You are required to read chapter 9 of Wysocki’s textbook and also chapters 1 and 2 of the agile practice guide. In the past four courses of the program, we laid emphasis on managing project along the project life cycle from planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure. This was seen as the normal way of managing projects until the entry of a new landscape of complexity, uncertainty and a market that demands speed and agility. The objectives of this unit are to explore the complexities and uncertainties affecting project management landscape, examine and incorporate the characteristics and business values into the choice of Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC) models when dealing with complexities and uncertainties of projects, and consider the Requirements Breakdown Structure (RBS) as a key ingredient of a best fit decision model for complex projects.
Efforts will be made in understanding the complexity and uncertainty domains of projects. A four-quadrant project landscape will be used to categorize the project to a quadrant, and within that quadrant to select a best-fit PMLC model. With this categorization and selection of a best-fit PMLC model based on goal and solution clarity, the task gets to how to deal with projects of more uncertainty along with the increased complexity and risk. Uncertainty is the result of changing market conditions that require high-speed and high-change responses to produce a solution in order to be competitive. Complexity is the result of a solution that has eluded detection and will be difficult to find. That imposes a challenge on the project manager to be able to respond appropriately. Hence the complexity of project management increases as well. Uncertainty and complexity are positively correlated. And finally, risk increases along with increasing complexity and uncertainty.
Required Readings
Textbook
Wysocki, R. K. (2013). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme (7th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
§ Chapter 9
Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Project Management Institute.
§ Part 1: Chapter 2
Project Management Institute/Agile Alliance® (2017). The Agile Practice Guide. Newton Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
§ Chapter 1 and 2
Article (Attached for Eased of reference)
Floricel, S., Michela, J. L., & Piperca, S. (2016). Complexity, uncertainty-reduction strategies, and project performance. International Journal of Project Management 34 (2016) 1360–1383. Retrieved on March 01, 2018 from :https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article /abs/pii/S026378631500191X
Discussion Question
You will consider the scenario below and answer the question:
In today’s turbulent business environment, effective project management is contingent on the ability to manage the ambiguities that may arise while operating in a world characterized by uncertainty. Imagine you have been appointed the project manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S.A to work on developing and launching a rocket and crew vessel that will get people on Mars for vacation. Using a PMLC model, identify and prioritize the main activities you would consider for this complex project and outline an implementation plan.
What would be some of the complexities you believe you could face with this project?
How could you use the Requirements Breakdown Structure (RBS) to help you handle uncertainties that you might face and to ensure successful delivery of this projects?
