That was an interesting study! However, I was not very surprised with the results. Although most people think that the “Fair Pay” is the main reason that would an employee to keep working, I think it is not easy to do that without being surrounded with great people in a peaceful and creative environment. For me, I would say money is not everything…[Read more]

It is very essential in any team to have some sort of enthusiasm regarding the project in order to perform their best and have the highest level of productivity. This can be certainly directed by the project manager in most cases. As explained in an earlier lecture, interpersonal skills are very important compared to the technical skills in many…[Read more]

After the team development, execution process should work on the planned timeline by team members in which each should perform the assigned tasks on the planned time. However, during any possible employee absence or vacation, the project manager should have a well-constructed leaving/vacation approval system is required to prevent the negative…[Read more]

Although there are many important factors that would affect project planning and execution a project manager should focus on, I would emphasize on choosing the right person (team member) for the right task. Spending some time learning about team member’s knowledge and skills would definitely pay off during the project execution, as it will ensure,…[Read more]

I do agree with all these points, each would play a critical role in project success as it all depends on each other in a way or another. For me, I would add another two important aspects that would affect the project flow and its success:
1. Proper risk management policies: “Risks Happens” and without a clear guideline and plan for managing risk…[Read more]

Planned value (PV) and actual costs (AC) does matter in the monitoring and controlling phase as both are essential for the controlling and monitory phase as each would have a direct impact on the project budget. PV is defined as the approved budget allowed to be spent on the project to be accomplished “predicted”, while AC is the actual amount of…[Read more]

In my opinion, although there are many important monitoring and controlling techniques in the phase of the design control, I believe that for a team to success in the execution stage, it is important to ensure and check that plan will work perfectly on time (schedule control), and that could be done through conducting regular meetings and in which…[Read more]

Due to the PMI website definition, schedule variance (SV) is the difference between the earned value (EV) and the planned value (PV). [SV = EV-PV].
There are several factors that could affect the schedule variance negatively in any project. It mainly depends on the ability of the project manager and the team to estimate the achievement level and…[Read more]

It is true that managing duration in a project is one of the hardest tasks for the PM to handle ideally. Even though all task durations were arranged and planned precisely, some out-of-control issues could appear at one point and require a timeline rearrangement. Therefore I agree with the initial statement that having every manager from each…[Read more]

In my opinion, a planning phase is very important, a successful plan has to be built up in a way that allows for dynamic changes. In other words, when the need for revisiting an earlier phase (ie. planning phase) a plan should have a feedback loop path that would allow the project manager to make adjustments and changes in order to satisfy the new…[Read more]

In order to avoid such a delay issue, a project manager should initially contact multiple vendors, and get all the information he/she needs for the product. This would give flexibility on time and flexibility to switch to any other alternative solution. Another thing to consider is to allow an extra time period during the planning phase as a…[Read more]

Although task scheduling is very essential in the project process during the planning phase, setting a risk management plan and a backup strategy is a must. these risks could be caused by the organization and management, the development internal/external environment, customers, contractors, FDA regulations, etc.
Risks with these dates can be…[Read more]

In my senior design for my undergrad, I found it very useful to log every single detail in my work. This includes writing tasks to be done, what was done, when and how. I was recording all meetings, and taking different videos of the main parts of the experiment. Since I was the group leader, I had to report all the work done to our advisor. It…[Read more]

I agree with you. All phases are important, and missing one phase could lead to project failure at one point. Project initiating may be the most important as other project management processes would rely on it, such as the planning process and executing process. Although things in any phase could be redesigned and fixed, it would cost the company…[Read more]

If I was the PM, I will try to find a time that members can meet in two different sessions to speed up the process. Also, an online meeting through Google hangout or skype would be appropriate. Another solution could be to record a video with people who can meet in-person, and send it out to the those who missed it and ask them the comment back…[Read more]

It is well known that having a clear milestone in any project plan would make it easier for the PM and the team member to keep track on the project main tasks and to plan important events, meetings, agreements, and deliverables.
Missing a project milestone would cause a lot of issues in the project process and in meeting the required and attained…[Read more]

Due to the PMI website, these are some of the challenges that project managers could face:
1) Ensuring Project Success
2) Preventing Project Failures
3) Enhancing Project Competencies
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I would elaborate on the first point from my point of view. Although ensuring the project success doesn’t depend on PM only and depends on the group members, PM…[Read more]

As others mentioned, the whole timeline should be reviewed by the project manager and the timeframe for each phase should be reevaluated. Since the device failed in performing its major task as a weight loss aid, more research should be done regarding device safety, maintenance, risks, limitations, etc. This would require a big change in the Gantt…[Read more]

I don’t think there is a specific way that is the “most efficient” way to brings DID specification to the device. It depends on the device type, design team, etc. I would agree with other replies above, which emphasize that engineers would play a big role in determining the right specifications for a device in order to make it pass the validation…[Read more]

Design validation is an important factor in project management as it will determine the needed deliverable to ensure that the correct product with the aimed solutions will be delivered to the customers’ needs. In the medical devices industry, in particular, ignoring the importance of the validation stage means that a company did not design the…[Read more]