Estimating Cost and Allocating Resources

In project management one of the hardest things is doing the budget and making sure that everything is allocated for. Developing project budgets is typically more difficult than developing regular departmental budgeting which usually follow the formula “the same as last year plus X percent” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, and Sutton, 2008) . For this week’s blog assignment I had to find two blogs that provided budgeting or estimating cost for a project.

The first blog resource that I found was called Constructing Cost Estimating Blog. The blog goes into detail about the construction of Schedule Templates for Excel which is for residential, commercial, and generic construction projects. The excel template is used for a 5-day schedules but it also can be reused on an ongoing basis as required. It keeps track of the construction process which enables the homeowners, builders, designers and constructions managers to plan and manage construction jobs in a much more effective way. Using the excel template will allow the project manager to save money and also satisfy the clients requirements in the least time possible. Having an excel template that will allow the project manager to have a weekly report of the money that is begin used for that week. It will only help the project manager to see where the money is going and also be transparent with the client of where the money is and can also help the client to make better decision on what is important and is not.   projectestimating.blogspot.com

The second blog resource that I found was called True Planning to Pro-Pricer Data Walkthrough. This blog provides how data can flow between TruePlanning and ProPrice. ProPricer is a estimating software application that will provide any user with the ability to track data for the labor requirement estimated in  TruePlanning and transferred over into  ProPricer in an easy way. This application will allow the project manager to see the data in a much easier way. By using ProPricer it allows you to transfer data from one application to another which is a great advantage when seening how the budget will affect the overall scope of the project. This information can be shared with the client in an easier way by showing them all of the data and how it is broken down in both applications which will help the client to make better sound decisions and not ones off of impulse. http://www.pricesystems.com/Blog/TabId/458/PostId/290/trueplanning-to-propricer-data-walkthrough-1.aspx

Overall, budget is very difficult to plan and manage because there are many things that can happened during a project especially when the president or client is very demanding can have an effect on how the money is spent because; of the added pressure from the top down. Making sure that the project stays on schedule depends on the budget and the flexibility that is allowed in the project.     

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
projectestimating.blogspot.com
http://www.pricesystems.com/Blog/TabId/458/PostId/290/trueplanning-to-propricer-data-

Communcating Effectively

After reviewing the multimedia video: The Art of Effective Communication. The different ways of communication was through email, voice mail, and face to face. With communicating through email the reader may take the tone of the email many different ways such as they can view the email in friendly, aggressive or rushed. After reading the email I viewed the email as begin rushed due to the information that was needed. Jane was requesting information for a report that she needs to complete before she misses the deadline. Her tone in the email is very immediate even though Mark is in a meeting she still needs the information regardless of what Mark is doing  . This situation has happen to me at my current job when the vice-president needs a report done she expects to have to her with in an hour even though she is asking for it at the last minute. I may be busy for the.


The voice mail helped me to understand her tone a little better because her voice was very calm but still made it known that she needed the information that day. She also respects that Mark is in a meeting and is also accommodating of how he can get the information to her. It allowed me to see that she was not using a rushed tone for the information that is needed.

The face to face scenario is the one I prefer the most because Jane was able to explain to Mark what she needed  and how he could get to her. Face to face allowed Jane to speak with Mark and resolve the issue in a professional manner without anyone getting upset because, someone  did not understand what is begin asked.

Communication is very important to Project Management it is the key to success or failure of a project. It is very important that during the project phase that communication is open because, if there is problem then there needs to be strong communication on how to fix it. The project manager is their to keep the project on track, on budget, making sure that every department understand there role in the project. In project management sharing the right message with right people in a timely manner. Through communication people exchange and share information with one another, and influence one another's attitudes, behaviors, and understanding ( Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, 2008).

Ertmer, P., Quinn, J. (Eds.) & Glazewski, K. (2014). The ID casebook: Case studies in instructional design (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Learning from a Project: Post- mortem

A Project that I remember working on is during my under-grad program. I was taking an online course during my last year of college.  The course focused on critical thinking and current events .The class required a final project and had to present the project as a power point presentation. I meet with my professor so that I could get clarification on the project and the requirements that were needed to complete the project. I had to research a public figure that demonstrated an act of kindness throughout their career. I choose Dr. Martin Luther King were he demonstrated peace and kindness during in the Civil Rights Movement. He demonstrated peace and kindness in speeches, non-violent protest, and in daily living. Dr. King could not have other protesters demonstrate peace if he was not willing to show it in every aspect of his life. Even though I received an average grade on the project there were areas of the project that I could’ve improved on that would’ve helped me received a better grade on the project. One aspect of the project that the professor did not make clear was connecting the project to my own personal life. So it made it difficult for me to complete the final project and receive a better grade.

The process that I took when I started my project was to do research on Dr. King and his non-violent approach and the many people who influenced him during the Civil Rights movement.  One of the people that Dr. King influenced was by Mahatma Gandhi who demonstrated peace in his daily life and in non-violent protest. I also researched videos that displayed Dr. King’s views and ideas on peace and kindness which I implemented into the project. I also added quotes and my own personal experience into the project.

        The area of the project that I could’ve provide more insight was to find a connection between Dr. Kings demonstration of peace and how I you used it in my daily life. I was able to provide my demonstration of peace on certain aspects of the project but in the entire project. The professor wanted it throughout the project. The professor wanted more personal examples that help someone or impacted someone life. I felt that I should’ve either chosen another public figure that I could have been able to relate to more on own personal experience with or provided more of personal experience to the project.