Project Integration Management

Project integration management is an accumulation of procedures required to guarantee that the different components of the projects are appropriately organized. It includes making tradeoffs among contending goals and contrasting options to meet or surpass stakeholder expectations and needs. It encompasses:

Project Plan Development

Incorporating and coordinating all project plans to make a coherent and consistent document.

Project Plan Execution

Carrying out the project plan, as indicated by the strategy, plan, and exercises according to the plan.

Integrated Change Control

Coordinating changes to the project.                                                  

            Up to this point, the only viable way for current and aspiring project managers to hone their project management aptitudes has been to deal with genuine, live projects. In spite of the fact that this is the ideal approach to learn, not every person has the chance to lead complex projects. Notwithstanding when the opportunity is accessible to lead a project, absence of experience or training can prompt disappointment that can negatively affect the project and the project managers career.

            The purpose behind this simulation is to supplement coursework with a hands-on tool that enables one to put his project management skills to the test. This simulation uses a project scenario of localizing a software product into numerous languages for universal markets. The focal point of the simulation is on project management essentials and does not require domain knowledge.

Key Decisions Made

The greatest advantage is that very early in the planning phase the project manager can get a more conclusive comprehension of the inter-phase or inter-goal conditions, a comprehension of the conceivable organizational revisions or flexibility that is possible, consciousness of the capacities and gifts of the groups that are included, learning of changes or prerequisites in Goal needs that are possible and a reasonable comprehension of the work process and the capacity to adjust it.

The following decisions made contributed to the success of the project.

Scene Title

Question Asked

Choice Made

Assessment

Contractor or Seller Selection

Who do you want to do the localization?

Hire WCL10N to do all three languages

Fair

Glossary Inconsistency

Is there a double entry in the glossary and should it be deleted?

Contact Ann Mathews from Documentation for advice, as her group created the glossary

Good

Accept or reject the Spanish Localization Project

What is your recommendation for the proposal?

Reject the Spanish localization project

Good

Reacting to the delay

How will you deal with this delay?

Penalize the vendor for this delay by charging them for the delay.

Good

Earned value analysis

Which metric(s) best answer Jason’s question?

VAC and EAC

Good

Managing Cultural Issues

How will you respond to Keiko’s mail message?

Keep the process centralized in the US, but have a Japanese representative on-site at the local manufacturer to sign off on the product

 (Table 1.1: Positive Decisions Made)

            Simulation sensitizes project managers to the outcomes of dangers resulting because of severely outlined hierarchical procedures. Processes can be distinguished, enhanced and rolled out to staff with few surprises. Simulation models can be created to look at the possibly complex connections of various factors and the effect of various risks on the general framework. Mitigation methodologies can be produced that will diminish the effect of unexpected and troublesome events. It additionally encourages the management to center on the most basic risk areas instead of all the recognized potential risks (Haimes, 2015). It is therefore not strange if some decisions are made that are not in the best interest of the project. It is imperative to note that these decisions are made by human beings so they are not devoid of error.

However, the following decisions made might have contributed to a lower score than expected.

Score Title

Question Asked

Choice Made

Assessment

Documentation Format

Which documentation format should your Japanese vendor use?

Use the custom size used for the US books

Poor

Managing Teams in a Balanced Matrix Organization

How are you going to handle the situation?

Request a replacement during his absence

Poor

Launch Party or Archive Records

What should you do next?

Archive records

Poor

(Table 1.2: Negative Decisions Made)

Lessons Learnt

Lessons                                                                

            By applying simulation modeling to static process data streams, for example, Value Stream Maps, it is conceivable to investigate potential new situations in a virtual world. Project Simulation is significant in determining effective procedures to be employed and comparing them to their possible outcomes (Kerzner, 2017).

Once a static representation of the procedure is ‘enlivened’ in the virtual world, individual activities, assets, times, bottlenecks and other independent variables can each be made to act and connect as needed in order to make anything from a steady to a radical change in the original process. The predetermined execution markers can be constantly calculated to assess the conduct of proposed changes to the process.

There are two essential intense advantages of utilizing simulations for project management:

1. These virtual process models give the chance to assess the advantages and disadvantages of numerous alternatives before settling on a final process to develop. Further, more than one choice can be associated with an arrangement as a way to comprehend a staged approach for accomplishing the coveted final state.

2. The dynamic ability to run the model by simulating time itself. The capacity to consider the effect of the autonomous factors on the procedure over some stretch of time can give extremely helpful bits of knowledge with respect to potential bottlenecks later on or other unanticipated occasions or results.

As per the simulation score, the project simulation faired adequately. Some lessons can be derived from the simulation. The following lessons can be derived:

1. In Human Resources Management, the focus is on around workforce training, and responsibilities and roles. The imperative components incorporate proficient or fundamental skills, role assignments, obligation issues, pre-training, and flexibility for the challenging work.

2. In Integration Management, the focus is on creating a project charter, lessons learned, assessment, and implementation. The principal parts are applying known-knowledge productively, making use of lessons learned adequately, viable application and experience, methods or apparatus for executing projects, and conceivable negligible advantages.

3. In Communication Management, accentuations are on stakeholders, and specific relational abilities and techniques. Viable correspondence with stakeholders is especially imperative for a successful project. Other imperative variables are:

o viable relational abilities

o critical thinking abilities

o coordination with team members

4. In Time Management, the principal focus is on are assets and time control. The principal components are an absence of resources, utilization of software and new technology, and creating schedules and controlling calendar. The assignments must be done in the allocated time.

Successes

            Simulations can be of significant help in binding the necessities ahead of schedule in the project lifecycle, especially to examine transient behavior. This technique is more exact than costing models. Simulation can likewise represent conditions between tasks, limited assets, and deferrals bringing about rework loops.

In this simulation, the scope for the release of LullSIM includes localizing the relevant components of the Glossary, Software, Documentation, Online Help, and Marketing Communications materials into French (FR), German (DE) and Japanese (JA) by July 1 with a budget of $500,000 to coincide with the US release of May 1. The objective of this project was to launch the localized products as close to the English launch as possible. Previous localized versions of LullSIM have been launched 3 months after the US release. The goal is to shorten the delta without compromising quality while localizing the product.

The project priorities were:

Constraint: The scope of the project cannot change. This means no scope creep and no reduction of work to be completed.

Enhance: The delta between the US and localized versions need to be shortened. The goal is to launch by July 1st, which should not be exceeded, as it is critical to the success of the project. The project could be launched even earlier, ideally 30 days after the US launch.

Accept: If deemed necessary, the budget for this project can be increased. However, VP approval is required with supporting documentation.

The following successes can be derived from the simulation:

Within production capabilities

Time efficient

Cost-effective

Involving, as various skills have been incorporated

Well-planned

Accurate

Highly detailed

Adequate user participation

Highly valid

The simulations are of adequate length

Best Practices

            The following may be implemented to other projects in the future:

1. Familiarizing Oneself With Questions

This part of project management simulation is profoundly significant. Exam simulation software furnishes the chance to acquaint oneself with the multiple-choice arrangement of questions and in addition selecting from more than one potential answer. This truly builds up one’s basic examination aptitudes.

In spite of the fact that it appears glaringly evident, one of the keys to passing the questions is perusing and understanding the question and also perusing and understanding the available choices. It is shocking what number of slip-ups are made by basically misreading or making presumptions about the questions. These are botches that could be disposed of by basically set aside the opportunity to comprehend the question and what it is asking and additionally completely grasping the available choice for the response to the question.

2. Employ A Better Budget

A more comprehensive and apt budget would be ideal so as to minimize expenses and maximize productivity. The project manager could identify what the project could do without and focus on what is imperative for the project. In addition, procurement could be done in wholesale so as to save up on much-needed cash.

3. Adequate Allocation of Resources

Since time and money are limited and of the essence, the project manager can give priority to some aspects of the project. This may improve time management and also help in cutting back unnecessary costs. It may seem unorthodox but it has been proven to work on multiple projects with high efficiency.

Conclusion                                                                                                                         

            Project management simulation is utilized to analyze real projects. The objective of the simulation is to demonstrate to the user the distinctive conceivable results of his choices, alongside the likelihood that every outcome will happen. The simulation helps in decreasing the project risk and in picking the best project plan. In a normal simulation, the project is first modeled into some tool alongside questionable variables. A simulation is then run to check the diverse conceivable results and their likelihood because of various contributions to the unverifiable factors.

            Simulation modeling is helpful in project decision making by taking a gander at issues all in all and articulating the total arrangement of interactions, relationships, and vulnerabilities. A business simulation model can anticipate what may occur in the physical framework and make required steps beforehand, so the physical system can keep up harmony in spite of different unsettling influences from both inside and outside. The use of simulation models in project planning can be used to give reliable data on costs, risks and the required time for managing the project to completion.

            These simulations have the following pros and cons:

Pros

                                 Cons

Allows experimenting with a model of the system

Allows identification of problems and design shortfalls before modification

It allows for comparison of alternative policies or designs

Has room for uncertainty in modeling

Animations are visually appealing

Does not give exact data and estimates, only approximations

Simulation results are hard to interpret

It is hard to obtain data in new systems

Simulation modeling and analysis of data may be expensive and time-consuming

The systems are normally challenging to master

(Table 2.0: Pros and Cons of Simulations)

References

Haimes, Y. Y. (2015). Risk modeling, assessment, and management. John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Nembhard, D., K. Yip and A. Shtub, "Comparing Competitive and Cooperative Strategies for Learning Project Management" April, 2009, International Journal of Engineering Education, 181–192

Salas, E., Wildman, J. L., Piccolo, R. F. (2009). "Using simulation-based training to enhance management Education", Academy of Management Learning & Education, 8, 559–573