Spring 2015 Closure Module

Q. Although a Professor might teach the same course say every semester or every year during one semester, each semester can be considered as a NEW PROJECT; with a new edition of text-book, so additional new examples and new students; even though the time constraint, cost and scope might remain almost the same every semester taught. Or just because it is considered as a routine for a professor, it belongs to a quasi-project or a non-project?
A.  One could ask the same question about a fire department – is each fire a separate “project?”  Your book introduces the concept of a non-project (that looks like a project) with the distinction, “. preparation of school lunches, the delivery of mail, the flight of Delta 1288 from Dallas to Dulles, checking your e-mail, all are non-projects. While one might argue that each of these activities is, to some degree, unique, it is not their uniqueness that characterizes them. They are all routine. They are tasks that are performed over and over again. This is not true of projects. Each project is a one-time event.” More pertinent to our world are organizations such as the DOT or Corps of Engineers that do hundreds of project each year.  Do these individual project at some point become non-projects?   Of course not.  Although the organization is functional, each of the projects meets the description of the projects.  And, importantly, although the parent organization remains largely the same, each project is usually done by a different team with a different PM.  Don’t get lost with the concept of quasi-projects.  Let’s work backwards.  If the management of the effort would benefit by the application of project tools and managing the triple constraints – it is a project.

Q. During the few projects I have been involved with, people skills also seems to be a huge asset for a project manager since issues among or between different organizations involved always seems to pop up. Working in the private sector, have you experienced that as well or is it just when government and private sector try to reach a common goal?
A. Yes, interpersonal problems are at least as bad in the private world.  But, in the private world, there is usually a boss somewhere up the food chain who can force people to work together.  But bosses are reluctant to get involved – “Let them work it out for themselves.”

Q. “The ‘systems approach’ was mentioned on page 11, and I was curious how this is used in a project. The rest of the sentence states that when one part of the organization is affect, others will as well.”
A.  Let’s start with something more complex, systems dynamics.  Here’s an explanation.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_dynamics.  The key to dynamics is that while you are doing one activity, it affects other activities.  There are mathematical models and programs to help one simulate this.  (UAF ESM taught a course in this about 10 years ago.)  While the modeling may be tough – GIGO, the concept is intuitive.  If you market a new product, sell devices, eventually it will saturate the market.  Thus as times goes on, the demand falls.  If the device used a special battery, the market for the batteries would follow, but lag.  How would that affect the market for cadmium for the batteries?  From there Wikipedia has a good explanation.  Now for management thinking in general, the point is that one activity will have effects on other activities, and that this effect varies with time.  Having your key engineering spend all her time on the project will delay the monthly environmental permit reporting for the functional organization, and so it goes.