AMBA/640 AMBA640 AMBA 640 WEEK 1 Discussion Activity #1

AMBA 640 WEEK 1 Discussion Activity #1

Discussion Activity #1

Please respond here with your DA #1 postings - as often as you wish, including responses to your cohort mates' postings.

Your participation is expected by the end of Week 1.

Your section professor will participate too.

Feel free to push back on what they may say, particularly if you do not fully understand it.

Discussion Activity #1 Instructions

Basic Instructions: 

• The section is to collectively decide the criteria that, taken as a whole at week end, define a "project." 
• Further, each student will succinctly describe an example of a project in which he or she has participated and indicate how this project exhibits his or her criteria for a project.  You may find that the examples in Schwalbe (2012) serve to recall real projects to you.
• You should also address what’s new and/or changing in the field of project management.  Could it be, in part, “agile” methods? What are they?  Who now promotes their study and use? 

Additional Instructions:

Here for your consideration is the definition of a project taken from the Project Management Institute's¹ Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) (5th Edition, 2013), page 3:

 A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. 

So, you might discuss whether if you accept this definition, is your AMBA 640 a project? 

The course certainly is a temporary endeavor with a beginning and an end. But is it creating something unique? You could (1) answer this question, and in doing so, (2) provide your own, full definition of a project -- and (3) thereafter comment constructively on others' definitions.

Here in addressing whether AMBA 640 is a project, you should consider critical-thinking questions such as:

• Is your AMBA 640 possibly a project?
• What are the sides to the issue?  
• What are the arguments for and against each of the sides?
• What is (are) my conclusion(s)?
• Which arguments were the most important ones, and why?]

You (4) should also think about, and discuss, why it matters whether something is a project, or not.

I'm (5) counting on you to provide, as tasked, at least one example of a project from your own work or other life experience and also whatever you come across that is new in PM.

Let the discussion begin.

Required Format:

None.  However, use good English in all your postings.

If replying to another posting, include enough of it to give the context for your reply.

Required Readings:  Tip: Should LEO be cranky about opening one of the following links, try 1) copying it and opening it in another tab, or 2) right-clicking on the link and opening it in another tab.  If neither works, inform your TA or section professor immediately.

• A guide to the project management body of knowledge (5th Ed.) (2013). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Scan
• Korkondilas, I. (2011) Managing international teams: the importance of cultural management and communications. http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/managing-international-teams-the-importance-of-cultural-management-and-communications.html
• Martin, P. K., & Tate, K. (2001, May). Not everything is a project. PM Network, 15(5)
• Pinto, J. K., Patanakul, P., & Pinto, M.B. Gender biases in hiring project managers: perceptions of trust and likeability (2015). IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Journal, 62(3).  DOI: 10.1109/TEM.2015.2415251
• Schwalbe, K. (2015). An introduction to project management, 5e. Chapter 1 

Multimedia: 

• Malone, Susan (2015). Introduction to project management. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4h25gk6R9A. Closed captions available in the video
• Stewart, J.J. (2015). AMBA 640. Introduction to the course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx5DxcaeK5k&feature=youtu.be. Closed captions available in the video

Additional Readings:

Find them in Content/Week 1 above (before) the Assignment Instructions that you are now reading.

All are useful to your learning.  Of particular relevance is Professor Breckon’s contributed article on PM in the public sector, in which many UMUC students serve.

Grading Rubric:

Posted following

Assignment Weighting:

DA #1 and DA #2 together are weighted 12.5% of the course grade.

Let your faculty have any questions.

¹For information on the Project Management Institute, including its available professional certifications, see our Webliography and/or http://www.pmi.org directly.