The Benchmarking of Project Planning and Success in Selected Industries

The Benchmarking of Project Planning and Success in Selected Industries

In the 2006 article titled, "The Benchmarking of Project Planning and Success in Selected Industries." The authors analyzed data collected from 280 project managers in four industries; construction and engineering, software and communications, services, and production and maintenance. Based on this data, project success and quality of project planning were evaluated. They found that the quality of project planning was found to be the highest in construction and engineering organizations because of their planning and the lowest in manufacturing organizations because of their lack of planning. (2006). In order to improve planning, one must effectively plan better. In addition to planning, the following elements of a successfully planned project will be discussed in this paper. Task duration estimates, resource and cost allocation, and how the degree of accuracy of these estimates is linked to project success.

Planning

The Industry that I presently work is Education as an enrollment advisor. One major part of any industry is planning. Planning is very important regardless of the type of industry in which you work. "Studies have identified planning as one of the critical success factors in a project" (2006). A successful enrollment advisor will assist a potentially interest student all the way from the first contact to active student status.

Task Duration Estimates

Task estimation in every project is a necessary evil. There are many factors that can affect task duration, for example varying skill levels (Wysocki, 2009, p.148). The enrollment advisor that can speak effectively to the potential students with a knowledge of the industry is going to be much more successful than someone that cannot speak to the concerns of the student. With a good estimate in place there is every likelihood that a project's schedule can be consistent as well as manageable

Resource and Cost Allocation

Cost allocation is a process where indirect costs are assigned to different departments. At my university there are many different departments that help in the process of student enrollment. These departments are enrollment, academic advising, student services, bursar, financial aid and admissions. By allocating costs a business can help to control costs, maximize profits and motivate employees, regardless of industry.

Conclusion

An organization that does not make enough effort to support its projects gets in return low-quality project plans, such as the situation in the production and maintenance industry. On the other hand, construction and engineering organizations that support projects effectively, obtain

higher quality project plans from their