Great question Mark! When it comes to failures in a project, I agree that testing out all parameters can be a waste of time and money for a company. One thing I learned from working in a medical device company,…   Read more»

There are risks to every project so it is important that risks are assessed in the beginning of the project. More often than not risks affect a project negatively which is why project teams have to come with backup plans…   Read more»

I have not worked directly with customers before when I was employed but I did receive a fairly large number of unreasonable requests given the product I was working on and my work schedule. I was developing machine learning models…   Read more»

I believe that returning to activities to an earlier phase is not necessarily a bad thing.  @srg36 mentioned, changes can happen due to unforeseeable events and I have seen that in the workplace. Returning to a previous state such as…   Read more»

If milestones are missed, the first step is to get the team together to investigate why deadlines weren’t met. During this process, as with any process, communication is essential. In this case, the project’s Gantt chart could prove extremely beneficial in…   Read more»

First, the marketing team is needed to make a DID especially if they know what customers want from a product or have done market research. To ensure that a DID is made with functionality in mind I believe that knowledgeable…   Read more»

First, I think it is important that you plan for any possible failures that could occur with your project in the very beginning. For example, in this week’s sim, calcium sulfate hardens when exposed to water so the team should…   Read more»

I do agree with your point that returning to a project plan is not necessarily a step backwards. But, looking at the given example of staff members being unavailable is very much a backwards step because time has been lost…   Read more»

Let us be clear, management at your company is not hiring more employees because it 1.) will increase cost, and 2.) negatively impact their bonuses.  Management bonuses are the reason that your team is being over-worked.  It is the reason…   Read more»

So far, I feel that the information from this course has really allowed me to understand the behind-the-scenes activities in a medical device company, as well as the rules and regulation of the FDA. Prior to taking this course, I…   Read more»

Posted by: @naglaa-hemida We all start as team members to be a project manager, and it takes time, effort, passion and determination to be a good project manager. However, what are the skills that we should be looking for in…   Read more»

Almost any decision we make is based on logic, emotions, or a combination of the two. With that being said, when it comes to making business-related decisions, say in the scope of project management or leadership, it is essential to…   Read more»

I am currently engaged in my first week of project management. I ventured to this forum because I thought it could be helpful to check out skills students have learned after matriculating through the course.  I think it was nice…   Read more»

@mduru I am new to project management and all that it involves.  I appreciate the content of your post.  My project management knowledge bank is quite limited.  I think your post brings a little clarity to the different points (FMEA,…   Read more»

As a project manager there are multiple skills that they should look for when selecting future team members for a successful project. As @ssbufford stated hard skills and soft skills are important skills that should be evaluated very carefully.  I…   Read more»

I truly believe that emotional intelligence does have a huge impact on the success of a team. While working with a group I had to evaluate my own emotional intelligence, in order to have a successful outcome when working on…   Read more»

I think it depends on the project and the skill level of the group. If it is a team that is well acquainted with one another and is comfortable with the work, then the chances of delays may be reduced…   Read more»

The planning phase is probably one of the most important parts of project development. In the scenario you discussed above there seems to be a huge lapse in planning and in communication. If the schedule had been planned and then…   Read more»

The best way to overcome missing milestones is to plan in advance for potential issues and failures. The best plans always have backup plans, and in situations where a milestone is missed, it’s often essential to implement a pre-planned backup…   Read more»