Instructions
Your Individual Assignment Instructions
After studying The Orion Shield Project, each student is to address the following questions in a succinct and thoughtful report on 'Project Management Principles in the Orion Shield Case."
1. Applying the readings from Week 7, what Project Management principles, if any, were violated in this case:
o By Project Manager Gary Allison,
o By Henry Larsen, Director of Engineering
o By Elliott Grey, Director of Program Management
o By Paula Arnold, Project Engineer
2. What structural and cultural characteristics of SEC allowed each of these individuals to behave as they did? Be specific in defining the behavior you feel was a violation or failure, and the organizational characteristic(s ) that supported that behavior.
o How does the Project Management Body Knowledge address the effects of organizational structure and culture on successful project management?
o What principles of project and general management can a project manager rely upon to positively influence these organizational characteristics?
3. What guidance do project management principles give for creating effective communication, and what do you think Gary would have done differently if he had been well versed in those principles?
4. Henry Larsen gave Gary three requirements for good project management. How do those compare with the project management body of knowledge? Should Gary have been given different advice?
- If so, what would have been better advice?
- If this was good advice, how did Gary fall short on those three criteria?
5. How many departments were involved in this project, and what guidance do project management principles give for coordinating functional departments?
o Citing relevant principles, explain what Gary could have done differently to avoid Larsen's perception that Gary had failed as a project manager. Compose advice to Gary on what you would recommend, and use your own experience with projects as back up for your recommendations and/or illustrations of good project management principles.
6. Finally, did Gary fail? If SEC was awarded a sole source contract for production of the new material, why was his project perceived as a failure?
- Do you agree or disagree? Explain your rationale, citing relevant project management literature for how success is defined for a project.
Remember to include a meaningful, results-filled executive summary at the beginning of your report.