project management practices

Wk5 A1: Earned Value Analysis & Report

Attached Files:

• PJM6000 – Case Study – Lazertrim.pdf (103.995 KB)

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Assignment Overview:

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For this assignment, you will be drafting an earned value analysis executive briefing as to why, or why not, the organization should adopt Earned Value Management as a monitoring and controlling process tool.

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Learning Connection:

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This assignment is directly linked to the following key learning outcomes from the course syllabus:

• Measuring project success
• Recommending cost, time, and/or scope adjustments as needed

In addition to these key learning outcomes, you will also have the opportunity to evidence the following skills through completing this assignment:

• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Quantitative analysis
• Professional writing

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Assignment Instructions:

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For this assignment, you will be preparing an executive briefing document outlining the benefits and challenges with adopting and implanting Earned Value Management into the organization. This is a more detailed assignment, and it will require you to work with a case study file and literature that you research outside of class. Please be sure to start this assignment early to allow for sufficient time. Below are the assignment guidelines and files.

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Assignment Files:

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To complete this assignment, you will use the following information:

1. Lazrtrim Case Study Overview (attached)
2. 3-5 additional articles that are not assigned course readings.

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Guide to File

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• File 1 — PJM6000 – Case Study – Lazertrim — The Lazertrim Case Study file provides an overview of a sample case study you will be using. This will provide you some context to the evaluation you will be using and allow you to make some reasonable assumptions about the context of the project.

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Creating Executive Briefings:

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For this assignment, you will use the above file to create an executive briefing to the leadership team for the project.Being able to communicate to executives and key stakeholders is critically important to a project’s success. To create this briefing, you will first need to review the earned value data for the above sample case study. Please complete the following steps prior to writing the report:

1. Read the Laztrim Case Study Overview (PJM6000 – Case Study – Lazertrim ) (attached above)

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Writing the Executive Briefing Report

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Using the earned value information gathered from the case and your literature, write a 3-4 page executive briefing using the following structure:

• Report / Executive Summary – Summarize the finding of your report briefly (4-5 paragraphs); this should include the major findings of your report, as well as, your recommendations. It should be concise and direct.Make sure to include your definition of Earned Value Management.
• Benefits of EVM — In this section, you want to provide details regarding why it would benefit the executive team to implement Earned Value Management. Provide a brief analysis of what has happened in the project so that the reader understands the context of why Earned Value Management should be considered. How will EVM help measure projects success?How does EVM assist with the monitoring and control processes?
• Weaknesses of EVM — In this section you will want to identify at least three weaknesses that you have identified in terms of utilizing EVM as a measure of project status.
• Change Management – In this section identify the considerations that the organization will need to consider in terms of change management and preventing disruption to the organization.What steps specifically could they undertake to minimize risks and issues that may arise from implementing EVM?
• Recommendations – Based on your analysis, tell us what areas of the project are of potential concern if EVM is not implemented.Do you recommend that the organization adopt EVM or proceed without leveraging EVM?

Here are some general guidelines for formatting:

• Use section headers so that it is clear what the sections of the report are
• This report should be single spaced; it should appear as a professional report, not an academic paper
• Make good use of tables and/or charts to illustrate your points
• Be concrete; reference the case study and specifics regarding performance
• Include page numbers
• Write no more than four pages
• Include your reference listing formatted according to APA Style 6^th edition.
• Remember completion of an assignment does not guarantee an ‘A’. Please refer to the attached grading rubric as a guide to how the assignment will be assessed.