Discussion Forum (suggested level of effort: 1 hour)

The purpose of a discussion forum is for students to engage one another over topics related to the course material.  An initial post by each student “sets the table” for follow-on responses by other students.  In a graduate-level academic setting, the initial post is more than describing opinion by the student.  Rather, it is opinion supported by published literature or other references (e.g., refereed journals, textbooks, and especially the PMBOK).  The response post can be less formal but no less thoughtful in content.

Discussion Topic:  Timing Issues related to Resourcing Projects

Initial Post Requirement (20 points):  Minimum 300 words.

Review Section 9-3c, CPM 4e.  For the Suburban Homes Construction Project or the Casa De Paz Development Project, describe a timing issue that could occur early in a project and a timing issue that could occur at the end of a project.  Then, discuss how you would address each of these issues.

Response Post Requirement (10 points):  Minimum 150 words.  In the response post, you will provide a counter opinion or alternative point of view, not simply a reaffirmation of the initial discussion post.  The response post can rely entirely on your experience or it can be a combination of your experience supplemented with information learned from the course reading materials and other references.

Assessment: You will be assessed on 1) content and 2) completeness (e.g., use of in-text citation of references used for summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting and other writing mechanics) and word count.  

Guidance:  See the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website for guidance on citations and references.   A copy of the Purdue OWL citation chart is provided in the course home page (Moodle).  Discussion forum content can include a combination of material from literature and your own personal experience.  Do some research and find papers that are associated with the topic of the question.  It is recommended that you use the materials provided in this course and the assigned readings in CPM 4e and the PMBOK 6e for references when appropriate for the question you’ve chosen.  Online blogs are not acceptable references.

I have attached the textbooks and here are the some of the examples of the other stundents also provide a reply about 100 words. 

Example:

According to the Suburban Homes Construction Project or the Casa De Paz Development Project. Based on my renovation experience, it is very hard to follow the construction schedule. The only thing we can do is trying to avoid any potential issues and make the project not to delay too much. And the construction project can be divided into many phases, I believe the planning and design phase will be the first stage of the project. And there are two timing issues that could occur early in this phase are:

1.     How soon the decision maker can make the decision, there will be a serious delay if the decision maker can’t make the right decision or postpone the project in the beginning. To avoid this situation, the project manager needs to collect detailed information including the budget and marketing research and then report to the decision maker clearly. Also, needs to prepare the answer for the decision maker that may ask.

2.     Depend on the schedule of the design and construction documents that can be delivered on time or not from the designer and the architect. The design phase is very hard to control by the ownership even the designer or architect has a good reputation outside, there are too many unstable factors that can delay the design phase, like the designer not familiar with local culture, the main designer quit during the design phase or the design can’t fix for the structural requirement. To minimize the issue happen, the project manager needs to follow up with the designer and architect every week and try to help them if they need the assistance.

And the timing issue occurs at the end of the project will be the procurement issue and the inspection issue.

1.     Procurement issue, it can be acceptable if the materials delay the schedule not too much but it is very difficult if the material has the production problem. It will damage the quality of the whole construction project and hard to find the alternate material at that time. To avoid the situation, the project manager needs to do research of all the material and have a discussion with the designer and architect.

2.     Inspection issue, there will be a serious delay if the project failed the inspection from the local inspector. To avoid, the project manager and the supervisor from the general contractor need to exam the job site before the inspection.