QSO 355 Final Project Part I Guidelines and Rubric 

Overview

The final project for this course is divided into two parts. The first part is the creation of an Initial Schedule and Budget Report.

Project managers play an important role in helping to complete successful projects. Often, they are responsible for tasks such as defining the project goal(s), identifying the tasks necessary to achieve the goal, evaluating project resources, and determining budgets and schedules. Project managers must then keep projects on time, on budget, and within scope and problem solve when this does not happen.

This course focuses on resource estimating and scheduling. In the first part of this project, you will analyze the case study, A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success (located in the Harvard Business Review area of the course), which includes a scenario along with a work breakdown structure and other pertinent project requirements. You will write a report assessing the company’s resources and then develop a high-level budget and schedule for the project discussed in the case study. 

Note: The case studies for this project regularly reference the use of MS Project. While MS Project is a software tool that is often used for project management, the focus of this course is to understand the process, not this particular tool. As such, you will not be using MS Project to complete the milestones and your final project. Suggested templates needed to complete the critical elements of the final project are listed in the Project Management Plan Template. 

The following templates are provided for you in order to complete the final project:

• Project Management Plan Template: This template will be used throughout the final project. This template will guide you step-by-step from Milestone One through your final submission. All other templates can be accessed through this main template.

• Stakeholder Register Template: You will use this template in Milestone One to identify the role of each stakeholder in your project.

• WBS Dictionary Template: You will use this template in Milestone One to describe the tasks and sub-tasks that will fulfill each of the project deliverables.

• WBS Resource Alignment Template: You will use this template in Milestone One to align resources to each of the sub-tasks you described. Justify your reasoning for your alignment decisions.

• Risk Register Template: You will use this template in Milestone Two to identify likely sources of risk for the project. Make sure to consider the project scope, budget, and time.  

• Cost Estimating Worksheet Template: You will use this template in Milestone Two to ensure the costs identified in your budget align with the deliverables.

• Gantt Template: You will use this template in the final submission of your project to create a schedule for the project using your task time estimates and the dependencies you identified.

Final Project Part I is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Four. The final Initial Schedule and Budget Report will be submitted in Module Six.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: 

• Assess resource estimating and scheduling requirements for their impact on the scope, schedule, and budget of projects
• Determine appropriate resource allocation solutions for projects by assessing the resources for their availability and alignment with project tasks and sub-tasks
• Recommend strategies to minimize the project risk by analyzing scheduling constraints and project requirements 
• Develop project schedules that illustrate resource estimating and agile scheduling implementation for supporting and improving sustainable operations

Prompt

Initial Schedule and Budget Report: Use the A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success case study to write a report in which you identify the scope and schedule of the project, describe the tasks necessary to complete the project, align resources to the tasks, and address sources of risk. To complete your work, you will utilize the Project Management Plan Template provided, as well as the other templates as specified. 

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

1. Project Overview
   1. Roles and Responsibilities: Identify the project leader and the other stakeholders involved in the project. What are the responsibilities of the stakeholders involved? 
   2. Scope and Schedule: What is the project scope? Identify the key deliverables that are part of the project scope. When does the project need to be completed? Describe the timeline for the project. 

2. Tasks
   1. Description: Describe the tasks and sub-tasks that will fulfill each of the project deliverables. What impact do the tasks and sub-tasks have on the project schedule?  
   2. Time: Analyze the time estimates for task completion. How do the task time estimates impact the project schedule? 
   3. Dependencies: Identify dependencies between tasks. In other words, which tasks must be finished before other tasks can be started? 

3. Resources
   1. Alignment: Align resources to each of the sub-tasks you described. Justify your alignment. In other words, why does the company need the resource types to complete the sub-tasks? 
   2. Evaluation: Evaluate the company’s resources. Does the company have the resources available to support the project? Are there any areas where the necessary resources may not be available to complete the sub-tasks? 

4. Risk
   1. Sources: Identify likely sources of risk for the project. Make sure to consider the project scope, budget, and time. 
   2. Strategies: Determine risk mitigation strategies for the areas you identified. What strategies could you recommend to minimize the impact of the risks you identified? 

5. Budget: Develop an initial high-level budget based on the individual costs of the project deliverables. In other words, ensure the costs identified in your budget align with the deliverables. 

6. Schedule: Create a schedule for the project using your task time estimates and the dependencies you identified. 

Milestones

Each milestone builds off of the prior one. Final Project Part I will be delivered as a compounding document over the course of the below three milestones.

Milestone One: Project Introduction, Overview, Tasks, and Resources (Sections I, II, and III)

In Module Three, you will write an introduction for your project management plan and submit sections I through III of the critical elements above using the Project Management Plan Template provided. This work will cover the project overview, tasks, and resources (sections I, II, and III). This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.  

Milestone Two: Risk and Budget (Sections IV and V)

In Module Four, you will submit the risk and budget sections (IV and V) of the Project Management Plan Template provided. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.  

Part I Final Submission: Initial Schedule and Budget Report

In Module Six, you will complete the schedule (section VI) and submit the completed Initial Schedule and Budget Report. You will submit a Project Management Plan fully completed. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. You should also update work completed throughout the first two milestones to reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Project Part I Rubric.

Final Project Part I Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Your Initial Schedule and Budget Report will be submitted using the Project Management Plan Template along with additional required templates and spreadsheets. Any outside references should be cited in APA format, but are not required.