Project Management: Analytical Models, Conceptual Tools, And Techniques

Identify and apply appropriate analytical models and conceptual tools and techniques in the analysis of the project environment

I have explored a various range of projects in various organization and as a result the project management in those companies. There is a consistent element that differentiates the general manager from the project management that is the team assigned to undertake a relatively self-contained nature of a project. As a project manager, my focus is to build an organization that is temporary, with an objective of delivering the project goals, then closes my temporary organization as efficiently as possible (Lemons & Strong, 2016). The practical part of studying project management has enabled me to have a chance to implement all the knowledge that I gain during my study. I have gained knowledge in the field of innovation, I have understood that innovation requires an implementation that is practical, creativity and value addition to the product. To attain this task it is essential to have a team of a profession that is collaborative and has the same goal. I have learned how to gather the client requirements and develop a product that satisfies the client needs, within the stipulated time and budget. This course has sharpened my ability to work with teams within a short period of time, manage and task division between members of the team without any form of unfairness. I have been able to learn on the methodology to apply on the based on the projects nature.

I have gained a clear understanding that the most significant part of any project is building a project team that is suitable for the task. This being an initial stage, it made it easier for me to make the team members have an early ownership of the project, this was of benefit as I was able to get the most out of the team project ownership. With that, I was able to maximize their contribution to the development of the product. In order for me to build an effective team, I started by creating a resource plan. A resource plan required me to have a full understanding of the work to be done and the human skills required for the job completion. To effectively develop a team, I start by analyzing the people competencies against the job at hand. Most of the times, as a project manager, I have no freedom to choose the team members. Team members might be assigned to me, in such instance, I have learned that it is essential for me to create a good relationship with the team members (Crutchfield, 2017).

Subject Specific Skills

It is by ascertaining my individual abilities, developing it and using it to the uppermost degree that has helped me utilize my abilities and get the most satisfaction from anything that I do. Creation of workable action plan can help me in getting the best out myself through as it is the starting point of having great rewards (Bourne, 2013).

The first step in developing my career is through clarifying my values. I get to ask myself what values and qualities do I admire most and I would like to drill in my life. Defining my principles as they apply to my employment, will be the first step in getting to know my strength and personal skills. Values that most organization settle on is likely to be similar to the values that I organize my career around. I have to deeply develop the value of innovation, integrity, profitability entrepreneurship, respect for others and good managerial leadership qualities within the next two years so as to fully achieve the most out of my profession (Wibrowski, Matthews & Kitsantas, 2017).

Next step is to create an individual mission statement (Tracy, 2015). This will define the person I intend to be in my career life. I have to write down the objectives of my profession. My goal is to find my strength and personal skills so that I can use them to increase my personal return on energy. The mental technique that I can use to develop my personal skills it sees myself as a resource that can be applied in various directions so as to achieve various goals and objectives (Poynton, Lapan, & Marcotte, 2015).

It is the process of doing a self-analysis before beginning the process of setting goals and planning of various activities.

In order to achieve the best out my profession, it is essential for me to develop the following competencies within the next two years:

Team building: Suppose I have to run a long-term project, I will require a bigger team for the execution of the project. I have to create a sense of teamwork whereby the entire team can work and relate well with each other and the stakeholders involved. In case of conflict I will have to take the lead and solve the conflict (Reed, McHugh, Hoyt, Quinones & Adams, 2016). My team should have enough trust to look up to me for advice.

Decision making: As a project manager I have to use my intellect to make the decision based on quality, constraints of schedule and criteria acceptance. Decision making is very vital to the project success, this is because single wrong decisions made can break the project (Abeid, 2015).

Engage in critical, developmental reflection about professional knowledge

Motivation: There is moment when the team can feel demotivated, as a project manager I have to develop and sharpen my motivation skills within the next two years (Udo, 2015). Since during such time, I should be able to motivate the team members to see the project to success.

Leadership: My leadership skills are very low, I have to undertake leadership training to enhance my skills in leadership. I understand that without good leadership, the project it’s planning and its execution will be chaotic (Kimball, 2015). During times when the process is to slow, I will be required to take charge and speed up the process. As a leader, my team behavior will be determined by my own behavior (Hr.berkeley.edu. 2014).

During the start of my profession as a project manager, it is essential of be keen to do the best. However, the demands of the role can compromise my integrity. That means that I have to always be guided by the ethical code of conduct of project management:

• Maintain a good working knowledge of the regulations and the legislation that is applicable to the practice industry(Ferris, 2015).
• Make the right statements about the status of the project and the outcome of the project feasibility.
• Practice honesty and be realistic in all projects reports.
• Create a working environment that is favorable to all the project participants.
• Avoid biases and manage the resource well, while avoiding conflict of interest at all levels(Whetten and Cameron, 2014).
• Respect and practice information confidentiality related to the stakeholders and the project.

Name,

Position: Project manager

Function: Management

Time period 30/1/2018-30/1/2020

Top needs for development

Conflict handling.

Leadership skill.

Coaching and motivating my team.

Top Strength

Effective communication.

Ability to work ethically.

Project management.

Development Actions

Work well with my project team to create individual development plans. I should be able to use motivation and coaching approach. I should be able to provide good leadership throughout the project execution till completion without biases (Opencolleges.edu.au. 2015).

Timing: Starting from this week.

Work on my personal career development plan, with the help of the manager. Research on the career development plan and gather a lot of information. Work with my employees.

Timing: Next 12 months

Cost: 600 USD for my leadership training

Enroll in a leadership class for the next three months so as to sharpen my leadership skills. Benchmark on other organization on the managerial leadership.

Autobiographical excerpts

“I conversed with somebody as of late who I have worked with for some time, who has put in 35 years of their working life at Sainsbury’s and took me back to the mid 1980s. I began there as a crude and green Graduate Learner after College, and while it wasn’t for me as an organization, I found out about association abilities, overseeing individuals, and determining in addition to other things. To such an extent that the following 2 years I spent going the world over, working in USA, New Zealand and Australia! I returned and had venture administration and promoting parts for English Telecom and United Dunbar, and after that towards the finish of my twenties, went into working both in the willful segment, and afterward the NHS. Really, its what I would call an eminent approach, realizing that I loved working with individuals in a warning part, yet uncertain where best these abilities could be used (Harrin, 2015). I additionally had a spell instructing in Further and Advanced education. I know from my way to deal with wellness that you can have every one of the plans on the planet, however they fall without the instinct to comprehend and self-reflect and manage inbuilt “recidivism” of having a few goes at rolling out improvements (Pinto, 2015). The future as far as work will be around 1-1 instructing, preparing as a psychotherapist throughout the following 4 years, and proceeding with organization work where I have an essential association with individuals chipping away at an undertaking over some undefined time frame (Crowe-associates.co.uk, 2016)”

Demonstrate an ability to work effectively as an individual and group member in order to carry out tasks linking theory to practice

(Kindly tick where appropriate)

How important are the following competencies to your job?	Not applicable	Important	Very important	Not important
Encouraging collaboration and teamwork as a method of task completion and goals attainment
Rewarding and recognizing people for the best performance.
Receiving suggestions and criticism in a constructive manner.
Regular meetings and direct reports so as to discuss performance and the achievements of the goals set. Encouraging the team to attain results and holding them accountable for their actions.
Opportunity utilization and seeking continuous learning for self-development.
Responding to the ever-changing nature of the organization.
Taking the appropriate action to overcome the hurdles and obstacle to a project planning.
Setting career goals and monitoring them to ensure continuous growth.

Student name

Phone:   Email address

A Reputable Project manager

Committed to ensuring the development of an advantageous working relation that is revenue driven and continuous growth in the markets that are emerging through utilization of expert negotiation, techniques on building relationship and communication. I am a professional project manager in the commercial and residential real estate market, overseeing the management of projects construction and selling to the clients. I demonstrate exemplary negotiation skills and effective communication (Nationalcollege.org.uk. 2016). I highly demonstrate a proposition of value added to the client that will result in the revenue increment and customer satisfaction. I am looking for a challenging position in an organization that will guide me into fully utilizing my potential for the personal growth as well as organization growth (Managers.org.uk. 2014).

Skills and Attributes

• Operational management
• Budget planning
• Staff training and motivation
• Customer analysis
• Real estate development
• Property management
• Disciplined
• Keen to details.

• Possess a patient attitude, an understanding nature with a humble personality
• Efficient in good communications with customers (Aston, 2015).
• Excellent time management, and interpersonal skills
• Good supervisory skills with the ability to work under minimum supervision (PMP, 2014);

Work experience

2013-2014 project manager trainee

• Oversaw the construction of 40 units condominium, worked directly with the landscapers, architects, interior designers, contractors, and graphic designers to an improvement strategy.
• Oversaw the whole process of conversion including the process of materials selection, condominium specs designing, and legal service management on covenants that were restrictive, contract sales and offering public statement.
• Managed and directed a team of 10 members, managed all work orders and suppliers details and the construction project contractors.
• Worked with the manager to manage the project budget for the contemporary style condos.

Bachelor of project Management University of affiliation

Certification and membership

Project management professional certification

Project management institute member

Based on my personal need assessment as a project manager, there are several recommendations that I would like to pinpoint which have an impact on the execution and development of a project.

• Value leadership, as well as management. The manager, should provide good leadership to the team .Leadership training should be offered in as part of the project management training, this is because a manager can have a good team but failed to provide good leadership will mess up the team. The training program needs to an emphasis on the leadership skills as well as the management skills (Giammalvo, 2013).
• Encourage network ties that are strong. There is the importance of networking in management. With networking, there is sharing of knowledge, support, and career development (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). Project managers should grasp the opportunities provided for networking through the leadership programs that are focused on the development (Fleming and Koppelman, 2016,).

Conclusion

This assignment has helped me in the need analysis of my profession as a project manager. I have exercised my writing skills and put my critical thinking to the test.I have been able to gain a lot of knowledge on the various skills that are required for one to be a competent project manager. Although their various barriers such as cost of the professional course being too high, I was lucky enough to get a scholarship for the course. I have been able to gain knowledge of the various code of conduct that guides the project manager. I have been able to gain a clear understanding of the importance of the teamwork and good leadership for a project to be delivered successfully with the full attainment of its goals.

References

Aston, B. (2015). 7 Essential Project Management Skills for 2018: The Complete Guide. [online] The Digital Project Manager. Available at: https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-management-skills/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Abeid, C. (2015). 6 Essential Skills for Project Managers – LiquidPlanner. [online] LiquidPlanner. Available at: https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/6-essential-skills-for-project-managers/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Bourne, L. (2013). Project Manager. [online] Project Manager. Available at: https://projectmanager.com.au/is-project-management-a-profession/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Crowe-associates.co.uk. (2016). Autobiography Tool for Coaching | Crowe Associates. [online] Available at: https://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/coaching-and-mentoring-skills/using-the-autobiography-approach/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Fleming, Q.W. and Koppelman, J.M., 2016, December. Earned value project management. Project Management Institute.

Make discriminating use of a range of learning resources in order to solve project related problems

Ferris, B. (2015). 5 Ethical Codes of Conduct for Project Managers. [online] CobaltPM. Available at: https://www.cobaltpm.com/5-ethical-codes-of-conduct-for-project-managers/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Giammalvo, P. (2013). Is Project Management a Profession? – MPUG. [online] MPUG. Available at: https://www.mpug.com/articles/is-project-management-a-profession/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Harrin, E. (2015). 5 Project Management Terms You Should Know. [online] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/project-management-terms-2779537 [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Hr.berkeley.edu. (2014). Career Planning: Career Development Action Plan | Human Resources. [online] Available at: https://hr.berkeley.edu/development/career-development/career-management/planning/action-plan [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

JOSEPH. PHILLIPS, P.M.P., CBAP, I. and PMP, C., 2018. PMP PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL STUDY GUIDE. McGraw-Hill Education.

Jordan, A. (2015). Perception vs. Reality. [online] ProjectManagement.com. Available at: https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/276075/Perception-vs–Reality [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Managers.org.uk. (2014). Personal Development Planning. [online] Available at: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-bank/personal-development-planning [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Nationalcollege.org.uk. (2016). NCSL Modular Curriculum. [online] Available at: https://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/transfer/open/csbm-development-module-2-planning-and-leading-projects-in-schools/dm2-s5/dm2-s5-t5.html [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Opencolleges.edu.au. (2015). Career & Professional Development Plan | Career & Professional Development Plan. [online] Available at: https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/professional-development [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

PMP, P. (2014). Interpersonal skills of a Project Manager. [online] Simplilearn.com. Available at: https://www.simplilearn.com/project-manager-interpersonal-skills-article [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Pinto, J.K., 2015. Project management: achieving competitive advantage. Prentice Hall.

RapidBI. (2015). Personal Development Plans (PDPs) Professional Development Plans (PDPs) or Individual Development Plans (IDPs). [online] Available at: https://rapidbi.com/personaldevelopmentplanpdps/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Tracy, B. (2015). Personal Strategic Planning: 4-Step Action Plan to Strengthen Your Personal Skills. [online] Briantracy.com. Available at: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/personal-strategic-planning-4-step-action-plan-to-strengthen-your-personal-skills-personal-mission-statement/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Udo,, N. (2015). Core Competencies of a Successful Project Manager Skill. [online] Pmi.org. Available at: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/ore-competencies-successful-skill-manager-8426 [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

Whetten, D. and Cameron, K., 2014. Developing Management Skills: Global Edition. Pearson Higher Ed.

Kimball, M. A. (2015). Training and education: Technical communication managers speak out. Technical Communication, 62(2), 135-145.

Lemons, L., & Strong, J. (2016). Developing Teamwork and Team Leadership Skills through Service Learning. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 89(1), 18.

Wibrowski, C. R., Matthews, W. K., & Kitsantas, A. (2017). The role of a skills learning support program on first-generation college students’ self-regulation, motivation, and academic achievement: A longitudinal study. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 19(3), 317-332.

Crutchfield, T. N. (2017). Critical service learning across two required marketing classes. Journal of Education for Business, 92(8), 371-379.

Reed, T., McHugh, M., Hoyt, A., Quinones, D., & Adams, W. (2016). Does Mastery of Cardiac Arrest Management Skills Transfer From A Task Training Environment To A Dynamic High Fidelity Simulated Environment?. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 17(4.1).

Poynton, T. A., Lapan, R. T., & Marcotte, A. M. (2015). Financial planning strategies of high school seniors: Removing barriers to career success. The Career Development Quarterly, 63(1), 57-73.