Running head: MODULE 3 PAPER 1

Module 3 Paper

Cynthia Nieto Vargas

OGL 321: Project Leadership: Strategy and Scope

Arizona State University

February 1st, 2022

Module 3 Paper

Why is project management important in organizations? There are many ways to

approach a project, but successfully managing one depends on the leadership one uses and the

knowledge, skills, and abilities one acquires. Project management is vital because it gives

direction and vision to an organization and the processes that fall under a project. This paper will

discuss how I applied project leadership to my simulation experiences and how project

management experts and additional readings/resources enhanced my understanding of project

management.

Enhancement of Knowledge

The text enhanced my knowledge, specifically in decision-making under uncertainty. At

first, I thought scenario B would be like scenario A, so I felt confident about making similar

decisions as in the previous scenario. But then I had to deal with the consequences. I would have

had better outcomes if I had set a course of action with my first few tries. In line with Buede &

Powell (2009), “From this setting, the decision-maker develops a set of alternative courses of

action, considers some objectives on which to evaluate these courses of action, and ponders

issues such as uncertainty, time preference, and risk preference.” (p. 3). As I played through

scenario B, I didn’t quite think of the uncertainty that may occur, which was the aggressive

recruiting. I didn’t know that would happen, so I was surprised at how to handle the situation.

For example, I wasn’t able to add more members. It made the situation more difficult to manage

because I had to figure out how to have the current member adjust to the new challenges, which

significantly impacted the team morale, and pressure raised on my terms.

Moreover, it impacted the overall project process going behind schedule and raising costs

due to adjusting the team member’s skill level to a higher level. Thus, implementing a work
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breakdown structure would be helpful in this situation to make sense of the plan and

objectives. I can create the WBS as a complex or straightforward diagram that helps break down

the project scope, resources, and schedule, having an in-depth review of tasks and deliverables

the team and I have to achieve. 

I learned that, as said by Buede & Powell (2009), “An important issue in understanding

the decision context is determining which comes first, the objective(s) or the decision.” (p. 4). In

many cases, I would put the objective(s) first. I wouldn’t try to change anything within the

product or project completion because it would not align with what the senior management

expected me to do. Therefore, no matter what route I took, I encountered project failures such as

meeting the budget, finishing on schedule, or meeting client specifications (product

performance) (Buede & Powell, 2009). But, I do think the majority of the time, the project

failures occurred due to starving the project (Buede & Powell, 2009). I felt like the team never

had enough time to complete tasks on time, and it would raise concerns where I had to do more

one-on-one coaching and add high-skilled members to the team to step up the process. There

might have been unrealistic expectations coming from senior management because the more

people you add, the cumulative costs and management targets are off-balance. Thus, the lack of

time and resources were an issue keeping up with the project schedule.

I found that project surveys are a good idea to get a glimpse of how the projects are doing

over the course of time. For example, there are three ways to survey the projects by resolution

types: project success, project challenged, and project impaired (Buede & Powell, 2009).

Although I think I have been doing something similar to this project survey by taking notes of

each scenario, writing down each round that took the worst turn or best turn, and looking at how

I made certain decisions affected certain aspects of the project. I would write down comments of
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the do’s, if’s, and don’ts. On the other hand, one thing that majorly impacted my project was

overseeing one part of the project over various domains. For example, conforming to Buede &

Powell (2009), “Some project teams lose sight of the business rationale behind their projects—

that they must satisfy a customer and achieve business results, and not just meet technical project

requirements.” (p. 8). I had lost sight of the project a few times when I would solely focus on the

team process (making sure my team was happy and content throughout the project). I focused

less on the technical aspects, which would affect the rest of the parameters, then afterward the

stakeholders.

I very well agree with, according to Buede & Powell (2009), “Achieving success requires

that a rational and explicit or structured decision process be developed and used.” (p. 13).

Furthermore, as stated by Buede & Powell (2009), “Decision-making should occur as part of a

dynamic process, but not a random one. When a planned process is used, mistakes are minimized

because there are opportunities built into the process to correct errors”. (p. 14) I do believe it’s

important to have a well-thought-out process rather than rolling the dice because then you’ll be

able to revisit plans, make changes, and have the team adapt better to different organizational

needs. I noticed in the scenarios that when I would randomly make decisions, it would cause

many errors. I would typically have to end the project because it went overboard on the target

week, causing me to lose out on more money.

Moreover, having a general framework (decision-making process) like figure 1.4 is an

excellent tool to keep the team on track by enhancing the organization and improvements while

making decisions (Buede & Powell, 2009). For instance, defining the problem, establishing

objectives, identifying alternatives, identifying uncertainties, assessing alternatives, gathering

information/updating the assessment, deciding & implementing, and monitoring are all key
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factors to successful project completion (Buede & Powell, 2009). Thus, as mentioned by Buede

& Powell (2009), “A mistake made in one key decision can hinder an entire project’s success.”

(p. 17) which is why it’s essential to have strategic planning such as understanding strengths &

weaknesses, open dialogue with the team, and measuring/tracking progress from initiatives, etc.

Takeaways

In the blog entry, 15 Powerful Benefits of Project Management, the author Espy explains

various benefits of project management and how they bring value to the organization. As

reported by Espy (2022), “You must understand your value to the organization in order to deliver

the most value and grow in your career.” (para. 6). Identifying and understanding your values

drives one to make effective decisions towards focusing on the crucial factors in project

management like the phases of project management (initiation, planning, execution,

monitoring/controlling, and closure). Moreover, understanding your values helps others know

what you are bringing to the table, so there’s less confusion and more confidence in the project

process. 

The few topics that stood out to me in PR that I can relate to, improve on, and use in my

future career are project scope management, solution quality, and team-building (Espy,

2022). That being said, a few ways I can incorporate those topics is by setting up a plan for

resolution from scope creep, conducting prototypes during the project, and managing the team in

several ways like training & development, rewards & recognition, conflict resolution & open

communication. Additionally, following Meloni (n.d), “Assign a buddy for every new resource

who can help the newcomer to understand team structure, team ethics, and way of working.”

(para. 4), is a useful source to team-building; therefore, buddies not only create and sustain work

relationships, but they help with the regulation in tasks/activities. Lastly, equally important,
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creating weekly reports helps maintain a controlled and monitored environment and be able to

discuss any team member performance issues in meetings or one-on-one discussions.

Incorporating these topics in my personal life will help make me better decisions and make fewer

errors as a PM; as said by Buede & Powell (2009), “It is the decisions that were made—or not

made—that account for their failure.” (p. 1).

References

Buede, D., & Powell, R. (2009). A Project Manager’s Guide to Making Successful Decisions. Chapter

1: Good Decision-Making: The Key to Project Success. Management Concepts, Inc. Retrieved

from www.knovel.com.

Espy, L. (2022, January 30). 15 Powerful Benefits of Project Management. Project Bliss. Retrieved from

https://projectbliss.net/benefits-of-project-management/.

Meloni, M. (n.d.). Delegation Tips for Project Managers. PMStudent. Retrieved from

https://pmstudent.com/delegation-tips-for-project-managers/.