Crafts to Humans Relations Supervision - Essay Example

1.1. Crafts to Humans Relations Supervision The epoch is regarded as the beginning of contemporary project management. It is in this era that the shortening of the project schedule was realized through technological advancements. Automobiles permitted mobility and efficient resource allocation. The rate of communicating was increased by telecommunications system. The Gant chart was created by Henry Gantt. The specification of jobs became a common phenomenon and later formed the foundation of the WBS. Actual projects include the Pacific Railroad, Hoover Dam and the Manhattan Project. The Pacific Railroad constructed in the mid-1850s entailed specialists, such as, engineers making an official report as soon as they received survey data from managers in the field which they would analyze and make up –to-date before sending it to project office forwarding to resident engineers who would in turn instruct field managers who were the project initiators. The project office was responsible for relations with investors, conducting feasibility studies and carry out a cost benefit analysis (Meredith & Mantel, 2011). The Hoover Dam was built in the early 1930s and an estimated 5,200 workers got jobs. Besides, it is among the highest gravity dams in the United States capable of generating approximately four billion kilowatt hours a year. The Manhattan project initiated in the early 1940s was among the very first research and development centers for manufacturing atomic bombs and had a cost of about $2billion and 125,000 employees. 1.2. Management Science in Project Management The era of late 1950s to late 1970s saw major technological advancements. In the late 1950s, the initial plain –paper copier was launched by Xerox. Minicomputers, silicon chips and a computer programming language by Bell followed suit. Consequently, the era had inventions in computers and technology. In addition, the quantitative techniques of CPA, PERT and MRP were introduced in this epoch. By the 1970s, computers had become affordable to medium companies because of the availability of mini-computers that utilized less energy and could be maintained by smaller firms. Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft in the mid-1970s. The developments in software technology led to the creation of many project management software companies, such as, Oracle in 1977, Artemis in the same year and Scitor Corporation in the late 1970s. Actual projects include the initiation of the Polaris missile project in the mid-1950s whose goal was to make nuclear missiles that could be transported in submarines for the U.S Navy. In early 1960s, Polaris launched its premiere successful missile. Commencement of Apollo project in the 1960s accomplished the feat of sending man to the moon. 1.3. Production Centre: Human Resources The epoch of early 1980s to mid-1990s is when innovations in network technology such as internet, made individuals to change from the use of mainframe computers and adapt to personal computers that were efficient, readily available and could perform many tasks at same time. As result, individuals were able to efficiently administer complicated projects because they could easily access project management techniques by using personal computers. Actual projects include the Space Shuttle Challenger in the early 1980s catastrophe that triggered interest in management of risk, quality control and importance of group dynamics. The XV Calgary Olympic Games in the late 1980s that used project management tools in managing the event. The English- France Channel project entailed the British and French government working together making it an international project. Besides, various firms and organizations in the financial and construction sectors from both governments were involved. 1.4. Creation of a New Environment Commencing from the mid-1990s to the 2000s, project management has integrated the internet which has led to changes in how projects transact. It has offered a customized and interactive new way that permits individuals and firms to have online transactions and services. Consequently, firms have been meeting their stakeholder needs such as efficient production and customer-oriented service provision (Schwalbe, 2013). Actual projects include the Year 2000 project in the early 2000s that had many traits of project management incorporated in it. The project aimed to fix Y2K problems within a short period of time and was a global concern because many organizations in the world owned computers. Internet use facilitated the development of virtual offices that served to monitor, coordinate and make risk management plans regarding Y2K that had to be conveyed to stakeholders. The significance of the project office in Y2K helped create awareness of the need of a virtual project office in project management. However, projects such as the Motorola’s Iridium project in the late 1990s that was to offer world-wide network lasted for a short period as Iridium filed for bankruptcy. 2.0. Software Tools in Project Management Software products that aid in calculating a project schedule abound in the market. In addition, they come with tutorials that offer guidance on their usage. However, project managers must comprehend the concepts underlying the WBS, Gantt charts, allocation of resources, earned value, dependencies among activities, and critical paths (Schwalbe, 2013. 2.1. Resource Allocation among Tasks The initial step in project scheduling is the identification of the necessary resources pertinent to each task of the project (Burke, 2013). Resources can be in the form of computer resources such as server time, services such as time from a support team, and unique equipment that might be temporary and needed by a specific project. However, a majority of project schedules focus on human resources when planning. Each task is allocated a resource. Similarly, each worker is given a task depending on their capability. A group member who has been allocated a particular task is deemed to be engaged and cannot be involved in another task due to unavailability. However, some tasks are only performed by specific people and cannot be relegated to others. 2.2. Identification of Dependencies The subsequent step after resource allocation is the identification of resource dependencies among tasks. A task is considered to have a dependency when it entails a work product, a resource, or an activity which is needed by the next task (Turner, 2014). Dependencies are manifested in various forms: a code may rely on earlier modules; a user interface is only made after a design is reviewed. When the Wideband Delphi method of generating estimates is utilized, dependencies are manifested in assumptions. The project manager is responsible for identifications of the dependencies by the members of the engineering team. The project manager commences by putting additional information on dependency to the WBS. A task in the WBS is assigned a number and then dependent and subsequent tasks have their number placed next to it. 2.3. Schedule Creation Kerzner, (2013) stipulates that the subsequent step after resource allocation and determination of dependencies is arrangement of tasks by the software to show the dependencies. The software permits project managers to specify the time to be taken and effort pertinent to each task. It makes calculations of the final date and creates the schedule. A commonly created schedule is a Gantt chart. The Gantt chat represents tasks in bars and arrows represent dependencies. Arrows point to either the end or beginning of a task as determined by the previous task. Vital events are depicted by milestones or dummies. Summary tasks offer a summary of the displayed tasks. For instance, a summary task displays the subtasks and parent tasks. 2.4. A plan for Risk A risk plan offers insurance against uncertainty. Generation of a risk plan requires the listing of possible risks that might pose danger to the project and likely solutions to mitigate the risks (Meredith & Mantel, 2011). The risk plan gives the project team the vital information to approximate the likelihood of the risk occurring and prospective impacts it will have on the project. When prioritizing, the likelihood comes first then followed by impact on project. 3.0. Wrike Market Analysis Wrike is an instinctive web application that tries to augment efficiency of organizations through saving on resources in project management. It attempts to offer a solution to the customary managerial challenges, such as, disconnected files, received email chaos and spreadsheets. 3.1. Advantages of Wrike Wrike has an Intelligent Email Engine that does not require the user to log when updating and creating tasks into the system. The user only needs to CC Wrike’s email address when sending an email to automatically duplicate tasks from personal emails to project plans. Files are updated in actual time implying that time is not wasted on project summary update. In addition, one can attach files which the system automatically adds the task to the summary report and automatically adds recipients and sender as the accountable parties. The Dynamic Timeline integrates the automatic email updates and reminders with a definite time Gantt chart that is updated. The Dynamic Timeline is capable of identifying dependencies and project team members by clicking a few times on the interface. The Timeline is generated through tasks that user schedules using the email and permits an easy drop exploitation (Highsmith, 2013). Flexible Structures of Wrike enable management of many projects at the same time through grouping of projects in an easy manner permitting the user to share and only reveal aspects needed. Consequently, the areas that are not intended for other parties are not displayed. Read More