Each student must post at least one substantive reply to another teams post. Replies such as great post or I agree are not adequate by themselves 200 to 300 words. Please provide specific feedback regarding the proposed executive status template as a minimum. Additional discussion regarding project health, monitoring, controlling, etc. are welcome, but this is particularly an opportunity to provide input into creating a top notch executive status report template. Using APA Formatting and In-text citations with references.
Jeremy Watson
1. Define project health and describe why it is important to monitor.
Project health can be defined as the status of the project. The level of detail that goes into this status report varies by the organization. Conducting a project health check tells the project manager what is going well and what needs to be improved for the remaining duration of a project. Monitoring project health ensures the project is conforming to organizational processes and objectives (Young, 2011). Additionally, the project manager can determine if there are any issues before they occur and take preventative action to save time and money in the long run (Windsor, 2018).
2. What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and how can they be used to monitor project health?
Key Performance Indicators include various specific measurement tools for specifying how well project teams are achieving specific goals (Key Performance Indicators, 2018). Establishing KPIs early in project planning helps in monitoring the future health of a project. Monitoring KPIs assists in telling the project manager where the project is succeeding and where it needs help. KPIs are used to monitor timeliness, budget, quality, and effectiveness (Yochum, 2019). These four categories are crucial for project success and have significant implications for the overall health of a project.
3. Why is it important to monitor and control a project?
Monitoring and controlling project work is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting project progress against the performance objectives defined in the project management plan (PMBOK, 2013). Some of the outputs in the monitor and control project work include change request, performance reports, project management plan updates, and project document updates. The monitoring and controlling process involve comparing actual performance with planned performance and taking corrective action to yield desired outcomes when significant differences exist (Best Practices, n.d.). This process goes on from the start of the project until the end.
4. Explain in detail and provide examples of tools used to monitor and control a project. How does project health affect monitoring?
Gantt charts, control charts, status reports, fishbone diagrams, and flowcharts are some of the most popular tools used to monitor and control a project (Nayab, n.d.). Each of these tools provides specific details to the project that can be used for the monitoring and controlling process. Monitoring techniques help the health of the project and offer a great way to manage projects proactively and avoid; scope creep, project delays, resource issues and budget crises (Pathak, 2012).
5. Explain the closing process of a project including some of the steps involve and why lessons learned is critical.
There is so much effort put into the planning and executing of a project; it is often forgotten that the closing of a project is equally important (Ray, 2017). The closing process includes, but is not limited to, customer sign-off, archiving all project documents, finalizing lessons learned, and celebrating with the project team. A critical activity in the closing process is doing lessons learned. The lessons learned document is key to starting the next similar project. It gives the following project team a guide for doing things that were previously successful and avoiding areas that could cause project failure.
References
A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide). (2013). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Best Practices (n.d.). Monitoring & Control. Retrieved from http://www.bestpractices.ca.gov/project_management
Key Performance Indicators in Project Management Florida Tech Online. (2018, January 23). Retrieved from https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/business/ke
Nayab, N. (n.d.). A comprehensive guide to the project monitor and control process. Retrieved from https://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/12
Pathak, R. (2012). Project metrics: monitor and control your projects. Retrieved from https://project-management.com/project-metrics-mon
Ray, S. (2017). 5 steps to project closure. Retrieved from https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/project-closur
Windsor, G. (2018). 7 Factors to Include in Your Project Health Check. Retrieved from https://www.brightwork.com/blog/7-factors-to-inclu
Yochum, C. (2019, February 06). The 15 Most Important Project Management KPIs (& How To Track Them). Retrieved from https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/15-important-pr
Young, M. (2011). What Are Project Health Checks? Retrieved from
https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-are-project-he
Instructions from Professor given to students:
Create a PowerPoint slide to use as a template for an executive level status report on your Capstone Project. This report should have space to cover progress to date, top 3 risks, top 3 issues, any open change requests, the remaining major milestones, and an overall rating of project health in the areas of budget and schedule. This information should be captured on a single slide, so you must be concise. You will fill in the details of this template in week 3 of the next class.
So please give feedback on the layout and format of the Project Dashboard template attached. As well as recommendations, tips and feedback.
