Critically examine the accountability structures designed into your project plan. In particular, you should refer to the roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager and Project Director
The project manager and project director’s major role is to ensure that the overall performance of the project is effectively undertaken; they are guided by the project goals and objectives to ensure planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of the project are undertaken according to the planned and predetermined manner. The following are the roles and responsibilities in point form:
- To build an orchestrate and winning team, such a team is dedicated and motivated to see the project successes.
- They have the role of allocating human, information, and physical resources to the project in such a combination that offers maximum results.
- They offer mentorship and leadership in the entire project and ensure that processes abide by the plan, work schedules, and initiation documents are followed.
- They are the point of communication to the management and advises the board on any changes that might have occurred in the project and needs the intervention of third parties.
Project managers and project directors’ roles may vary with the project however, the most important factor is that they hold the project thus they are accountable for any occurrence in the project (Anantatmula 12-32).
Critically examine and describe the nature of leadership and communication in project management. You should consider the roles of the project team
For effective completion of a project, the team leader should adopt a hybrid leadership approach; under this approach, the leader has some elements of democratic intentions and allows team members to give their inputs in decision-making. Secondly, he is aware that he is the final decision maker and some decisions do not rely on need consultation but he should stamp his leadership powers; to sum up, the leader has a scientific approach to decision-making where he consults and seeks information when making a certain decision.
The success of a hybrid system can only be attained if the leader is able to maintain effective communication channels; team members should have the freedom of giving their views and leaders should listen to them. Good communication will facilitate the manager to have time with his subordinates and tell them of the final verdict that has been reached for a certain issue/
Describe a method for the assessment of risks to the success of a project. Critically assess the suitability of this method in the context of your project
Risks come in different forms and take different shapes, an effective risk management strategy for projects is called Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), under the approach, the following are ways of assessing the risks associated with the project:
- Objective-based risk identification.
- Scenario-based risk identification.
- Taxonomy based risk identification.
- Common risk identification.
The method is successful because it considers all the areas that can lead to a risk in the project; it can be said to be a hybrid method of risk assessment and identification.
Critically examine the wider project management structures in a typical organization. In particular, you should refer to the roles and responsibilities of senior staff in relation to the management of projects
The senior staffs in a project have the role of undertaking technical matters of the project; they are given certain tasks that they are expected to see them succeed. When they are performing their duties, they are guided by the blueprint of the project and the initiation documents; they have the sole advantage of having the physical project running, the expectations of the management, and can understand the issues to a project first hand. With the three at hand, their work is skewed down to monitoring the way the project is operating, controlling the project, offering expert knowledge, and handing issues with the top management.
In the case at a certain point, there was something that had been overlooked by the planners of the project, or something new has come into place that calls for the intervention of the management, they act as the middlemen to advise the management on the way forward as well as the team (Lock 12-67).
Critically examine PRINCE2 as a method of Project Management by comparing it to another method. You should explain the advantages and limitations of each
PRINCE2 method of project management came into the moonlight in late 1990, the method has much emphasis on the interlink between the processes and the role that human capital plays in the project (see the appendixes for a sample illustration of a PRINCE2 method). On the other hand, the traditional method of project management had five stages of a project, like initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and controlling systems, and finally control, according to the approach each of the stages was undertaken separately (see the appendixes for a sample illustration of a traditional method).
Advantages of PRINCE2
- It identifies the interdependence of different project stages and tries to manage the dependency
- Appreciates the role played by human capital
- It is a scientific approach to project management
Disadvantages
- In most cases, it concentrates on minor interdependent among the processes/stages
- It’s a complicated method especially for non-project managers
Advantages of the traditional method
- the simple and straight method that explains what is entailed in a certain project
- Creates a difference of processes and enable processes to be looked at individually
Disadvantages
- The method assumes that there can be a complete separation of tasks and processes
- Rarely does the project consider the effects and the role of human capital in the process (Lock 12-67)
Describe how you would identify, access, and manage the risks to the success of your project. Critically assess the suitability of this method in the context of your own project
When a project has been well initiated and planned, the best method of identifying risks is through continuous appraisal, monitoring, and level of complete analysis. Project managers should be following their work schedules and compare them with the level of completion attained. In case there is a deficit, it should always be interpolated as a risk area until there is a legitimate reason for the mismatch.
Risks in a project take different forms, there is a need to have regular reports on costs, times, the rate of completions made, and interpolated using scientific means or information technology. With such an approach, a risk will be identified early enough before it has made substantial damage to the project. Any indication that shows there may be the cause of alarm should not be taken lightly buts a solution and the underlying reasons should be sort (Anantatmula 12-32).
Works Cited
Anantatmula, Vital S. “Project Manager Leadership Role in Improving Project Performance.” Engineering Management Journal 22.1 (2010): 13-22.
Lock, Denis. Project Management. New York: Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007. Print.
Appendixes
Traditional method
PRIENCE2 Method
