Chapter 1. Introduction to Project Management
1.9 Exercises
Exercise 1: Evaluating the Characteristics of a Project
You have been assigned as a project manager for a new initiative within a nationwide chain of fitness centers. The project aims to create a mobile application for members to manage their fitness journeys. The app will include features such as:
- Personalized Workout Plans: Users can create or receive tailored workout routines based on their fitness goals and available equipment.
- Progress Tracking: Users can log their workouts, track their progress, and receive feedback on their performance.
- Online Class Scheduling: Users can book the chain’s live or virtual fitness classes.
- Integration with Wearable Devices: The app will sync data with popular fitness trackers.
The project has the following parameters:
- Start Date: March 1, 2024
- End Date: November 30, 2024
- Budget: $1.5 million
- Team Composition: A cross-functional team, including software developers, fitness experts, and marketing specialists.
- Stakeholders: Fitness center management, members, and technology vendors.
Once the app is developed and approved by stakeholders, it will be handed over to the IT operations team, who will maintain the app and provide support for ongoing usage.
Questions:
- Unique Outcome
- How does the mobile application’s development demonstrate this project’s unique nature?
- Are there elements of the project that differentiate it from daily operations within the fitness center chain?
- Temporary Nature
- How does the defined schedule (start and end dates) illustrate the temporary nature of this project?
- What will mark the completion of this project?
- Stakeholder Satisfaction
- How would you ensure the stakeholders’ mobile application expectations are identified, documented, and met?
- How will the success of this project be evaluated based on stakeholder satisfaction?
- Transition to Operations
- Once the mobile application is delivered, how will it transition from a project to an ongoing operation?
- What considerations should be made during the handover process to ensure smooth operations?
- Constraints
- What constraints (scope, schedule, cost, resources, quality, and risks) must the project team manage to ensure its success?
- How could these constraints impact the temporary nature and outcome of the project?
Exercise 2: Managing Constraints and Ensuring Success
Imagine you are a project manager for a software development company. Your current project involves creating an online platform for a client selling used books. The project’s scope includes:
- Developing a website to allow users to browse and purchase books.
- Integrating a secure payment gateway to ensure safe and seamless transactions.
- Implementing a user-friendly search engine to locate books by name, author, or genre.
The project has the following key characteristics:
- Temporary and Unique Nature: The project will be completed within 8 months and deliver a unique platform tailored to the client’s needs.
- Constraints:
- Scope: The agreed deliverables include the website, payment gateway, and search engine.
- Schedule: The project duration is set at 8 months.
- Cost: The budget is $200,000.
- Additional Constraints: The team’s expertise and availability of resources.
- Project Success: Defined as delivering the agreed scope within the constraints of schedule, cost, and quality while meeting the client’s and end-users’ expectations.
Change Request Scenario
Midway through the project, the client requests adding a recommendation system to suggest books to users based on their previous purchases. This change would:
- Expand the Scope: Additional feature development and integration.
- Impact Schedule: Extend the project duration by 2-3 months.
- Increase Cost: Require an additional $50,000 to accommodate the change.
- Introduce New Risks: Potential delays, performance issues, or increased complexity.
Questions:
- Project Characteristics
- Based on the characteristics of a project, explain why this initiative is classified as a project and not routine business operations.
- How does this change request align with the temporary and unique nature of the project?
- Project Constraints
- Using the concept of triple constraints (scope, schedule, and cost), analyze how the proposed change request impacts the project constraints.
- What additional constraints (resources, quality, risks) might also be affected by this change?
- How would you balance these constraints to maintain the project’s success?
- Project Success
- Differentiate between project success and project management success in this scenario.
- If the client insists on the recommendation system, what steps could you take to ensure both types of success?
