Project management approaches for dynamic environments Essay Example for Free

Project management approaches for dynamic environments Essay This paper sets out to investigate the nature of projects  conducted in fast changing environments. Examples and  theory are used to illustrate the nature and challenges of  this category. Suitable management approaches are identiï ¬ ed under the following headings: Planning, Experimentation, Lifecycle, Controls, Culture, Communication, and Leadership style. The dynamic project category.  The paper closes with recommendations for further  research. In this paper, control is taken to mean the mechanisms through  which resources are managed to achieve objectives [1], and is diï ¬â‚¬erent to the PMBOK ‘technique’ [2] which is strictly focused on bringing activities in line with a plan [3]. The term dynamic is taken to mean characterised by constant change [4]. In the project management context dynamism is taken to be a dimension of a project  that represents the extent to which a project is inï ¬â€šuenced by changes in the environment in which it is conducted. This paper argues that this is a non-binary dimension that  applies in varying degrees to all projects, so strictly any  given project is neither ‘dynamic’ nor ‘not dynamic’. All projects have some degree of dynamism, so the dimension  is not dichotomic. Therefore, the ideas in this paper may be applied in varying degrees to any project as deemed appropriate. For the sake of simplicity though, for the remainder of this paper, a dynamic project is taken to be one that is  necessarily subject to higher than normal levels of change  due to the environment in which it is conducted. The business environment is changing at an increasing  pace [5–7]. Rothwell and Zegveld [8] went so far as to say we are in the midst of a technology explosion. They argued  that 90% of our technical knowledge has been generated in  the last 55 years, and that technical knowledge will continue to increase exponentially. Perrino and Tipping [9] reported  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬Ëœthe pace of technology is accelerating, raising the stakes and risks for  managing innovation, and requiring early  warning and shorter response time†. Change, in all forms  of technology and business processes, can be regarded as  increasingly pervasive and providing challenges even where high technology is not a core business, such as in mining  [10]. Consider how the Australian Submarine project was  challenged by developments in the IT industry between  the 1980s design phase, and sea trials decades later [7].  This paper will now investigate dynamic projects from a  theoretical point of view. Gray and Larson [11] argued that Pich, Loch and De Meyer [12] describe a type of project  that encounters unknown unknowns and how it is best suited to what they called a ‘learning’ strategy which involves scanning, problem solving and ï ¬â€šexibility. They argue that  this is distinct from projects conducted in well understood  environments which are suited to ‘instructionism’, and distinct from  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœselectionism’ where the most fruitful initiative is chosen after a pool of trials. Turner and Cochran [13]  espouse the ‘goals and methods matrix’ that describes four diï ¬â‚¬erent types of project according to how well deï ¬ ned the methods and goals are. Projects can have poorly deï ¬ ned  goals (‘ï ¬ re’) or poorly deï ¬ ned methods (‘water’), or both (‘air’).  Shenhar and Wideman [14] describe a type of project that involves high levels of uncertainty, using technologies together for the ï ¬ rst time. They call these ‘high tech’ [14]. They also describe a type of project that actually creates  new technologies, called ‘super high tech’. Shenhar [15] describes how ‘low technology’ projects are typically performed in construction, production and utilities, and high technology projects in the computer, aerospace and electronics industries. He oï ¬â‚¬ers building and bridge construction as examples of low technology projects. The key diï ¬â‚¬erence to Shenhar is the level of development work  involved, in that low technology projects have little, and high technology projects have considerable levels and usually require prototyping. Shenhar and Wideman [14] argue that another key diï ¬â‚¬erence is the number of design  cycles. In low technology projects they say there is typically only one cycle with a freeze before development, and with high technology there are at least two, typically  three cycles. Operational  work  Cioï ¬Æ' [16] suggests that ‘projects’ be placed on a spectrum of ‘newness’ from operational to project. The idea has been adapted in Fig. 1 to illustrate the sliding scale  of unknowns that applies to projects. Unknowns in this  sense refer to any aspect of the project, including the methods to achieve it, the objective, and the environment it has to operate in. The guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) [2] describes  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœprogressive elaboration’, where planning is developed in greater detail as the project progresses. Using progressive elaboration to ï ¬ ll knowledge gaps, it might be possible to move a project to the left in  Fig. 1, thereby achieving the objective in a more predictable fashion. However, rapid changes in the environment, including tools and methods, and attempts to innovate,  act to push the project to the right, increasing unknowns.  The two forces of exploration and change act against each  other continuously throughout the project. The challenge is to conduct exploration at a greater rate than the emergence  of environmental change. It is also important to ensure that the amount of change created by the exploration and  implementation is not counterproductive overall. An example of Project A in Fig. 1 might be a production line where there only variable is the colour required. The intention here is to review literature to provide a  broad overview of approaches that might be used to better  deal with dynamic environments. Approaches were broken down as follows:

Avant Go vs Palm VII :: Essays Papers

Avant Go vs Palm VII There are many people trying to find the best solution for wireless web browsing. At this time there are two major competitors, AvantGo, which uses any standard Palm device with AvantGo Server software installed on the desktop, and AvantGo Client, and Mobile Application Link software installed on the Palm. Then there is the Palm VII device that uses a wireless modem and a connection to a specialized ISP called Palm.net. While using a Palm device with or without a modem, it is possible to access web content. If you have a wireless modem it is possible to dial a traditional ISP and connect to the Internet the same way you would at home with your desktop. The drawback to this method is the fact that a handheld does not have the power to display Web pages as they were designed. A better way of using a handheld to connect to the Internet is with the same wireless modem, but connect to AvantGo to view content. AvantGo’s client depends on a network application called Mobile Application Link, which allows data to be transferred between the client and the server. When a request is sent to the server, the server then goes out to the Internet and retrieves the requested data. Next, you as the user may define personal settings on each page you request, including the link depth or how many links you want to follow on this resource. However, if you try to refresh or follow a link past its specified link depth then you must re-sync with the network. In the future it may be possible to have an entire workforce connected through their handheld. The fact that when using a wireless modem the sync is immediate, therefore, everyone will have the most up to the minute data anywhere in the world. AvantGo Servers use standard HTML code to display the Web pages on a handheld. Any existing page on the Internet could be turned into an AvantGo mobile Web application without any specialized development tools. Some pages look better than others when viewed on a handheld because most of the pages on the Internet have not been optimized for viewing on such a small screen (only 150 x 150). The Palm VII does things only slightly different. The Palm VII is a completely self contained, all that is needed to connect to the Internet is the raising of the antenna.

Health and social care unit 7 Essay

Behaviourist approach, people believe that behaviour has been learned when we are younger and effects us later on in life e.g. if a child is too strictly potty trained then may effect them later on in life, and could have OCD Freud believed this. Classical conditioning is a theory discovered by Pavlov a Russian physiologist he worked on dogs and the digestive system before this study people believed that saliva was produced when food in in the mouth but then Pavlov found out it happened when the dog saw the food, possibly smelling the food. Pavlov used classical conditioning, his experiment was used with a dog. When the bell rings the dog doesn’t do anything until after a while Pavlov gives the dog a treat every time the bell is rung so every time the bell rings now the dog will start salivating. This is how systematic desensitisation works, people associate a fear or a phobia by something they may of seen the say that an accident may have occurred causing the phobia e.g. if a man had a car accident and the car that crashed in to him was blue, the man may have a fear of blue now because of this (the dog learning that food comes with the ring of the bell) psychologists can help this by slowly showing the man that blue isn’t scary by talking about the colour, seeing the word written on paper then seeing the colour and being comfortable with it, this is then cured of the fear this is called the Hierarchy of fear. This reaction can’t be learned so he called this unconditioned response. This theory is what psychologists use to look at phobias, it shows that there is always something too set a behaviour off e.g. if something bad happened in your life and the most thing you remember is a poster on the wall or even a song you listened to that night, you could develop a phobia of that poster or song. The best way to help this is to find the cause and ask the patient to make a list of their worst fear about that phobia. This is where operant conditioning comes in, this is used to help peoples frame of mind, they use reinforcement techniques and create more appropriate behaviour. â€Å"Let’s say that at your house whenever someone flushes the toilet the shower gets crazy hot. After a while, you learn to jump out of the shower stream whenever you hear the toilet flush. A guest at your house won’t know that this happens, so she will jump out of the stream of water when it gets hot but not when the toilet flushes.† http://instruction.blackhawk.edu 20:39 18/12/12

Video Games Can It Cause Violence - 1379 Words

Victor Chau Professor Myers ENGL-1301 Video Games: Can it cause violence? Any action against violent video games should be met with more research and that any banning of violent video games should come under more significant scrutiny. For sometime, many people consider violent video games to be the cause of violent behavior in the younger generations. However there are also people who would refute such claims that violent video games are the causes of tragedies, and would point to another reason why anyone would perform violent actions. The concerned peoples who have put stock in the notion that violent video games has caused youths of today to perform school shootings and/or suicide have only been lightly educated about the positive impact that video games have done for the younger generations, as well as the older generations. In fact, people would say that it is coincidence that a killer who have just happened to play video games could have been inspired by the virtual simulations that video games can provide. A what if example would be to say if a person who is set on shooting people in a certain drove to the location of his designated shooting spree in a particular brand of car. Is the company who produced such the car at fault for making and selling it to the perpetrator? Of course not. To quickly address also, all video games forgo a rating system created by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB for short, in order to determine which audience a certainShow MoreRelatedEssay about Do Video Games really Cause Violence?1028 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"No one is suggesting that [violent video games are] the only reason they went out and committed those horrific acts, but was it a tipping point? Was it something that pushed them over the edge? Was it a factor in that? Perhaps. 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