THIS IS TWO PARTS: FIRST PART IS A DISCUSSION, SECOND PART IS PART TWO OF THE PROJECT

DISCUSSION IS DUE ON 11/09/2018

PROJECT IS DUE ON 11/11/2018

WEEK 2 DISCUSSION

A major national insurer decided to evolve new business development practices. The project to implement this idea started in 2000 and was led by a succession of key senior vice presidents (VPs) as part of their executive growth. Twelve years later, the organization had still not finished with its stated purpose due to changing requirements, new ideas, a succession of leaders, and executive ambivalence. This effort had all the appearance of a major strategic initiative—three hundred people, a “war room” with a great storyboard, and lots of spokespersons. Key staff members were quick to extol the great progress made. However, when the new CEO asked, “Why are we doing this?” there was no coherent answer.

Result: Within days, the entire program was scrapped. In less than a week, the project offices were vacant and phone calls went unanswered. When the project died, no one noticed except the executives who had been the project advocates. They were out of a job.

For the first part of your post, address the following question:

Analyze the root cause of this situation. There was a huge disconnect between project management and the organizational strategy and strategic direction in this scenario. How could this gap have been bridged?

Then, address one of the following bullets.

Analyze the triple-constraints relationship among a project scope, cost, schedule, and quality. If quality is held constant and the scope is widened, what will happen to the cost and schedule?

Explain a WBS created for a project you have worked on. Did the team refer to the WBS while sequencing work and creating a risk plan? What was the outcome? If not, describe how the team determined tasks and sequencing. Evaluate the outcome. Cite additional challenges to a project that might result from poor work breakdown practices.

The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.

Justify your answers with examples and reasoning. Comment on the postings and views of at least two peers.

Your posting should be the equivalent of 1 to 2 pages (500–1000 words) in length.

Week 2 Project

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Instructions

Initial Plan Development

This course has major project assignments that will be due in Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments earlier than the week in which they are due.

This week, you will submit the first four parts of the course-length project. The project analyzed must be the project approved by the instructor in Week 1. The deliverables for Week 2 are:

The statement of need: Write a brief description of the chosen organization and discuss the background information associated with the problems that need to be solved.

The goals and objectives of the project: Identify project goals and the underlying objectives. Quantify the measurable performance expectations of the project plan to determine whether it meets the planned objectives. Performance should be defined in terms of:

oThe product or process specification

oThe total budget at completion of the plan

oThe time frame for completion of the plan

Stakeholders and project requirements: Identify the project’s stakeholders. Analyze their needs and wants and create a list of project requirements derived from the inputs provided by the stakeholders.

Project scope development: Identify the scope of the project to define the work that needs to be performed to meet the project objectives.

Submission Details:

Submit your report as a 3 to 5 page Microsoft Word document, using APA style.