Strategic Planning: Case Study Overview: In conventional business and government megaprojects--such as hydroelectric dams, chemical-processing plants, or big-bang enterprise-resource-planning systems--the standard approach is to build something monolithic and customized. Such projects must be 100% complete before they can deliver benefits: Even when it's 95% complete, a nuclear reactor is of no use. On the basis of 30 years of research and consulting on megaprojects, the author has found two factors that play a critical role in determining success or failure: replicable modularity in design and speed in iteration. The article examines those factors by looking at well-known megaprojects, both successful ones, and cautionary tales. Case Study Link Better Project Management | Harvard Business Publishing Education Access Link: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/895796 Using the megaproject case study  answer the following: You have just read an awesome article about megaprojects and how to make them more modular.  You are new to an organization managing their Portfolio Management Office (PMO) and have several projects that you feel meet the criteria of a "megaproject".  Given what you have learned from this article and your experience managing projects identify the following: 1.  What would be your suggested approach to managing a megaproject? 2.  What are the risks with your approach? 

Topic 1: Project Costs How do you estimate project costs? As you learned earlier, customers and stakeholders expect project managers to deliver a definitive and functional cost estimate in a timely manner. How do project managers do this? Good question. As you read, there are three levels of estimation in a project: the WAG, the SWAG, and the “you bet your job on this figure” estimates. Actually, they are referred to in industry as, the “Order of Magnitude” the “Budget,” and the “Definitive” cost estimates. The PMBOK addresses them under Analogous, Parametric, and Bottom-up estimates respectively Explain which of the three is used where in the project lifecycle. Topic 2:  Why should you know how to use EVM? Project costs are monitored and controlled using a common technique called Earned Value Management (EVM). Review the following figures below: Project          PV    AC    EV A               10,000 11,000 10,000 B               9,000   8,000 7,000 C              8,000   8,000 8,000 D              7,000   7,000 5,000 Based on the Planned Values, Actual Costs, and Earned Values listed for Projects A, B, C, and D in the above table, how would you rank these four projects, from best- to worst-performing?