NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology | Week 4

The project initiation phase is the beginning, and perhaps most important, stage of designing and managing a project. To begin, the project manager must have a clear, overall understanding of what stakeholders envision for the project. The more time spent asking questions and clarifying details at the start, the smoother the process and the easier it will be to meet expectations. NURS 6441: Week 4: Project Initiation, Part I Assignment

One of the key events in the initiation phase is the creation of a project charter. A project charter defines a number of essential project features and functions as a roadmap to a project’s completion. This week you are introduced to the project charter development process, and you and your team produce your own preliminary charter for a health care information technology project.

 

Learning Objectives – NURS 6441: Week 4: Project Initiation, Part I Assignment

Students will:

• Analyze the impact of “triple constraint” in developing a project charter
• Evaluate the impact of charter elements on the development of a project charter
• Produce a charter for a health care information technology (HIT) project*

* The Assignment related to this Learning Objective is introduced this week and submitted in Week 5.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Biafore, B. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010: The missing manual. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.

• Chapter 1, “Projects: In the Beginning”
  • • “Publicizing a Project and Its Manager” (pp. 35–37)
  In this section of Chapter 1, the author describes the typical elements of a project charter. The author also provides guidelines for generating stakeholder support using a project charter.

Coplan, S., & Masuda, D. (2011). Project management for healthcare information technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Chapter 3, “Project Management”
  • • “Prepare Project Charter” (pp. 42–43)

  This section of Chapter 3 explains the basic principles of preparing a project charter. The authors summarize a project charter’s key elements.

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author.

• Chapter 2, “The Environment in Which Processes Operate”

• Review this chapter, which supplies information on managing a single project that uses networked processes. The chapter describes project management processes related to each phase of a project. Chapter 4, “Project Integration Management”
  • • Chapter 4, Section 4.1
  • •  

  This section of Chapter 4 details the process of developing a project charter. The text focuses on the inputs, outputs, and tools and techniques of project chartering.

Bolles, D. (2002). Building project management centers of excellence. New York: ANACOM.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

• Chapter 10, “Project initiation” (pp. 199–122)This chapter explores the initiation phase of a project in great detail. The chapter focuses on the key tasks and performers of this phase.

Cortelyou-Ward, K., Noblin, A., & Martin, J. (2011). Electronic health record project initiation and early planning in a community health center. Health Care Manager, 30(2), 118–124.

This article explores the application of project initiation and early planning in a community health center. The authors delve into the issues of quality improvement, planning, and finance.

Kloppenborg, T. (2012). Project selection and initiation questions leading to good risk management [Special section]. PM World Today, 14(1), 1–5.

This article presents questions that project managers may ask to promote effective risk management. The author details questions applicable to the creation of a project charter and the selection of a project.

Eurorec.org. (n.d.). Project charter. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from http://www.eurorec.org/files/filesPublic/ehrworkshop/2007/Project%20Charter%20-%20CRFQ%20Pilot.ppt

Hart, S. (2012, July 28). PM-foundations – the project charter [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://pm-foundations.com/2012/07/28/pm-foundations-the-project-charter/

The author of this article reviews the basic elements and considerations of a project charter. In particular, the article explains project charter content, the assignment of charter responsibilities, and six attributes of a good project charter.

Karim, S. (2012, May 24). A project with no project charter? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.pmi.org/blog/voices_on_project_management/2012/05/a-project-with-no-project-char.html

This article focuses on cases in which projects have no corresponding project charter. The author specifies reasons for neglecting a charter and analyzes the potential negative repercussions.

Microsoft Corporation. (2012c). Project management goal: Initiate a project. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/project-management-goal-initiate-a-project-HA102598143.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA101978264

This article describes the process of initiating a project. The article provides a large-scale overview of planning a project.

Microsoft Corporation. (2012e). The project triangle. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/the-project-triangle-HA010351692.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA010359477

This article examines the impact of time, money, and scope on any project. The article suggests various strategies for balancing these three constraints.

Document: Team Project Scenario (PDF)

This document contains the scenario you will use for your Team Project.

Document: Team Project Overview (PDF)

This document provides an overview of the Team Project you will work on throughout this course.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013f). Project initiation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 13 minutes.

In this video, roundtable participants Dr. Mimi Hassett, Dr. Judy Murphy, and Dr. Susan Newbold discuss how a project gets off the ground, who and what should be included in initial planning, the consideration of project risks, and the crucial role communication plays throughout the process.

Discussion: Project Charter Elements

When considering the elements of a project charter, project managers focus on the three vitally important elements of scope, cost, and time. Project managers call these elements the “triple constraint” and group them together, as modifying one will typically affect the remaining two. Although the “triple constraint” may serve as the backbone of a project charter, other elements can also prove to be important. NURS 6441: Week 4: Project Initiation, Part I Assignment

In this Discussion, you analyze how the “triple constraint” impacts the development of a project charter and describe two additional project charter elements that you believe to be influential.

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources on the elements of a project charter.
• Think about the impact of scope, cost, and time on the development of a project charter.
• By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will assign you one element of the “triple constraint.” Reflect on how it impacts the development of a project charter.
• Consider which project charter elements aside from the “triple constraint” are highly influential.

By Day 3

Post an analysis of how the element of the “triple constraint” that you were assigned impacts the development of a project charter. Describe two additional elements of a project charter that you believe to be highly influential. Provide a rationale for your selections.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who analyzed different elements than you, using one or more of the following approaches:

• Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
• Offer and support an alternative perspective, using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
• Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence. NURS 6441: Week 4: Project Initiation, Part I Assignment

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

The impact of “triple constraint” in developing a project charter

Introduction

Let’s imagine that you need to build a new machine for your company. You have several options and constraints on your project. Some of these constraints are external, such as regulations, while others are internal, like budget limitations. The two external constraints you need to be aware of are the cost of materials and time required to build this machine. If both of these factors increase or decrease significantly, then your project will cost more or take longer than expected

What is meant by the “triple constraint” for a project?

Why is the triple constraint important?

The triple constraint is a project management tool that helps you understand the relationship between scope, cost and schedule. It’s also called a Triple Constraint because it applies to all three dimensions of your project (i.e., time, cost and scope). The concept was developed by Dr. Leslie Perlow in 1971 after studying multiple projects with similar objectives such as building bridges or designing nuclear power plants. Dr Perlow found that there were inherent conflicts between these three dimensions of a project which can make it difficult for teams to deliver high quality results at reasonable cost and on time.

Project Scope

The scope of a project is the work that needs to be done. The scope should be defined before the project starts, and it should be defined in such a way that is clear and unambiguous. It should also be measurable, as well as achievable for your team members.

Project Cost

Project costs are a major concern for any project. The cost of a project can vary from zero to millions of dollars and even more in extreme cases. The main reason for this variation is that different projects have different requirements, so their costs are also subject to change as well.

Projects often incur several types of expenses: salaries, materials and equipment, travel and accommodation, etc., which makes it difficult for teams to estimate the total cost of the work they need done by them at least initially before they start working on it (also known as “soft” estimation). In addition to these soft costs related with getting started on your project you also need hard data such as your budget amounting up towards completion date that you have set out ahead using some sort

of planning tool such as Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets since those two programs allow users access directly into relevant cells within each row but not across rows so therefore cannot be used effectively for creating tables where columns contain data about resources needed over time period during execution phase because all cells would need changing every time we want something else changed there instead!

Project Schedule

The schedule is a critical component of the triple constraint. It’s also a key piece of project planning, and it affects every other aspect of your project. For example, if you have a tight deadline for completing your product launch in Q4, that will affect how much money you spend on marketing efforts in Q1 and Q2.

In addition to affecting financial predictability and resource allocation decisions, the schedule affects how well projects get done—and how efficiently they do so

There is a fourth component to consider when undertaking any project.

There is a fourth component to consider when undertaking any project. The team that delivers the project must be able to deliver on all three constraints:

• Time (delivery schedule)

• Cost (financial cost)

• Quality (technical and functional requirements)

All successful projects are constrained by the triple constraint.

The triple constraint is a phrase that refers to the three main constraints on any project: scope, cost and schedule. It’s important for project managers to understand this because it can help them manage their projects more effectively.

The fourth constraint is your ability to manage these three other constraints. If you don’t know how well you’re doing with your triple constraint management, it could be holding back your project from getting done on time or within budget (or both).

Conclusion

So, what does a project charter do? Well, it’s an excellent way to start off your journey towards a successful project. It lays out the road map for the project, and sets you up with expectations from all stakeholders involved in the process.