NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources
NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources
Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources
Walden University
Nurs-6441, Section 1
Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology
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Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources
The purpose of this paper is to provide my perspective on the group experience while creating our project plan using Microsoft Project (MS Project). Creation of the project plan required the identification of resources needed for each activity, scheduling those resources, assigning staff to the project schedule, and leveling those resources. This paper will describe successes achieved, challenges faced, and discoveries made during part 3 of our group project that can be applied to future projects. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.
Success Achieved
Part 3 of this project was relatively easy for this group. We used the project charter and WBS we created in the earlier parts of this project as a guideline for our project plan and schedule. Because of the attention to detail put into the charter and the hierarchical decomposition of the scope of work or work breakdown structure (WBS) (PMI, 2017), we had everything we needed to complete our project plan in MS Project for this assignment. A project charter is a document that authorizes a project as summarized by its principle project components such as the project objectives, scope, roles and responsibilities, costs, and risks (Coplan & Masuda, 2011). Our group used the resources outlined in the charter to assign resources to the project deliverables and tasks as we created our WBS. Using these two tools made it much easier to develop the project plan. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.
Each member contributed to the project plan by developing deliverable tasks and subtasks, establishing start and end dates for these activities, and assigning resources to these areas. None of the team members expressed any difficulty sequencing their tasks in the MS Project application and during our review sessions, the group was generally in agreeance with the schedule suggestions each team member presented. Dependencies were easy to identify on the WBS, and the command tools in the ribbon of MS application made it simple to show these links in throughout the plan.
Our group worked well together as one cohesive unit. We used all accessible means of communication to connect with one another. Being able to review one another’s work, receive feedback from team members, and collectively make decisions also aided in the success of this team project. Our team had members with varying familiarity with the subject matter, yet we treated each other with respect and used the expertise and knowledge of each team member to achieve the objectives set before us. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.
Challenges Faced
Individually and as a team, we did have our fair share of problems while completing this project. However, we worked as a team to try to resolve these system issues. One challenge faced by all was a thorough understanding of lead and lag time. Every team member verbalized that they understood this to mean the earliest or latest time a task can start without affecting the project deadline. We referred to course materials several times to review the textbook meaning of the terms and instructions on how to apply them in the MS Project planning tool. According to Biafore (2010), lead time is when tasks overlap, and one function can start ahead of its scheduled time; and lag time is the delay between linked tasks. Although we know how and where to input this information, we struggle with correctly apply this concept using the application. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.
Another challenge we faced as a group while creating the project plan schedule, was resource leveling. We could not understand why the system would indicate that a resource was overallocated when assigned to more than one task. In the real world, we know that some activities start simultaneously, and resources are used to assist with the completion of more than one operation, but we could not reflect that in our project plan. Therefore, we did not assign any resources to more than one task.
New Discoveries for Future Projects
In MS Project, there are several ways data can be input into the system, arranged, rearranged, and edited. There is the conventional way of clicking on the data field in which you are working on and type in the data, using the commands in the ribbon, or using dropdown boxes in the areas (where applicable). I experimented with each of these and found that by double clicking on a specific task row, a dialogue box would open that would allow you to enter all information about that task while in the dialogue box. This shortcut alleviated the need to click on each field related to that task to insert data. I also discovered that MS Project uses the lag field for entering both lead and lag time. To differentiate between the two, you must add a (+) or (-) sign before the numerical entry in this field (Biafore, 2010). The (+) sign indicates the lead time and the (-) sign indicates the lag time. Discovering these two advantages can reduce the amount of time spent on data entry in future projects. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.
Overall, this assignment has taught me that effective communication is a vital tool when working on a project, primarily as a project manager. It is essential to stay informed and keep your team members informed of the status of each project phase. Another takeaway that I will reference in my future endeavors is the importance of detailed planning. As I stated before, the effort and detail applied to create the founding documentation for the preparation of this project; we were able to develop a project plan with limited challenges. I started using the insight gleaned from this assignment to a personal project I am working on for a massive home renovation project.
References
Biafore, B. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010: The missing manual. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
Coplan, S., & Masuda, D. (2011). Project management for healthcare information technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author. NURS 6441 – Team Project Part 3: Sequence and Schedule Project Activities and Resources.