Assigned Readings:Chapter. 13 Progress and Performance Measurement and EvaluationChapter. 14 Project ClosureChapter. 15 Agile Project Management Chapter. 16 International ProjectsInitial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:

1. Why is it important for project managers to resist changes to the project baseline? Under what conditions would a project manager make changes to a baseline? When would a project manager not allow changes to a baseline?
2. Imagine you are conducting a review of the International Space Station project. Research press coverage and the Internet to collect information on the current status of the project. What are the successes and failures to date? What forecasts would you make about the completion of the project, and why? What recommendations would you make to top management of the program, and why?
3. Use an Internet search engine to find the most recent International Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) released by the Berlin-based organization Transparency International.
   • Check your predictions with the Index.
   • How well did you do? What countries surprised you? Why?

Text

Title: Project Management: The Managerial Process 

ISBN: 9781260238860 

Authors: Clifford F. Gray, Erik W. Larson 

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education 

Publication Date: 2020-01-09

Project Plan / Gantt Chart / Budget section of deliverables this week.   From a budget perspective you need to include resource costs (mostly yours although you can identify other people that might be needed to complete the project), potential hardware costs (i.e., the actual hardware, set up costs, ongoing costs), software costs (i.e., software costs, set up costs, ongoing costs), and training.. 

For the project plan and Gantt chart, you can find some templates/guides online and then use that as a guide to build yours out. I’ll link some youtube videos and tools below for instructional purposes.

Watch First to get an understanding of creating Project Plans and Gantt Charts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7D_ub50WPg

Now proceed to watch these below:

Creating a Project Plan

How To Create A Project Plan In Excel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iCg6KmpdhM

How To Create A Project Plan In Smartsheet – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWtGdFDrql0

Simple Project Plan in Microsoft Project – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxirUj9FQOg

Creating a Gantt Chart

Creating a Gantt Chart Using Excel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un8j6QqpYa0

Creating a Gantt Chart Using Excel 365 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u_jm1211D4

Creating Gantt Chart Using Powerpoint – https://www.smartsheet.com/content/create-gantt-chart-powerpoint

Creating a Project Budget

How To Create A Project Budget In Excel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSbHnudDk8

To get more expertise

Q.  Select two of the top strategic technologies identified by Gartner (Below there is a video link) and answer the question of how these technologies can be used to reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and grow the business. Support your reasoning. 

Note: 300 Words with intext citations and 2 references needed.

As an IT analyst for BallotOnline, a company providing voting solutions to a global client base, you are working to convince the organization to move its infrastructure to a public cloud. With the growth the company is experiencing, and the internal data centers maxed out, you want to get the executives on board with moving to a public cloud rather than trying to expand the current infrastructure.

In this discussion thread, you will post a brief executive summary to your executive leadership covering the following:

What is cloud computing?

What are the capabilities of the cloud?

How can these cloud capabilities benefit your organization?

Your goal should be to convey this information to executive leadership in a concise, yet thorough manner

Note: Add references to your answer

After the CEO reviewed your recommendation, he asked you to review the business application, the ERP system, and provide a system management plan. This plan provides the executive team with the details of a new or upgraded system implementation and helps to decide if it’s a viable solution for the business. A plan of this nature is typically 4 to 5 pages in length with charts when appropriate.

Develop a system management plan for a new enterprise system for International Plastics, Inc. 

Ensure you:

• Incorporate an ERP, CRM, Supply Chain Management (SCM), and data management into the International Plastics’ IT infrastructure. (Incorporate an ERP, CRM, Supply Chain Management (SCM), and data management into the International Plastics’ IT infrastructure)