Course Project Overview Introduction The goal of this Course Project is for you to learn how to create a project management plan

Project Proposal

1. Select a
   project topic that contains sufficient details to
   demonstrate your understanding of the course concepts. Here are some ideas
   for project topics.

• Making a blockbuster big budget movie

• Planning a
  destination family reunion for 150 people

• Starting a
  socially conscious charitable foundation

• Designing a
  planned community

• Planning a trip around the world

• Planning a
  presidential campaign

• Starting a
  new magazine

• Your own
  choice of topic for a project must be similar in size, scope, and
  complexity to the seven ideas listed above

40

Project Overview
Report

1. Download Microsoft
   Project from the Student Resource Center.

2. Using MS
   Project, create a first-level work breakdown structure also known as
   your to-do list, including your major deliverable milestones and your
   preliminary tasks. They can be summarized in no less than 10 rows or
   lines. For tasks that are related, you may also want to indent some
   of your preliminary tasks, like in the following example. To indent,
   select the task and then Task>Indent Task. Once you indent, you will
   see that the preceding task will turn to bold, which is also called
   a summary task. (This is not a complete WBS; therefore,
   you do not drill down into the smallest activities with 40+ rows or
   lines, which will be addressed in Part 2.)
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3. Build the
   reports by navigating to Report>Dashboards>Project Overview.

4. Submit the
   Project Overview Report as a screenshot pasted into your Project
   Proposal file.

40

Stakeholder
Communication

1. Draft an
   email message as a Word document addressed to the project team. Your
   message should provide a high-level overview of key elements of your
   selected project topic: objectives, cost, duration, success
   measurements, and so forth. (This is about briefing your Project
   Proposal and MS Project work into one page.)

2. Submit an
   email message in a Word document. 

20

Total

Submit the email message and the Project Proposal as
two separate files in Canvas under the week 1 Course Project assignment.

100

Scope
Statement

1. Create the project scope statement, which is an extended
   version of your project proposal. It primarily aims to clarify two
   aspects of the project—setting the acceptance criteria so you can have a
   smooth closure at the end of the project and rules and regulations to
   decrease the ambiguity in the team while managing the project. For your
   convenience, the Project Scope Statement Sample document is available in
   the Project Resources and Naming Conventions section.

2. Submit the scope statement in a one- to two-page Word document.

40

Detailed
Resource Loaded Baseline WBS and Schedule

1. This is the part to extend the preliminary tasks (approximately
   10 lines) you had in Part 1. Using your scope statement, input your work
   packages into MS Project. The WBS should be created in MS Project,
   following standard indent and hanging indent practices used in WBS
   creation. The WBS and schedule must have proper grouping, indenting, and
   coding for approximately 25 to 40 line items. Review the Project Sample
   in the Project Resources and Naming Conventions section for an example
   of a well-developed work breakdown structure

1. Create the WBS column. Hover on the Task Name column and
   right-click for the drop-down menu so you can select Insert Column, and
   then type in WBS manually and select the WBS to have your outline
   numbers.

2. Review your duration. (Hint: Please remember, do not touch the
   bold task. Manage the content of the bold, also known as summary tasks,
   because those tasks are aggregated automatically.)

3. Review your predecessors. This is to mimic the conditional
   tasks we have in real-life. As seen in the following screenshot, if you
   put the number 4 as a predecessor for line 5, line 5 cannot start
   before line 4 finishes first.
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4. Create the critical path by selecting Gantt Chart
   Format>Critical Tasks. This is to know which tasks of yours (usually
   color coded in red bars on the Gantt Chart) are more critical (that
   means zero free or slack time) so you can be more cautious (with
   contingency plans) about them.

2. Baseline Resource Plan

1. Define your resources by selecting Resource>Team
   Planner>Resource Sheet. You do not fill each cell. Some are being
   used as-is. You may want to work on the blue zone. Also, 100% means one
   person, 200% means two people, so forth. Once you are done, you may
   want to go back by selecting on Team Planner>Gantt Chart.
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2. Assign your resources task by task. Hover on the task (not
   summary task, which are the bold ones) and right-click to select Assign
   Resources. Then review the units. You will see the cost will be
   populated automatically. Then select Assign or just close the window.
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3. Submit the WBS and Schedule in either a MS Project file or as a
   screenshot.

40

RACI
Chart

1. Develop a RACI matrix, responsibility assignment matrix, for
   the project according to the description in Section 10: Tools and
   Techniques and illustrated in Figure 10-18 of the Process
   Groups: A Practice Guide. You should show at least five members
   of the core project team in your RACI matrix.

2. Submit the RACI matrix in a Word or Excel document.

20

Total

100

Network Diagram

1. Complete your Network Diagram by selecting
   Task>Gantt Chart>Network Diagram to determine if your project is
   logically sequenced and to ensure that you have captured your
   dependencies by linking the appropriate tasks.
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2. Submit the Network Diagram as a screenshot
   or from the Network Diagram view use Print>Print to pdf and attach
   the pdf for submission.

20

Preliminary Scope and Budget
Balancing

1. Complete a Cost Overview report by selecting
   Report>Dashboards>Cost Overview.
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2. Complete a Resource Overview report by selecting
   Report>Resources>Resource Review.

3. Discuss how you balance the scope and budget,
   because the requirements you initially gathered will no doubt exceed
   your budget and new priorities will have to be set (maximum of two
   paragraphs).

4. Submit the Preliminary Scope and Budget
   Balancing in a one-page Word document.

30

Resource Leveling

1. Using the Overallocated Resources and Resource
   Overview Reports as a starting point, level your resources so that you
   can submit an Overallocated Resource Report that shows no overallocated
   resources. Go to Resources>Level All.
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2. Complete the Overallocated Resources reports by
   selecting Report>Resources>Overallocated Resources.

3. Submit the Overallocated Resource Report as
   a screenshot or from the Overallocated Resources view use
   Print>Print to pdf and attach the pdf for submission.

20

Balancing Scope and Budget
Discussion

1. Discuss how you balance scope and budget. As the
   requirements you initially gathered will no doubt exceed your budget,
   new priorities will have to be set. If your resources do not exceed your
   budget, then discuss what you did when developing your project plan to
   ensure this result. You may want to conceptually discuss what can be
   done to improve your project in respect to advanced scheduling techniques,
   for example, fast tracking, overtime work, or crashing.

2. Submit the Balancing Scope and Budget Discussion
   in a one-page Word document.

30

Total

100

Earned Value Analysis

1.     
Set the project status date to a date that is
halfway through your project.
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2.     
Your project should show the tasks completed
as of that date and any cost changes that have occurred. At least 10% of your
task should reflect a cost overrun and 5% should come in below budget. You
can choose which tasks to modify (10% more, 5% less are approximates). See
the following about how to mark task completions. Hover on a task and select
Task>Mark on Track (select the drop-down arrow)>Update Tasks. The key is
that MS Project maintains cost integrity by calculating costs from work and
rates rather than allowing direct cost entry. If you cannot directly enter or
edit costs, move to the next part of the assignment and do the earned value
analysis

1.     
Note: The projects in this class differ from
student to student. Work within the context of your project and get as close
to these screenshots as possible. Projects with cost errors in the Resources
Sheet, especially unassigned costs, will be problematic so be sure you have
costs assigned to resources. Projects that are very short and relatively low
cost will need extra attention to approximate the example screen shots.

2.     
All the screenshots you produce will be
approximations that are based on YOUR project, not the example project used
to create the screenshots for the assignment. That’s ok. Do the analysis on
YOUR project, with the information produced by following the instructions in
the assignment.
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3.     
Set the baseline by selecting Project>Set
Baseline>Set Baseline>OK>Yes. Then, complete the earned value
analysis (EVA) by selecting Reports>Costs>Earned Value Report.
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This image is only an example. Results will differ between each of the 39
individual projects in class!

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4.     
Submit the Earned Value Analysis as a screenshot.

20

Project Status
Communication

1.     
Interpret the results of the EVA and write a
narrative as a project status communication in an MS Word document. The
interpretation of the following calculation is required, which also can be
automatically produced with Microsoft Project. This is similar to the
previous screenshot by selecting View>Tables>More Tables>Earned
Value, as an option.

a.      
Earned Value Over Time: BCWS (Planned Value,
PV), BCWP (Earned Value, EV), ACWP (Actual Cost, AC)

b.     
Variance Over Time (Variance Analysis: SV, CV)

c.      
Indices Over Time (Performance Index: SPI,
CPI)

2.     
Submit the Project Status Communication with EVA Interpretation in
a one-page Word document.

20

Final Course Project
Summary

1.     
The final Course Project Summary should have
the following breakdown.

a.      
It summarizes the content, as well as the
Microsoft Project work, from the entire document with quantifiable
highlights, such as overall project cost and schedule performance and
estimate to completion, and makes the pitch to project stakeholders to
continue the project. This is where you have to act as a project manager and
a businessperson. Make sure you utilize references and appendices
accordingly. This is worth 25 points.

b.     
This section includes a forward-looking
estimate of the project completion date and the final project costs based on
the performance analysis. It proposes appropriate corrective action(s) that
should be taken at this point to put the project back on track based on the
Earned Value Management (EVM) performance analysis, as necessary. Make sure
you utilize references and appendices accordingly. This is worth 25 points.

c.      
The lessons learned section discusses what you
would do differently if you were going to do this kind of project again. This
is worth 10 points.

2.     
Submit the Final Course Project Summary in a two- to
three-page Word document, separate from the  one page
Project Status Communication write up.

60

Total

100