Part 1.Imagine you’re leading a strategic initiative for a rapidly growing company that has identified nine critical projects essential for its success over the next year. As the project manager, you’re tasked with overseeing these interconnected projects, all of which must be completed within a year, with a strict budget of $1,200,000.The company’s leadership is counting on you to deliver results that not only meet expectations but also adhere to stringent success criteria: completing the project within 10% of the budget and ensuring everything is finalized no later than 395 days from the start date. While you’ve been provided with a set of predefined resources, you have the flexibility to obtain additional resources if needed, as outlined in the provided table.Your challenge is to manage these projects efficiently, navigating any obstacles that arise, and ensuring the company can assess how well employees adapt to and benefit from the initiative. Below, you’ll find the essential information and tools to guide you through this critical assignment.Project Scope: The project’s scope consists of completing all nine projects within one year. You have been given a total budget of $1,200,000.00. Resources have already been defined; however, if needed, you can obtain additional resources – see the table below. Success Criteria: The project must be delivered within 10% of the approved budget and no later than 395 days from the project’s start date. Below are key pieces of information that you can use to manage the project:
Given the critical nature of the project, the company has developed a high-level budget and potential income for each application.
Year 0 is the projected cost the company has estimated for the building of the component. This includes a 15% overhead cost for project management work
Year 1-Year 5 is the revenue the company has estimated for the product.
The Acceptable Rate of Return for all projects with the company is 10%
If you choose to leverage IRR, NPV, PBP, or PV, you will use the information below: Year 0 Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Application 1 $ (120,000.00) $ 20,000.00 $ 22,000.00 $ 24,200.00 $ 26,620.00 $ 29,282.00Application 2 $ (99,000.00) $ 12,000.00 $ 13,200.00 $ 14,520.00 $ 15,972.00 $ 17,569.20Application 3 $ (230,000.00) $ 52,000.00 $ 57,200.00 $ 62,920.00 $ 69,212.00 $ 76,133.20Application 4 $ (75,000.00) $ 9,000.00 $ 9,900.00 $ 10,890.00 $ 11,979.00 $ 13,176.90Application 5 $ (90,000.00) $ 15,900.00 $ 17,490.00 $ 19,239.00 $ 21,162.90 $ 23,279.19Application 6 $ (125,000.00) $ 18,000.00 $ 19,800.00 $ 21,780.00 $ 23,958.00 $ 26,353.80Application 7 $ (120,000.00) $ 20,000.00 $ 22,000.00 $ 24,200.00 $ 26,620.00 $ 29,282.00Application 8 $ (165,000.00) $ 40,000.00 $ 44,000.00 $ 48,400.00 $ 53,240.00 $ 58,564.00Application 9 $ (157,000.00) $ 18,000.00 $ 19,800.00 $ 21,780.00 $ 23,958.00 $ 26,353.80If you choose to use Dot Voting of Monopoly Money, please use the information below: Dot VotesMonopoly MoneyApplication 110 $ 3,500.00Application 212 $ 7,500.00Application 39 $ 1,600.00Application 412 $ 3,800.00Application 55 $ 8,500.00Application 616 $ 8,000.00Application 725 $ 8,700.00Application 821 $ 1,200.00Application 918 $ 900.00
Team Available – The company has identified the following individuals who are available to support the application development. Each individual can work on a single application. Application Developer 1$75.00 per hourApplication Developer 2$60.00 per hourApplication Developer 3$55.00 per hourApplication Developer 4$60.00 per hour1 Contractor (Application Developer)$135.00 per hourProject Assignment
Describe the methodology that you will use to manage this project.
Describe what will be accomplished in each phase of the project.
Describe the process you and your team will use to elicit Develop a Project Overview Statement document for the project
Create a WBS for the project – Remember, your WBS is a deliverable base, so there should be a section of your WBS that outlines our project management deliverables. This should align with your structured approach in item 2
The team has determined the following estimates to complete the nine assignments: Optimistic PessimisticMost LikelyApplication 1465Application 2687Application 3354Application 4243Application 5465Application 6687Application 7576Application 8243Application 9465
Establish a Gantt chart using the data above.
Describe two strategies to bring the project into 12 months.
You have been given four additional resources to help.
Resource A can work on Applications 1, 3, and 5
Resource B can work on Applications 2, 4, and 6
Resource C can work on Applications 7 and 8
Resource D can work on Application 9
If you employ your resources, the following changes will be made to your estimates and your costs.
Optimistic PessimisticMost LikelyApplication 1132Application 2243Application 3243Application 4021Application 5465Application 6243Application 7243Application 8021Application 9243
Resource A will have the following cost impact: $75000.00
Resource B will have the following cost impact: $55000.00
Resource C will have the following cost impact: $35000.00
Resource D will have the following cost impact: $30000.00
Describe the process you will use to incorporate your team members into the project.
Develop a team agreement
Prioritize the work using your chosen method.
Identify at least five stakeholders for your project and a communication strategy for everyone.
Identify at least five risks, including threats and opportunities associated with the project. For each risk, please include the following information:
Impact
Probability
Description of the risk
Mitigation Strategy
WBS for the project
Describe the Project Prioritization process and show the prioritized list of projects.
Develop an initial Gantt Chart
Develop a second Gantt Chart once you bring in the project to 12 months
Develop an initial budget and an updated budget once you bring the project into 12 months
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Part 1: Project Management Plan
1. Methodology:
I will use a Hybrid Project Management Methodology, primarily leveraging a Phased Approach with elements of Agile for the development of individual applications.
- Phased Approach (Waterfall-like for overall structure): The project will be broken down into distinct phases with clear deliverables and approvals to maintain control over the interconnected nature of the nine projects and the overall timeline. These phases will likely include:
- Initiation & Prioritization: Defining the project, prioritizing applications, and establishing the project overview.
- Planning: Developing detailed plans for each application, including resource allocation, timelines, and risk management. Creating the WBS and Gantt chart.
- Execution: Overseeing the development of each application, managing resources, and addressing issues.
Part 1: Project Management Plan
1. Methodology:
I will use a Hybrid Project Management Methodology, primarily leveraging a Phased Approach with elements of Agile for the development of individual applications.
- Phased Approach (Waterfall-like for overall structure): The project will be broken down into distinct phases with clear deliverables and approvals to maintain control over the interconnected nature of the nine projects and the overall timeline. These phases will likely include:
- Initiation & Prioritization: Defining the project, prioritizing applications, and establishing the project overview.
- Planning: Developing detailed plans for each application, including resource allocation, timelines, and risk management. Creating the WBS and Gantt chart.
- Execution: Overseeing the development of each application, managing resources, and addressing issues.
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- Monitoring & Controlling: Tracking progress against the plan, managing the budget and schedule, and implementing changes as needed.
- Closure: Finalizing all applications, documenting lessons learned, and formally closing the project.
- Agile Elements (for Application Development): Within the execution phase, the development of each application will incorporate agile principles. This allows for flexibility and iterative progress, enabling the development teams to adapt to challenges and deliver value incrementally. This might involve short sprints, regular team meetings, and a focus on working software.
This hybrid approach allows for the structured oversight needed for interconnected projects with a fixed deadline and budget, while providing the flexibility required for the individual development efforts.
2. Accomplishments in Each Phase:
- Initiation & Prioritization:
- Project Charter (high-level definition, objectives, constraints).
- Project Overview Statement (detailed understanding of each application’s goals and contribution).
- Prioritized list of applications based on the chosen method (see section 11).
- Identification of key stakeholders (see section 14).
- Initial risk assessment (high-level) (see section 15).
- Team agreement established (see section 9).
- Planning:
- Detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (see section 4 and 16).
- Resource allocation plan for each application and the overall project.
- Initial Gantt chart outlining the estimated timelines for all applications (see section 6 and 17).
- Initial budget outlining the estimated costs for each application and the overall project (see section 19).
- Detailed risk management plan with mitigation strategies (see section 15).
- Communication plan for stakeholders (see section 14).
- Execution:
- Development of each of the nine applications by the assigned teams.
- Regular progress tracking and reporting.
- Management of resources and resolution of any conflicts or issues.
- Facilitation of communication and collaboration among team members.
- Quality checks and testing of each application.
- Monitoring & Controlling:
- Continuous monitoring of the project schedule and budget against the baseline.
- Tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) related to progress and adherence to success criteria.
- Regular project status meetings.
- Implementation of change control processes for any deviations from the plan.
- Risk monitoring and implementation of contingency plans as needed.
- Closure:
- Verification that all nine applications are completed and meet the required specifications.
- Final budget reconciliation.
- Final project report documenting performance against objectives and success criteria.
- Stakeholder sign-off on project completion.
- Lessons learned documentation.
- Team recognition and release.
3. Process for Eliciting and Developing a Project Overview Statement:
The process to elicit and develop a Project Overview Statement document will involve the following steps:
- Individual Application Briefings: Schedule individual meetings with the stakeholders or representatives responsible for each of the nine identified applications. The goal of these meetings is to understand:
- The specific objectives and goals of the application.
- The intended functionality and features.
- The target users or beneficiaries.
- Any known dependencies on other applications.
- High-level estimates for effort and resources from their perspective.
- Key success metrics for that specific application.
- Document Gathering: Collect any existing documentation related to each application, such as initial proposals, business requirements, or conceptual designs.
- Cross-Functional Workshop: Organize a workshop involving key stakeholders from across the company, including representatives from leadership, development teams, and potential end-users. The objectives of this workshop are:
- Shared Understanding: Present a high-level overview of all nine projects to ensure everyone understands the scope of the overall initiative.
- Dependency Identification: Facilitate a discussion to identify and document all interdependencies between the applications. This is crucial for sequencing and scheduling.
- Alignment with Strategic Goals: Reconfirm how each application contributes to the company’s overall strategic goals and the success of the initiative.
- High-Level Risk Identification: Brainstorm potential high-level risks and opportunities associated with the collective set of projects.
- Initial Success Criteria Validation: Review and refine the overall project success criteria (budget and timeline) in light of the individual application needs.
- Drafting the Project Overview Statement: Based on the information gathered from the individual briefings and the cross-functional workshop, develop a draft Project Overview Statement document. This document will include:
- Project Title: A clear and concise title for the strategic initiative.
- Executive Summary: A brief overview of the initiative, its objectives, and expected benefits.
- Application Overviews: For each of the nine applications:
- Application Name/Identifier
- Brief Description and Objectives
- Key Features/Functionality
- Target Users
- Known Dependencies
- Preliminary Estimates (effort, resources)
- Application-Specific Success Metrics
- Overall Project Objectives and Success Criteria: Restatement of the overarching goals and the defined budget and timeline constraints.
- High-Level Risks and Opportunities: Initial list of identified risks and potential opportunities.
- Key Stakeholders: Identification of the major stakeholders involved in the initiative.
- Stakeholder Review and Feedback: Circulate the draft Project Overview Statement to all key stakeholders for review and feedback. Schedule follow-up meetings as needed to discuss their input and address any concerns or gaps.
- Finalization and Approval: Incorporate the feedback from stakeholders to finalize the Project Overview Statement. Obtain formal approval from the company’s leadership to ensure alignment and commitment. This approved document will serve as a guiding reference throughout the project lifecycle.
4. WBS for the Project (Deliverable-Based):
5. Team Estimates to Complete:
