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Questions about Project Management
- Why use Project Management? Project
Management is the process of planning, organizing and managing tasks and
resources to achieve a well-defined outcome of creating a product or delivering
a service. The outcome must be accomplished within the constraints of time,
resources and cost and therefore, each of these must be carefully managed.
The process of managing a project consists of dividing it into manageable
tasks and tracking the tasks as work progresses. Successful completion of
the project depends on successfully managing each component of the project
including each of the tasks.
- What skills do students learn from using project
management? Students learn how to successfully take
a project from the idea conception through to completion. In doing so
they master the skills of time and resource management, communication,
team work, breaking projects down into manageable and achievable tasks
and risk management.
- Isn't Project Management used to build bridges,
office buildings, and information technology systems? Project
Management can be used for any project (business, construction, home,
hobby, school, IT, etc). It is a discipline that uses skills and knowledge
to achieve project success by managing components common to all projects
(time, cost, people, scope, materials, communication, risk, quality).
- What is the Project Management "process"? Every
project has four phases, the objective of which is: 1. Define
the project (title and description of the project, its purpose, expected
outcomes, scope, and related preliminary information). 2. Plan
the project (expands on the definition, providing details of the scope, tasks
to be performed, budget, risks and mitigation strategy, project approach,
and team). 3. Do the project (start work on the project
and periodically report its status, including planned versus actual accomplishments,
details of tasks performed and budget spent, risks, and planned activities
for the next reporting period). 4. Finish the project (finalize
the project, including a final status report and project completion report,
and for schools, typically a reflections paper, plus a portfolio of project
evidence).
- What is the definition of a successful project? One
that produces a quality outcome that matches the original specification (definition),
and is completed on or before schedule, and on or under budget.
- Why do projects fail? Primarily,
improper management of one or more project components (time, cost, people,
scope, materials, communication, risk, or quality.) Other factors can include
project team members with inappropriate skills, budget cuts, and other unforeseeable
risks.
- Why is project scope so important? Project
scope defines or sets the limits to what the project will achieve. While
this is often clear in the definition (Project Proposal) phase, changes occur
during subsequent phases which can alter the scope. Compared to the original
scope, it may increase or decrease and can affect the other project components.
Alternatively, a change to one of the other components (e.g. a budget reduction)
can cause the scope to change. Some scope changes can impact the project
to the extent that it may fail. Therefore, ensuring that scope is carefully
tracked and managed throughout the project is essential.
- What is "risk mitigation"? Risks
are uncertain events or conditions that, if they occur, can have a negative
(or positive) effect on a project (for example, spending too much money early
in the project.) Risk mitigation is a solution or strategy that attempts
to reduce the possibility and/or the impact of a risk to a project.
- Where can I find more information on Project
Management? There are many publications and internet
sites on all aspects of project management in all industries. However,
a primary source of industry-standard information is the Project Management
Institute (PMI) at www.pmi.org.
Questions about EdProps
- How does using EdProps help teachers save
time? EdProps was specifically designed to help free
up more time for teachers to spend with students by reducing the amount
of administration (paper/file handling, chasing students' work, marking
papers, etc). EdProps on-line review and approval process, plus automatic
display of due dates, project status, late assignments, "To Do"
lists and other important information saves teachers substantial time.
- What does EdProps not do? EdProps does not replace one-on-one interaction
between faculty and students.
- How does using EdProps help teachers do a
better job? EdProps enables teachers to have better visibility
of students' project assignments and status. Teachers can also quickly
check students' project history, reviewers' comments, and other
information. The combination of these capabilities enables teachers to
understand which students may be struggling with their projects
and need more attention.
- Do parents with multiple students using EdProps need
multiple logins? No.
The User Administrator can assign multiple student users to one parent user
by editing the parent roles in the parent's user profile.
- What does the name 'EdProps' mean?
Education Project Planning Support
system.
- Do I need any special software to use EdProps? No, EdProps is accessible
by standard web browsers anywhere with Internet access. No browser plugins
are required. Tested browsers include Internet Explorer (Windows and Macintosh),
Netscape Navigator (Windows and Macintosh), Mozilla (Windows, Macintosh,
and Linux), and Safari (Macintosh).
- Is EdProps secure? Access is granted to school users as determined by the
school or district. EdProps is password protected and every effort has been
made to secure the site from improper use.
- What are assignments?
Pieces of project work students must complete and submit for review and
approval. Project management assignments mark the end of a phase, while
others can be defined by the school. All assignments have due dates and
milestone dates, also defined by the school. In corporate project management,
these would be called "deliverables" and could be any things
that are products of work on the project.
- What happens if I delete an assignment profile? Please avoid deleting an
assignment from the program calendar if students have started work on it.
Any work under way will be lost. If you have an assignment in progress that
is no longer required of students, we recommend that you: remove the due
date and milestone date from the assignment profile, edit the assignment
instructions to indicate it is no longer required, and broadcast a message
to all users to tell them the assignment is not required.
- Can students start a phase before they complete the
previous phase?
Yes, there may be a small amount of overlap between phases. However, a
significant amount of work and resources should not be expended on a phase
prior to approval of the previous phase. For example, a project could enter
the planning phase while waiting for approval of the definition (Project
Proposal) phase.
- Can students change their project topic?
This depends on why they want or need to change it, and at what stage they're
at in their current project. They should speak with their project advisor
immediately.
- What happens if a student misses a due date or milestone date? If a student
misses a date, the status of the assignment will appear in red text wherever
it is listed. The student's name and assignment will also appear in the Late
Assignment report that faculty can access from their home page.
Questions about implementing EdProps
- How is EdProps implemented at a school? Once
a sales contract is signed, we provide each client (usually a school district)
with an implementation guide and a user ID and password to their own site
where they may immediately begin using EdProps for their program. Program
and user administrators at the district and school will receive comprehensive web-based
and personal conference call training from the EdProps implementation team.
Easy-to-use Quick Start Guides are provided for your Program Administrator to
use for training staff, student, parent, and community users. Additional training is available if needed.
Questions about support for EdProps
- What do I do if I forget my login or password? Click
on the "Forgot your login or password?" link on the login page. If you have
an email address in the EdProps system, enter the address in the filed provided and click the "Submit" button.
Your login and password will be emailed to that address (if it matches the
one in our system). If you don't have an email address in the system, contact
your district user administrator (with the email link provided on the same
page). You can also contact your school's user administrator.
- What do I do if I need help using EdProps? First,
try the online help system provided by clicking on the "Help" button (upper
right corner of every page). A help page will pop up for the page you are
on and you can also access the complete help contents by clicking the "Contents"
button on the help page. If the help system does not answer your question,
please contact your school's user administrator, program administrator, or
advisor.
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