The project that I am thinking about for this assignment was, not an instructional design related project but rather, a project that I worked on with a previous employer of mine in the interior design field. The challenge with this particular project was scheduling. When we took on this job we knew meeting the deadline was going to be difficult. As the project progressed, the reality of hitting the deadline date was becoming a far reach. The issue that arose was not that we were going to be late but that my boss never let me communicate this with our client. As the date approached the lie of making the deadline date just continued. We did miss the date and the delivery did not take place until two weeks passed the original promised date.
This project was a failure. Not only was the client unhappy but the brunt of the clients frustration laid on my shoulders, because I was the client liaison. It was my job to try and keep the client updated and happy. I couldn’t do this. My boss never allowed me to stay in constant communication with the client. Had I been able to provide regular updates I do believe we would have had a much happier client. “When project information is determined accurately and completely and shared effectively, project manager’s dramatically increase their chances of project success. When pieces of this information are vague, missing, or not shared effectively, the chances of success are reduced.” (Portny, et al., 2008) And that is what happened with this project.
If an open door of communication would have been maintained then the client would have been able to make adjusted on their schedule to accommodate for the delays on our side. My part of the project management process in this job was to control and address problems as the occurred. Upper management made controlling the outcome of this project very difficult and as a result we lost the client.
This project failed to meet the expected performance and goals .
References:
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. Danvers, MA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
