Credit for Prior Learning
BUS4090
1
Prior Learning Petition forBUS4090 - Introduction to Project Management
Name:
Address:
Email Address in Capella University records:
Date submitted: 9/23/09
*Please submit petition in a Word .doc file*
Please check to make sure you are submitting the most up to date template as they change periodically.
Note: If you have a current CAPM or PMP certification, please refer to iGuide for instructions on how to submit Documented Credit for this course.
List the supporting documents that have been attached to this Course Petition. (DCP and resume are required. You should provide additional documentation specific to your learning.)
- Degree completion plan.
- Résumé
- Project Draw Application
- Project Plan Example
- AIA General Conditions
- AIA Agreement Between Owner and Construction Manager
Please tell us why you should be granted credit for BUS4090 - Introduction to Project Management.
I have been managing commercial and industrial construction projects for a little over a decade, of which I have assumed the role as the Construction Manager on the project. Project size has ranged from $800,000 to $5,000,000. As a pure agency construction manager, I have learned to perfect the management and administration of construction projects. My accomplishments include several repeat clients that have embraced my attention to detail and customer service. My role has encompassed site selection, TIF negotiations with local officials, zoning variances, financing assistance and many other upfront services unique to the construction industry. You may visit my website (still under construction) at . While I do not claim to have the market cornered on project delivery effectiveness, I am accomplished in this area, at least from an introductory level.
How does your knowledge and your experiences in this area enhance your personal and organizational effectiveness in your chosen field of study.
Over the course of the last decade, I have managed a number of projects successfully. My success in project management has afforded me the opportunity to qualify for professional liability insurance which allowed me to start my own business in construction management. My knowledge of project management to date had allowed me to create a significant street value for myself in the industry based on my effectiveness to manage projects successfully.
Summary of Competency Learning
Course Competencies for BUS4090 - Introduction to Project Management / Answer the 2 basic questions:- What do you know?
- What have you done with this knowledge?
Competency 1: Identify the tools and skills associated with leading
teams. / Learner Analysis:
In the construction industry, the collective performance of the project team is constantly in a state of flux. Challenges pop up with only a moment’s notice and instantly money is on the line and contractors are looking for direction. In the traditional design process, egos are huge and team is a four letter word. My job as the construction manager is to anticipate the challenges and build the operating framework to support it. Trust becomes an essential ingredient between the team and me. To instill trust, I must maintain constructive relationships with all members. Focusing on the issues at hand rather than the people involved. It is important to help the team identify its purpose by helping them to understand their goals and respective milestones. You cannot force adherence to a construction schedule, you need the buy-in from all team members. It is important to define the contractors or team members scope of work which enables them to focus and quickly satisfy the task at hand. As a Construction Manager, I cannot tell the contractor how to do his/her job, so I have to instill in them that I believe in their respective skills as professionals. Many times, I must define or clarify my role to individual team members in order to help them better understand our functional relationship. Of critical importance, is my ability to show the team that I support them not just in words, but in my actions. Often I must remind the team of my role as a facilitator which is designed to make their role easier, but still requires them to perform the task. I seek to inspire quality on the project through encouragement and motivation of the team and individual team members. Quality comes from pride and it is up to me to let the team know that I believe in them and am confident they can meet and/or exceed deadlines and quality standards. When it comes to conflicts, I make it a point to listen first to all sides of the situation, ask for suggested remedies and strive to encourage problem resolution from a team perspective; it is far easier to swallow and tastes a whole lot better. The skills I demonstrate on a project in leading teams enables me to be the best at what I do and produces predictable results that keep my clients asking for me on the next project.
Competency 2: Plan, organize, staff, schedule, and track a small-scale project. / Learner Analysis:
I will reference a current construction project that I am engaged in as the Construction Manager. The Project is X located in X. I have referenced the Project Plan for this project in Competency 3 (See Project Plan attachments). The project consists of a small 3,000 square foot office addition and 7,700 square foot fabrication addition. The additions are referenced as Phase I and II respectively. The project launched into the design phase in the fall of 2008. I assisted the Owner in interviewing and selecting the A/E firm for the project. I was responsible for administering the bid letting process, reviewing contractor bids, running qualifying interviews and making recommendations to the Owner for contractor selection. I also had the responsibility of ensuring all state and local submittals were received and approved in order to pull our permits. I launched the construction phase starting with a pre-construction meeting in May of 2009. I have been responsible for the monitoring of the contractors performance, review and certification of monthly draw applications and coordination of sub contractors and material requirements. The project is in the final stages of construction of which we will be receiving conditional occupancy on Phase II on 9/30/09 and Phase I by the end of October. After having managed projects large and small, I have developed a strong sense for what is needed in the way of effective communications, recording and reporting. I have learned the key to a claim free project is to have full plans and specifications on the project, tie the AIA Agreements to the documents and ensure a detailed project scope is included to aid in the prevention of misunderstandings. It seems that with every project, I learn something new in the area of the importance of documentation. Compared to the first project I ran over a decade ago, that had a lot of conflict and finger pointing, this project has the benefit of all of my mistakes. Documentation of what if communicated to the contractors or the design team is essential. For the most part, most people in this industry fail to document which makes for a no contest defense in the case of a claim. The new challenge today in this project has to do with the economy. Many contractors and vendors have downsized their operations affecting their abilities to satisfy their contractual obligations. In addition, I have to be more careful to ensure they are paying their subs and vendors. Both issues can affect the schedule and project budget. / Latest Project Draw Application and related components. I did not include the detail category reports nor the related invoices or correspondence, but I will make it available upon request if needed.
You may also log into my collaboration site at and see my online tracking of the projects progression which includes daily reports, photos and correspondence between the project team members. User ID: Guest and Password: Guest.
Competency 3: Demonstrate the development of various business documents and combine them to develop a projectplan. / Learner Analysis:
While all Project plans differ slightly, the contents remain pretty much the same. Many Project Managers believe that a Project Plan consists of a Gantt Chart expressing tasks, timeframes and committed resources. However, in my profession as a Construction Manager, the Project Plan encompasses much more than the Gantt Chart. You will notice in the attached example of a Project Plan, that I include an introduction, project description and scope, project team, deliverables, project budget, project schedule, project administration, challenges, risk management and appendixes. The purpose of the Project Plan from my perspective is to provide measurable guidelines for performance. The plan precedes the AIA Contract between Owner and Construction Manager and provides a means for the Owner to better understand his cost/benefit in engaging the services of a CM. The Project plan has evolved over the 13 years that I have been managing projects and continues to be a live document, gaining in integrity from each project. The Project Plan has helped me to clarify my role as well as others in a construction project so that the Owner does not think he is engaging a General Contractor which is a more traditional means of project delivery. The main emphasis is on the Deliverables, Budget and Schedule. / Project Plan Example
AIA General Conditions
AIA CM Agreement
Competency 4: Assess strengths and weaknesses of project plans and project management activities. / Learner Analysis:
Project Plans provide several advantages to a project:
- Plan identifies risks and challenges with minimal expense and exposure in comparison to learning of these issues during the course of the project.
- Planning encourages team collaboration and ultimate buy-in by key stakeholders.
- Plan identifies total project costs up front that enable Owners to appropriately assess the cost/reward factor.
- Plan identifies measurable deliverables that can be agreed to up front and monitored throughout the project.
- Plan identifies scheduling and resource conflicts that might impede the project deliverables.
- Plan identifies roles and responsibilities to ensure cohesive performance from the team members.
- Challenges are present in keeping the plan updated.
- Significant amount of time is spent to develop the plan prior to commitment.
- Project schedule does not have the input of all parties concerned.
- Unknown variables may destroy the integrity of the budget.
- Much of the project plan is based on preliminary data that is subject to change and decisions may be made without all of the facts.
- Plans may be too detailed and rigid, lacking flexibility during the project.
- Project plans may conflict with other legal agreements.
- Project plans might suggest guarantees of time and cost.
- Risk Management and early detection of challenges that will aim to minimize cost overruns.
- Proper recording and reporting aims to reduce misunderstandings and potential conflicts or claims.
- Strong coordination of labor and materials including project “look aheads” ensure adherence to initial timelines and milestones.
- Careful monitoring of the budget and related expenses will ensure that the Owner maintains the leverage on the project and performance is compensated rather than the project turning upside down.
- The promotion of restrictive policy and procedures, preventing the team from exercising outside the box thinking.
- Failing to delegate effectively, thus creating a bottleneck in the project and reducing the effectiveness of the overall project schedule.
- Failing to provide proper communication channels, thus, limiting responsiveness to challenges onsite.
Last updated 4/21/09
Credit for Prior Learning
BUS4090
1
Faculty Review:
*Scoring Guidelines. Put an X in the appropriate box. Use the following scale:
4 – mastery of the competencies exceeds expectations
3 – mastery of the competencies meets expectations
2 – mastery of the competencies minimally meets expectations
1 – mastery of the competencies marginally meets expectations or does not meet expectations
The learner has earned credit when the average score is 3 or better.
BUS4090 - Introduction to Project Management / Demonstration of competencies (Please check one)1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / Rationale
Competency 1: Identify the tools and skills associated with leading
teams.
Competency 2: Plan, organize, staff, schedule, and track a small-scale project.
Competency 3: Demonstrate the development of various business documents and combine them to develop a project
plan.
Competency 4: Assess strengths and weaknesses of project plans and project management activities.
Disposition:
- Recommend granting credit
- Do not recommend granting credit
- Need more information
Additional Comments:
Faculty Representative(s) Signature and date (can be electronic signature)
Appendix
*Examples of Sources of Experiential Evidence (Note: These are simply ideas. Some types of evidence will be more appropriate to the course than others)
- Original essay, report, annotated bibliography, evaluation report, case study, research report, concept map
- Analyzed examples of problems and solutions, strategies for approaching problems
- Rating scales, simulation exercises, role plays, critical incident case studies
- Business reports, letters, articles
- Models, diagrams, concept maps, case studies with commentaries
- Examples of product, artwork, blueprints, models
- Personal journals or journal overviews, records of debriefing sessions, transcripts of peer discussion, book reviews, analysis of issues
- Business plan, project management plan, management reports, budgets, records
- Certificates
- Letters from colleagues, faculty, supervisors, or experts verifying accomplishment
Last updated 4/21/09