Project Management is a strategic competency of organizations that involve the application of knowledge, skills, and techniques to align project objectives with business goals, enabling companies to better compete in their respective market: https://www.orangescrum.com/
Thesis writer, Dissertation writer, Plagiarism Free Dissertation writing services.
The difference between project planning stages or phases and project life cycle is very thin. The project stages are just the stages through which every project has to pass. On the other hand, the project life cycle is a continuous set of activities that have to be performed in a logical sequence in order to best achieve the business objectives
Project Management is a strategic competency of organizations that involve the application of knowledge, skills, and techniques to align project objectives with business goals, enabling companies to better compete in their respective market: https://www.orangescrum.com/
Thesis writer, Dissertation writer, Plagiarism Free Dissertation writing services.
The difference between project planning stages or phases and project life cycle is very thin. The project stages are just the stages through which every project has to pass. On the other hand, the project life cycle is a continuous set of activities that have to be performed in a logical sequence in order to best achieve the business objectives
This project charter guide covers everything you need to know about the project charter. It is based on the free template you can download here: http://project-charter-template.casual.pm/
A lesson on how to conduct Stakeholder Management for a project in any industry. Project stakeholders are extremely important to project success. Knowing how to adequately management their expectations and influence on the project is very essential for the project manager.
Project Planning: How to Achieve the ImpossibleMindGenius
Nobody launches a new project and intends for it to fail. But time and again projects do fail, for a vast range of reasons.
But there are ways of stacking the odds in your favour. Among the most important is resisting the very human urge to jump straight in. Good planning is vital for success.
Rather than struggling with problems reactively, find out the ways on how to survive remote teams, deadlines and inadequate communication with ease. Get the complete guide here https://www.orangescrum.com/
Project management issues and their solutionOrangescrum
Common project Management problems can be fixed with online project management software easily. Identifying project management issues and their solution is the most important thing.
How Project Management Leads to Better OutcomesAllison Reznick
Implementing project management practices can have
widespread benefits for an association. Here's a primer on
what effective project management looks like and how
associations might use it.
Running Head PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS1PROJE.docxtodd581
Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS 1
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS 5
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
Mekdes Asaminew
Rasmussen College
05/16/2020
FAQ document
What are project management tools?
These are the instruments which project managers use to plan, execute as well as manage plans in one centralized virtual location. These tools vary from team to team depending on the tasks to be performed in the project. The project management tools include; project management software, real-time instant messaging tool, knowledge base tool and file sharing tool.
What is project management software?
This is computer software which helps the project team members to collaborate during the project, plan all their activities as well as to record all the collected data.
What is a real-time instant messaging tool?
It is a tool that allows team members of a particular project to talk and video call with colleagues in real time. This tool helps improve collaboration of the team members and allows all people to collectively provide their opinions on different matters during carrying out the project.
What is knowledge base tool?
It involves a search database that allows individual to store the combined wisdom of the team members and ensures that the information is accessible to all members
What is a file sharing tool?
It is a tool which allows people to save sync and share files. It ensures that all the documents provided by team members are well stored and easily retrievable for future reference. (Bilal.et.al, 2017)
What are project management methodologies?
Project management methodologies are basically the different techniques which are used to approach a given project; every methodology of project management has its unique process and workflow. They are classified into “traditional or sequential methodologies, agile methodologies, the change management methodologies and process-based methodologies.”
What are the traditional or sequential methodologies?
These are the methods of managing a project which involve a sequence of tasks which lead to the final deliverables and project managers are required to ensure that the tasks are worked on them in a given order. The methodologies classified under this category include;
· Waterfall project management methodology; involves completing a certain task before beginning another task in a linked sequence of objects which adds up to the general goal. It is used in projects that create physical objects like building a computer.
· Critical path method; it involves prioritizing and allocating available raw materials to ensure the most crucial task is done as well as rescheduling lower priority task.
· Critical chain project management; involves a technique for putting main concentration on the needed materials.
What are agile methodologies?
These are project management methodologies which prioritize on shorter iterative cycles and flexibility. They are categorized .
This project charter guide covers everything you need to know about the project charter. It is based on the free template you can download here: http://project-charter-template.casual.pm/
A lesson on how to conduct Stakeholder Management for a project in any industry. Project stakeholders are extremely important to project success. Knowing how to adequately management their expectations and influence on the project is very essential for the project manager.
Project Planning: How to Achieve the ImpossibleMindGenius
Nobody launches a new project and intends for it to fail. But time and again projects do fail, for a vast range of reasons.
But there are ways of stacking the odds in your favour. Among the most important is resisting the very human urge to jump straight in. Good planning is vital for success.
Rather than struggling with problems reactively, find out the ways on how to survive remote teams, deadlines and inadequate communication with ease. Get the complete guide here https://www.orangescrum.com/
Project management issues and their solutionOrangescrum
Common project Management problems can be fixed with online project management software easily. Identifying project management issues and their solution is the most important thing.
How Project Management Leads to Better OutcomesAllison Reznick
Implementing project management practices can have
widespread benefits for an association. Here's a primer on
what effective project management looks like and how
associations might use it.
Running Head PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS1PROJE.docxtodd581
Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS 1
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS 5
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
Mekdes Asaminew
Rasmussen College
05/16/2020
FAQ document
What are project management tools?
These are the instruments which project managers use to plan, execute as well as manage plans in one centralized virtual location. These tools vary from team to team depending on the tasks to be performed in the project. The project management tools include; project management software, real-time instant messaging tool, knowledge base tool and file sharing tool.
What is project management software?
This is computer software which helps the project team members to collaborate during the project, plan all their activities as well as to record all the collected data.
What is a real-time instant messaging tool?
It is a tool that allows team members of a particular project to talk and video call with colleagues in real time. This tool helps improve collaboration of the team members and allows all people to collectively provide their opinions on different matters during carrying out the project.
What is knowledge base tool?
It involves a search database that allows individual to store the combined wisdom of the team members and ensures that the information is accessible to all members
What is a file sharing tool?
It is a tool which allows people to save sync and share files. It ensures that all the documents provided by team members are well stored and easily retrievable for future reference. (Bilal.et.al, 2017)
What are project management methodologies?
Project management methodologies are basically the different techniques which are used to approach a given project; every methodology of project management has its unique process and workflow. They are classified into “traditional or sequential methodologies, agile methodologies, the change management methodologies and process-based methodologies.”
What are the traditional or sequential methodologies?
These are the methods of managing a project which involve a sequence of tasks which lead to the final deliverables and project managers are required to ensure that the tasks are worked on them in a given order. The methodologies classified under this category include;
· Waterfall project management methodology; involves completing a certain task before beginning another task in a linked sequence of objects which adds up to the general goal. It is used in projects that create physical objects like building a computer.
· Critical path method; it involves prioritizing and allocating available raw materials to ensure the most crucial task is done as well as rescheduling lower priority task.
· Critical chain project management; involves a technique for putting main concentration on the needed materials.
What are agile methodologies?
These are project management methodologies which prioritize on shorter iterative cycles and flexibility. They are categorized .
Student 1 Hi,Project is a temporary goal that a team or an .docxcpatriciarpatricia
Student 1:
Hi,
Project is a temporary goal that a team or an organization undertakes in order to create a unique product or service. A project different from a day-to-day activity, this is because project(s) are temporary, it will have a start, a goal, a defined objective, and a scope that must be achieved by the defined end time (Project Management Institute, n.d.). On top of the above-mentioned, projects heavily rely on the effective management of triple-constants, time, quality & cost. The key attributes of a project are that,
1. A project will always have a start and end dates
2. Requires resources from multiple teams or areas in an organization to achieve one common goal
3. Involves uncertainty and changes to scope
4. Has budget limitation that impacts utilization of resources and supplies
5. Will always need a stakeholder or a sponsor
In my experience, I learnt that he role of top management / business leadership commitment is key for a project to yield fruitful results as many projects aren’t completed due to lack of leadership support & commitment. Involvement of top management in our project helped us team in getting key decisions and changes related to infrastructure, architecture, network & operations quickly. Leadership involvement during initiation/kick-off ensured that the impacted teams that are on the other side of the organization co-operated more readily than usual. Having the top management involved in the project helped our team in getting additional resources and support when required that otherwise could have resulted in delay or even termination of the project. IT projects are filled with unique challenges in every step, some of them are,
1. Scope change in the middle of the project
2. Delivery delays due to miscommunication of scope between impacted teams (Ramachandran, 2017)
3. Remote stakeholders that make output delivery and decision-making difficult (Ramachandran, 2017)
Absence of pre-defined project management practices that jeopardizes the delivery when blockers appear (Ramachandran, 2017)
Thanks,
Vamshi
References
Project Management Institute. (n.d.). What is Project Management? Retrieved from Project Management Institute: https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi/what-is-project-management
Ramachandran, K. (2017, September 18). 5 IT Project Management Challenges and How to Overcome Them. Retrieved from Capterra: https://blog.capterra.com/it-project-management-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them/
Student 2:
IT Management
What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in their day-to-day jobs?
A project is a venture towards developing a certain product or services which is unique, is a mostly a collaborative practice which is planned and organized to follow particular order so as to achieve. For an activity to be referred to as a project, there are some attributes that must be displayed. This includes; projects are unique and mostly temporary because .
Student 1 Hi,Project is a temporary goal that a team or an .docxdeanmtaylor1545
Student 1:
Hi,
Project is a temporary goal that a team or an organization undertakes in order to create a unique product or service. A project different from a day-to-day activity, this is because project(s) are temporary, it will have a start, a goal, a defined objective, and a scope that must be achieved by the defined end time (Project Management Institute, n.d.). On top of the above-mentioned, projects heavily rely on the effective management of triple-constants, time, quality & cost. The key attributes of a project are that,
1. A project will always have a start and end dates
2. Requires resources from multiple teams or areas in an organization to achieve one common goal
3. Involves uncertainty and changes to scope
4. Has budget limitation that impacts utilization of resources and supplies
5. Will always need a stakeholder or a sponsor
In my experience, I learnt that he role of top management / business leadership commitment is key for a project to yield fruitful results as many projects aren’t completed due to lack of leadership support & commitment. Involvement of top management in our project helped us team in getting key decisions and changes related to infrastructure, architecture, network & operations quickly. Leadership involvement during initiation/kick-off ensured that the impacted teams that are on the other side of the organization co-operated more readily than usual. Having the top management involved in the project helped our team in getting additional resources and support when required that otherwise could have resulted in delay or even termination of the project. IT projects are filled with unique challenges in every step, some of them are,
1. Scope change in the middle of the project
2. Delivery delays due to miscommunication of scope between impacted teams (Ramachandran, 2017)
3. Remote stakeholders that make output delivery and decision-making difficult (Ramachandran, 2017)
Absence of pre-defined project management practices that jeopardizes the delivery when blockers appear (Ramachandran, 2017)
Thanks,
Vamshi
References
Project Management Institute. (n.d.). What is Project Management? Retrieved from Project Management Institute: https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi/what-is-project-management
Ramachandran, K. (2017, September 18). 5 IT Project Management Challenges and How to Overcome Them. Retrieved from Capterra: https://blog.capterra.com/it-project-management-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them/
Student 2:
IT Management
What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in their day-to-day jobs?
A project is a venture towards developing a certain product or services which is unique, is a mostly a collaborative practice which is planned and organized to follow particular order so as to achieve. For an activity to be referred to as a project, there are some attributes that must be displayed. This includes; projects are unique and mostly temporary because .
AI has made significant inroads into various fields, including project management. AI can enhance project management by automating repetitive tasks, providing data-driven insights, and improving decision-making. Here are some use cases of AI in project management, along with explanations and examples:
Scheduling and Cost ControlChristopher MihunPM620-1801B-01.docxanhlodge
Scheduling and Cost Control
Christopher Mihun
PM620-1801B-01
Professor Borodin
Introduction
Project differ from one organization to another.
There are periods when an organization uses a project for special functions.
There are those which use projects as part of an integrated business platform and architecture.
Therefore, for a successful implementation of a project:
Human resources
Equipment and materials
Financial resources and facilities
2
Why are scheduling and cost control important for project success?
These are a closely related concept for project management.
The importance of scheduling and cost control include:
Efficiency in project management (Kerzner, 2015).
Profitability through ensuring good resources allocation and utilization
Satisfying consumer needs and meeting delivery timelines (Rosli, Haziq, 2017).
They are core aspect of project planning to meet project costs.
Scheduling and cost control are essential for project success.
Based on Rosli, Haziq (2017), project budgeting helps in determining the necessary and needed resources to effectively manage a project. It is important to consider the process and affiliation in consideration to performance issues and resources. It is also important to effectively improve and coordinate the different processes of budgeting such as constraints of costs to a project. Rosli, Haziq (2017), further argues the process of managing cost and budgets will either influence the success and failure of a project. Therefore, for a successful project, a timely performance of a project team will determine the ability to meet the set timelines and quantifiably improve and meet the necessary demands of a project. All these imply to the concept of a project success measurement in terms delivery of the needed and necessary deliverables. Covering all the necessary deliverables at the right time and within the needed framework, helps to improve and meet the necessary demands of the project stakeholders.
It is also important to understand the necessary project lifecycles and how each lifecycle impacts a project development differently. Therefore, it is important for project managers to understand the process of project management and how to effectively develop the necessary process implementation to ensure successful implementation of a project. As a manager, one should always possess good communication skills to improve and increase communication plans for the project team and overall communication with the stakeholders. Good communication plans will help the project team to identify the necessary project goals, deliverables, timelines, and resource allocation, keep track of project changes and project progress. The importance of project scheduling is to ensure there is a control for project success and meeting the needed successful projections based on evaluations and plans. It is also ideally a complete concept to ensure there is a considerable performance to help, develop and increase.
Project management is the application of knowledge, Skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. It is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives.
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptxJheel Barad
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Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
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This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
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Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
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Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp Network
Project management Course in Mumbai
1. Are you looking for any Project Management Courses in Mumbai or Project Management
Courses in Delhi or PMP Certification Training or so on ? Have a look at below article.
“When I took up my new project, the objectives, needs analysis, feasibility study, and steps that
were needed to achieve project goals were well planned. However, as the project took off, the
scope started changing. This was partly due to the need to keep pace with changing customer
demand, and partly due to overlooking the many facets of the project that seemed obvious,”
says Khushi, a project manager for a construction project in Mumbai, India.
This is not uncommon; often requirements gathering and analysis are done in a detailed manner
during project initiation and planning stages. Subsequently, the project scope goes through
revisions, overlooking the impact on budget and schedule overruns. The project manager often
procrastinates critical analyses of changed requirements, putting them on the back burner, while
being blissfully oblivious of the future repercussions.
It is a VUCA world—volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Project management is no
exception. Customers are more demanding than ever. The rapidly changing business
environment often forces customers to change their expectations from deliverables, resulting in
project scope creep. The VUCA world has redefined requirements gathering and gap analysis to
a dynamic concept. “We often prioritize requirements and plan accordingly, based on the
immediate need of the hour. We try accommodating these small changes within the planned
framework and assume to still adhere to budget and time constraints,” remarks Khushi.
Gradually, “small changes” sum up to result in “big changes,” thereby leading to significant
overruns in budget and schedule, without any formal acknowledgement. Gaurav, who works as
an IT project lead in a reputed firm, affirms, “In such situations, the final project hardly
resembles the original or initial plan.” Welcome to scope creep!
A bit about project management: To achieve a specific target, a project is often measured by
achieving quadruple constraints; namely, budget, schedule, scope, and quality. Budget,
schedule, and quality are often dependent on project scope. Changes in scope can distort
project outcomes. Management of scope creep involves effective requirements analysis,
followed with optimum resource allocation and involvement of relevant stakeholders. Ineffective
requirements gathering and analysis can adversely affect the resource allocation and
stakeholder involvement. Leadership support, coupled with the project manager’s vision and
their flexibility to accommodate change management, can prevent scope creep. In addition,
prudent planning, monitoring, and controlling of requirements, and subsequent due diligence,
can control scope creep and improve the chances of project success.
Project Myopia
Having said that, project success is not all about meeting the quadruple constraints. Undeniably,
there are some factors outside the ambit of the project manager, but not all. As Sudhir, a young
IT project manager, puts it, “There are two dimensions to this: the influence of external
stakeholders, principally the changing customers’ expectations and the internal stakeholders,
and the project manager and his or her team. It is seldom the case that the external stakeholder
will restrict the project manager from redefining the project scope to accommodate the changed
expectations on project deliverables.”
2. Scope creep is not a situation created by external stakeholders or customers. There is a
behavioral aspect to it. A flexible mind-set of the project manager that is receptive to change,
without having a myopic and rigid view of initial project requirements, can do the magic. Gaurav
Jana, an IT project lead, says, “We are often emotionally attached to the initial planning, based
on which deadlines are determined. Then we keep adding on, without formally providing
additional leeway.” Improper prioritization of work schedules, incorporating technological
improvements, and changes in factors external to the system (e.g., recession, government
regulatory policies, natural disasters, etc.), can also lead to scope creep.
When project management is viewed from the traditional lens of planning, monitoring, and
controlling, the human side often goes unnoticed. Matters like teamwork, leadership,
communication, cultural diversity, openness of the mind, etc. are gradually gaining momentum
to address such aspects of behavioral project management. A rigid mind-set or mental block of
project managers increases the threat of scope creep.
For example, a project manager’s resistance to say no to the changing demands of clients or
top management exposes the project to overrun deadlines. Khushi adds, “As project managers,
we don’t want to antagonize relationships with clients and top management. We just keep
hoping that things will improve and we will make up—in reality, that never happens.”
Project managers with a flexible mind-set can quickly recognize the changing requirements.
They can create formal processes with the support of the project sponsor to monitor the
progress and initiative changes in project plans (including resource allocation). A flexible
mind-set can encourage formal documentation based on revised plans with the concurrence of
all related parties to avert scope creep.
“It’s not just the project manager’s mind-set; stakeholders’, especially customers’ mind-sets, are
equally important,” says Rashi, a project lead in one of India’s largest conglomerates.
“Customers often try negotiating with minor changes in scope. If accepted by the project head,
they keep improvising at various levels of project delivery. They then start taking the project
head as granted. It’s more of an attitudinal problem,” adds Rashi. Similar, could be the case with
other vendors and stakeholders. “Changing the scope of project is not an offense. What leads to
project failure is appropriate requirements gathering, analysis of changed requirements,
documenting the impacts on the project deliverables, and carefully studying the implications,”
says Rashi.
Project myopia can also encompass myopic project leadership that can lead to scope creep. A
weak leadership can lose command of the project. Eventually, others, who are not the decision
makers and completely oblivious of the overall plan and its implications, start calling the shots.
Often, in such scenarios, by the time higher authorities come to know, it is too late for redressal.
Dharit Mehta, an infrastructure project manager, says, “I have come across situations where
inflated ego and overconfidence hinders the project manager to initiate discussions with higher
authority to salvage project outcomes by revising scope, schedule, and budget.”
Can Critical Thinking Help?
The invisible thread that connects the various aspects of requirements gathering and analysis to
prevent project scope creep is information. However, how can critical thinking help? Most of us
feel that critical thinking is just a business jargon—it’s old wine in a new bottle. We all know how
to think critically, don’t we? It is about awareness, thinking reasonably with logic, making right
3. judgments, making correct decisions without biases, and so on and so forth. Then where is the
problem?
Well, that is not all! Information, knowledge, and thorough processes are like match sticks;
unless you light them, there is no fire. Therefore, unless one knows the tools to gainfully use the
various facets of critical thinking, it is like a matchstick that gradually attracts moisture. After a
while, if not used, it becomes useless. Therefore, it is not about what needs to be done, it is
about the mind-set that does it skillfully.
Critical thinking can help the project manager to evaluate information and its sources by
challenging the project manager’s attitude, traditional assumptions, and beliefs developed from
existing contexts and thought processes. As Halpern (2014) defines it, critical thinking is not
just a set of cognitive skills and strategies; it is about the attitude to use knowledge and skills to
increase the chances of success. In the context of requirements gathering to prevent scope
creep in projects, critical thinking can involve the following steps:
a. Information gathering: This is the first step in critical thinking. Due to frequent
changes in customers’ expectations, stakeholders’ involvements, etc., information
generated during project initiation transforms. Changes in information—with respect
to the changed requirements—need careful documentation.
b. Making sense from information: Making sense implies getting answers to a set of
questions:
i. What is the extent to which the revised requirements are different from the initial
plan?
ii. Is this change acceptable and implementable?
iii. What would be the impact on project scope, schedule, and budget to incorporate the
requirements change(s)?
iv. What sanctions from top management are required to initiate this change?
v. What are the additional resources required to meet the changed requirements?
vi. What are the consequences (from the perspectives of the client, project, and
organization) of not accepting the demand for change in requirements?
vii. What are the changes in risk-return dynamics to incorporate the changes?
viii. Implementing change: Metacognition (i.e., instead of mechanically managing the
requirements gathering process) is important in order to be completely aware of the
impact of the change on project objectives. This is called metacognition. Some call it
mindfulness. Mind mapping can be considered as a corollary to critical thinking. It
promotes creativity through graphical illustrations and generates structured thoughts,
leading to implementable ideas. IBM has been using mind-mapping techniques for
decades to process complex information. For scoping projects, careful usage of the
concepts of critical thinking is a prudent way to ensure project success. An
open-minded approach to change—critically thinking through the processes,
independent of biases and influence of stakeholders, yet respecting the knowledge
around that—can help execute the project successfully, and is necessary while
implementing change.
Segregating Constituents for Requirements Gathering
4. While requirements gathering and analysis can be critically viewed through collating information,
making sense from it, and implementing change, a framework can be developed around it using
four pillars of critical thinking: analyze, evaluate, create, and communicate.
Analysis is a continuous process that involves detailed inspection of all elements of
requirements from the perspective of the project scope. Evaluation helps in assessing the
repercussions in quantifiable terms on other units and stakeholders of the project. Dismantling
information can help in evaluating every component in detail, and in making valuable judgments.
Complex and ambiguous situations force the revisiting of plans and redefining scope
statements. After carefully analyzing and evaluating, critical thinking helps in paving the way
with a new design mind-set. This is when we create a solution.
However, creation is not a one-time job, it is a dynamic concept. All three steps involving
analysis, evaluation, and creation remain incomplete if not all stakeholders are congruent in
their thought processes. In addition, critical thinking involves a lot of arguments, brainstorming,
and discussions among team members. Hence, communication is the bridge that holds the
other three facets together. “Redefining project goals by changing initial plans and recreating
project deliverables requires adoptability and flexibility, not only from the project manager, but
also from the unlimited support of the project team. This requires a high degree of compatibility
across levels, problem sharing, and solving together, and an environment that promotes the free
flow of information,” asserts Dharit.
Let us consider requirements gathering and analysis as an important dimension of project
scoping. Documentation needs to be complete, yet precise, for which gathering requirements
critically will be necessary. One of the methods of critical thinking is questioning and not being
biased with a reply. For instance, consider that an important meeting is scheduled and the
project sponsor is asking the team member about the project manager, Vikram. The question is,
“Where is Vikram?” There can be varied answers; for example:
a. It seems like he is not interested in the meeting;
b. She must be late, and that's why she couldn't come;
c. Guess he is waiting for the latest update from the client; or
d. He is out of town, traveling to Bangalore.
The first three responses are biased, assuming things without evidence, though there could be
prior occurrences that trigger such assumptions. Answer (d) is closest to reality and captures
the fact. In short, critical thinking enables requirements gathering without being biased and
judgmental. A meticulous breakdown of four pillars of critical thinking—analyze, evaluate,
create, and communicate—can be a response to requirements gathering as an important facet
of managing scope creep.
Through the Lens of Critical Thinking
The devil is in the details; the lens of critical thinking, unless scrupulously dismantled, cannot
provide a solution to requirements gathering. The first step is analysis. This would require
defining the requirements, based on initial plans with the client and subsequent revisions. It
could be crucial to divide these requirements into sections like human resources, technology,
machinery, raw materials, inventory, etc., as and when there is a change in the plan, the
resource gaps must be identified, and future needs predicted, based on previous patterns,
market demand, and expected competition. Of course, the change in requirements has to be
5. mapped with project’s overall life cycle. Accordingly, revised statements can be prepared and
acted upon.
Evaluation is an equally important criterion. It entails quantification of requirements enumerated
during project initiation and changes thereafter. The exact impact of such quantifications on
performance can be assessed by developing measurement yardsticks, depending on the nature
of the project, industry dynamics (e.g., an IT project can be different from an infrastructure
project), client demand, and delivery constraints. A quick pilot survey to understand the
receptiveness of the measurement yardstick to accommodate changing customer requirements
can be a smart idea. At this stage, the implications of requirements changes can be evaluated in
terms of risk-return trade-off.
Analyze:
● Define requirements based on clients’ initial and revised plans;
● Segregate requirements into categories (e.g., human, technology, machinery,
raw inputs, etc.);
● Identify resource gaps and future needs;
● Analyze how changes in requirements can be accommodated in the project’s
overall life cycle;
● Prepare revised statements for requirements, whenever there is a change in
scope.
Evaluate:
● Quantify requirements enumerated during project initiation;
● Monitor the changes thereafter;
● Generate measurement yardsticks to determine success and conformance;
● Perform cost-benefit analysis of deviation of requirements gathering from initial
plan;
● Evaluate risk-return trade-off and implications of requirements change;
● Evaluate performance measurement tools and their receptiveness to changing
customer needs;
Create:
● Create a management information system (MIS) to record and monitor changing
requirements;
● Associate stakeholders who will be impacted (positively and negatively, if at all)
by change;
● Create an iterative process to map revised scope with requirements gathering,
subsequent resource requirements and stakeholder involvement, risk-return,
impact on cost and budget, and impact on project outcome;
● Identify change agents for revised requirements;
Communicate
● Communicate the need for requirements gathering and analysis to relevant
stakeholders;
● Enable a two-way communication between the project team and leadership to
ensure effective planning, monitoring, and controlling;
6. ● Communicate the creation of MIS, mapping processes for measurement, or
other frameworks that define and update requirements to relevant stakeholders;
● Ensure communication is not mechanical, that it is receptive and acceptable.
Figure 1: The granular details of critical thinking for requirements gathering
In the context of India or other emerging economies, often a politico-hooligan nexus, or a
sudden change in host country’s regulatory or socio-economic-political environment, could
impinge on a project and potentially torpedo all rigors of the processes as proposed. A risk
anticipation and mitigation plan should be put in place to take care of such contingencies, and
can be an important constituent of the risk-return trade-off.
Figure 2: The critical- thinking framework to requirements gathering
Conclusion
Analysis and evaluation go hand in hand with creation. It is important to create robust systems
and processes that can accommodate changing requirements. A Management Information
System (MIS), in this context, can be handy. The MIS should adapt iterative processes to
consider the revised scope of requirements gathering and the implications thereafter. It should
also be able to produce results on the impact on time and cost and, eventually, project outcome.
The change agents who will make all of this happen have to be judiciously engaged. However,
such systems would only work if people associated are taken to confidence.
All these efforts can go completely wasted if analysis, evaluation, and creation are not
communicated to relevant stakeholders. A transparent two-way communication between the
project team, project leadership, and top management can facilitate the process and help in
effective planning, monitoring, and controlling. For example, before launching the MIS, inputs
from the project team, project leadership, and other relevant stakeholders can be integrated into
the systems to ensure smooth transition. Remember, such communication can potentially
boomerang if mechanically implemented. People around are smart!
7. Many times, such approaches to requirements gathering to prevent scope creep falls on deaf
ears if not mandated from the top. It is important that top management believes in the
framework and implements it at the policy level. However, a mandate from the top has the
potential to emotionally detach the project team and force them to implement the proposed MIS
mechanically. This can turn out to be detrimental. Hence, taking people along can be crucial,
while creating the MIS for requirements gathering. In addition, integration across various
departments of the organization can be beneficial. This can provide a rich platform for
experience sharing and help in creating a learning organization.
References
1. Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R. E.,
2. Pintrich, P. R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M. C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching
and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy. New York, NY: Longman Publishing.
3. Artz, A. F., & Armour-Thomas, E. (1992). Development of a cognitive-metacognitive
framework for protocol analysis of mathematical problem solving in small groups.
Cognition and Instruction, 9(2), 137–175.
4. Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking.
(5th ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
About the Author
With a doctorate degree in project risk management, and over 20 years of experience in project
management and decision support systems, Vanita Bhoola serves as a professor at S.P. Jain
Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, India. Apart from teaching at SPJIMR
across programs, mentoring students, and publishing in leading international journals, she offers
tailored courses across different programs at the Institute and customized executive programs
in project management based on company research, sector analysis, and the business
environment that influences business. She currently heads the Center for Project Management
and Management Development Programs at SPJIMR.