Running head: MODULE 5 PAPER 1

Module 5 Paper

Kasey J Janzen

Arizona State University

OGL 321– Module 5

November 14, 2020

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Introduction

Effective project managers are experts in managing schedules, budgets, scope, and

leading people (Langley, 2013). They bring massive value to organizations, yet they are still not

taken seriously enough in many (Langley, 2013). Scope tells us what the deliverables, goals, and

requirements of a project are, and can creep up without diligent planning and revising (Heldman,

2005). Scope and risk management are closely related, and with proper training and planning, we

can reduce their chance of causing problems. This paper will discuss what I have learned from

our weekly learning materials about scope, risk management, assumptions, and the importance of

project managers in organizations. I will also discuss blog posts I have selected related to project

management and attempt to tie everything into my real-life experiences and weekly project

management simulations.

Preventing Scope Risks with a Scope Statement

Scope and schedule risks can quickly become a project's death if not taken seriously

(Heldman, 2005). While budget is also a concern, it generally fluctuates less than scope and

schedule and can be better planned for (Heldman, 2005). A great way to better manage scope is

to create a scope statement that includes project goals, deliverables, and requirements (Heldman,

2005). Multiple stakeholders can make reaching consensus on these requirements difficult, so it

is imperative to spend the time making sure all stakeholders understand and participate in

creating them (Heldman, 2005). Deliverables can be easily misinterpreted if the project manager

makes too many assumptions about what the stakeholders want, so it is critical to communicate

and create a list of assumptions (Heldman, 2005). Creating well documented and measurable

requirements that are linked to deliverables can help avoid many issues with scope and schedule

(Heldman, 2005).
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Assumptions Are Risky

I have fallen into the trap of undocumented assumptions with music clients of mine in the

past. After agreeing to do a certain amount of minor changes to the mix for free (which is

industry standard), I quickly learned that not everyone's definition of "minor" is the same. I had a

client that wanted significant changes that would essentially require me to do a complete remix

of the song for free. Because I had already agreed to the changes and was not specific enough, I

spent a considerable amount of time working for free to remix the songs. Now I make sure that I

clearly lay out what changes will be allowed for free and price out larger ones that take a lot of

time. I also always charge by the hour when recording, after getting taken advantage of with flat

"per-song" rates when musicians want to do endless amounts of takes.

Scope Creep

Scope creep can be hard to notice and extremely damaging to a project. Scope Creep can

be caused by many things, including undocumented assumptions, lack of understanding,

uncontrolled change requests and processes, and more (Heldman, 2005). Scope creep can best be

handled with effective communication and, once again, proactive, well-thought-out

documentation (Heldman, 2005). We can prevent scope creep by making measurable and

provable requirements, getting stakeholder buy-in, using sound project management techniques,

and using change control processes (Heldman, 2005). Scope creep was a massive issue on my

last project with the ASU Video Game Development Club (VGDC). The scope of the game we

were creating was way past what we were capable of as an amateur, student-run club that works

for free. While the idea was great, we did not have the time and resources to complete the

project, and the result was an unfinished mess that could barely be called a game. The result was

us spending a considerable amount of time planning for scope, and the current game we are
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working on is coming together incredibly. We are on track to create a game we will be proud to

put on our résumé.

Benefits of Mature Project Management

Organizations with high performance in meeting project goals, timelines, and budgets

(project managing specialties) can save as much as $260 million per billion dollars spent

(Langley, 2013). High performing organizations approach project management in three distinct

ways: creating efficiencies to drive organizational success, focusing on talent management (and

its role in project management), and they employ project management practices strategically

(Langley, 2013). A large part of creating efficiencies is creating standardized practices with

ongoing staff training (Langley, 2013). Standardizing helps the organization become more

efficient and can give more time and resources to focus on leading and innovating (Langley,

2013). Leading rather than managing talent is crucial to their success, while also creating defined

career paths for project management that do not exist in many organizations (Langley, 2013).

Sadly, only 42 percent of project managers say, "there is a defined career path for project

management within their organization" (Langley, p. 5, 2013). Companies who place importance

on project management can save money and time and have better project outcomes, so I hope to

see an upward trend in project management as a viable career path.

Managing Multiple Projects versus Multitasking

The blog post by PMStudent was fantastic at highlighting the downsides of multitasking.

While multitasking used to be seen as a sought-after quality by companies/interviewers, we are

now seeing the downsides of multitasking (PMStudent, 2014). When we work on more than two

things simultaneously, our performance worsens (PMStudent, 2014). This goes right along with

what I have learned in training working at Starbucks, where they teach us only to "sequence" two
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beverages at a time. Working on more than two drinks causes confusion and mistakes, and more

time to process what step to do next. I always make it clear when I train that working on more

than two drinks at once will slow them down. Team members will often be assigned to multiple

projects, which is okay, but they need to prioritize tasks and not be focused on too many at once

(PMStudent, 2014). As project managers, we can prioritize tasks for our team, giving them tasks

in order of priority to reduce stress, confusion, and mistakes (PMStudent, 2014). I believe this is

a great idea; however, I think it needs to be adjusted on a per-person basis. Giving too many

tasks (even if prioritized) to one person may overwhelm them, while giving too few to someone

efficient may result in wasted time and them having to come to you for each task. It is also

essential to recognize that everyone works differently, so situational leadership could still be

used with this prioritizing approach.

Understanding the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS)

Viswanathan's blog on the Risk Breakdown Structure was short but effective. I have seen

the RBS mentioned in many project-management books but have not seen it broken down so

easily. The RBS is a tool that helps hierarchically manage risk, with the higher levels

representing the most risk (Viswanathan, 2018). You can separate risks into categories such as

technical, management, scheduling, people, etc. (Viswanathan, 2018). After defining your risks,

you can use the P-I scoring from the Project Management Institute, where you multiply

probability (P) of the risk by the impact (I) of the risk (Viswanathan, 2018). Once you have the

scores for each risk, you can easily and objectively organize them in order (Viswanathan, 2018).

This seems like a quick and easy way to do a ranking of risks; however, it looks a little too

simple to be used on a large-scale project. I love the simplicity of the design and calculation and

will likely try to use it in some of my smaller audio projects to see how well it works for me. It is
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very straightforward to understand, so it could be a great way to present risks to a client who

wants an overview of risks.

The Simulation

This week I learned many new strategies for our in-class simulation and reinforced some

ways that I have already been working. While the simulation gives us our targets, budget,

timeframe, etc., a scope statement could still be beneficial. Most of the information that would

go on a scope statement is already presented to us. Still, I am considering creating my own scope

statement that I could quickly reference without going through multiple tabs to see the

information I need before making decisions. Scope creep has been relevant in the simulation,

especially in the previous week, when the deadline was changed from 18 weeks to 12. In the

simulation, we cannot communicate with our sponsors/stakeholders, so it is all on us as the

project managers to make their demands happen. Whether the scope is realistic or not, we have

to do the best we can and get creative with the given resources. If I knew the scope was

unrealistic in the real world, I would attempt to communicate with the stakeholder to come up

with a better strategy or get more resources. The reading on Mature Project Management

reinforced my focus on building a talented team and leading them rather than managing. In the

simulation, I do this by providing as much coaching as needed early on and adjusting meetings

as necessary. I also adjust their staffing per their stress levels to make sure they are doing their

best work.
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References

Heldman, K. (2005). Project Manager's Spotlight on Risk Management. Wiley.

Langley, M. A. (2013). The High Cost of Low Performance. Project Management Institute.

PMStudent. (2014, September 3). Managing Multiple Projects versus Multitasking. PMStudent.

https://pmstudent.com/project-manager-managing-multiple-projects-versus-multitasking/.

Viswanathan, B. (2018, October 16). Understanding the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS).

project-management.com. https://project-management.com/understanding-the-risk

breakdown-structure-rbs/.