Assignment:
Final Project- Create a mini-project charter
Objective - The goal of the assignment is for you to use the elements of the course and apply them in a real-world setting. Your organization is small and operates on a limited budget. As a program manager, you have been tasked with project management rather than hiring a project manager. This is a U.S. non-profit organization, and you report to the executive director, and she reports to the board of directors. The project is to develop a new website for the organization. The organization has only had a basic website that tells people about the organization, but it has had no functionality beyond a "web billboard" to post the annual report and how to contact the organization for more information.
The organization's executive director wants a new interactive website that aligns with the mission and vision. She's given you some of her thoughts on the project including hiring a consultant(s) to do the programming, adapt the software platform(s) you will use, and the IT integration with a budget of up to $45,000. She believes that a total budget of $60,000 including contingency funds and an additional 10% of the total project cost in managerial contingency is appropriate given the current finances.
You have some decisions to make that will make your project charter clearer to the audience reviewing it. These include the name of the organization, its location, mission and vision, its internal and external stakeholders, and where they get their funding. You will also have the creative license to identify staff positions and other variables like grants or donations made, the fee for services if appropriate, and other details about the organization and its work. But remember, there's no magic wand here, no unlimited resources that are extraordinary (like a company donating all the contract labor), and there's no ability to stop time. Keep it real.
Rather than writing a full project charter you will be presenting your project charter in brief for the executive director and board as a PowerPoint presentation with the goal of getting the "green light" to proceed with the project. If you choose not to use PowerPoint and use another app, then the presentation must be presented as a PDF so your professor can review it.
The presentation should be professional and visually attractive, not an essay pasted into PowerPoint. In addition, you will be required to include a separate word document with your reference list using APA formatted citations for your sources. The presentation must also have in-text citations at the bottom of each slide where you are crediting sources (you will have in-text citations). You will also need to do spelling and grammar check on your presentation, title it, and put your name on the cover slide.
Directions - To create your presentation, you will need to formulate the basics of a project charter. Your goal is for the audience (the board of directors) to understand the project and make an informed decision on whether to authorize the project or send it back for revision.
You will be doing some research to back up your design. Do not rely solely on your experience or gut instincts, you must connect decisions with cited sources that show you understand and can apply the concepts from this course.
For this presentation you will not have to record it or video. You should keep the slides clean and clear and use infographics as needed to convey complicated information. For the narrative or what you would say when presenting it in front of the board, use the notes section of each slide (like what I do as your professor with the notes copy of the lecture). If you submit the presentation as a PowerPoint, then your professor can view them. If you are submitting it as a PDF, then make sure to choose "options" and save it as a notes page version. If the professor can't see the notes, they can't be graded. If using another app for the presentation, it is acceptable to submit a separate word document that is titled narrative and indicate which slide goes with which narrative (it cannot be a paper).
Before you submit the assignment, make sure to take the rubric quiz to self-evaluate your submission. Make any changes needed and then upload the corrected document in the assignment dropbox in the online course.
Here are the sections you should consider for your presentation. Make sure to review the concepts from the course to include in each section as this is simply a brief outline. There is more to each section that should be communicated and cited on your reference list. Sections include:
1. Project Purpose: This section explains the purpose of the charter and the title of the project. Why it is important now and what organizational objective(s) does it align with? Need Assignment Help?
2. Project Objectives: What do you want to achieve by the end of the project? What metrics will you use to measure success along the way? Who does this project serve and who are the stakeholders- internal and external?
3. Project Scope and Deliverables: What specific deliverables will you complete, and what will you NOT work on? Describe the business case for doing this project. When do you anticipate the completion of the project?
4. Risks and Contingencies: What are some of the anticipated risks in the project and how may they impact the timeline and budget of the project?
5. Required Resources or Project Needs: What do you need to do this project to completion? This includes people, tools, and budget, including contingencies.
6. Project Team and Leadership: Who are your project team members? Who needs to approve the project charter, who's the project sponsor, and who should be looped into key decisions (stakeholders)?
7. Closing Pitch: Summary of the project and the decision you are seeking from the executive director and board of directors to move ahead with the project.