Affordable Housing, Coursework Example

The author identifies some of the most important skills or abilities of a superintendent that help to keep a project on track. Which are those? Can you add some?

Some of the most important skills or abilities of a superintendent to keep a project on track include the following:

1. A working knowledge of their craft (in this case, construction).
2. The ability to plan as this enables them to set and achieve short and long term goals.
3. The ability to communicate with their team in an effective and efficient manner.
4. Follow-up as this allows them to walk around and see the accomplishments of the team as well as solve any problems.
5. “The ability to regularly review achievements and identify new problems at weekly meetings” (Berg, 1994, p. 69).
6. The ability to construct and hold meetings for the safety of their team and all involved.
7. Customer service abilities as these individuals are always serving others during their projects.

The case stresses the importance of planning as crucial to the success of the project. During the planning phase of the project it is necessary to develop a strategy that addresses all the issues that can influence the project. What are the topics that the planning strategy should cover?

There are many topics that the planning strategy should cover. These include costs, duration of the project (timelines), potential problems, team members (who will be involved) and scheduling just to name a few. Costs should be covered as this is the foundation of the project. Unfortunately, in our society, nothing gets done without money to fund it. The duration of the project should be covered in the planning strategy as this determines the amount of bodies needed (and vice versa) as well as the costs for labor and time. It should always be in the planning phase as it lets everyone know what to expect. Potential problems should be in the planning strategy as this will help solve them before they even begin. Team members or people involved such as developers, banks, laborers and any other pertinent people for the project should be discussed in the planning strategy so everyone knows who is involved and what is expected of them. Finally, scheduling is probably one of the most important topics that should be included in the planning strategy as this is the one thing that works with all of the other factors. A plan or schedule should be included so that all involved have a clear understanding of what needs to happen and when. This allows all things within the project to run smoothly.

The project team put special effort into the fulfillment of the schedule so the tenants would be able to move on the predetermined dates. Therefore time durations were crucial for the completion of this goal. What are the techniques more frequently used to estimate activity duration?

Some of the techniques more frequently use to estimate activity duration includes the number of people involved, the timeliness and availability of materials being delivered, and the ability to multi-task by many individuals involved. The number of people involved is a major determinant in estimating activity duration because the more people that are involved, the quicker things are going to get done. If there aren’t enough people, things could be accomplished less quickly. In addition, the timeliness and availability of materials is important because without these, the project would also run much more slowly. You must have the products in order to complete the goal. Finally, the ability to multi-task is important because there are normally many things that have to be done in a given day. Without a team that can multi-task and get numerous things done at one time, the activity is slower and results in the accomplishment of the goal being slower as well.

What two or three scope management factors were most critical to the success of this project? Why?

The scope management factors that were most critical for this project were time management, communication and team work, and cost management. Time management was very critical because there was a certain date in which this needed to be completed and without time management, things may have not run so smoothly in the scheduling. Communication and team work were probably the most critical factors because, without them, nothing can be accomplished in a timely manner with few problems. Each individual involved must be willing to communicate, lead, follow, and work together to reach a common goal. Finally, cost management was critical for the project because it allowed materials to be bought and delivered when needed, took care of any potential financial problems ahead of time, an helped move the project along financially.

References

Berg, P. L. (1994). Making affordable housing attainable through modern project management. PM Network, 61-69.