been omitted before the completion of the project. The process of tracking down the key data for further analysis and the future prognoses, therefore, could be deemed as complicated (Keizner, 2014).

Besides, the reassignment of human resources can be viewed as a very difficult stage of project completion. Seeing that the very process of assigning people with roles and responsibilities is complicated enough due to the need to establish a rigid set of quality standards and values, any rapid changes to the team hierarchy and the reassignment of these roles and responsibilities is fraught with major consequences, such as internal conflicts and drops in performance rates (Laufer, 2012).

Furthermore, the issue of project analysis deserves to be brought up. As it has been stressed above, identifying the project outcomes is, perhaps, the most challenging task. Therefore, creating the premises for the final closure stage presupposes that no aspects of the project in question should be left loose or unresolved.

Last, but not least, the process known as the rearrangement of the team structure must occur. As it has been stressed above, the relocation of human resources is crucial to the outcomes of a project; however, providing the specified resources with very basic and clear instructions on what their further objectives are is also a crucial step towards making the project a success.

Goods transfer can be deemed as another crucial part of the project closure. In contrast to the above-mentioned stages, the specified one can be considered very basic and does not require any significant efforts apart from locating the fastest, the safest, and the most efficient modes of transportation for the products. Following these stages, one will be capable of completing any project within a comparatively short amount of time. Moreover, compliance with the principles heralded in the rules mentioned above will help increase customer satisfaction rates.

Reference List

Heagney, J. (2014). Fundamentals of project management. Netherlands: AVACOM.

Keizner, H. R. (2014). Project management  best practices: Achieving global excellence. New York City, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Laufer, A. (2012). Mastering the leadership role in project management: Practices that deliver remarkable results. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press.

IT Compliance Management Program Development

Being the Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) of the organization, I realize that I have the responsibility of directing staff during their daily activities to ensure that assets in the organization are well protected. However, directing members of staff on matters related to Information Technology count on multidisciplinary and rationalized operations (Ann-Louise, Franc, Werner, Scott, Carsten, Frank & Rudy, 2010).

The basic and most significant regulation is to ensure there is data accountability in every department involved in data handling. These would include measures to facilitating data security and privacy. I can implement strategies such as recording and storing information in non-erasable and non-writable mass storage devices for safekeeping. Additionally, I would ensure that data is constantly checked to determine whether it is correct and up to date.

With the threats of sabotaging communication, banks and other communal facilities impose heavy penalties that can encourage members of staff to follow recommend compliance tools in my organization. I would abide by the rules set to avoid serious consequences in other organizations. For instance, individuals with allegations such as stealing identities, civil damages, and harassment may sue the organization. Therefore, this would help to reduce scandals that may involve accounting departments.

In conclusion, I would advocate for Sarbanes-Oxley Act as my organizations compliance tool since it is the best in providing set rules and regulations that are observed by those in charge of every department (EMA, 2011). It regulates those in the accounting department to ensure they constantly update a record on non-erasable or rewritable storage devices. Moreover, this can help to ensure that recording of communication data not only involves communication electronic communication, but also other forms of communication like e-mails, messaging, or even phone calls.

References

Ann-Louise B., Franc C., Werner F., Scott H., Carsten L., Frank M., & Rudy T. (2010). IT Security Compliance Management Design Guide. In Axel B., Jose A., David D., Carsten L., Muehlenbroc & Rudy, T. (Eds), IBM corporation. New York: Redbook publishers.

EMA. (2011). IT Business Management Comes of Age: An Enterprise Management Associates. White Paper. Web.

Estimation Games in Project Management

The controversy regarding estimations is quite notorious in the contemporary business world, yet it is practically unavoidable as long as companies are willing to give their employees credit as intelligent people. As an article by Thomsett (2013) explains, In the past, the inaccurate estimates of I.T. people were seen more as a reflection of the newness of the industry and, as documented, a result of the power relationships between business clients and their I.T. service providers (Thomsett, 2013, par. 2).

The author suggests a variety of options for managing the situation, from finding common ground to a downright refusal to provide any estimations to the employees. Since the scale of the conflict of interests in question depends on the unique characteristics of the organization that it takes place, a flexible approach should be adopted to solve it, as my experience has shown.

Working as a project manager in the Company X, I had to face the issues described by Thomsett quite often. Particularly, I was especially familiar with the instance, in which the members of the project tried doubling the amount of resources that they needed, from time limitations to the financial ones.

However, the participants of the project never considered an option of adding 20%-40% to the amount that they asked for, which inevitably resulted in the project completion being delayed. Therefore, as a project manager, I learned that additional 20-40% have to be added to the amount that the staff agrees to. The staff avoided using any complicated tools to increase the value of their performance, though. This detail pointed to the fact that the satisfaction rates among the staff were quite high (Gray & Larson, 2014a).

Reference List

Gray, E. W., & Larson, C. F. (2014a). Chapter 5. Estimating times and costs. In Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.) (pp. 126155). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.

Gray, E. W., & Larson, C. F. (2014b). Chapter 7. Managing risk. In Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.) (pp. 210251). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.

Thomsett, R. (2013). Estimation games. Web.

Research Project Management in Theory and Practice

Introduction

In the past decade, an increasingly higher number of organizations and project managers have begun to acknowledge the role played by project management. Most of the organizations undertakings are now categorized as projects. To better understand project management is important to differentiate between a project and project management. Project management can be defined as the process of controlling the achievement of the project objectives (Munns & Bjermi 1996, p.81).

Through the use of organizational structures and available resources, project management is carried out with a view to aiding in managing projects through the use of different techniques and tools. In most cases, project management is executed while undertaking technological discoveries, inventions, new product development, or while carrying out extensive construction projects like construction of airports or roads. On the other hand, a project can be defined as the realization of a certain achievement or objective through a series of tasks and activities within a given timeframe, using resources like money and human resource (Munns and Bjermi 1996).

Moreover, a project has to be completed within a specified timeframe meaning, that it has a definite starting and ending date. Projects are usually unique in their design as they are carried out separately from other business activities. In addition, a project has a defined scope and it is controlled depending on its size, requirements, and goals. More importantly, the objectives of a project are defined in terms of quality, cost, and the specified timeframe. According to Heldman (2011), project management is headed by a project manager who makes sure that a project is achieved.

Importance of project management

In general, project management as described by Munns and Bejemi (1996), defines the requirements of a project, establishes the extent of work being undertaken, allocates the required resources, plans the execution of a project, monitors project progress, and adjusts any deviations from the set timeframe. The implication made is that project management oversees the design, planning, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of projects.

Based on the definition of a project as aforementioned, project management is a process carried out from the start of a project until the project is completed and has been evaluated. Planning and control of a project rely heavily on the process of project management. Usually, project management is concerned with the timely completion of a project within the set budget and using the allocated resources (Barnes n.d; DyReyes 2008).

According to Wessels (2007), one of the main reasons why project management is carried out by organizations is to make sure that the set specific goal of an organization is realized, using the allocated resources, time, and finances. For instance, in the case of an organization that is undertaking a project that involves developing new software, project management is used to ensure that the specific objective is realized as planned.

Moreover, the scope of achieving that specific strategic objective is set before the project starts and applied until the project is finished. Through the use of project management, the tasks of the project being undertaken are broken down into different phases that align with the definite organizational goal. Upon the completion of a certain task, evaluation is carried to cross-check whether the project aligns with the set strategic objective. Additionally, control and monitoring are carried out to ensure a project does not deviate from the set goals and objectives, and that it is checked and controlled (Gido & Clements 2009).

Based on the project management theory, project management is carried by organizations to plan, control, and schedule a project (Ernø-Kjølhede 2000). Project managers use organizational structures and both financial and human resources to ensure that a project is completed in a timely manner. As acknowledged by Munns and Bejemi (1996), project management defines the activities to be carried, the players involved in the project, the duration, and the standards under which the project should be carried.

This has been supported by Mohammadjafari, Ahmed, Md Dawal, and Zayandehroodi (2011) who add that project management is being carried currently by organizations to ensure that resources and well utilized as planned. Furthermore, with the need to satisfy different stakeholders, project managers have come to realize that project management is an important undertaking that is a must. Furthermore, project management act as the bottom line performance objective of ensuring project cost management (Pokharek, Yeo & Wang (2010).

The implication made is that project management is carried to ensure that project costs and project schedules are carried to control the project via value management. Some projects such as megaprojects can take even ten years or more hence the need for project management to ensure accountability. In addition, project uncertainties like turnover may lead to resource constraints which may lead to poor allocation of available resources (Pokharek et al. 2010). To ensure that issues related to resource allocation do not recur, project managers apply the project management process.

According to Pokharek et al. (2010), complex manufacturing and high-tech operations share a common aspect of innovation management. In addition, the need to be able to generate new as well as competitive products that meet the demand of modern markets has become a continuous process. As a result, strategic project management is proposed to deal with the overlapping project tasks which may be demanding and confusing if carried without caution. To achieve market demand through the development of new competitive products, project management is applied as it aligns with a technological roadmap, functional roadmap, and corporate strategy.

Case Application

One of the companies that have successfully implemented the concept of project management in its operations is Hewlett-Packard (HP). According to PMI (2011), the company which operates a portfolio of projects in over 170 countries leaves no room for errors. As a technology giant, HP operates and manages large-scale projects which are part of the organizations core business undertaking. As a result, the company relies heavily on project management to generate highly competitive products (PMI, 2011).

The companys executives acknowledge that the organization has been using project management processes that are aligned with its corporate strategy, its functionality roadmap, and strategic objectives. This is because an estimated 90 percent of IT-related projects are always delivered late and with an increase in the allocated budget. To avoid this, HP Inc uses project management as a way of proving real-time visibility on its portfolio projects.

In addition, HP Inc has been able to develop a comprehensive education and employee training program which aligns the portfolio with the project management business needs of HP employees in all business units worldwide (PMI, 2011, p.1). The company also uses the accepted project management practices as detailed in the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) which is a global standard used in project management (PMI, 2011).

An exemplary use of project management in HP Inc was carried out in 2002 during its merger with Compaq Computer Corporation (Murphy, n.d). The project of $18.5 billion forced the company to integrate over 60,000 Compaq workers into more than 90,000 HP employees in over 160 countries. Project management was applied to develop new products, new systems, and transfer physical facilities (Murphy, n.d). To work under the allocated budget, the company had to apply project management.

Conclusion

In summary, project management involves planning, control, monitoring, and evaluation of projects. In modern organizations, project management plays an integral part in the organization by ensuring that organizational strategic goals are realized. In addition, project management ensures that the set project goals have been aligned with the market demand as well as competition in the market. It also ensures that proper tools, time, resources, and finances are applied well in order to realize the set goal. As such, project management prevents an organization from failing to realize its set organizational goals and strategic objectives.

Project managers control project uncertainties such as an increase in costs and resource constraints through project management. Strategic project management is used by organizations to produce competitive products and work on project tasks that are usually overlapping. As a result of competition and an increase in demand for accountability for resources allocated and finances, many organizations have resulted in the adoption of project management to realize organizational strategic objectives. Evaluation of a project is carried after every phase to cross-check whether the project aligns with the set strategic objective.

Control and monitoring of projects make sure that projects do not deviate from the set goals, finances, allocated resources, and set time frame. HP Inc has been using project management to eliminate errors, increase the budget, and increase the time frame. To achieve this, the company has designed a comprehensive education and employee training program offered to its employees. The program is aligned with the project portfolio and project management as well as adopting project standards and practices found in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) to ensure that costs are reduced and projects realized.

Project turnover; causes and effects on project performance

In their article, Project turnover; causes and effects on project performance, Parker and Skitmore (2005) report that changes in management personnel within organizations (also referred to as succession, turnover, or displacement) have a huge negative impact on the performance of an organization. In the paper, Parker and Skitmore (2005) have utilized a web-based survey methodology so as to gather data on how turnover affects the implementation of project management in an organization and by extension, the performance of such an organization. According to the main findings of this research, turnover mainly occurs when a project has reached the implementation stage.

Through this research, the authors report that the high rate of turnover at organizations is mainly due to a growing need among employees to develop their careers. In addition, the authors also report that the turnover could also come about as a result of dissatisfaction with project management roles and organizational culture.

The authors have succeeded in confirming that indeed, turnover not only disrupts team performance but also has a negative effect on it as well. However, the paper has failed to provide research questions that it seeks to answer.

In addition, the author has not provided a research design that was used to execute this research. On the other hand, the research findings of the survey have been presented well. Moreover, the authors have also compared and contrasted their findings with other related studies, and this has given way to a concrete conclusion of the study. On the other hand, the paper has not provided any limitations faced by the researchers while carrying out the survey, or indeed the recommendations for future studies based on the findings and shortcomings of the study.

The popularity of project management

Sheligram, Khim-Tech, and Tai-Yue (2006) report on the increased popularity of project management in the board. In their article, the authors sought to explore the value attached to the concept of project management in manufacturing and high-tech operations. The authors have also reported that senior executives are slowly realizing that project management is actually a valuable tool that can be harnessed to enable an organization to attain rapid convergence of enterprise performance and project development.

In this article, the authors report on the benefits of implementing project management in manufacturing and high-tech operations in the context of the Asian market. In addition, the article has also succeeded in adequately defining the themes of the study areas of the project management process as human resource, cost, system integration, and time, among others.

Besides, the paper has recognized the importance of human talents in the successful implementation of project management. Indeed, the authors have acknowledged the importance of value creation in as far as the concept of project management is concerned, and the ensuing benefits for both the organization and the customers as organizations are able to manufacture quality products in a timely manner.

The authors of this paper should have endeavored to contrast their findings on the value attached to project management in the manufacturing and high-tech operations in Asia with other parts of the world as well. Nevertheless, the authors have used concise and easy to understand the language in writing this paper. Also, the arguments of the authors have been articulated well, and they have also consulted widely from other secondary sources.

Reference List

Barnes, M. (n.d). What is project management? Web.

DyReyes, J. (2008). Strategic Project Management: aligning strategic business objectives with project management strategy. Web.

Ernø-Kjølhede, E. (2000). Project management theory and the management of research projects. MPP Working Paper No. 3/. Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Gido, J & Clements, J. P. (2009). Successful project management. Mason: South Western Cengage Learning.

Heldman, K. (2011). PMP project management professional exam: Study guide. Indianapolis: Wiley.

Mohammadjafari, M, Ahmed, S, Md Dawal, S, W & Zayandehroodi, H. (2011). The importance of project management in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the development of new products through E-collaboration. African Journal of Business Management, 5(30), 11844-11855.

Munns, A, K & Bjermi, B, F. (1996). The role of project management in achieving project success, International Journal of Project Management, 14(2), 81-87.

Murphy, P. B. (n.d). Project management in logistics a proven process for success: Project management. Web.

Parker, S. K., Skitmore, M. (2005). Project management turnover: Causes and effects on project performance. International Journal of Project Management, 23, 205-214.

PMI (2011). Case study: Taking project management learning to a higher level. Web.

Pokharel, S., Yeo, K., & Wang, T. (2006). Value of project management in high-tech and manufacturing operations. Journal of The Chinese Institute of Industrial Engineers, 23(6), 443-448.

Wessels, D, J. (2007). The strategic role of project management, PM World Today, IV (II), 1-10.

Security Management Issues: Personal and Property Security

Introduction

Personal and property security are an indispensable aspect of human life. There is a need for people to ensure they keep their property and personal information confidential. Secured property and personal privacy ensure no unauthorized access or use of applicable information and assets as well as protection against theft, damage, manipulation, and publicity of private information for malicious reasons (Drahos and Mayne 2002).

However, as the world continues to develop, insecurity becomes a serious threat to human survival. Illegal access to private property and personal information is increasingly becoming a common practice. This subjects the victims to fear of damage to property and leakage of private data to an unauthorized audience. This essay is seeking to explore security issues in two cases.

Case 1

The relationship between Larry and Steven can be considered as common. Moreover, their relationship is facing a significant threat due to the presence of the opportunity of developing a detection system. Larrys talent and hard work enable him to invent ways of detecting intrusion in private data. However, he cannot create this program and seeks the assistance of his friend Steven. On the other hand, he has concerns that Steven could include himself in developing this idea. This factor puts their relationship at a risk as well as their common business.

Larry has to ensure that before asking Steven to help him develop this program, he must register it as intellectual property. This means that he will have the right of ownership and authoring this program (Maskus 2000). This will give him automatic legal rights to claim ownership of the program. Besides, this will enable Larry to have copyright protection should Steven try making counterfeit programs or excluding him from this project. Therefore, Larry will have no objection but to involve Steven in developing this program.

The ethical aspects, in this case, cover trust and honesty in their relationship. Larrys sharing his information with Steven who knows well how beneficial the program will be to him means that he trusts Steven. In his turn, Steven should reciprocate Larrys trust and not disappoint him. Larry seems to be an intelligent programmer and the chances of developing such and other programs in the future are in the offing. Steven should not be lured to excluding Larry from this project since he may need him in the future. Steven should know that the differences in their abilities must be used to advance their skills, knowledge, and expertise to make them get world recognition and money.

Case 2

No doubt, computers are the greatest invention developed by human beings. They have enabled people to learn, exchange information, transfer funds, and exchange confidential messages for decades (Pfleeger and Pfleeger 2007). However, there is an increasing concern over their safety due to the high number of cybercrimes.

Computer wizards can retrieve, tap, and get connected to private sites, communications, and messages (Jaishanka 2011). The ability of computers to offer predictive search and links makes them the greatest threats to information safety. Most encryptions are digital and thus generated by computers. This means they are prone to cracks and intrusions by people who know how to use them. There is access by unauthorized parties resulting in the leakage of confidential information to the public (Taylor and Fritsch 2010). This also leads to the loss of property through hacked credit cards and online bank accounts.

Cryptography is the use of coded words and digits to ensure legal access to information including internet sites, bank accounts, and other private accounts. People obtain computer-generated codes to use to access their accounts. These codes ensure that no one can access an account without their passwords (Holt 2010). These passwords usually involve encoded words or digits that must be properly decoded to allow access to any information.

There are several policies involving the use of cryptography for digital safety. The most salient of them is privacy. The codes given to an individual should be kept in secret places. A person will be responsible for his or her liabilities if there is negligence while handling the security codes that allow third parties to access them (Brenner 2010). In some cases, the public has codes to access an institution or some other establishment. In this case, the individual has the responsibility of taking care of the codes against access by third parties. However, some criminal actions require suspects and criminals to declare their codes to authorities to track their information.

Conclusion

The world is increasingly becoming modernized due to the use of computers on many occasions. However, despite the ever-increasing attempts to offer digital safety by many organizations, individuals have an obligation of ensuring they keep their personal and institutional information safe. The best secure way of keeping private information confidential is to make sure it is out of reach by third parties.

References

Brenner, S. (2010). Cybercrime: Criminal Threats from Cyberspace (Crime, Media, and Popular Culture). California: Praeger Press.

Drahos, P.,& Mayne, R. (2002). Global Intellectual Property Rights: Knowledge, Access and Development. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Holt, T. (2010). Crime Online: Correlates, Causes and Contexts. Carolina: Carolina Academic Press.

Jaishanka, K. (2011). Cyber Criminology: Exploring Internet Crimes and Criminal Behavior. CRC Press.

Maskus, K. (2000). Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy. New York: Institute for International Economy.

Pfleeger, C.P., & Pfleeger, S.L. (2007). Security in Computing. New York: Prentice Hall

Taylor, R., & Fritsch, E. (2010). Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism. New York: Prentice Hall.

Project Management Cycle from Initiation to Ending

There is no single approach to project management (Ahimbisibwe, Cavana, & Daellenbach, 2015), but a relatively constant model of a project management cycle has been referred to by multiple authors. In particular, the stages of initiating, planning, execution, and closing can be singled out as stable and distinct but interrelated and interactive parts of the cycle; apart from that, the iterative stage of monitoring and controlling processes is to be embedded within the four elements and should be in action throughout the project management cycle (Project Management Institute, 2013, p. 19; Project Management Videos, 2011).

The life cycle of a project is similar, and it involves the starting, preparing and organizing, implementing, and closing stages (Project Management Institute, 2013, p. 16). As for the lifecycle of a system, different approaches can be suggested, but the concept development can be regarded as the initial stage that is to be followed by product development, production, implementation, and retirement, which is to be carried out if the product becomes completely impossible to update. As a result, this model is iterative since it presupposes the retirement only for the products that cannot be returned to the previous stages (Walden, Roedler, Forsberg, Hamelin, & Shortell, 2015).

Therefore, the life cycles of project, system, and project management are similar in following the stages of initiation, development, and ending. Also, the presented models are similar in being general and not claiming to be the single correct design of a life cycle. Their differences include distinct stages and relationships between them that appear to be related to the specifics of the models object (for instance, the iterative stage of project management). However, a different approach to a similar model might generate other stages and relationships. Finally, the cycles are likely to meet at a particular moment of project development, but they do not have to coincide: for instance, the concept development of a product might not correspond to the initiation of the project.

References

Ahimbisibwe, A., Cavana, R., & Daellenbach, U. (2015). A contingency fit model of critical success factors for software development projects. Journal Of Enterprise Information Management, 28(1), 7-33. Web.

Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Project Management Videos. (2011). The typical phases in project management. Web.

Walden, D., Roedler, G., Forsberg, K., Hamelin, R., & Shortell, T. (2015). Systems engineering handbook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.