Initiation The overall experience with this assignment was a great simulation to the unpredictability that a real world project can present. At the beginning of the quarter the team worked well in communicating the different proposals we had regarding the projects we were deciding to analyze as part of our assignment. There were some minor setbacks in choosing our project because of the company whose project we were going to analyze, but the team pulled it together quickly and was able to weigh out our other options before finally deciding on the one we would eventually work on.
Planning
The planning phase of our project went relatively smooth. Some of the minor challenges we faced were in scheduling interviews for our project given that most of us worked full time. It was decided early on that the team would meet a few times a week to discuss the project and hold status meetings. Our communication plan was successful as the team was in touch on an almost daily basis via email sharing all kinds of information pertaining to everything from feedback on a particular task; to sending meeting invitations to all team members which we could synch to our calendars. Our original plan called for more virtual meetings, but we will see later on how this became a challenge. Overall though every member of the team contributed to the successful planning of the project.
Execution
The execution of our project is where things began to get interesting. In true to life fashion, there were certain circumstances beyond our control which caused us to have to readjust our plan on several occasions. There were some interviews where not all team members could attend due to work commitments, so communication became a key factor in our team. There was also occasions where our interviewees had to cancel or reschedule our meetings with them. In one instance we never got the opportunity to meet with an interviewee due to first, a death in their family, then the birth of their daughter. This was a great lesson on how a contingency plan is so important for the lifecycle of a project to ensure a task is completed in the event of some unforeseen circumstances or