2024 – While a five week course barely covers the full work of a project manager

 

While a five-week course barely covers the full work of a project  manager, it should have given you a solid perspective on the field and  the variety of responsibilities of a project manager. Now that you have  the basics, it is your turn to share what you know.

Congratulations, you have been hired as a project manager! The  company that hired you will be doing a series of projects over the next  five years, but most of their employees have little project experience.  The company wants to start on the right foot and ensure that employees  are using standard project management terms and processes. Your first  task with this new company is to write a training manual to provide an  overview of project management and the processes and terms the employees  will need to know to be part of (and even lead) project teams. You will  be sharing what you have learned in this course and sharing updated and  corrected examples of the work you have done in this course to use as  examples in this manual.

The Project Management Training Manual will include screenshot  examples and explanations of project selection form, project scope  template, work breakdown structures (WBS), and the Gannt chart created  in prior weeks. Be sure to update these examples based on any new  criteria presented in these instructions. Prior to completing this Final  Paper, review this week’s required readings from the textbook, this  week’s lecture, and feedback from past learning activities. Include  feedback you received on the previous assignments, knowledge you  obtained in the class, and your research so that the training manual  will reflect project management best practices.

In your paper, include the following elements:

Introduction

• Introduce the project management manual and what you will cover.
• Explain what a project is and how project management improves an organization’s success.
• Summarize the five process groups in the project management life cycle (briefly).

Initiating/Pre-Planning/Project Selection

• Explain the pre-planning stage of the project management lifecycle. 
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the pre-planning/project selection stage.
• Describe various approaches for selecting projects. 
  • Provide an example of a project selection form.
  • Explain the purpose of a project selection form.
  • Insert an updated and corrected copy of the project selection form from Week 2 to use as an example.
  • Explain the elements of the project selection form and their importance.

Planning Phase

• Explain the planning stage of the project management lifecycle. 
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the planning stage.
• Explain the purpose of project scope statement and all the terms used in the project scope template. 
  • Project Basics: 
    • Project Name
    • Project Sponsor
    • Project Scope Statement
  • Project Scope: 
    • Assumptions
    • Milestones
    • Out of Scope (Exclusions)
  • Project Execution: 
    • Stakeholders
    • Time estimate
    • Cost estimate
    • Project Acceptance Criteria
• Insert a corrected and updated screenshot of your project scope template from Week 2 into your manual. 
  • Use the feedback you received and what you learned in the class to update the template you submitted earlier.
  • See How to Use the Snipping Tool in Windows 10 [Tutorial] (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and How to Embed Images Inside Canvas’ Discussion Threads (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for assistance if needed.
• Explain the work breakdown structure (WBS), project milestones, and the critical path. 
  • Explain how these elements relate to the project’s status.
• Create a WBS in in ProjectLibre, or modify the example you created  in Week 3, taking into account both instructor and peer feedback (as  applicable). 
  • Include a screen shot of the WBS as an example in your training  manual. (Make sure the example contains the appropriate level of detail,  so the reader understands the context.)

Executing Phase of the Project Lifecycle

• Explain the executing stage of the project management lifecycle. 
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the executing stage.
• Explain the change control process.

Monitoring and Controlling Phase

• Explain the monitoring and controlling stage of the project management lifecycle. 
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the monitoring and controlling stage.
• Explain project cost and time management and how they relate to the project’s status. 
  • Explain the various options after accessing the reporting option within ProjectLibre.
  • List what is in the project detail report. (The Weekly Lecture has  additional information on how to generate and include a screen shot of  the project details report in your training manual.)

Closing

• Explain the closing stage of the project management lifecycle. 
  • Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the closing stage.
• Explain what a “Lessons Learned” report is and its importance for future projects within the organization.

Conclusion

• Conclude your paper by reiterating how project management improves  an organization’s success and the usefulness of using the five stages or  phases for accomplishing a project. (Review the Writing Center’s page  on Introductions and Conclusions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for more information.)

Your Project Management Training Manual Final Paper

• Must be 2,500 to 3,500 words in length (10 to 12 pages, not  including title page, screen captures, or references pages) and  formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing  Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource.
• Must include a separate title page with the following: 
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your  introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that  indicates the purpose of your paper. 
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least four scholarly, peer-reviewed, or credible sources in addition to the course text. 
  • The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you  have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this  assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the  final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a  particular assignment.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. guide. 
  • Refer to APA Style Elements (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for use of Level 1 section headings for headings 2 through 7 of this paper.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according  to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.