Estefany Rodriguez

Principles of Project Management

Harrisburg University

Question 1 (from Unit 1) – What advice would you offer to Adam Smith on improving the performance
of project management and increasing project success rate?  Minimum 250 words.

My first recommendation for Adam Smith would be to investigate the previous projects in which
Suburban Homes Construction has worked, so that he knows the way the company works and relates to
the communication within it. Since he is new at the company, he needs to fully understands the type of
company it is, and the level of authority that he will have within it and within the project. Another
important point is that he does networking in the company, so that he makes himself known in a natural
way and begins to feel comfortable.

Also, I would advise focusing on the failed and success Suburban Homes projects, so you he find out how
successful they have been during the time they have been building houses, if they have projects that
have failed, take close attention to find out the reason for these projects failing.

My third advice is to study the new market that Suburban Homes wants to reach, even if they are in the
same country, the interests of the stakeholders according to their location, can be completely different
from one another, then, the most popular house in the north, it may not be attractive for people who
want to buy a house in the south, we must have clear objectives. Another piece of advice that goes hand
in hand is to research the legal and safety regulations for construction in this new location.

Of the 10 knowledge areas, I think he should focus on Project Integration Management, Project Cost
Management, Project Quality Management, Project Risk Management, Project Human Resource
Management and Project Communication Management.

Question 2 (from Unit 4) - Describe the organizational structure that might best suit Suburban Homes. 
Ensure that your discussion includes all possible structures and why each is ruled out.  Minimum 250
words.

I consider that a functional organization is not suitable for this project because we need people to be
available if possible 100% of the time, it is an expansion that will require time and effort, therefore,
employees should not be shared between various functions.

A project-oriented organization could be an option, at least to start the project but personally I think it is
not the best option because the employees will know that they are only hired for a project, they are not
sure with us, nor we with them, we could have an excellent employee who gets a more stable job, so it
is not my preferred option.

Suburban Homes may not have the number of employees and activity to be a composite organization,
especially if they are talking about expanding right now, maybe in the future.

The indicated option is matrix organization, because it gives the project manager the authority over the
project, focusing and having a person as the functional manager who can take care of issues external to
the project such as Human Resources, each project needs the help of several organizations within of the
Estefany Rodriguez
Principles of Project Management
Harrisburg University
company but, the quality and the deliverables will be delivered by the only person in charge, the project
manager, if we specify, the best would be a strong matrix organization, so that the efforts and
directions are chosen mainly by the project manager. This is important because we cannot leave it
unclear who will be responsible for the project quality, since this is the company first interest.

Question 3 (from Unit 4) - Describe the type of lifecycle best suited for their emphasis on high-quality
construction.  Ensure that your discussion includes at least 3 possible lifecycles and why two of them are
ruled out.  Minimum 250 words.

An interesting lifecycle would be R&D, which focuses on research, applying this research and
experimental development, but when Suburban Homes already have projects and a house standing,
they would not start from scratch, which is what invites us to carry out this lifecycle for which I don't
think is the right one.

The generic lifecycle that invites us to know the book is based on the phases: initiation, planning,
execution, and closure. It seems to me that it is well suited to what we need in the process, since
Suburban Homes needs to invest in a clear and successful process, although I like this model, the perfect
model for the project would be DMAIC.

The DMAIC model is Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. I believe that it is important to
define the objectives and metrics that we need in our project, to measure the result of the initiatives in
which we are successful, to know in which direction to choose us and which direction we should avoid
through analysis, when we have this information then we can make the necessary changes in the way
that we can improve the success of the project and above all, keep a close and attentive control of all
the activities that have to do with the project, it is an expansion in a market that we do not know, so we
correct, is to pay very detailed attention to the steps that we will take.

Another important point that we must remember is that quality is the most important point for the
company, so control is something that cannot be left lightly.