Project Scenario Assignment: Email Analysis Project

Your Job Title, Role, and Background at XYZ Corporation

You are a Senior Project Analyst. You report to the PMO Director. Your main role is as an analyst and advisor to the PMO Director. Your background includes a BS in IFSM from UMUC and PMP and PMI-ACP certifications. You have 4 years work experience at XYZ since joining the company after graduation. In your short career, you have shown an ability to perform good analysis and to assist management and senior management in decision support. Your job responsibilities routinely call for you to write analyses of published information and project governance decision papers at the request of the PMO Director.

Overview of Scenario #1 Task Assignment

The PMO Director has two related task requests for you that she wants you to address in one email:

1) Send her your brief reactions in email to two articles that she has requested that you read and comment on; 2) Send her your recommendations/justifications in an email for which project methodology projects should use. You should create only one email deliverable for these two requests. The two web-available articles to read are authored by notable Agile visionary Michele Sliger:

1. Relating PMBOK Practices to Agile Practices - Part 1 of 4 (Sliger)

2. Relating PMBOK Practices to Agile Practices - Part 2 of 4 (Sliger)

Also the PMO Director has assigned the following 3 projects for review to help him prep for his upcoming PMO Project Review Meeting. For each of these 3 projects you are to advise the PMO Director which XYZ Project Management Methodology is most suitable for use with each proposed project, along with a 6-8 sentence analysis of your main justifications. The list of projects and related key information follows:

1. Internal/External: Internal project for the Administration Division. Project Title: XYZ Headquarters Construction Review Project. Brief Description: XYZ has contracted with ABC Construction for the building of a new $40M corporate headquarters building in Rockville, MD and a XYZ project team is needed to oversee the construction process and ensure all requirements are met per building plans and architectural drawings.

Other Key Information: The project team will serve as the main interface with the ABC Construction company and will be responsible for providing all needed internal support for the building project. The Administration Division has not requested any project management methodology. Past construction monitoring projects have used the PMBOK Methodology. The timeline of the project is 1.5 years.

2. Internal/External: External project for the Health Crisis Prevention and Response Management Service/Product Delivery Division. Project Title: Health Crisis Response Portal Project. Brief Description: XYZ has just won a contract with the federal government to put in place a state-of-the art health crisis response portal for collaboration between key governmental and private sector entities and health information exchange. While governmental requirements in the RFP were not detailed, XYZ's proposal emphasized an iterative approach to defining requirements ahead of a crisis and the ability to adapt quickly to refine requirements based on the type and extent of crisis.

Other Key Information: The project team will be responsible for refining the specifications proposed in the RFP response by XYZ according to the approvals of the client. The government's RFP indicated that Agile methodology approaches involving Scrum and XP were welcomed, and XYZ went with that option in its proposal. The Health Crisis Prevention and Response Management Service/Product Delivery Division has requested the Agile Methodology. The timeline of the project is 1.5 years but some initial portal capabilities are due within 4 months of contract begin with add-on refinements as needed to be regularly added until completion.

3. Internal/External: External project for the Emergency Management Service/Product Delivery Division. Project Title: Hurricane Emergency Management Control Center.Brief Description: XYZ has contracted with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide expedited delivery of emergency management control services to south Florida in the immediate aftermath of the widespread destruction of Miami during Hurricane Beth in September 2012. Services include putting in place a web portal, intranets, information exchange, and facilitation of collaboration among key stakeholders.

Other Key Information: While initial plans call for an immediate project start and expedited service delivery, project plans call for an extended planning phase starting after three months, followed by further requirements elicitation and scope increases according to the results of initial deployment and the follow-on planning phase of 6 months. The Emergency Management Service/Product Delivery Division has requested that the PMO determine the best suited project management methodology.

Task Requirements

1. Compose an introduction to your email in which you state the two tasks you are addressing

2. To address your first main task, give your brief reaction and analysis to the two articles in one paragraph or so, and how they relate to project management at XYZ Corporation

3. Transition to your second main task, and introduce your project analysis of project methodology recommendations/justifications (PMBOK, Agile PM, or hybrid) in a numbered list

4. Be sure to adequately support your analysis and recommendations for both main tasks by thoughtfully stating your justifications

5. Conclude your email with a brief summary paragraph.

6. Be sure to present your Scenario #2 response in an email format using business best practices (the PMO Director's name is Ms. Donna Cortez) for effective email communication.