Post 2 replies:

Student 1: Aaron Jones

Quality is a critical aspect of project management that directly impacts the success and longevity of any endeavor. It refers to the degree to which a project’s deliverables meet established requirements and stakeholders’ expectations. “One of the most important aspects of Quality planning is the establishment of quality metrics” (Rever, 2007). The importance of quality in project management can be understood through various key points.

First, delivering high-quality results ensures customer satisfaction. Satisfied clients are more likely to provide positive feedback, endorse the project, and potentially engage in future collaborations. This enhances the organization’s reputation and can lead to new opportunities and increased business. Second, quality minimizes rework and reduces overall costs. When deliverables meet or exceed standards, there is less need for corrective actions, which can be both time-consuming and expensive. A focus on quality reduces the risk of defects and errors, avoiding potential financial losses and costly delays. Third, quality enhances team morale and productivity. When project teams strive for excellence and see their efforts culminate in successful outcomes, it boosts motivation and fosters a culture of excellence within the organization. “When two or more organizations interact or cooperate to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of its separate parts synergy is achieved” (Bridges, 2022). This effect creates better results, reduces problems, and increases the organizations vision and mission. In turn, increased morale translates into increased productivity and commitment to achieving project objectives. Fourth, quality ensures the project’s alignment with its original objectives. A well-defined and controlled quality management process helps keep the project on track and ensures that it is progressing towards the intended goals. This also supports effective decision-making and prevents deviations that could lead to project failure. Lasty, quality is closely linked to risk management. Identifying and addressing potential risks early on can prevent future complications and uncertainties that may arise due to subpar deliverables. A focus on quality mitigates risks and increases the project’s chances of success.

In conclusion, quality is a foundational pillar of project management, impacting every aspect from client satisfaction to team performance and risk mitigation. Emphasizing quality throughout the project lifecycle is essential for achieving sustainable success and building a positive reputation for both the project and the organization.

Student Response 2: Shady Mikhail

Quality in project management

The need for quality in project management cannot be over emphasized. Detailed through the project quality management plan, it ensures that projects objectives and deliverables are effectively met and stakeholder needs and expectations are sufficiently met. Quality plans in project management ensure that potential errors are avoided by understanding client and stakeholder needs and requirements (Rajaratnam,  Jayawickrama, & Perera, 2022). Quality focuses on ensuring that the project’s objectives, outcomes, and procedures are in line with the requirements and effectively meet the needs of all stakeholders. It is impossible to overstate the importance of maintaining excellent quality standards throughout the project life cycle. Customer satisfaction is one of the most important advantages of quality in project management. When a project produces excellent results that exceed the expectations of stakeholders, it generates a good experience for them. Customers that are satisfied are more likely to provide good comments, become repeat customers, and spread the news about the initiative or organization.

Quality management pays a pivotal role in risk management in project management. By guaranteeing quality throughout the project, any risks can be identified and eliminated early on, lowering the possibility of costly failures or unforeseen concerns later on. Quality has a positive impact on team morale and productivity. According to Wawak, Ljevo, & Vukomanovi? (2020)quality-focused project enhances team morale because team members take satisfaction in providing something important and well-crafted. This optimism leads to higher efficiency and production because less time and effort is wasted on rework, corrections, and dealing with grievances from customers. Effective quality management is critical for reaching project objectives, meeting stakeholder’s needs and expectations, and sustaining a competitive advantage in the market.

BUSI 415

Post 2 replies of at least 150 words. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in the current APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed journal articles, the textbook, the Bible, etc. 

Student Response 1: Jennifer Bauer Motta 

I joined my organization 19 months ago as a senior buyer, and I have seen extensive turnover, with at least 10 important positions becoming vacant since. Learning about Agile and waterfall methodologies has allowed me to identify project management approaches from stakeholders in leadership positions that contradict each other. The organization’s goal is to serve school cafeteria meals to the children, specifically school breakfast and lunch, in compliance with USDA regulations. Past leaders have made bureaucracy the center of protocols, making the workflow heavy with paperwork. When I joined the organization, I found obstacles when presenting ideas to modernize procedures using technology as simple as google forms to collect information.  One idea that was received well and implemented was to collect staff uniform sizes of 195 cafeterias via google forms. The prior method consisted of each cafeteria filling out a paper form and sending it to the central office via internal mail. These will be collected and manually input in a spreadsheet to (1) calculate how many uniforms must be purchased and (2) distribute the uniforms once the vendor fulfills the order. The method I proposed and executed exemplifies the transition to an Agile approach that promotes adaptive and iterative interaction from the existing waterfall approach that follows a more traditional, plan-driven approach which means passing the form from manager to supervisor, to buyer, and via paper.

           The courses of Project Management I and Project Management II have expanded my understanding of project management, and now the acquired knowledge makes my work performance harder and easier at the same time. Harder because now I can identify areas of growth and need for change but I don’t hold a position that allows for my proposals to be considered due to the highly hierarchized system in place and constant change in leadership. And easier in the sense that I am better equipped to address the challenges that fall under the scope of my work. If I could propose a shift in methodology, it would be to provide clear expectations for all stakeholders and build efficient teams. Also, I would try to implement Agile key principles of collaboration, adaptability, and customer satisfaction for successful development (Lemmens & Arntz, 2019). Furthermore, train staff in the Agile values that are: “(1) individuals and interactions over processes and tools, (2) working software over comprehensive documentation, (3) customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and (4) responding to change over following a plan” (Krehbiel & Hulshult, 2019).

           In adapting biblical principles in the workplace, Proverbs 15:1 (NKJV), “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”, reminds individuals to choose words carefully and be strategic in their communications with others, as more is achieved with kindness than anger. This applies to business communications.

Student Response 2: Gayland Carlisle 

Agile’s Anticipated Benefit

    Generally speaking, infrastructure-oriented companies present challenges to leadership that feel a transition, from a waterfall to an Agile methodology is needed. The Mobility Program Office (MPO) of the federal agency this student works for is responsible for the stand-up, maintenance, maturing, and security of the agency’s mobile ecosystem; an environment designed to host and support mobile appliances from smartphones to secure mobile laptops.

    By its very character the MPO is an environment consisting of computer servers, enterprise-supporting software, as well as virtual and actual network support, and more. In short, the MPO is a workspace that contrasts the dynamic element of ‘high-tech’ information management systems with the need for predictable, even routine maintenance; an enterprise, broadly speaking, that is more amenable to waterfall program management than Agile.

    Yet leadership realized that demands for improved fiscal efficiency, a mandate to claw back time savings, and the ability to get ahead of technology changes necessitated a transformation to Agile as the management methodology of record.

    This student, first in the role of a Scrum Master, then as a Release Train Engineer was privileged to support the lead Unit of the Division implementing Agile. Millane (2022) spoke to a similar capability need experienced by the Intel Corporation, “the [Agile] framework allowed our organization to enhance business transparency, stabilize operations, increase focus on reducing aging infrastructure and reinvigorated disciplined project execution” (p. 1).

Attitudes About Agile

    A company’s challenge for greater efficiency and profitability is not limited to the factory floor or the work center suites, it is equally in the attitudes of workers and managers alike.

    “Examples of two bounding constraints on rational decision-making include (1) the impracticality of fully considering all the possible alternatives any one individual must explore to make a fully informed, rational decision and (2) time limits on decision-making” (Quanbeck, et al., 2022, p. 5).

Program Change

    The goal of any organization, especially one in as changing and dynamic industry as information technology, is to achieve the necessary “business agility” to adapt to change and thereby ensure viability and, for commercial firms, profitability in the long term.

    This student, though working for a United States federal government agency, has a leadership that has understood the need for adaptability. “Business Agility is the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age by quickly responding to market changes and emerging opportunities with innovative, digitally-enabled business solutions” (SAFE, 2023). Hence, in the totality of project governance, this student feels his employer is on the exact path needed to achieve long term sustainability and, in the present term, excellent customer support.

Biblical Change

    Joseph, in accordance with God’s established purpose for him and His chosen people, won over the Egyptian Pharoh and his court with a reputation for integrity and wisdom. That reputation facilitated the implementation of a crop management program that kept Egypt and the surrounding nations from starving in a 7-year drought condition. (English Standard Version, 2001, Genesis 41).

    By God’s grace, this student has been blessed with a reputation at his work in which he is trusted to superintend the management and, as leadership desires, the maturation of Agile.