Question

Current Scenario:

Happy homes Inc. is one of the top 10 new construction companies in the Northwest region of Florida. Its headquarter is in  Niceville, Fl. Happy homes deal in new construction homes in affordable and sought after subdivisions.

In January 2015 Happy homes was founded by Dominick Linnus and Ella Linnus. In the second year, it was named the best home builders by the better business bureau. In 2019 the company was sold to Brian Butter. Since the new CEO took over he switched the use of the electrical, plumbing, and construction contractors. He has been contracting with lower quality workers at high-end prices since his father has affiliations with the newly selected contractors. This has been crippling our quality of homes and our ROI. In the past, we were constructing 38 homes a year with a profit of 100,000 per home. Currently, from June of 2019 to the present we have only built and sold 18 homes with a net profit of 75,000 per home. This new project plan is designed to build 38, 3,000 square ft homes in a subdivision within a year for under 475,000 with an estimated appraisal/sale value of 575,000.

(As of 1 Jun 2020)

CEO: Brian Butter

No. of Employees: 50

Last years numbers

Revenue: $ 1,350,000

Net Income: 7,200,000

Net Assets: $ 750,000

• Critically analyze your term project from the perspective of the project manager.
  • Introduce your term project to refresh the memory of the readers of this post.
  • Prepare the information to complete the project charter. You may refer to Figure 3-10 Sample Business Case on pages 92-94, and to Figure 3-15 Sample Project Charter on pages 100 to 101 of the textbook.
    • Define your project objectives.
    • Specify the measures by which this project will be determined a success.
    • Describe the assumptions and constraints for your project.
    • List the preliminary requirements for your project.
    • Identify any additional project management approaches to be considered for your project.
  • Do a stakeholder analysis and categorize stakeholders as follows:
    • Manage closely
    • Keep satisfied
    • Keep informed
    • Monitor
  • Based on the stakeholder classification and in the context of your proposed project, elaborate on your plans to manage stakeholders.
  • Finally, in a reflection of at least 30 words, describe the most interesting and challenging parts of preparing the project charter, as well as any recommendations to your classmates for preparing the charter.

Answer 1

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Analysis of Project Selection Methods.

Very few businesses or stakeholders have unlimited resources to devote to projects. As such, stakeholders must rely on various methods to choose and fund their projects. They must focus on projects that are most beneficial to their business. This section will explore some of the methods that can be used in the project selection process.

Return on Investment.

Very simply, Return on Investment (ROI) is a percentage obtained by subtracting the discounted costs of the project from the discounted benefits and dividing the results by the discounted costs. If the result is a negative number, the project would most likely be scrapped, regardless of the importance placed on other factors. ROI can be further characterized as a Benefit/Cost Ratio, the ratio of cost of the project to benefits of the project.

Some organizations set minimum gates for this percentage as criteria for project approval .This clear-cut, mathematical approach is beneficial to financial analysts and PMs interested in the Bottom Line. However, it may prove a disadvantage to abstract thinkers and could overshadow very important, non-financial results of the project such as quality and customer satisfaction. As I considered the financial aspects of my project, I noted that there would be significant financial gains for my customer. However, I had not considered the tremendous financial opportunity for my team as a result.

Payback Period.

Investors want to know when they will start to realize the ROI. If one project has a shorter payback period than another, and there are no other overriding factors, the project with the shortest payback period will be selected . Payback period, like other financial or “hard” factors, can be a disadvantage to projects focused on non-financial purposes, unless they are non-discretionary.

Weighted Scoring Model.

The project selection committee determines criteria for project selection, prioritizes them, and adds the weighted values.. Organizations will have a go/no-go criteria related to the selection method .I started thinking of my project in terms of improving the quality of life for Guest House Six residents. I visualized a bar graph comparing customer satisfaction to the financial costs of the project.

Net Present Value Analysis.

Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the current value of cash inflow and the current value of cash outflow of the project .. The value should always be positive.When comparing and prioritizing projects, those with better projected financial performance will be viewed more favorably. PMs must, therefore, be meticulous in determining costs of the project as well as using the best data available to calculate predict benefits resulting from the project. Uncertainty about the future is a risk that must be managed, as discussed below.

Non-Financial Considerations.

Businesses may not have a choice in executing certain projects. Projects may be dictated by regulations or disasters, man-made such as the Year 2000 mitigation efforts, or natural. The Fukushima Tsunami and resultant nuclear disaster, for instance, resulted in worldwide mandates for nuclear plant operators to implement training and infrastructure to prevent a re-occurrence of the meltdowns that occurred at Fukushima Diiachi.

Skills Required of Project Managers

To lead successful projects, PMs need to possess certain key competencies. Sources investigated list varying numbers of and different titles for the competencies. For instance, Integrated Project Management (IPM) lists nine competencies: execution, decision making, communications, strategy development, team management, business acumen, technical competence, critical thinking, and leadership. In analyzing the text as compared to another text by the same author and other sources, I noted clear similarities among the competencies or skills. The importance of communications is illustrated by the clear overlap between these two groupings. Since skill in communicating significantly contributes to other competencies, it will be discussed first.

Communications management.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge stresses the importance of communications.To effectively manage stakeholders and human capital, the PM must be able to engage and make the audience receptive. According to Lisa McQuerry, effective communications are an essential part of “people skills,” along with empathy, conflict resolution, patience, and tolerance .My primary leadership weakness is in communications. Twenty years of command-and-control communications have contributed to this weakness. In the twenty years since retiring from the Navy, I have made great strides, but have still been categorized as “mean” and “a little abrasive.” Interpersonal relationships are an area for improvement.

Time management.

Completing a project on schedule is a measure of its success. Effective time management is inherent in completing a project or its integral tasks on time. Additionally, PMs must understand contingency planning. First, the projects are usually broken up into smaller tasks or activities, and the start of one task successor (S) depends on the finish of another task predecessor. Effective PMs understand how to build buffers into their planning and how to keep the project moving if the face of challenges to predecessor tasks.

I am mixed in my proficiency in this skill. For instance, my current real-life project and work schedule challenge my ability to complete my assignments in this class by the excellent schedule criteria of Wednesday. Additionally, I get off task easily. To combat this weakness, I use bulleted lists and write down current tasks with place-keeping boxes for each. The layout of Excelsior Canvas courses is a good analog for a project, and this course ironically is a project to create a project.

On the other hand, I understand and am proficient in contingency planning and preventing roadblocks from derailing the entire project. As an example, my first job after retiring from the Navy was as a supervisor at a steel mill. The mill had two lines, and a line being down cost approximately $800 per hour. The general foreman who was my boss made it very clear that he would not tolerate my crew being idle because they were held up on a primary task. Therefore, I always had several prioritized backup tasks ready throughout the outages. The underlying lesson has stuck with me throughout the ensuing seventeen years.

Cost management.

Another measure of project success is adherence to the budget. PMs need to be able to control the costs of all of the financial aspects of the project such as materials and labor. The PM also must obviously understand that her project team’s costs are part of the project budget. This very basic, obvious part of the project budget is one I came dangerously close to overlooking as I was considering the return on investment (ROI) aspect of my project.

I would consider cost management another AFI. I tend to think in terms of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, not millions. One million dollars seems like a large sum. In fact, when I mentioned to a colleague I was “paying my team one million,” he exclaimed the wanted to work for me. Upon reflection, he probably assumed I meant one million each.

When one considers the PM is personally earning over $100,000 per year on his primary project, one million dollars for twenty-four people for three years is inadequate. Additionally, the project team must be housed, fed, transported, and provided office space. These additional costs will necessitate a complete re-evaluation of the project budget and ROI. Fortunately, the project proposal has not yet been presented to the customer.

Quality management.

Customer satisfaction, another measure of project success, depends on the quality of project deliverables. Every aspect of the project must be handled professionally and error-free. According to Admiral William McRaven, retired US Special Operations Commander, “If you wanna to change the world, start off by making your bed.” (McRaven, 2014) The Admiral’s message is, in part, if you get the little things right—like discreet project tasks, project visuals, project meetings, project updates the big things the project will fall into place.

I am a perfectionist I do not tend to accept “good enough.” This tendency is good to a point. I expect top quality in all project deliverables. The downside to this trait is low tolerance for mistakes, which are inherently human. I drive myself and consequently, tend to drive rather than lead others. Recognizing this, I watch and learn from respected leaders who are my colleagues as well as my friends.

Human resource management.

Important enough to warrant its own field of study, Human Resources Management is key to successful project execution. There will inevitably be a conflict any time two people are together due to their individuality. Conflict management is one of McQuerry’s project management competencies. Successful leaders form teams of good people. PMs need to be technically competent. However, since they can’t be experts in everything, their project teams must consist of people who are.

My weakness in this area is the desire for everyone to be happy. The weakness is tempered by the realization that you can’t please everyone all the time. As such, improvement in dealing with compromise is important. One of my biggest project successes started with a project I was assigned that was completely foreign. I had also never managed a project. I asked a senior project manager to be my mentor, and I formed a team of experts from a cross-section of the plant staff. The team completed the project on budget and ahead of schedule. My team was commended as a group, and I received a personal commendation for the project.

Risk management.

There are uncertainties involved in every project. Another term for uncertainties is “risk.” Risk management contributes to project success. Risk management is significant and important enough that the Nuclear Industry has procedures and training specifically for risk management.

I discussed my ability to handle risks with contingent tasks in the schedule adherence section. Risk management would be ineffective without risk mitigation measures. Risk mitigation involves prevention of risks from becoming manifested as well as dealing with them after the fact. Obviously, eliminating risks entirely is preferred to mitigation. However, completely eliminating risks is rarely achievable.

Risk mitigation is a strength brought on by years of experience in discussing potential risks involved with thousands of jobs in a nuclear power plant and their prevention.

Procurement management.

Another contributor to budget adherence is procurement management. PMs must be able to secure goods and services for projects at acceptable costs without sacrificing quality. PMs must understand the necessity of compromise. Due to my perfectionist nature and disapproval of “good enough,” I struggle with compromise.

Stakeholder management.

Management of stakeholders individuals invested in the project as the customer, the sponsor, or team members depends on effective “people skills,” as previously stated.In my experience, senior leaders can be very challenging, indeed. There have been many times Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members have challenged me individually, collaboratively or both. They have asked questions and forced me to justify projects that they directed in the first place, simply to ensure I had “done my homework” and to help me develop my people skills. I have great respect for those leaders with whom I have worked that have helped me develop in this manner.

Summary

PMs have many project selection methods at their disposal, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. As I discovered in the early stages of planning my term project, the project plan needs to take more factors into consideration, and thus more than one selection tool may need to be used.This paper has discussed PM competencies at length. Communications and “people skills” are very important to successful projects. They are also areas for myself that I see as needing constant attention.

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