Course Project Overview Introduction The goal of this Course Project is for you to learn how to create a project management plan

Project Proposal

1. Select a project topic that contains sufficient details to demonstrate your understanding of the course concepts. Here are some ideas for project topics.
• Making a blockbuster big budget movie
• Planning a destination family reunion for 150 people
• Starting a socially conscious charitable foundation
• Designing a planned community
• Planning a trip around the world
• Planning a presidential campaign
• Starting a new magazine
• Your own choice of topic for a project must be similar in size, scope, and complexity to the seven ideas listed above
2. Create the Project Proposal with the information in the Project Proposal Sample document (e.g., concept, timeline, budget, benefits, action request) requested. The Project Proposal Sample document is available in the Project Resources and Naming Conventions section.
3. Submit the Project Proposal in a two-page Word document.

40

Project Overview Report

1. Download Microsoft Project from the Student Resource Center.
2. Using MS Project, create a first-level work breakdown structure also known as your to-do list, including your major deliverable milestones and your preliminary tasks. They can be summarized in no less than 10 rows or lines. For tasks that are related, you may also want to indent some of your preliminary tasks, like in the following example. To indent, select the task and then Task>Indent Task. Once you indent, you will see that the preceding task will turn to bold, which is also called a summary task. (This is not a complete WBS; therefore, you do not drill down into the smallest activities with 40+ rows or lines, which will be addressed in Part 2.)
   
3. Build the reports by navigating to Report>Dashboards>Project Overview.
4. Submit the Project Overview Report as a screenshot pasted into your Project Proposal file.

40

Stakeholder Communication

1. Draft an email message as a Word document addressed to the project team. Your message should provide a high-level overview of key elements of your selected project topic: objectives, cost, duration, success measurements, and so forth. (This is about briefing your Project Proposal and MS Project work into one page.)
2. Submit an email message in a Word document. 

20

Total

Submit the email message and the Project Proposal as two separate files in Canvas under the week 1 Course Project assignment.

100

Scope Statement

1. Create the project scope statement, which is an extended version of your project proposal. It primarily aims to clarify two aspects of the project—setting the acceptance criteria so you can have a smooth closure at the end of the project and rules and regulations to decrease the ambiguity in the team while managing the project. For your convenience, the Project Scope Statement Sample document is available in the Project Resources and Naming Conventions section.
2. Submit the scope statement in a one- to two-page Word document.

40

Detailed Resource Loaded Baseline WBS and Schedule

1. This is the part to extend the preliminary tasks (approximately 10 lines) you had in Part 1. Using your scope statement, input your work packages into MS Project. The WBS should be created in MS Project, following standard indent and hanging indent practices used in WBS creation. The WBS and schedule must have proper grouping, indenting, and coding for approximately 25 to 40 line items. Review the Project Sample in the Project Resources and Naming Conventions section for an example of a well-developed work breakdown structure
1. Create the WBS column. Hover on the Task Name column and right-click for the drop-down menu so you can select Insert Column, and then type in WBS manually and select the WBS to have your outline numbers.
2. Review your duration. (Hint: Please remember, do not touch the bold task. Manage the content of the bold, also known as summary tasks, because those tasks are aggregated automatically.)
3. Review your predecessors. This is to mimic the conditional tasks we have in real-life. As seen in the following screenshot, if you put the number 4 as a predecessor for line 5, line 5 cannot start before line 4 finishes first.
   
4. Create the critical path by selecting Gantt Chart Format>Critical Tasks. This is to know which tasks of yours (usually color coded in red bars on the Gantt Chart) are more critical (that means zero free or slack time) so you can be more cautious (with contingency plans) about them.
2. Baseline Resource Plan
1. Define your resources by selecting Resource>Team Planner>Resource Sheet. You do not fill each cell. Some are being used as-is. You may want to work on the blue zone. Also, 100% means one person, 200% means two people, so forth. Once you are done, you may want to go back by selecting on Team Planner>Gantt Chart.
   
2. Assign your resources task by task. Hover on the task (not summary task, which are the bold ones) and right-click to select Assign Resources. Then review the units. You will see the cost will be populated automatically. Then select Assign or just close the window.
   
3. Submit the WBS and Schedule in either a MS Project file or as a screenshot.

40

RACI Chart

1. Develop a RACI matrix, responsibility assignment matrix, for the project according to the description in Section 10: Tools and Techniques and illustrated in Figure 10-18 of the Process Groups: A Practice Guide. You should show at least five members of the core project team in your RACI matrix.
2. Submit the RACI matrix in a Word or Excel document.

20

Total

100

Network Diagram

1. Complete your Network Diagram by selecting Task>Gantt Chart>Network Diagram to determine if your project is logically sequenced and to ensure that you have captured your dependencies by linking the appropriate tasks.
   
2. Submit the Network Diagram as a screenshot or from the Network Diagram view use Print>Print to pdf and attach the pdf for submission.

20

Preliminary Scope and Budget Balancing

1. Complete a Cost Overview report by selecting Report>Dashboards>Cost Overview.
   
2. Complete a Resource Overview report by selecting Report>Resources>Resource Review.
3. Discuss how you balance the scope and budget, because the requirements you initially gathered will no doubt exceed your budget and new priorities will have to be set (maximum of two paragraphs).
4. Submit the Preliminary Scope and Budget Balancing in a one-page Word document.

30

Resource Leveling

1. Using the Overallocated Resources and Resource Overview Reports as a starting point, level your resources so that you can submit an Overallocated Resource Report that shows no overallocated resources. Go to Resources>Level All.
   
2. Complete the Overallocated Resources reports by selecting Report>Resources>Overallocated Resources.
3. Submit the Overallocated Resource Report as a screenshot or from the Overallocated Resources view use Print>Print to pdf and attach the pdf for submission.

20

Balancing Scope and Budget Discussion

1. Discuss how you balance scope and budget. As the requirements you initially gathered will no doubt exceed your budget, new priorities will have to be set. If your resources do not exceed your budget, then discuss what you did when developing your project plan to ensure this result. You may want to conceptually discuss what can be done to improve your project in respect to advanced scheduling techniques, for example, fast tracking, overtime work, or crashing.
2. Submit the Balancing Scope and Budget Discussion in a one-page Word document.

30

Total

100

Earned Value Analysis

1.      Set the project status date to a date that is halfway through your project.

2.      Your project should show the tasks completed as of that date and any cost changes that have occurred. At least 10% of your task should reflect a cost overrun and 5% should come in below budget. You can choose which tasks to modify (10% more, 5% less are approximates). See the following about how to mark task completions. Hover on a task and select Task>Mark on Track (select the drop-down arrow)>Update Tasks. The key is that MS Project maintains cost integrity by calculating costs from work and rates rather than allowing direct cost entry. If you cannot directly enter or edit costs, move to the next part of the assignment and do the earned value analysis

1.      Note: The projects in this class differ from student to student. Work within the context of your project and get as close to these screenshots as possible. Projects with cost errors in the Resources Sheet, especially unassigned costs, will be problematic so be sure you have costs assigned to resources. Projects that are very short and relatively low cost will need extra attention to approximate the example screen shots.

2.      All the screenshots you produce will be approximations that are based on YOUR project, not the example project used to create the screenshots for the assignment. That's ok. Do the analysis on YOUR project, with the information produced by following the instructions in the assignment.

3.      Set the baseline by selecting Project>Set Baseline>Set Baseline>OK>Yes. Then, complete the earned value analysis (EVA) by selecting Reports>Costs>Earned Value Report.


This image is only an example. Results will differ between each of the 39 individual projects in class!

4.      Submit the Earned Value Analysis as a screenshot.

20

Project Status Communication

1.      Interpret the results of the EVA and write a narrative as a project status communication in an MS Word document. The interpretation of the following calculation is required, which also can be automatically produced with Microsoft Project. This is similar to the previous screenshot by selecting View>Tables>More Tables>Earned Value, as an option.

a.       Earned Value Over Time: BCWS (Planned Value, PV), BCWP (Earned Value, EV), ACWP (Actual Cost, AC)

b.      Variance Over Time (Variance Analysis: SV, CV)

c.       Indices Over Time (Performance Index: SPI, CPI)

2.      Submit the Project Status Communication with EVA Interpretation in a one-page Word document.

20

Final Course Project Summary

1.      The final Course Project Summary should have the following breakdown.

a.       It summarizes the content, as well as the Microsoft Project work, from the entire document with quantifiable highlights, such as overall project cost and schedule performance and estimate to completion, and makes the pitch to project stakeholders to continue the project. This is where you have to act as a project manager and a businessperson. Make sure you utilize references and appendices accordingly. This is worth 25 points.

b.      This section includes a forward-looking estimate of the project completion date and the final project costs based on the performance analysis. It proposes appropriate corrective action(s) that should be taken at this point to put the project back on track based on the Earned Value Management (EVM) performance analysis, as necessary. Make sure you utilize references and appendices accordingly. This is worth 25 points.

c.       The lessons learned section discusses what you would do differently if you were going to do this kind of project again. This is worth 10 points.

2.      Submit the Final Course Project Summary in a two- to three-page Word document, separate from the  one page Project Status Communication write up.

60

Total

100