For this assignment you are going to use a scenario (shown below) that describes the 4 phases of a project. You should put yourself in the shoes of a project leader (the organization doesn’t have the resources to hire a consultant to manage the process)

Marcus

31 Mar 2026 • 5 min read

Assignment #1- The Project Life Cycle/Lifecycle

OBJECTIVE- To apply the learning from the unit on the project life cycle and to demonstrate your competence in how to lead in each project phase.

DIRECTIONS- For this assignment you are going to use a scenario (shown below) that describes the 4 phases of a project. You should put yourself in the shoes of a project leader (the organization doesn’t have the resources to hire a consultant to manage the process) and for each phase you will be describing the key challenges and opportunities. The lecture and outside research will help but you will have to synthesize the information, be a little creative, and connect the material in the course with the actions you are describing.

This does NOT have to be an APA formatted paper, it should however be double-spaced, have your name on it, the name of the assignment, and include a reference list that is APA format. NO in-text citations are required for this one.

Use these steps to help you navigate the assignment.

1. Read through the scenario. It is basic and you should use the website design example, however you will decide what type of organization the project is in (choose something that you know relatively well like your job or an organization you are involved in).

2. Begin your paper with a basic introduction to the project. Pretend your professor has no direct involvement or experience working with the organization you chose. This should include a description of the “pain”/problem that is driving the organization to redesign their website. Also make sure to address the resources issue. Does this organization have an in-house marketing/IT staff to do the project or are you running this as the project leader with a consultant/web design firm doing the work? (This makes a key difference in how you will answer the questions.

3. For each of the 4 phases you will answer specific questions that are shown with the description of each phase.

4. Please use the following headings: Introduction, Phase 1- Conception, Phase 2- Planning, Phase 3- Execution, Phase 4- Termination, and Final Thoughts.

5. Do NOT make it look like a worksheet, put it in some organized format like a paper or report. Expect to write about 4 pages double-spaced. Do NOT use bullet points, write in complete sentences.

6. Once completed, save the document (use your name in the file name) as either a Word Document or PDF.

7. Take the rubric quiz to self-evaluate your submission. Make any changes needed and then upload the corrected document in the assignment dropbox in the online course.

GRADING RUBRIC

CATEGORY	EXPECTED QUALITY	POINTS POSSIBLE
Academic Writing	Paper is double spaced, well written, with spelling and grammar correct, includes a reference list in APA format, and uses the headings as described in the instructions.	2 points
Introduction	The introduction covers the type of organization for your scenario, as well as the description of the problem this project seeks to address	4 points
Conclusion	The conclusion synthesizes the challenges and opportunities that came with project managing the website redesign. Answers the question, what did you learn doing this scenario.	4 points
Phase 1 questions	The questions listed are answered fully with complete sentences. The answers demonstrate your understanding of the material covered in unit 2.	10 points
Phase 2 questions	The questions listed are answered fully with complete sentences. The answers demonstrate your understanding of the material covered in unit 2.	10 points
Phase 3 questions	The questions listed are answered fully with complete sentences. The answers demonstrate your understanding of the material covered in unit 2.	10 points
Phase 4 questions	The questions listed are answered fully with complete sentences. The answers demonstrate your understanding of the material covered in unit 2.	10 points
	Total points possible	50 points

SCENARIO- WEBSITE REDESIGN

Conception: You have been assigned to be the Project Manager for the redesign. You host a project kick-off meeting with various stakeholders (staff and clients/customers) to understand the problems with the existing site and the goal of the new one. One of the objectives is to modernize the site. You determine that the redesign is feasible. You developed a preliminary budget and asked the leadership in the organization for authorization to complete the $50k project over the next 6 months.

Questions: Who are the likely stakeholders you want to hear from to develop the project and why? How will you determine if the pain points are legitimate or just your own inferences? What are the additional goals beyond modernization? Based on the budget and timeline along with what you know about the capacity in the organization to do the work, will you use internal resources or contract the project out to a consultant, and why?

Planning: You and the team assemble the scope, schedule/milestones, and the detailed budget. The plan and schedule allow for stakeholder feedback. You develop a prototype of what the website will look like without entering the text on every page and agree on the number of changes allowed at each milestone of the project, a definition of a change is, and assign a to do list to various internal stakeholders/contributors (the staff) with the information needed to write the text on the site.

Questions: How would you propose to get feedback from your stakeholders on the plan and the prototype? How will you use this feedback to make changes and how does your limited budget factor into your decision-making process?

Execution: You and the team develop the page drafts for delivery at different milestones and with different stakeholders/contributors of content. Feedback at each checkpoint informs the next phase. You track project progress and control scope creep. For instance, at the first checkpoint, the client wants to change the placement of an icon. This change is minor, so scope creep is not a concern. For the remaining checkpoints, the project proceeds without a hitch. The final website is completed on time and on budget. You will want to roll out the new site and monitor it for problems or errors. One key element of the website is a payment portal (you can be creative about what consumers are paying for) which turns out to be very challenging because it requires each payee to create an account. You are getting complaints about it and the staff is asking you why we can’t just eliminate the payment portal and go back to the old way.

Questions: How will you address the stakeholders who complain about the payment portal and want to go back to the old way? Fixing this portal requires purchasing another SAS interface to accept credit cards and PayPal so how will you resource this need or will you acquiesce to the demands of the complainers? Is there any lemonade to be made here, if so, what might it be?

Termination- The website is completed, and it is live. You will not continue as webmaster and need to turn it over to a program and train the staff to keep it updated. The website project now ends and has become a part of the organization’s marketing and communications program.

Questions: The marketing and communications staff raise the challenge that they don’t know anything about the tech side of the website and want you to continue the effort as a project. Why can’t you do this? What can you do to help them accept this responsibility, so the website doesn’t end up like it was when you started the project (outdated and incorrect)?

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