Project Scope And WBS: Please Respond To The Following

Project Scope And Wbsplease Respond To The Followingread The Articl

Read the article titled, “S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting: Tips from a Project Manager” located at [source not specified]. Next, select a project, and determine at least two aspects of the project scope that might have the tendency to go out of scope and potentially derail the project. Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that contains three levels of detail and takes these two potential scope creep issues into account.

Your assignment includes creating a comprehensive project proposal, integrating elements from your Week 1 discussion. You should analyze the feasibility, practicality, and cost-benefit of your chosen project, aligning it with organizational strategic efforts. The proposal must include an executive summary outline, articulating the problem, requirements, and proposed solutions. Clearly specify the project vision and goals, ensuring they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (S.M.A.R.T.).

Identify five major project deliverables, explaining their importance, and provide a timeframe for their completion. Create a resource table listing generic resources—people, equipment, and materials—needed for project execution, along with a total budget estimate, including contingency and additional costs such as cultural or process changes.

Establish key success criteria that reflect stakeholder satisfaction and project performance. Support these criteria with rationales, assuming project delivery on time, within scope, and budget. Use at least three credible sources excluding Wikipedia and similar websites, citing all in APA format.

The assignment must follow the specified formatting: double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12, with one-inch margins, including a cover page (not counted in the page length). The cover page should contain the assignment title, student name, professor's name, course title, and date. Citations and references should adhere to APA standards. Consult your professor for additional instructions.

Paper For Above instruction

The assignment revolves around developing a detailed project proposal that demonstrates an understanding of project scope, work breakdown structures, strategic alignment, resource estimation, and success criteria within project management. To contextualize the work, the initial step involves selecting a specific project by referring back to prior discussions and ensuring its analysis aligns with organizational strategic priorities.

One critical aspect of the task is to identify potential scope creep issues that could threaten the project's timeline and success. For instance, scope expansion related to feature additions or regulatory compliance could derail progress if not managed effectively. Recognizing these potential pitfalls allows for the development of a WBS that anticipates and mitigates scope-related risks by incorporating appropriate review processes or contingency elements within the structure.

The WBS itself should be composed of three levels of hierarchy. The first level typically encapsulates major project phases or deliverables, such as initiation, planning, execution, and closure. The second level further breaks down these phases into key activities, while the third level details specific tasks needed to accomplish each activity. For example, if one deliverable is software development, then the second level might include coding, testing, and deployment, while the third level breaks down each into tasks like coding modules, writing test scripts, and configuring servers.

Alongside the WBS, the proposed project should be aligned with organizational strategies. This involves crafting an executive summary that succinctly describes the problem, the essential requirements, and the proposed solutions; clearly tying the project’s goals to the strategic objectives. The goals themselves must be formatted using the S.M.A.R.T. criteria to ensure clarity and achievability. For example, a goal could be "Develop a new customer management software within six months to improve customer satisfaction scores by 20%."

Furthermore, identifying five key deliverables is vital. These could include a completed project plan, a functional prototype, a tested and deployed solution, user training sessions, and a project closure report. Explaining the importance of each involves highlighting how each contributes to project closure and value realization. The timeframe associated with each deliverable reinforces project scheduling and resource planning.

Resource planning entails creating a table enumerating typical resources such as personnel (project manager, developers, testers), equipment (computers, servers), and materials (software licenses, training manuals). Estimating costs involves summing these resources and adding contingency budgets, usually a percentage of total costs, to account for unforeseen expenses or scope changes. Additional costs may include organizational cultural shifts or process modifications necessary for effective implementation, which should be factored into financial planning.

Key success criteria must be realistic and measurable, serving as benchmarks for project stakeholder satisfaction. Typical criteria include delivering the project on time, within scope, and on budget. Stakeholder satisfaction can be further measured by criteria such as user adoption rates, system performance metrics, or post-implementation feedback. Supporting these criteria with rationales reinforces the importance of each measure as a reflection of overall project success.

In conclusion, this comprehensive project proposal serves as a vital tool for ensuring project alignment with organizational strategy, clarity in scope, detailed planning through WBS, resourcing accuracy, and determination of success. Incorporating strategies to manage scope creep and ensuring deliverables align with SMART goals, the proposal aims to facilitate informed decision-making, risk mitigation, and stakeholder confidence—key factors for project success in complex organizational environments.

References

• Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
• Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (11th ed.). Wiley.
• Schwalbe, K. (2018). Information Technology Project Management (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Turner, J. R. (2014). Handbook of Project-Based Management. McGraw-Hill.
• Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2017). Project Management: A Managerial Approach (9th ed.). Wiley.