Project Management Final Paper

Project Management Training Manual

[WLOs: 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please complete this week’s readings, review the Weekly Lecture, and the grading rubric for this assignment. In addition, read the Eight Simple Rules of Good Writing and the PRM300 Week 5 Final Paper template from your online classroom. It may be helpful to download the grading rubric and use it as a checklist to ensure you covered all the necessary elements.

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.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.