Project management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Project management - Research Paper Example A project is not a routine task, it is a certain set of functions designed to achieve a particular goal. Sometimes the project team involves people who usually do not work together; they are acquired from different departments, different organizations & different localities. In simple terms, Project Management involves a temporary group activity. Project Management is related to the application of knowledge, techniques & skills to complete a project efficiently & effectively. It is a strategic decision by the organization to enhance their competencies by tying the project outputs to the organization’s objectives. Previously project management referred to the collection of project data & metrics for evaluation & then accordingly making changes to increase efficiency & productivity. For the past decades, this area of management have become quite popular within the corporate world because of the following reasons- (ds.psu.edu 2) The average salary of a project manager is quite hi gh in comparison to the managers of other domain. Every year, a huge amount is spent for the purpose of accomplishing various projects. Lately, project management has been included as a subject of study in various educational institutes. It acts as a control mechanism for various projects. Project management helps in controlling the human capital, budget, quality, resources, time frames & communication. Project Life Cycle Projects always have a starting date & an ending date which means just like products, projects also have a definite life cycle that starts with the starting date & ends with the ending date. The diagram shows the different phases of a project life cycle- (weill.cornell.edu 1) Here we are given a particular business case where we have to modify the present structure of the University into a Wi-Fi enabled campus. We need to replace all computers & introduce iMacs for the classroom. Also we are required to complete the job within the month of June as the research woul d start from July onwards. We need several staffs for this purpose. Selection of the appropriate option for the given business case The appropriate solution that has been selected for the business case is requesting financial aid from the government as it is a reliable source of funds. On the basis of this option we are going to discuss further about this case with the help of the A3 tool. The context of Toyota can be considered while exploring the concept of A3. The managers of the company implement a tool called A3 that is named keeping in mind the internationally accepted paper size.A3 consists of a series of boxes arranged in a template. The boxes include the operations in the following order- 1. To establish the context of the business & the importance of a specific issue 2. To define the present status of the problem 3. To identify the desired outputs 4. To analyze the circumstances to ascertain causality 5. To offer countermeasures 6. To establish an action plan 7. To chalk o ut the follow-up process This method helps the managers to train others regarding the analysis of the root-cause & channel them towards scientific thinking. This is a tool for constant improvement & learning. We are required to use one management tool for the current business case & we would consider applying the A3 framework.