Author Archives: emiliaholmes
P7 Project Review
Overall I have found that the project has had both its advantages and disadvantages, in this review it will be explained as to why I think this, it will also include other information about the project. The project was set to create a CD for a specific band but there must be no images of the band member included. I felt that me and Tyler where organised enough to finish our project on time, however there was some problems with not being able to use software that we needed to create the front cover for the CD or the on body print this therefore delayed when finishing the project and also some other issues which came apparent throughout the project.
Some advantages of this project were that it was an easy project; it wasn’t confusing as to what had to be completed. It was also that we had the freedom of creating the designs and the freedom of the actual project, which mean we were left to create the details of the project and what needed to be done to finish the project. I also thought an advantage was that because there was only me and Tyler working in a group, if I needed any information it was only one person I had to ask where it was or if we needed to discuss anything about the project it was always between two which made it easier to create the project.
Some bad points about the project was that we only have one, two hour lesson a week and we had 4 week, some of these sessions where missed by me or Tyler once so we had less time to complete the project. I also thought that some other bad points was that we missed the deadline by a week, this was because of the absence of me in an earlier lesson and Tyler in the last week, but we only had minor parts to finish off.
I felt that me and Tyler had a positive attitude towards the project as we felt that we had the freedom to complete the work in our own time is necessary and to go to the learning centre to use Adobe Fireworks to make our final ideas look professional and to a high standard, I also felt that because we were a team if I didn’t complete a certain bit of work then Tyler would complete that piece and the other way around. I think that some unexpected parts in the project was that I wasn’t clear on what to do for the CD final design whether it had to be completed on the computer and not hand drawn, this made meeting the deadline a failure as it had to be completed and it wasn’t in time.
Also, when we started the project we started to plan our way around completing the project, I felt that using the software ProjectLibre it was helpful as we could see what needed to be completed before what task for the other task to be carried out and completed. I also felt that using the software it was helpful as to what all together needed to be completed. The information which the software sorted out all the different parts of the project was very useful as it informed you of what needed to be completed and when it needed to be completed. I also thought that the length of time which we were given to complete the project was well extended and enough time, however because of unexpected mishaps and absences, this caused the delay.
The specification which was created when we first started the project was achieved; we created the press pack and created the designs without having the picture of the band member on the cover. All of the details included into the project specifications where carried out and was created by either myself or Tyler to a high standard.
Our final products which were created I found that they were definitely fit for purpose for example with the final idea for the CD cover; we decided to go for a night time background with a silhouette of a person standing. I feel that this is fit for purpose as the single is called sleep walking. I also feel that everything that was created was fit for purpose e.g. the tour dates etc. I also feel that the products which were created where of a high quality, what I mean by this is that they were not created off the back of our hands. We planned how the final CD would look and it all came together and looked exactly how imagined. I also feel that the project could have been better if we have the correct software in the room which we were in e.g. Adobe Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop etc. Having this software would have meant that we would have completed all the work in one classroom with being more organised as to what was completed and what wasn’t completed. It would have also made the outcome of the product more professional and it could have been planned better if we had to correct software to do so.
In conclusion, I feel that the project which me and Tyler managed was to a high standard and that every outcome that happened there was a reason behind, although in a real job that wouldn’t be the case, I still feel strongly that it was completed in a good enough timescale and it was too a high standard. I also thought that the project that we managed had more good points to bad points and I enjoyed some tasks that where involved in created the CD cover.
P3 – Discuss issues affecting project management
Some project management issues are listed below, which will be explained in detail on how it will affect project management:
- Effects of changing external factors;
- Monitoring progress;
- Taking corrective actions where necessary;
- Communications;
- Working within relevant guidelines (internal and external) and legislation;
- Dealing with conflict;
- And the impact of project outputs on other systems e.g. staff, organisational structures.
3 or 4 of these different issues will be explained in detail on how it affects project management.
Effects of changing external factors.
When project managing you need to include external factors, for example with the MMR vaccine it was given out to children/babies to stop Measles, Mumps and Rubella. Not long after it was given out, a report was created saying that there was a slight chance that with this vaccine, that your child or baby could have brain damage. When this report was published and all the media found out about this, no parent wanted to give their child this vaccine even though it almost stomped out the measles disease, preventing deaths. Because of this report it created more deaths in children/babies having measles. This shows just how external factors can affect a project management. There are so many different examples of the issues of external factors, these external factors can cause different changes in a project, for example if the price of steel has risen higher and you wanted to build a stadium. It would cost above the budget as an external factor came into place.
Monitoring Progress
Monitoring a project is vital because it lets you communicate to stakeholders, sponsors, and team members exactly where the project stands. As the project moves forward, you will need to establish how you monitor your progress based on a number of criteria, including time, cost, and performance. You must highlight potential problems so that you can steer the project back on track. You may come across an error and need to find an alternative route in order to meet your deadline on time. Naturally, the sooner you find out about upcoming problem, the sooner you can resolve the problem. Likewise, the sooner you discover potential problems, the sooner you can make plans to circumvent them.
Dealing with Conflict
When dealing with conflict in project management it means things like time pressures vs work hours pressure. With this you would need to find the medium between the both, so that the work is finished on time and making sure that the work hours are suitable set in place to make sure what is done on each hour from the staff working or each day, what needs to be done in that day to make sure that the project is finished on time. You could also make sure than the work hours aren’t as long by extending the deadline time, giving the staff extra time to finish off the project. Another example of dealing with conflict is Finance pressure vs payment to staff, this would mean that in a project you would have to budget how much is spent on staff, and making sure that you do not go over the budget which you have set for the project. This would also have to come down to time keeping and making sure that the staff are completing the tasks which they are given in a day. You would have to find the happy medium between the both, making sure that all the staff are getting paid correctly and making sure that the budget isn’t being stretched to far as if you are not paying the staff then they will start to get angry that they are not being paid correctly.
Another conflict would be Time vs Money pressure. This is mentioned above, stating that you would have to make sure good time keeping is in place so that you do not have to go over budget paying staff to complete the work, which should have already been done. You would also have to take into consideration that if you wanted good quality you would have to invest in good quality materials and equipment for the job to be done to a high standard. This would effectively make the budget rise and therefore increasing the money pressure. There are also boundary conflicts, these are the edges of the projects. For example if you wanted to decorate a room and you was up very late a night tearing walls down, then your neighbor wouldn’t be too pleased about that, you would have to set certain boundaries to make sure that everybody is happy.
PERT
PERT is designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a project. This chart is used to estimate when a project might be finished. There are different aspects of the chart, these are:
- Nodes
- Vectors
- Sequential/Serial
- Dependent
- Parallel/Concurrent
These difference between this chart and a Gantt chart is that in a PERT chart it has the jobs on the arrows and the milestones on the circles. A Gantt chart is also laid out different to a PERT chart, as a Gantt chart is more like a table than a chart whereas a PERT chart is a chart.
Emilia Holmes 