Individual Project Part 3: Project Evaluation, Lessons Learned, and Synthesis of Insights Gained Though project managers often gain a great deal of experiential knowledge through the project management process, project evaluation offers them a chance to formalize the lessons they have learned. Part 3 of the Individual Project focuses on issues related to evaluating the success of a project and the debriefing process for capturing lessons learned. If conducting an interview, your interviewee must be able to speak to these topics. Alternatively, you may examine a minimum of three organizations that have published descriptions about the evaluation and debriefing process of a health care information technology project. Interview To prepare: Review the Individual Project Overview document linked in this week’s Learning Resources for additional information on this project. Pay particular attention to the questions you should ask in your interview. Locate a professional who manages or works on special projects in health care and is willing to speak about his or her experience. If such a person is not readily available to you, find someone in your community who has managed a project for an organization. The organization can be a volunteer service group, a faith-based group, a business, or another that meets your needs. The goal is to find an individual who has been in charge of a project important to the organization. Review the topics and questions below that should be addressed in your interview. Think about other related questions you might have for your interviewee and solidify your goals for speaking to and learning from this person. Topics and Questions: As in the other interviews, you will need to adapt your questions to the individual, setting, and projects. You are not required to ask these specific questions, but you are required to address the topics listed below (Note: If the interviewee cannot address a topic, conduct a literature search to find scholarly information or research on that topic). Evaluation · What tools or strategies do you use to evaluate the success of a project? · Can you give an example of a project that failed (or was not successful)? Lessons Learned · Describe the project outcomes o What were some successful outcomes of the project? Were the project goals met? o How do you conduct a debriefing of the project with the project team? o What happens to the information gained from the debriefing? o How do the project team and the organization support project debriefing? · Companies have historically looked at technical skills, but more and more business managers are realizing that the absence of good "people" skills tends to cripple projects. What are three critically important things a project manager (or project team member) must do well to help a project succeed? Please add questions of your own, including asking for advice for the future from your interviewee. To complete: In a 4 ...

1. Individual Project Part 3: Project Evaluation, Lessons Learned,
and Synthesis of Insights Gained
Though project managers often gain a great deal of experiential
knowledge through the project management process, project
evaluation offers them a chance to formalize the lessons they
have learned. Part 3 of the Individual Project focuses on issues
related to evaluating the success of a project and the debriefing
process for capturing lessons learned. If conducting an
interview, your interviewee must be able to speak to these
topics. Alternatively, you may examine a minimum of three
organizations that have published descriptions about the
evaluation and debriefing process of a health care information
technology project.
Interview
To prepare:
Review the Individual Project Overview document linked in this
week’s Learning Resources for additional information on this
project. Pay particular attention to the questions you should ask
in your interview.
Locate a professional who manages or works on special projects

2. in health care and is willing to speak about his or her
experience.
If such a person is not readily available to you, find someone in
your community who has managed a project for an organization.
The organization can be a volunteer service group, a faith-based
group, a business, or another that meets your needs. The goal is
to find an individual who has been in charge of a project
important to the organization.
Review the topics and questions below that should be addressed
in your interview.
Think about other related questions you might have for your
interviewee and solidify your goals for speaking to and learning
from this person.
Topics and Questions:
As in the other interviews, you will need to adapt your
questions to the individual,
setting, and projects. You are not required to ask these
specific
questions, but you are
required to address the topics listed below (Note: If the
interviewee cannot address a
topic, conduct a literature search to find scholarly information
or research on that topic).
Evaluation
·
What tools or strategies do you use to evaluate the success of a
project?
·
Can you give an example of a project that failed (or was not
successful)?

3. Lessons Learned
·
Describe the project outcomes
o
What were some successful outcomes of the project? Were the
project
goals met?
o
How do you conduct a debriefing of the project with the project
team?
o
What happens to the information gained from the debriefing?
o
How do the project team and the organization support project
debriefing?
·
Companies have historically looked at technical skills, but more
and more
business managers are realizing that the absence of good
"people" skills tends to
cripple projects. What are three critically important things a
project manager (or
project team member) must do well to help a project succeed?
Please add questions of your own, including asking for advice
for the future from your
interviewee.
To complete:

4. In a 4- to 6-page paper in APA format with a minimum of 4
references from the list below. Reflect on your experience and
address the following level one headings as numbered below:
Describe the context of your interview—where and how the
interview took place, why you
selected this individual, and how you believe this individual
meets the requirements for this Assignment.
Describe the role and functions of the individual within the
context of the individual’s organizational structure and for
project management.
Synthesize insights on how evaluation and debriefing are
addressed in the interviewee’s organization.
Compare the insights from your interview with information
from project management literature about evaluation and
debriefing. Be sure that the comparisons you make are clear to
the reader.
Explain how your insights into these aspects of project
management will impact your ability to successfully manage
health care information technology projects. Include any tips
the individual described for managing a successful project.
Synthesize insights and conclusions gained from your
interviews about project management and how project
management is conducted in the interviewee’s organization.
Summarize how evaluations and debriefings in the real-world
setting of the interviewee and compare to the project
management literature.
Address how the use or non-use of formal project management
could impact the success of health care information technology
projects. Use literature sources to support your perspectives on
this topic.
Do not cut and paste all of the content from the first two parts
of the Assignment. You have to synthesize the key concepts,
insights, principles, etc. from each part of the Assignment into a

5. cohesive, understandable whole.
Required Readings
Coplan, S., & Masuda, D. (2011).
Project management for healthcare information technology.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter 3, “Project Management”
“Time Management” (pp. 59–68)
This section of Chapter 3 focuses on how project managers may
plan and control a project schedule to complete a project in a
given timeframe. The chapter explains the various aspects of
tasks, resources, and scheduling that are necessary for effective
time management.
Project Management Institute. (2013).
A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK
guide)
(5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author.
Chapter 6 “Project Time Management” (pp. 141–192)
This chapter provides an overview of processes that can be used
to manage a project so that it is completed on time: defining
activities, sequencing activities, estimating activity resources,
estimating activity durations, developing a schedule, and

6. controlling a schedule.
Biffi, M.-H. (2008). Linking the estimate, the schedule and the
cost control through a standardized WBS.
AACE International Transactions
, 1–11.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores how a WBS can link almost all the aspects
of a project. The author describes how a WBS can be the
starting point for many other documents that organize a project.
Fretty, P. (2012). On the right track.
PM Network
,
26
(9), 50–55.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article examines the consequences of accelerating a
project schedule and provides guidelines for when a project
should be “fast-tracked.”
Pells, D. L. (2012). Seek the truth! [Special section, Editorial].
PM World Today,
14(2), 1–10.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this editorial stresses the importance of honesty
in project planning and project management in general,
providing numerous examples in which honesty leads to better
outcomes.
Somani, S. (2008, August). On deadline.
PM Network, 22
(8), 26.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

7. In this article, the author discusses the importance of adhering
to set timelines in project management.
Wing, K. T. (2010). The discipline of finishing.
Strategic Finance
,
92
(1), 17–18.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article provides guidelines for successfully completing
projects. The author examines topics such as schedule conflicts,
ineffective time management, and self-imposed discipline.
Office Online (2014). Link tasks in a project. Retrieved from
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Link-tasks-in-a-project-
31b918ce-4b71-475c-9d6b-0ee501b4be57?ui=en-US&rs=en-
US&ad=US
In this article, the author describes the different types of task
dependencies and offers suggestions for choosing the correct
dependency type.
Heather. (2008, July 28). Back to basics: Understanding task
dependencies [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/project/archive/2008/07/29/back-to-
basics-understanding-task-dependencies.aspx
This article reviews the four types of dependencies available in
Microsoft Project. The author provides guidelines for when each
dependency type is appropriate.
Required Media

8. Laureate Education (Producer). (2013d).
Planning, part II: Scheduling project activities and resources
[Video file].
Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note:
The approximate length of this media piece is 19 minutes.
In this presentation, the participants discuss the scheduling of
project activities and resources and the software tools that can
be used to do so. They also explain what is meant in project
management by “the critical path.”