PROJECT LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES 1

Running head: PROJECT LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Management Leadership Responsibilities

David “Toby” Meyers

Professor Edward Drummond

CMGT/410 Project Planning and Implementation

March 23, 2009

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Introduction

The Project Schedule and Budget lets us know what tasks are happening in what order

and how much it costs. Project leaders must schedule effectively. Project leaders must interpret

that schedule to predict shortfalls. Project Leadership must command efficiency. Project

Leadership must perceive losses and inefficiency of process and take up slack wherever it is can.

Project leaders must meet the project scope and budget or the company will suffer in profit

losses. These are veritable certainties. The article written by Stephen Swartz entitled, Managerial

Perceptions of Project Stability, gives us a clear outline for reasoning a projects timeline and

resources. This journal article shows us that management of schedule, scope and budget, are the

keys to project continuity and a successful project.

Summary of article

Managerial Perceptions of Project Stability shows techniques to supervising schedule

scope and budget when providing oversight to a project. This author shows us for conducting a

project. One interest is planning. “On a basic level, performance to the schedule is important in

order to ensure that the higher-level objectives of cost, schedule and performance are met and

constraints are satisfied.” (Swartz, 2008) Project leadership has the responsibility to ensure that

all stakeholders understand the scope of the project and predictions made as to what if this

happens. Most of the time spending a little bit more money so that something may get done

faster is better than saving time and money, not allowing deviations from the time budget.

“These deviations, in turn, may cause other deviations to future scheduled events. As the

deviations spread throughout the project network, a loss of the synchronization of the activities

and resources in the project begins to occur. This loss of synchronization in the project may
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result in a degradation of project performance.” (Swartz, 2008) You must be able to perceive

setbacks and shortfalls in order to finish a project according to constraints.

Course related concepts represented by the article

When managing projects, certain deviations, which will slow the project and drive

expenses to astronomical proportions. Managerial Perceptions of Project Stability show us how

to perceive them. The best way to avoid them is to interpret the scope, budget and performance

to predict shortfalls and thereby increasing the likelihood of a successful project.

“This research investigated the importance of stability (ability of schedules to absorb disruption)

to project outcomes.” (Swartz, 2008) Which is verisimilitude to the statements made in chapter

Four of Information Technology Project Management, such as: “The performance of an

organization or a project is influenced largely by how well its resources are organized?”

(Marchewka, 2006)

How is course related concept used in the article

“According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, the area of project human

resource management entails: (1) organizational planning, (2) staff acquisition, and (3) team

development.” (Marchewka, 2006) The concept described in the article as ‘Traditional measures

of cost, schedule, performance, and earned value…” (Swartz, 2008) The article discusses how

perceptions of project managers can affect project performance, discussed in chapter seven,

PowerPoint Presentation: The Project “Schedule and Budget.” Resource planning: determining

what resources and quantities of them should be used.” (Drummond, 2008)

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Conclusion

Project leaders have to understand, what is going on, to be able to manage the tasks

effectively to keep the project on track with scope and budget. How are our human resources

interacting with our financial resources? When will the part get there so that the engineer can

look at it and labor can assemble it? These are things Project leaders must look at and try to get it

done in the most efficient way possible. Managerial Perceptions of Project Stability show us how

to perceive the small problems involved will a large project. This is not to be confused with

micromanagement. Understanding that it may take some, time for the engineer to look at the part

before he gives it to assembly to make sure it fits is perceptual. The project leaders have to

determine out how long is long enough. What happens when the delivery is late or brings the

wrong part, or there is a machinist mistake? Is there a need to order several of the same part so

that there are no technical mistakes, is there a need to have resin samples, or are we sure that it

will be the product that we need coming in at just the right time. Remember, if it can go wrong it

probably will and even if it does not, project leadership should be aware of the risks on the whole

project and have a contingency plan, just in case. Thinking it through is only logical.
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REFERENCE

Marchewka, Jack T. (2006) Information Technology Project Management.

John Wiley & Sons.

Gray, Clifford F., & Larson, Erik W. (2003). Project Management: The Managerial Process.

Boston: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Swartz, M. (2008). Managerial Perceptions of Project Stability.

Retrieved March 23, 2009, from Project Management Journal:

http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/investigations/11813712-1.html

Drummond, E. (2008, March) Chapter 7, PowerPoint Presentation: The Project Schedule and

Budget. From Class C.D.: D:\__CMGT410-Student\ws3