Project Management takes a lot of varied skills.

1. (4 points)

No one is perfect, and Project Management takes a lot of varied skills. In addition to “technical skills”, such as knowledge of PMBOK tools, PMs must have well developed “soft skills” such as the ability to handle conflict management, provide leadership for the team, etc. More often than not a single PM does not hold all of these skills. For example, I have had many successful projects in the past, however I am not a very detail-oriented person. Project details are very important to a PM!!! I work to overcome that “flaw” by first being able to take an honest look at my skill set, identifying tendency to not be detail-oriented, and to research, learn, and build better skills in this area. In addition, I also recognized my strengths and leveraged those to compensate for my tendency to miss details. Recognizing both your strengths and weaknesses can help you be a better PM.

Use the material that we have covered this semester related to “soft skills” discussed in class to answer the following questions. The references and lectures related to soft skills is included throughout the lectures and discussions that we have had this semester (i.e., our discussions about communication, problem solving types, leadership skills, communication, and conflict resolution strategies lectures from class). You are also free to do some research on your own to add to these resources if you like, just make sure you integrate the information from class and that you cite your sources in your answer and include them in a reference section!

a. Create a set of essential “soft skills” that each PM should have and describe what each item is and why it is important for a PM. Your set of essential skills should include at least 10 items.
b. Provide a description of your own strengths and weaknesses that will impact you as a potential project manager (a minimum of 10, with at least 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses), you can use the items listed in your answer to “a” (above), and others that you feel are appropriate.
c. How would you assemble a team, develop processes, etc. for your group that would help you overcome or take advantage of each of the strengths and weaknesses that you described in “b”.
d. Describe any “critical” skills that you think all project managers must have. Skills that cannot be fully compensated by other strengths. Make sure you provide a short description of each and not just a list (provide a minimum of 5).

2. (4 points) Perform a Lessons Learned report on your group project.
   Please write a “Lessons Learned” report about your experience in the class and with your class project. The report should be from YOUR prospective and be based on your experiences with your own group project, processes, and team members. I want a truthful representation!!! Don’t hesitate to describe things that didn’t go as planned, project problems, team dynamics, or interpersonal issues. Lessons Learned reports are supposed to capture both the good and bad of a project. This summary of your own Lessons Learned will NOT be part of the overall project grade, nor will it influence another team member’s project grade in any way (I use the Peer Evaluation Form for individual feedback related to project grading) so feel free to truly think about and describe YOUR Lessons Learned.
   a. The Lessons Learned analysis that you provide here should include the following information:
   i. Brief Introduction/Description/Project Background (information about the project here ~ what was the project? goals, etc.)
   ii. Management Summary (outcomes expected, and outcomes achieved)
3. Description of deliverables etc.
   iii. Operational Review
4. Breakdown of time spent on project.
   iv. Project Management Issues (include a description of each of the below as it relates to your project. In addition, make sure that you include a description of what was most and least effective for each).
5. Evaluation of Planning and Processes
6. Evaluation of Communication
7. Evaluation of Roles
8. Evaluation of Action Items
   v. Conflict and Interpersonal Team Management
9. Identify specific problems
10. How did the conflict or interpersonal issue impact the project
11. How were the issues resolved, or if there wasn’t a resolution how could the issues have been resolved (knowing what you know now).
    vi. Lessons Learned ~ you will have articulated some of the successes and problems for your project already in the questions above. However, in this question you need to put together a list of 7-10 specific “lessons learned” for your project, not included in your presentation. Include a description of each (not just a list), include a description of the lesson learned, a suggestion for improvement where appropriate or a description of why it the lesson was a success.
12. (2 Points)

As we have discussed in class, information technology is evolving faster than our ethical standards, cultural norms, and laws that govern information technology. At the same time, competitive markets are driving organizations to push business strategies to the edge of existing ethical norms. Passively sticking to existing cultural, ethical, and legal barriers may not be enough to succeed in the current business climate. While moving beyond the current cultural, ethical, and legal boundaries may offer significant rewards, it can also create new and different risks and challenges. This is especially true in the context of IT projects. As we have discussed, projects are the mechanism that organizations use to implement strategy. As a result, project teams, and especially project managers, are likely to face significant ethical challenges that they must navigate through.
The number of ethical violations committed by organizations has been steadily increasing over the past decade. When organizations get caught committing clear ethical violations, or pushing their IT strategies beyond existing culture norms, the employees within the organization are often caught in the middle of a chaotic situation, and at worst pressured to do something unethical at work. In situations like that, it is a great benefit to have already reflected on what you as an individual believe is ethical. And, even better, to have constructed a personal ethical framework for decision making in these chaotic situations.
a. Create a personal ethical framework for yourself that you can come back to if you should face an ethical challenge in the future. While you are required to use the material from class lectures and discussion, you are not limited to that material. Feel free to incorporate in additional class content as well as any outside materials that will help you develop your personal ethical framework. This is a test question, but my hope is that this question will provide you with an opportunity to develop something that will be useful for you in the future, should you ever need it.