final project exam

  

Work 1: Final Portfolio Project

Option #1: Develop Applications Relative to Course Objectives

As part of successfully completing this course, you should be able to master the eight course objectives:

1. Demonstrate      the need for project management metrics.
2. Establish      the importance of metrics in effective management of time, cost, and      scope.
3. Apply      the knowledge of project metrics to identify the key characteristics of      properly defined metrics.
4. Characterize      Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as used in metric-driven project      management.
5. Apply      value-based project management metrics as important in selecting the right      metrics.
6. Explore      project performance dashboards including designs, use, and limitations.
7. Explore      the applications of visual project management tools, including project      performance dashboards.
8. Create      proper performance indicators for application in measurement-driven      project management.

In this portfolio project, you are to show your mastery of the eight course objectives at a master’s level. You are to write a paper that covers each of the eight topics.

Notice that each objective is written with a verb as the first word to show some action that students must achieve for success in this class. Verbs like “demonstrate,” “apply,” and “create” require that the student takes some action on a project to satisfy the requirement. You should find a project to use in this portfolio where you may take those actions and document them in your paper. You might apply earned value analysis on a project underway to satisfy course objective number 5, for example.

Verbs like “establish,” “characterize,” and “explore” require that the student shows mastery of current thinking on the subject. This part of your paper may be taken from research, or interviews. You might explore an application of dashboards by interviewing a project manager and performing research on current thinking about dashboards, for example.

Therefore, your paper should include sections to address the following:

1. Identify      and describe an actual project that was successful in part because it used      project metrics, what those metrics were, and why they were a contributing      factor to success.
2. Research      and report on current thinking in both research and practice about      effective management of time, cost, and scope with metrics.
3. Research      and report on current thinking in both research and practice about the key      characteristics of properly defined metrics, and identify and describe an      actual project to compare its use of metrics to your research to determine      if the metrics were properly defined.
4. Research      and report on current thinking in both research and practice about KPIs.
5. Show      your application of value-based project management metrics on a project      with which you are familiar and interpret the results of your application.
6. Research      and report on performance dashboards including designs, use, and      limitations, and visual project management tools, including project      performance dashboards.
7. Create      proper performance indicators for application in measurement-driven      project management on a project with which you are familiar.

Since the key sections of your work correspond to individual module of the course, it is recommended that you progressively develop your project based on the weekly topics.

Paper Requirements:

• Prepare      a portfolio paper to address the eight-course objective. All eight course      objectives must be addressed. The Course Objectives are:
  1. Demonstrate       the need for project management metrics and benefits of metric-driven       project management.
  2. Establish       the importance of metrics in effective management of time, cost, and       scope.
  3. Apply       the knowledge of project metrics to identify the key characteristics of       properly defined metrics.
  4. Characterize       Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as used in metric-driven project management.
  5. Apply       value-based project management metrics as important in selecting the       right metrics.
  6. Explore       project performance dashboards including designs, use, and limitations.
  7. Explore       the applications of visual project management tools, including project       performance dashboards.
  8. Create       proper performance indicators for application in measurement-driven       project management.
• Incorporate      at least 10-12 current peer-reviewed scholarly references (current means      published in past five years). 
• Properly      organize your writing and include an introductory section with thesis and      mapping, headings/subheadings for the body of your work, discussion,      recommendations, and a conclusion.
• Any      diagram, figure, or table should be included in an appendix, but clearly      discussed in the text portion of the paper. Appendices should be included      after the references.
• Format      your entire paper in accordance with APA format.

Your paper must be 15 pages long, not including the required title page and references page or any other supplemental pages such as appendices that you choose to include.

Chapter 8 in Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: A guide to measuring and monitoring project performance

Part 2 Chapter 6 in the PMBOK Guide

Stone, M., Parnell, B., & Aravopoulou, E. (2020). Controlling superprojects: Information management requirements. The Bottom Line.

Ormerod, R. (2017). Writing practitioner case studies to help behavioural OR researchers ground their theories: application of the mangle perspective. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 68(5), 507-520.

Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: A guide to measuring and monitoring project performance (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. 

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (6th ed.). 

Chapter 7 in Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: A guide to measuring and monitoring project performance

Presentation for Chapter 7 from Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards

Part 1 Chapter 10 in the PMBOK Guide

Singh, S., & Kumar, K. (2020). A study of lean construction and visual management tools through cluster analysis. Ain Shams Engineering Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.04.019

Miranda, E. (2019). Milestone planning: A participatory and visual approach. Journal of Modern Project Management, 7(3), 4666. https://doi.org/10.19255/JMPM02003

Step 2:   

Progress, Timeline, and Roadblocks

For this Portfolio Milestone perform the following:

• Provide      a one-page submission noting your progress to date on the portfolio      project,
• update      the timeline of activities remaining for portfolio production originally      produced in Week 2,
• update      the concerns and roadblocks you have on the portfolio from Week 2 showing      those you have resolved and how, along with any remaining concerns or      roadblocks, and
• how      you will overcome those.

No need for formal APA submission for this assignment. Your timeline of activities is most critical as are your concerns, roadblocks, and how you will overcome those. It is expected that your timeline shows at least one task each week from Week 2 through Week 8, and many weeks should have multiple tasks. Every effort should be made to thoroughly examine your portfolio options, and to complete this milestone in Week 7 to give you enough time to complete the work.