Description
Project Management Training Manual
This paper allows you to use your critical thinking skills to create a Project Management Training Manual for Cool Widgets, Inc. (the fictional company we have been following throughout the class). This course covered project management— its tools, techniques, and their benefits to the organization. Now is your opportunity to explain these concepts to the rest of Cool Widgets, Inc. project management and teams and to provide guidelines for best practices. Be sure to cite your sources.
Use the linked Training Manual template for your training manual.
The Training Manual will include screenshot (Links to an external site.) examples and explanations of work breakdown structures (WBS), critical path analysis, and a weighted scoring module (WSM) that you have created in prior weeks. Be sure to update these examples based on any new criteria presented in these instructions. Prior to completing this final project, review Chapters 9 and 10 in your textbook. 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.
The Project Management Training Manual must include the following elements:
- Introduction
- 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.
- 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.
- Describe the importance of project stakeholders, sponsors, and project teams to the success of the project.
- Explain the pre-planning stage of the project management lifecycle.
- Planning
- Explain the planning stage of the project management lifecycle.
- Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the planning stage.
- Using the WSM template from Week One and the criteria found in the Cool Widgets scenario, create a WSM model that will help select the appropriate training resource company to outsource the employee training in Cool Widgets’ NY branch. Be sure to incorporate any applicable instructor or peer feedback you may have received about your work on the WSM in Week Two. Using the criteria from the Cool Widgets scenario, create the WSM and insert it as a screenshot (Links to an external site.) into your manual. Explain the purpose of the WSM. Supply the rationale for the training resource you chose based on the WSM results.
- Explain the WBS, project milestones, and the critical path and how these elements relate to the project’s status.
- Create a WBS in Microsoft (MS) Project, or modify the example you created in Week Three, taking into account both instructor and peer feedback (as applicable), and include a screen shot of it as an example in your training manual. Make sure the example contains the appropriate level of detail so the reader understands the context.
- Explain the planning stage of the project management lifecycle.
- Executing
- Explain the executing stage of the project management lifecycle.
- Explain project management terms, tools, and techniques that are applicable to the executing stage.
- Create a status report, or modify the example you created in Week Two or Week Four, using your Cool Widgets training project plan and taking into account both instructor and peer feedback (as applicable). Your status report must contain a WBS, a critical path analysis, and a project cost management report. Make sure the status report is clear and succinct and contains the appropriate amount of detail that a reader would need to understand the context for the report. Copy and paste the status report into your training manual. Explain the importance of presenting a clear project status report to stakeholders.
- Explain the executing stage of the project management lifecycle.
- Monitoring and Controlling
- 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 management and how this relates to the project’s status.
- Create a project cost management report using Microsoft (MS) Project and the data you’ve entered for your Cool Widgets training project. Include a screen capture of the cost management report in your training manual as an example.
- Explain the monitoring and controlling stage of the project management lifecycle.
- 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.
- Explain the closing stage of the project management lifecycle.
The Project Management Training Manual
- Must be 3500 words in length (10 to 12 pages, not including title, screen captures, or references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
- Must use the Training Manual template.
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must use at least two peer reviewed, scholarly, and/or credible sources in addition to the course text.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types.
Explanation & Answer
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Cool Widgets, Inc.
TRAINING MANUAL
Student’ s Name
Course
Date of Submission
Brief Summary
The training manual provides a comprehensive scope of project management whereby the central
focus is on the Cool Widgets Inc. Training project. The manual provides an in-depth description
of the constituent components of project management, in particular, the utilization of the MS
project tool in the management of the training program. In essence, the training manual would be
a revelation for all the employees undergoing the training program at the company.
Training Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Management Cycle ......................................................................................................... 3
Project Initiation/Selection phase ................................................................................................... 4
Project Planning .............................................................................................................................. 6
Work Sheet Manual (WSM) ....................................................................................................... 7
WSM (Cool Widget Training Project) .................................................................................... 7
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) ............................................................................................ 9
Project Milestones ................................................................................................................ 10
Critical Task and path .......................................................................................................... 10
Project execution/Launch.............................................................................................................. 12
Cool Widget Training Project Status Report for 15-01 to 15-05-2018 ................................ 12
Project performance/Control ......................................................................................................... 15
Cool Widget Training Project (Task Cost Report) ............................................................... 16
Closing .......................................................................................................................................... 17
References List.............................................................................................................................. 19
Cool Widget Training Project Manual
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Training Manual
INTRODUCTION
In the ordinary course of business, projects are everyday occurrences with an aim to
realize improvement in the various dimension of an organization. Lock (2014) states that a
project constitutes a temporary undertaking that has an articulate schedule of starting and ending
as well as precise specifications and objectives. Project management, therefore, relates to an
investment in a set of knowledge, skills, techniques and relevant tools to ensure excellent
execution of a project to meet its requirements (Lock, 2014). Project management plays a vital
role in providing value proposition of business as a way of achieving success. It is imperative to
incorporate the practice of project management as a fundamental function of any organization to
ensure the provision of deliverables that serves the need of the business comprehensively.
Project management integrates different functions of an organization resulting in a
massive improvement in critical departments. The achievement of overall success is reliant on
the performance of the constituent and functional units. The provision of project management
comprises a comprehensive tool for handling multiple functions all at the same. An organization
stands to gain a lot of benefits as a result of investment in project management (Verzuh, 2015).
The advancement in the scope of project management renders it an integral part of any
organization journey to success. Project management represents an avenue for improvement as it
provides an extensive outlay of aligning, resources and funds for a specific timeline to achieve a
set of business requirements.
Project Management Cycle
Project management involves a temporary lifeline and also comprises a specific lifecycle.
A project management lifecycle relates to the constituent stages of delivering on a project’s
demands from the start to the end. The lifecycle comprises of five bold processes which are
Cool Widget Training Project Manual
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Training Manual
critical to the achievement of all the project requirement and deliverables. The project life cycle
represents the routine steps in successful completion of a project whereby each of the phases of
the project is critical and inevitable (Meredith and Mantel Jr, 2011). A project must establish a
chronological flow to ensure that all the pieces and components excellently fit with a fixed cost
and timeline. The cycle of the project represents a bold path marking the start and the end of a
successful project.
The project life cycle incorporates the start of the project as the sorting and selection of a
feasible project idea during the initiation or pre-planning stage. Projects are born out of a number
of ideas coming from different sources. Thorough scrutiny of the project ideas ensures that a
feasible project is identified whereby the next phase of planning is initiated. Accord...