Data Envelopment Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Information Envelopment Analysis - Essay Example Their activity includes choosing the effective player for the match out of the entire group. Mentors will in general have issues in picking the initial eleven players to field for essential football matches. Most football crews have in excess of twenty players yet; just fourteen playersâ€eleven dynamic players and three substitutes take up the spaces. To beat this issue, the training sets up have concocted different systems that help them to decide the best players for the essential matches confronting the groups. For a player, decent execution in the inclination list for the instructing staff implies that he can convey for the group. The general execution for any group depends entirely on the exertion of every player in light of the fact that a success for any football crew, is an extreme objective for any football crew on the planet. The Castrol EDGE list is the most recent normal innovation that investigations and positions each player’s execution in a football coordinat e. The positioning framework is a making of Castrol, which at first was to rank the players at the Men’s club affiliation football under the sponsorship of FIFA. The framework considers the span for the players activities and the intensity of the restriction group. At present, the Castrol EDGE list is utilized to rank the presentation of all the footballer players taking part in the main five Europe’s associations in the football season, year time frame. To fabricate the Castrol Index Ranking, the initial step includes finding the â€Å"Castrol Index Score† for each player in every competition, association, or Championship group coordinate. The subsequent advance is to gauge the Castrol Index Score to get the â€Å"Castrol Ranking Points†. The last advance, the total focuses, earned in each match played in the competition or 90 the isolated by the complete number of minutes the player played increase association. The Castrol Index Ranking = {(90 x the Tot al Castrol Ranking Points)/Total minutes played} During the UEFA EURO 2012, for every player, the Castrol EDGE Index thought about each spare; pass, tackle, and shot to decide the impact of such activities on the particular team’s likelihood to either score or surrender an objective. The quantity of focuses that a player gets relies upon the zone of the activity inside the pitch. So are the quantity of focuses granted for blocked shots, mediations, and handles. Concerning endeavors to score, the Castrol EDGE list focuses to the assaulting player however punishes the goalkeeper yielding the objective. Derivations results for the fouls that emerge. Table 1 The Table close to shows the best ten Players of the UEFA EURO 2012 as indicated by the Castrol EDGE record positioning. The positioning scales down the size of ability the football player at any point shown during the UEFA EURO 2012 occasion close by the remainder of the players. The positioning likewise decides a playerâ₠¬â„¢s capacity to act in the sport of football, and further assists with assessing the market estimation of a football player during the between clubs move window. The instructing staffs the world over effectively depend on the Castrol EDGE list to get ready line-ups for different matches in front of their football crews. Great rankings for a player will in general lift the trust in the instructing staffs for their players, a reality that can be legitimized since every player wins a point for each total activity during the football coordinate, which additionally mirrors the player’s capacity

To Err is Human by Lewis Thomas

Lewis Thomas' To Err is Human In the paper, â€Å"To Err is Human†, Lewis Thomas, starts by differentiating the alleged reliability of PCs with the human inclination for blunder. In the article Lewis clarifies how we develop from our missteps, he says â€Å"We are worked to commit errors, coded for mistake (306). Lewis utilizes influential components to influence individuals into his place of view.Thomas composes that when PCs make a blunder, they don't have the foggiest idea what to do, yet in the event that a human causes a mistake we to can adjust and make the vital upgrades to make the blunder better or find the correct solution. Thomas expresses that PCs are intended to be great, be that as it may, as we as a whole know from individual encounters, PCs here and there do make mistakes.He then proceeds to state that PCs come do likewise as people, similar to when individuals commit errors they gain from them, he said that on the off chance that PCs could do it they would be much increasingly great, at that point expressed. Thomas utilizes the component of symbolism to catch his perusers enthusiasm for the paper, by contrasting a people mind with a PC's functions, he proceeds to express that a decent bank or the administration, needs to run like a PC or a least to some degree, this interfaces the peruser to something that goes on in regular day to day existence and moves their live along.In this exposition Thomas' proposed it to cause perusers to understand that a â€Å"error† is not something to be stressed over and it really could be are most prominent quality. His convincing methods and the entirety of his ground-breaking symbolism and portrayal cause this paper to convince anybody to agree with his position and make it appear as though PCs aren't generally that ideal at long last.

Essay --

1. By what method will you locate the correct parental figure for our family? During the underlying evaluation, we take point by point notes about your adored one’s diversions, interests and needs. We at that point survey our parental figure pool to discover the individual with the coordinating character and aptitudes. A colleague additionally be available on the principal day of home consideration for the guardian acquaintance and with guarantee a smooth beginning. 2. Do you train your parental figures? Truly, widely. We start by employing parental figures who have experience working in senior consideration, at that point we give instruction on Senior Helpers’ procedures, norms and fundamental beliefs. New parental figures total a 6-hour direction preparing that incorporates points, for example, privileges of customers, disease control, customer care tips and that's only the tip of the iceberg. All guardians approach many preparing points about social insurance and senior consideration. 3. Do I pay the parental figure straightforwardly? No, you ought to never pay a parental figure straightforwardly. One assigned relative will get a receipt each other week, and installment ought to be dispatched straightforwardly to our office. 4. What would i be able to expect in a run of the mill day with my parental figure? It relies upon the sort of administration you have mentioned. It may incorporate shopping for food and getting things done toward the beginning of the day, planning and having lunch, getting ready supper for some other time, and taking a walk and messing around toward the evening. We additionally have numerous exercises accessible for our parental figures to look at from our Client Resource Library, including mind-invigorating projects for our customers with Alzheimer’s or dementia. 5. Will we have a similar parental figure without fail? We can’t ensure your parental figure will consistently be accessible, however we’ll bend over backward to have a similar guardian for each visit. We may periodically present another parental figure ... ...recognized by their primary care physician. 12. How rapidly can support start? Immediately. Brilliant Oasis is known for our snappy beginning home consideration approach, which gives the consideration you need, when you need it. 13. Do I need to sign an agreement or save administrations for a predefined timeframe? We do have a standard help understanding that diagrams the administrations that we will give, which secures you and us. Be that as it may, you can drop our administration whenever with in any event fourteen days notice. 14. Would i be able to cause changes to the timetable in the event that I to have an arrangement? Completely! We simply ask that you give us however much notification as could be expected by calling our office. Any undoings with under 24 hours notice might be liable to expenses. 15. In the event that I have an issue or question, whom would it be a good idea for me to contact? In the event that you have any worries or questions, if it's not too much trouble don’t falter to contact our office and talk with a colleague.

Concept of Managing Consumer Markets

Question: Examine the idea of overseeing buyer markets. Answer: 1. Presentation This specific task depends on the Managing Consumer Markets idea. Furthermore, the reason for this task is to quickly upgrade different parts of Caf Mondial that is identified with the purchaser markets. It is important to make reference to that, the circumstance investigation is quickly talked about in this specific task for understanding the simultaneous circumstance of the coffeehouse that is built up in Brisbane, Australia. Then again, reflection identified with the blog posting that is as of now done previously, is additionally referenced in this task for understanding the current circumstance of Caf Mondial for picking up the information on overseeing shopper markets idea. Aside from that, the significant information sources, just as the proposal, are additionally remembered for this specific task for underscoring the manners in which that can limit the hazard elements of this specific association for offering better types of assistance to their shoppers. 2. Circumstance Analysis 2.1 Description of Caf Mondial. Caf Mondial is arranged in Brisbane, Australia. It is one of the acclaimed coffeehouses in the city Brisbane. They have all out eight pages of menu rundown of their items. Then again, the workers of this specific café are likewise profoundly liable for their administration obligations just as they are continually attempting to fulfill their clients with their improved administrations (Fvre et al. 2014). All things considered, this specific bistro can't offer better types of assistance to their purchasers while they have the full shop of clients. The items are profoundly sterile too delicious according to the input of their clients; in any case, while most extreme quantities of requested booked from the clients end they have disarray for enrolling the particular menu to the individual clients. It is important to specify that, at the special seasons, Caf Mondial is coming up short on space for giving the seats to their clients. 2.2 Marketing Environment Talking about the advertising condition, the ecological just as the social factor are the significant impacts for continuing the matter of Caf Mondial. The social viewpoints, just as the ecological parts of Brisbane, are quickly talked about beneath for understanding the showcasing condition of Caf Mondial. Social perspective: The social part of whole Australia is keeping an eye on the investing unwinding energy with the cups of espresso alongside visiting just as discussions alongside companions or associates (Dorfman Cather, 2012). In this way, the café is a best spot for them to investing a quality energy of their life. This circumstance of the Brisbane is the significant angle that can improve the matter of the bistro associations. Natural Aspect: the earth of the Brisbane needs the taste of espresso on the grounds that the climate of whole Brisbane stays cold more often than not. In this way, the Caf Mondial is accepting this ecological circumstance as the preferred position for selling the espresso related items alongside different refreshments just as inexpensive food items. 2.3 Target market, Strategy, and Positioning The major focused on market of Caf Mondial is the corporate people just as the relatives who are visit for heading off to the bistros for any business related conversations just as to going through glad occasions with their relatives. In this way, focusing on this kind of shoppers are appears benefits for upgrading their business association (Mullins, Walker Boyd Jr, 2012). Then again, Caf Mondial is adjusting the Undifferentiated Mass showcasing technique that guarantees that all sort of buyers are the optional objective shoppers as they are selling all kind of sound just as drinks related items. Be that as it may, the essential clients are the previously mentioned focused on clients since they are often heading off to the bistros for their either business arrangements or, more than likely to invest energy with their relatives (Cova, Kozinets Shankar, 2012). The perceptual guide is referenced beneath, which can help for understanding the nature of item versus cost of the serious associations that are from a similar area where the hierarchical style of Caf Mondial is lying. Figure 1: Perceptual Map (Source: As made by Author) From the above perceptual guide is made sense of that between the espresso and refreshments shops of Brisbane there is an opposition among the bistro associations as indicated by the quality just as cost. 3. Reflection on Blog Postings According to the perception, I understood that, Caf Mondial isn't profoundly proficient with their speed of administrations just as different nourishment items are offered by them that are sterile just as sound for wellbeing. Be that as it may, propelling new nourishment items is anything but a regular procedure; as they are keeping up their shops with the current nourishment items that are famous among the residents of Brisbane. It is important to specify that, I understood that, Caf Mondial is exceptionally genuine for selecting the representatives for fulfilling their clients. I additionally understood that the representatives are stunning to speak with the clients with a delicate just as amiable way. 4. Inner Marketing Environment 4.1 Product or Services The results of the Caf Mondial are well known inside the residents of Brisbane. Then again, Caf Mondial is continually focusing on the offered types of assistance that can fulfill the clients. It is important to make reference to that, Caf Mondial likewise serving feast nourishment items by pulling in their purchasers with appropriate pulled in bright standards or banners for advancing their menu records. Moreover, Caf Mondial is constantly cautious with the sterile just as sound perspectives for creating their better nature of nourishment just as refreshments items. 4.2 People The representative and the staffs of Caf Mondial are profoundly dependable with their assigned activity jobs just as duties. It is important to specify that, the entirety of the representatives of Caf Mondial are constantly prepared to invite their client for entering the shop just as give their menu card to choosing their nourishment or drinks items. Then again, while the whole shop loads up with the buyers, the representatives are continually taking the updates identified with the extra needs of their clients every now and again for guaranteeing them that they are in acceptable hands. 4.3 Physical Evidence According to the perspective on physical proof, Caf Mondial can be found through Zomato, which is a mainstream web site that consistently helps for finding the better nature of nourishment intersections. Furthermore, according to the composed blog, the commonsense examination is done that uncovers that Caf Mondial is exceptionally keeping up their hierarchical angles for fulfilling their buyers. It is important to specify that, whatever the circumstance is, the staffs of this specific coffeehouse consistently welcome their clients just as they generally keep up their mentalities just as administrations for fulfilling the clients. 4.4 Processes It is important to make reference to that, the entirety of the nourishment just as refreshments items are made with the shop of Caf Mondial alongside the accomplished cooks just as boss. Then again, Caf Mondial is continually looking to keep up great related with the associations who are providing acceptable characteristics of crude materials that are the profoundly noteworthy need for their shops. Aside from that, the cooks, just as boss, are keeping up the clean just as solid perspectives for giving better just as new nourishment items to their clients. 4.5 Price Medium valuing, just as Market Penetration Pricing technique, is the noteworthy evaluating standard for keeping up the clients appropriately for giving a superior nature of nourishment items in the market of Brisbane. The significant explanation behind choosing the medium scope of estimating is exceptionally useful for drawing in those clients who are every now and again heading off to the cafés as uncovered by Hadjikakou et al. (2014). 4.6 Place Since, Caf Mondial is set in the Brisbane city. From now on, there is a tremendous open door for upgrading just as growing their business alongside the correct nature of nourishment items. 4.7 Promotion According to the examination that is uncovered in the blog, Caf Mondial is advancing their items with pulled in just as beautiful standards and banners outside their shop just as they are enrolled with Zomato, which is a web site assists with discovering better café in everywhere throughout the globe. 4.8 Sustainable Marketing According to the proof is written in the blog, Caf Mondial is profoundly genuine with their hierarchical angles that are identified with keeping up the sociological perspectives with their solid just as new nourishment items. Then again, Caf Mondial is offering their better nature of nourishment items to the clients with a sensible cost for fulfilling them just as pulling in more clients for extending their business. Notwithstanding, no proof is discovered that is identified with the natural viewpoints that are keeping up by Caf Mondial. 5. End As an end, it tends to be said that, the consumer loyalty is an exceptionally noteworthy need that can improve just as extend the whole business of any business association. In this specific task, Caf Mondial is keeping up their business morals alongside better nature of nourishment items just as the very much experienced representatives that are useful for their manageable business advancement of Caf Mondial. 6. Proposal As proposals, it very well may be said that, Caf Mondial needs to focus on the client limit space for giving the better nature of administrations. Caf Mondial needs to focus for affecting the natural parts of Brisbane. Advancing about the items with the assistance of different internet based life systems. Reference List Cova, B., Kozinets, R., Shankar, A. (2012).Consumer clans. Routledge. Dorfman, M. S., Ca

The Project Planning Process - Focus

The Project Planning Process - Focus The project planning process starts before work on the actual project begins and continues throughout the life cycle of the project. Its main goal is to adequately plan the time, cost and resources needed for the project  and thus to minimize risk. The main output of the project planning process is the project plan (or project management plan), which includes the project schedule as well as various supporting plans. Project Management Planning â€" Step by Step The following is a simple guide that explains the basic steps of project management planning. Note that the suggested order of the steps is not binding, although it is applicable to most scenarios. Step 1: Identify Project Stakeholders Start your project planning process by identifying the stakeholders of your project. Project stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who may affect or be affected by a project. They include: The project sponsor The project leader Project team members Project testers Contractors Consultants Customers and clients Users of the project output Groups impacted by the project And others The task of stakeholder management starts with the identification of all stakeholders but doesn’t end until the project itself is completed. Throughout the life cycle of the project, stakeholders need to be managed, that is, updated about project progress and their feedback taken into consideration. Good communication is key, and it is the job of the project manager to maintain a productive dialog with everybody involved in and affected by the project, not only the core project members.   On the other hand, some projects may be so large and complex that you aren’t able to give all stakeholders an equal amount of attention. In this case, it’s important to identify the key stakeholders, i.e. those who can make or break the success of your project. Key stakeholders can include the project sponsor (the individual with overall accountability for the project) and senior management. Prioritizing the needs and objectives of key stakeholders will help increase the chances of your project’s success. Step 2: Identify Project Goals and Objectives A project’s goals and objectives depend on the needs of the project stakeholders. Therefore, knowing who your stakeholders are and what their needs are is the first step in determining your project’s goals. A good way to determine stakeholders’ needs are stakeholder interviews, which you should conduct at the very beginning of the project planning process. Tip: You can take notes during these interviews and save them directly in a project stakeholder mind map, similar to the one pictured above. Once you have a clear overview of your (key) stakeholders’ needs, you can turn them into a set of measurable goals, following the SMART principle: Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Time-bound Goals vs Objectives Project goals are the desired outcomes of a project, which can be formulated into broad statements such as “Increase the number of website visitors by 30% by the end of the year” or “Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months”. A project can have multiple goals. Goals are about WHAT the project needs to achieve. Objectives, on the other hand, are about HOW these goals can be achieved. Each goal can thus have a number of objectives. Example: Goal: Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months Objectives: Create a white paper about the benefits of agile task management to collect marketing qualified leads Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Follow the white paper up with a webinar to turn readers into sales qualified leads Step 3: Identify Project Deliverables Project deliverables are the tangible products that are produced or provided as a result of the project. We can generally distinguish between two types of deliverables: Project deliverables, such as the project plan, minutes, or reports. Product deliverables, such as intellectual material, consumer goods, contracts, and so on. Deliverables have the following attributes: They can be intended for both internal and external stakeholders: Minutes, for instance, may be intended for the core project team, while official reports may be created to keep the client or other external stakeholders informed. They usually have a due date: Due dates are an important part in project planning â€" this is true for goals, objectives, deliverables, and individual tasks. They may represent stages of a project: Phases or stages of a project may be represented by major deliverables. In case of a new mobile app, for instance, deliverables/phases could include: 1. App concept, 2. Mockup, 3. Design, and 4. Functioning prototype. They may represent individual tasks within a project: Individual tasks can produce deliverables, but oftentimes multiple (dependent) tasks have to be completed in order to create a deliverable. Deliverables vs Objectives Project deliverables and project objectives are closely related, but they are not the same thing. You may need one or multiple deliverables to fulfill an objective, or you may be able to fulfill multiple objectives with just one deliverable. Example: Objective: Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Deliverables: White paper landing page LinkedIn ad Campaign report In this example, there is a logical order in which the deliverables will be due: first, the landing page needs to be created, then the ad campaign, and lastly, after the campaign is finished, a report about the success of the campaign can be written up. Note that in this example, each deliverable can be broken down further into individual tasks, which themselves may be assigned to different project members. The creation of a landing page, for instance, may require content from the copywriter, a design from the UI designer, and implementation from a developer. Step 4: Create the Project Schedule In traditional project management, the project schedule lists all activities and deliverables with their intended start and end dates, and thus provides a timeline for the entire project. To work out the schedule for your project, you will need to: Define activities based on your objectives and deliverables Break activities down into tasks Estimate the time each task will take Locate task dependencies and accommodate them in the schedule Assign (human) resources to the tasks Once you know exactly what needs to be done, who will do it, and how long everything takes, you can work out the entire project schedule. While simple in theory, this is probably one of the most difficult areas within the whole project planning process. If you can’t rely on experiences gathered from previous projects, accurately estimating how long tasks will take is the first difficulty. And even if you work out the perfect schedule on a task level, this plan is of little worth unless you’ve also created a viable resource schedule. Human resources especially are difficult to manage, as their needs and availabilities often can’t be predicted with a 100% accuracy. Project members may get sick, go on vacation, or simply work slower than anticipated. If not scheduled properly, one resource may also be needed for two different activities at the same time, sometimes resulting in disputes between stakeholders about which task needs to be prioritized. Best Practices for Project Scheduling Many of the common problems in project scheduling can be anticipated and mitigated, if not avoided altogether. Here are a few strategies you can try: Use Padding: Most people tend to underestimate how long an activity will take them to do. If you can estimate by how much team members have underestimated the effort of their tasks, you can balance the missing time in the schedule. Although sometimes frowned upon, “padding” can be a simple trick to come to a more accurate schedule. Identify Risks: During the life cycle of a project, many complications can occur â€" sudden changes in the business environment, new technologies, and many other things may lead to delays or disruptions. Conducting a proper risk analysis at the beginning of the project planning process will ensure that these risks aren’t completely unforeseen and help you prepare for them as best as possible. Manage Expectations: It’s important to ensure that leadership has realistic expectations about the project’s scope and the time and resources necessary to complete goals. If expectations are too high and the project team is unable to meet them, this can lead to frustration on both sides. As the project manager, you, therefore, need to communicate clearly what is known (and can be predicted), what is unknown, and which risks exist. Spot Bottlenecks Quickly: Bottlenecks can derail a project schedule if they aren’t spotted quickly. You should, therefore, monitor work throughout the project’s life cycle, using a task management system that makes it easy to detect bottlenecks at a glance and relocate resources to solve the issue. Kanban boards, which were originally created in the automotive industry but have since become popular in software project management and many other industries, can be useful in this case.   Step 5: Create Supporting Plans Your project plan needs to include all the information necessary to manage, monitor, and complete the project successfully. Aside from the project schedule, the stakeholder list, the goals, and objectives, the document usually includes various supporting plans that cover the following areas: Scope Management Resource Management Requirements Management Communications Management Quality Management Project Change Management Procurement Management Risk Management Step 6: Outline the Project Plan Now that you know the contents of a project plan, it’s time to look at how the project plan document is structured. By default, a project plan starts with an executive summary that provides an overview of the entire project management approach, followed by the project scope, goals and objectives, schedule, budget, and other supporting plans. Before you open a blank text document and start to write, it can be helpful to create a simple project plan outline. You can use a mind map tool or similar diagramming software for this purpose. Outlining your project plan in a mind map will help you collect all important information on a single page, visualize dependencies, and highlight open questions and issues that still need to be addressed. Such a mind map can also be saved as a template and reused in future projects. Once you’re satisfied with the outline, you can export it into a text document and start fleshing it out with more details. Create visual project plans with MindMeister Try it now Its free! Try it now See also: Project planning tools How to create a project communications plan Document writing, step by step The Project Planning Process - Focus The project planning process starts before work on the actual project begins and continues throughout the life cycle of the project. Its main goal is to adequately plan the time, cost and resources needed for the project  and thus to minimize risk. The main output of the project planning process is the project plan (or project management plan), which includes the project schedule as well as various supporting plans. Project Management Planning â€" Step by Step The following is a simple guide that explains the basic steps of project management planning. Note that the suggested order of the steps is not binding, although it is applicable to most scenarios. Step 1: Identify Project Stakeholders Start your project planning process by identifying the stakeholders of your project. Project stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who may affect or be affected by a project. They include: The project sponsor The project leader Project team members Project testers Contractors Consultants Customers and clients Users of the project output Groups impacted by the project And others The task of stakeholder management starts with the identification of all stakeholders but doesn’t end until the project itself is completed. Throughout the life cycle of the project, stakeholders need to be managed, that is, updated about project progress and their feedback taken into consideration. Good communication is key, and it is the job of the project manager to maintain a productive dialog with everybody involved in and affected by the project, not only the core project members.   On the other hand, some projects may be so large and complex that you aren’t able to give all stakeholders an equal amount of attention. In this case, it’s important to identify the key stakeholders, i.e. those who can make or break the success of your project. Key stakeholders can include the project sponsor (the individual with overall accountability for the project) and senior management. Prioritizing the needs and objectives of key stakeholders will help increase the chances of your project’s success. Step 2: Identify Project Goals and Objectives A project’s goals and objectives depend on the needs of the project stakeholders. Therefore, knowing who your stakeholders are and what their needs are is the first step in determining your project’s goals. A good way to determine stakeholders’ needs are stakeholder interviews, which you should conduct at the very beginning of the project planning process. Tip: You can take notes during these interviews and save them directly in a project stakeholder mind map, similar to the one pictured above. Once you have a clear overview of your (key) stakeholders’ needs, you can turn them into a set of measurable goals, following the SMART principle: Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Time-bound Goals vs Objectives Project goals are the desired outcomes of a project, which can be formulated into broad statements such as “Increase the number of website visitors by 30% by the end of the year” or “Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months”. A project can have multiple goals. Goals are about WHAT the project needs to achieve. Objectives, on the other hand, are about HOW these goals can be achieved. Each goal can thus have a number of objectives. Example: Goal: Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months Objectives: Create a white paper about the benefits of agile task management to collect marketing qualified leads Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Follow the white paper up with a webinar to turn readers into sales qualified leads Step 3: Identify Project Deliverables Project deliverables are the tangible products that are produced or provided as a result of the project. We can generally distinguish between two types of deliverables: Project deliverables, such as the project plan, minutes, or reports. Product deliverables, such as intellectual material, consumer goods, contracts, and so on. Deliverables have the following attributes: They can be intended for both internal and external stakeholders: Minutes, for instance, may be intended for the core project team, while official reports may be created to keep the client or other external stakeholders informed. They usually have a due date: Due dates are an important part in project planning â€" this is true for goals, objectives, deliverables, and individual tasks. They may represent stages of a project: Phases or stages of a project may be represented by major deliverables. In case of a new mobile app, for instance, deliverables/phases could include: 1. App concept, 2. Mockup, 3. Design, and 4. Functioning prototype. They may represent individual tasks within a project: Individual tasks can produce deliverables, but oftentimes multiple (dependent) tasks have to be completed in order to create a deliverable. Deliverables vs Objectives Project deliverables and project objectives are closely related, but they are not the same thing. You may need one or multiple deliverables to fulfill an objective, or you may be able to fulfill multiple objectives with just one deliverable. Example: Objective: Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Deliverables: White paper landing page LinkedIn ad Campaign report In this example, there is a logical order in which the deliverables will be due: first, the landing page needs to be created, then the ad campaign, and lastly, after the campaign is finished, a report about the success of the campaign can be written up. Note that in this example, each deliverable can be broken down further into individual tasks, which themselves may be assigned to different project members. The creation of a landing page, for instance, may require content from the copywriter, a design from the UI designer, and implementation from a developer. Step 4: Create the Project Schedule In traditional project management, the project schedule lists all activities and deliverables with their intended start and end dates, and thus provides a timeline for the entire project. To work out the schedule for your project, you will need to: Define activities based on your objectives and deliverables Break activities down into tasks Estimate the time each task will take Locate task dependencies and accommodate them in the schedule Assign (human) resources to the tasks Once you know exactly what needs to be done, who will do it, and how long everything takes, you can work out the entire project schedule. While simple in theory, this is probably one of the most difficult areas within the whole project planning process. If you can’t rely on experiences gathered from previous projects, accurately estimating how long tasks will take is the first difficulty. And even if you work out the perfect schedule on a task level, this plan is of little worth unless you’ve also created a viable resource schedule. Human resources especially are difficult to manage, as their needs and availabilities often can’t be predicted with a 100% accuracy. Project members may get sick, go on vacation, or simply work slower than anticipated. If not scheduled properly, one resource may also be needed for two different activities at the same time, sometimes resulting in disputes between stakeholders about which task needs to be prioritized. Best Practices for Project Scheduling Many of the common problems in project scheduling can be anticipated and mitigated, if not avoided altogether. Here are a few strategies you can try: Use Padding: Most people tend to underestimate how long an activity will take them to do. If you can estimate by how much team members have underestimated the effort of their tasks, you can balance the missing time in the schedule. Although sometimes frowned upon, “padding” can be a simple trick to come to a more accurate schedule. Identify Risks: During the life cycle of a project, many complications can occur â€" sudden changes in the business environment, new technologies, and many other things may lead to delays or disruptions. Conducting a proper risk analysis at the beginning of the project planning process will ensure that these risks aren’t completely unforeseen and help you prepare for them as best as possible. Manage Expectations: It’s important to ensure that leadership has realistic expectations about the project’s scope and the time and resources necessary to complete goals. If expectations are too high and the project team is unable to meet them, this can lead to frustration on both sides. As the project manager, you, therefore, need to communicate clearly what is known (and can be predicted), what is unknown, and which risks exist. Spot Bottlenecks Quickly: Bottlenecks can derail a project schedule if they aren’t spotted quickly. You should, therefore, monitor work throughout the project’s life cycle, using a task management system that makes it easy to detect bottlenecks at a glance and relocate resources to solve the issue. Kanban boards, which were originally created in the automotive industry but have since become popular in software project management and many other industries, can be useful in this case.   Step 5: Create Supporting Plans Your project plan needs to include all the information necessary to manage, monitor, and complete the project successfully. Aside from the project schedule, the stakeholder list, the goals, and objectives, the document usually includes various supporting plans that cover the following areas: Scope Management Resource Management Requirements Management Communications Management Quality Management Project Change Management Procurement Management Risk Management Step 6: Outline the Project Plan Now that you know the contents of a project plan, it’s time to look at how the project plan document is structured. By default, a project plan starts with an executive summary that provides an overview of the entire project management approach, followed by the project scope, goals and objectives, schedule, budget, and other supporting plans. Before you open a blank text document and start to write, it can be helpful to create a simple project plan outline. You can use a mind map tool or similar diagramming software for this purpose. Outlining your project plan in a mind map will help you collect all important information on a single page, visualize dependencies, and highlight open questions and issues that still need to be addressed. Such a mind map can also be saved as a template and reused in future projects. Once you’re satisfied with the outline, you can export it into a text document and start fleshing it out with more details. Create visual project plans with MindMeister Try it now Its free! Try it now See also: Project planning tools How to create a project communications plan Document writing, step by step

The Project Planning Process - Focus

The Project Planning Process - Focus The project planning process starts before work on the actual project begins and continues throughout the life cycle of the project. Its main goal is to adequately plan the time, cost and resources needed for the project  and thus to minimize risk. The main output of the project planning process is the project plan (or project management plan), which includes the project schedule as well as various supporting plans. Project Management Planning â€" Step by Step The following is a simple guide that explains the basic steps of project management planning. Note that the suggested order of the steps is not binding, although it is applicable to most scenarios. Step 1: Identify Project Stakeholders Start your project planning process by identifying the stakeholders of your project. Project stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who may affect or be affected by a project. They include: The project sponsor The project leader Project team members Project testers Contractors Consultants Customers and clients Users of the project output Groups impacted by the project And others The task of stakeholder management starts with the identification of all stakeholders but doesn’t end until the project itself is completed. Throughout the life cycle of the project, stakeholders need to be managed, that is, updated about project progress and their feedback taken into consideration. Good communication is key, and it is the job of the project manager to maintain a productive dialog with everybody involved in and affected by the project, not only the core project members.   On the other hand, some projects may be so large and complex that you aren’t able to give all stakeholders an equal amount of attention. In this case, it’s important to identify the key stakeholders, i.e. those who can make or break the success of your project. Key stakeholders can include the project sponsor (the individual with overall accountability for the project) and senior management. Prioritizing the needs and objectives of key stakeholders will help increase the chances of your project’s success. Step 2: Identify Project Goals and Objectives A project’s goals and objectives depend on the needs of the project stakeholders. Therefore, knowing who your stakeholders are and what their needs are is the first step in determining your project’s goals. A good way to determine stakeholders’ needs are stakeholder interviews, which you should conduct at the very beginning of the project planning process. Tip: You can take notes during these interviews and save them directly in a project stakeholder mind map, similar to the one pictured above. Once you have a clear overview of your (key) stakeholders’ needs, you can turn them into a set of measurable goals, following the SMART principle: Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Time-bound Goals vs Objectives Project goals are the desired outcomes of a project, which can be formulated into broad statements such as “Increase the number of website visitors by 30% by the end of the year” or “Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months”. A project can have multiple goals. Goals are about WHAT the project needs to achieve. Objectives, on the other hand, are about HOW these goals can be achieved. Each goal can thus have a number of objectives. Example: Goal: Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months Objectives: Create a white paper about the benefits of agile task management to collect marketing qualified leads Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Follow the white paper up with a webinar to turn readers into sales qualified leads Step 3: Identify Project Deliverables Project deliverables are the tangible products that are produced or provided as a result of the project. We can generally distinguish between two types of deliverables: Project deliverables, such as the project plan, minutes, or reports. Product deliverables, such as intellectual material, consumer goods, contracts, and so on. Deliverables have the following attributes: They can be intended for both internal and external stakeholders: Minutes, for instance, may be intended for the core project team, while official reports may be created to keep the client or other external stakeholders informed. They usually have a due date: Due dates are an important part in project planning â€" this is true for goals, objectives, deliverables, and individual tasks. They may represent stages of a project: Phases or stages of a project may be represented by major deliverables. In case of a new mobile app, for instance, deliverables/phases could include: 1. App concept, 2. Mockup, 3. Design, and 4. Functioning prototype. They may represent individual tasks within a project: Individual tasks can produce deliverables, but oftentimes multiple (dependent) tasks have to be completed in order to create a deliverable. Deliverables vs Objectives Project deliverables and project objectives are closely related, but they are not the same thing. You may need one or multiple deliverables to fulfill an objective, or you may be able to fulfill multiple objectives with just one deliverable. Example: Objective: Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Deliverables: White paper landing page LinkedIn ad Campaign report In this example, there is a logical order in which the deliverables will be due: first, the landing page needs to be created, then the ad campaign, and lastly, after the campaign is finished, a report about the success of the campaign can be written up. Note that in this example, each deliverable can be broken down further into individual tasks, which themselves may be assigned to different project members. The creation of a landing page, for instance, may require content from the copywriter, a design from the UI designer, and implementation from a developer. Step 4: Create the Project Schedule In traditional project management, the project schedule lists all activities and deliverables with their intended start and end dates, and thus provides a timeline for the entire project. To work out the schedule for your project, you will need to: Define activities based on your objectives and deliverables Break activities down into tasks Estimate the time each task will take Locate task dependencies and accommodate them in the schedule Assign (human) resources to the tasks Once you know exactly what needs to be done, who will do it, and how long everything takes, you can work out the entire project schedule. While simple in theory, this is probably one of the most difficult areas within the whole project planning process. If you can’t rely on experiences gathered from previous projects, accurately estimating how long tasks will take is the first difficulty. And even if you work out the perfect schedule on a task level, this plan is of little worth unless you’ve also created a viable resource schedule. Human resources especially are difficult to manage, as their needs and availabilities often can’t be predicted with a 100% accuracy. Project members may get sick, go on vacation, or simply work slower than anticipated. If not scheduled properly, one resource may also be needed for two different activities at the same time, sometimes resulting in disputes between stakeholders about which task needs to be prioritized. Best Practices for Project Scheduling Many of the common problems in project scheduling can be anticipated and mitigated, if not avoided altogether. Here are a few strategies you can try: Use Padding: Most people tend to underestimate how long an activity will take them to do. If you can estimate by how much team members have underestimated the effort of their tasks, you can balance the missing time in the schedule. Although sometimes frowned upon, “padding” can be a simple trick to come to a more accurate schedule. Identify Risks: During the life cycle of a project, many complications can occur â€" sudden changes in the business environment, new technologies, and many other things may lead to delays or disruptions. Conducting a proper risk analysis at the beginning of the project planning process will ensure that these risks aren’t completely unforeseen and help you prepare for them as best as possible. Manage Expectations: It’s important to ensure that leadership has realistic expectations about the project’s scope and the time and resources necessary to complete goals. If expectations are too high and the project team is unable to meet them, this can lead to frustration on both sides. As the project manager, you, therefore, need to communicate clearly what is known (and can be predicted), what is unknown, and which risks exist. Spot Bottlenecks Quickly: Bottlenecks can derail a project schedule if they aren’t spotted quickly. You should, therefore, monitor work throughout the project’s life cycle, using a task management system that makes it easy to detect bottlenecks at a glance and relocate resources to solve the issue. Kanban boards, which were originally created in the automotive industry but have since become popular in software project management and many other industries, can be useful in this case.   Step 5: Create Supporting Plans Your project plan needs to include all the information necessary to manage, monitor, and complete the project successfully. Aside from the project schedule, the stakeholder list, the goals, and objectives, the document usually includes various supporting plans that cover the following areas: Scope Management Resource Management Requirements Management Communications Management Quality Management Project Change Management Procurement Management Risk Management Step 6: Outline the Project Plan Now that you know the contents of a project plan, it’s time to look at how the project plan document is structured. By default, a project plan starts with an executive summary that provides an overview of the entire project management approach, followed by the project scope, goals and objectives, schedule, budget, and other supporting plans. Before you open a blank text document and start to write, it can be helpful to create a simple project plan outline. You can use a mind map tool or similar diagramming software for this purpose. Outlining your project plan in a mind map will help you collect all important information on a single page, visualize dependencies, and highlight open questions and issues that still need to be addressed. Such a mind map can also be saved as a template and reused in future projects. Once you’re satisfied with the outline, you can export it into a text document and start fleshing it out with more details. Create visual project plans with MindMeister Try it now Its free! Try it now See also: Project planning tools How to create a project communications plan Document writing, step by step The Project Planning Process - Focus The project planning process starts before work on the actual project begins and continues throughout the life cycle of the project. Its main goal is to adequately plan the time, cost and resources needed for the project  and thus to minimize risk. The main output of the project planning process is the project plan (or project management plan), which includes the project schedule as well as various supporting plans. Project Management Planning â€" Step by Step The following is a simple guide that explains the basic steps of project management planning. Note that the suggested order of the steps is not binding, although it is applicable to most scenarios. Step 1: Identify Project Stakeholders Start your project planning process by identifying the stakeholders of your project. Project stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who may affect or be affected by a project. They include: The project sponsor The project leader Project team members Project testers Contractors Consultants Customers and clients Users of the project output Groups impacted by the project And others The task of stakeholder management starts with the identification of all stakeholders but doesn’t end until the project itself is completed. Throughout the life cycle of the project, stakeholders need to be managed, that is, updated about project progress and their feedback taken into consideration. Good communication is key, and it is the job of the project manager to maintain a productive dialog with everybody involved in and affected by the project, not only the core project members.   On the other hand, some projects may be so large and complex that you aren’t able to give all stakeholders an equal amount of attention. In this case, it’s important to identify the key stakeholders, i.e. those who can make or break the success of your project. Key stakeholders can include the project sponsor (the individual with overall accountability for the project) and senior management. Prioritizing the needs and objectives of key stakeholders will help increase the chances of your project’s success. Step 2: Identify Project Goals and Objectives A project’s goals and objectives depend on the needs of the project stakeholders. Therefore, knowing who your stakeholders are and what their needs are is the first step in determining your project’s goals. A good way to determine stakeholders’ needs are stakeholder interviews, which you should conduct at the very beginning of the project planning process. Tip: You can take notes during these interviews and save them directly in a project stakeholder mind map, similar to the one pictured above. Once you have a clear overview of your (key) stakeholders’ needs, you can turn them into a set of measurable goals, following the SMART principle: Specific Measurable Agreed Realistic Time-bound Goals vs Objectives Project goals are the desired outcomes of a project, which can be formulated into broad statements such as “Increase the number of website visitors by 30% by the end of the year” or “Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months”. A project can have multiple goals. Goals are about WHAT the project needs to achieve. Objectives, on the other hand, are about HOW these goals can be achieved. Each goal can thus have a number of objectives. Example: Goal: Collect 500 sales qualified leads within the next three months Objectives: Create a white paper about the benefits of agile task management to collect marketing qualified leads Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Follow the white paper up with a webinar to turn readers into sales qualified leads Step 3: Identify Project Deliverables Project deliverables are the tangible products that are produced or provided as a result of the project. We can generally distinguish between two types of deliverables: Project deliverables, such as the project plan, minutes, or reports. Product deliverables, such as intellectual material, consumer goods, contracts, and so on. Deliverables have the following attributes: They can be intended for both internal and external stakeholders: Minutes, for instance, may be intended for the core project team, while official reports may be created to keep the client or other external stakeholders informed. They usually have a due date: Due dates are an important part in project planning â€" this is true for goals, objectives, deliverables, and individual tasks. They may represent stages of a project: Phases or stages of a project may be represented by major deliverables. In case of a new mobile app, for instance, deliverables/phases could include: 1. App concept, 2. Mockup, 3. Design, and 4. Functioning prototype. They may represent individual tasks within a project: Individual tasks can produce deliverables, but oftentimes multiple (dependent) tasks have to be completed in order to create a deliverable. Deliverables vs Objectives Project deliverables and project objectives are closely related, but they are not the same thing. You may need one or multiple deliverables to fulfill an objective, or you may be able to fulfill multiple objectives with just one deliverable. Example: Objective: Set up a campaign on LinkedIn to send potential leads to the white paper landing page Deliverables: White paper landing page LinkedIn ad Campaign report In this example, there is a logical order in which the deliverables will be due: first, the landing page needs to be created, then the ad campaign, and lastly, after the campaign is finished, a report about the success of the campaign can be written up. Note that in this example, each deliverable can be broken down further into individual tasks, which themselves may be assigned to different project members. The creation of a landing page, for instance, may require content from the copywriter, a design from the UI designer, and implementation from a developer. Step 4: Create the Project Schedule In traditional project management, the project schedule lists all activities and deliverables with their intended start and end dates, and thus provides a timeline for the entire project. To work out the schedule for your project, you will need to: Define activities based on your objectives and deliverables Break activities down into tasks Estimate the time each task will take Locate task dependencies and accommodate them in the schedule Assign (human) resources to the tasks Once you know exactly what needs to be done, who will do it, and how long everything takes, you can work out the entire project schedule. While simple in theory, this is probably one of the most difficult areas within the whole project planning process. If you can’t rely on experiences gathered from previous projects, accurately estimating how long tasks will take is the first difficulty. And even if you work out the perfect schedule on a task level, this plan is of little worth unless you’ve also created a viable resource schedule. Human resources especially are difficult to manage, as their needs and availabilities often can’t be predicted with a 100% accuracy. Project members may get sick, go on vacation, or simply work slower than anticipated. If not scheduled properly, one resource may also be needed for two different activities at the same time, sometimes resulting in disputes between stakeholders about which task needs to be prioritized. Best Practices for Project Scheduling Many of the common problems in project scheduling can be anticipated and mitigated, if not avoided altogether. Here are a few strategies you can try: Use Padding: Most people tend to underestimate how long an activity will take them to do. If you can estimate by how much team members have underestimated the effort of their tasks, you can balance the missing time in the schedule. Although sometimes frowned upon, “padding” can be a simple trick to come to a more accurate schedule. Identify Risks: During the life cycle of a project, many complications can occur â€" sudden changes in the business environment, new technologies, and many other things may lead to delays or disruptions. Conducting a proper risk analysis at the beginning of the project planning process will ensure that these risks aren’t completely unforeseen and help you prepare for them as best as possible. Manage Expectations: It’s important to ensure that leadership has realistic expectations about the project’s scope and the time and resources necessary to complete goals. If expectations are too high and the project team is unable to meet them, this can lead to frustration on both sides. As the project manager, you, therefore, need to communicate clearly what is known (and can be predicted), what is unknown, and which risks exist. Spot Bottlenecks Quickly: Bottlenecks can derail a project schedule if they aren’t spotted quickly. You should, therefore, monitor work throughout the project’s life cycle, using a task management system that makes it easy to detect bottlenecks at a glance and relocate resources to solve the issue. Kanban boards, which were originally created in the automotive industry but have since become popular in software project management and many other industries, can be useful in this case.   Step 5: Create Supporting Plans Your project plan needs to include all the information necessary to manage, monitor, and complete the project successfully. Aside from the project schedule, the stakeholder list, the goals, and objectives, the document usually includes various supporting plans that cover the following areas: Scope Management Resource Management Requirements Management Communications Management Quality Management Project Change Management Procurement Management Risk Management Step 6: Outline the Project Plan Now that you know the contents of a project plan, it’s time to look at how the project plan document is structured. By default, a project plan starts with an executive summary that provides an overview of the entire project management approach, followed by the project scope, goals and objectives, schedule, budget, and other supporting plans. Before you open a blank text document and start to write, it can be helpful to create a simple project plan outline. You can use a mind map tool or similar diagramming software for this purpose. Outlining your project plan in a mind map will help you collect all important information on a single page, visualize dependencies, and highlight open questions and issues that still need to be addressed. Such a mind map can also be saved as a template and reused in future projects. Once you’re satisfied with the outline, you can export it into a text document and start fleshing it out with more details. Create visual project plans with MindMeister Try it now Its free! Try it now See also: Project planning tools How to create a project communications plan Document writing, step by step

Extracurriculars for Pre-Meds The Dos and Donts

Dos: Thinking about applying to medical school but not sure what you’re going to need to get in? Desperately searching for lab opportunities but not psyched about spending the summer inside? Frustrated by the constant inunundation of opposing messages and requirements? You’re not alone! Here are some key dos and don’ts that I learned along the medical school process (all of which conveniently begin with F): Dos: 1. Follow your interests Every medical school is going to ask you in interviews why you chose your extracurriculars. When choosing how to spend your time, it's important to be thinking about what this experience is going to mean to you. That's why it's best to choose things that YOU want to do—that way when you’re writing your essays and being interviewed, you’ll have real, unique answers to why you took the path you did to medical school. Your experiences will make up a large part of who you are and if at the end of your path you still want to be a doctor, you will have experiences to ground your decision. 2. Find your people One of the best parts of doing an extracurricular is the experiences you get to have with people outside of school! Finding a place where you enjoy working with the people around you helps build teamwork skills and exposes you to different career paths and interests! Plus, when you’re focused on networking,you have a better chance of impressing your superiors and garnering some great letters of recommendation and contacts along the way—win, win! 3. Flood your resume People are often tempted to spend the time they have preparing for medical school packing their resumes full with thousands of extracurriculars. However, this often means forgetting that quality is just as important (if not more important) than quantity! It is much better spending more time on valuable experiences than to spend on a little time on many different activities. Don't 1. Follow the pack Medical schools want to see you as an individual—don’t spend your summers working in a lab or volunteering for the hospital just because someone told you to! Use the time how you want it! A common trap that people always fall into is the â€Å"You’ll never get into medical school if you don’t†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, there are very few things that this is true for. Yes, you have to take the course requirements. Yes, you have to take the MCAT. But after that the rest is up to you! 2. Forget your friends (or family! Becoming a doctor is a long journey, and medical school is only the first step! You’re going to want to have your friends and family there to support you and celebrate you along the way, so make sure you keep them as a priority in your life! This goes for the way you choose to spend your time in general, not just your extracurriculars 3. Freak out!! Everything is going to be just fine. No, seriously. I know its a stressful process but you have to believe that with some hard work, you, too, will become a wonderful doctor! One more time, for emphasis, Everything is going to be just fine. Are you interested in learning more about our medical admissions coaches? ; Would you like more pro tips on the MD admissions process? Be sure to check out more on the subject below! Medical School Admissions: The Truth About Med School Costs How To Apply To Medical School: Making Experiences Relevant to Your Application When to Send Updates About the Medical School Process