Discussion Post I
Reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Identify what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
• What are the practical implications internally (in terms of team motivation) and externally (for the customer) of making overly optimistic project delivery promises?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of Agile PM?
• How are the duties of the Scrum Master like a project manager? How do they differ?
Activity: Case Study: It's an Agile World
This case illustrates a common problem in software and IT development, where programmers and IT staff are anxious to lock in specifications as early as possible so they can "get to work" without having to worry about invasive or disruptive input from the end users. Unfortunately, what typically happens is that the finished product is not what the users needed or thought they needed and a long list of fixes and modifications are needed to make it work correctly. This case is based on a true story in a hospital IT department that routinely struggled with these sorts of user conflicts until they sifted to an Agile methodology.
Questions
• Why does the classic waterfall project planning model fail in this situation? What is it about the IT department's processes that leads to their finished systems being rejected constantly?
• How would an Agile methodology correct some of these problems? What new development cycle would you propose?
• Why are "user stories" and system "features" critical components of an effective IT software development process?
• Using the terms "Scrum," "Sprint," and "User stories," create an alternative development cycle for a hypothetical software
Discussion Post II
Reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Identify what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
• Given that individuals tend to judge the favorability of their outcomes relative to what others receive, what can be the result of someone getting rewarded for their performance but yet being disappointed in the reward that they receive?
• Lewis Vacation Rentals has been experiencing a recent decline in its bookings. In an effort to increase sales, the company is offering its employees a 1 percent share in the company profit over the next six months in addition to regular employee salaries. Will this plan increase motivation? Why or why not?
Problem Set
• List and describe different variable-pay programs. Be sure to include piece-rate plans, profit-sharing plans, and gainsharing
• Evaluate variable-pay programs in terms of their impact on motivation and productivity
• Discuss Maslow's hierarchy of needs including the types of needs and how they become dominant.
The response must include a reference list. Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.