Scenario:
You are the project manager for a mobile banking app enhancement project at Jade Bank. The project is in the middle of execution, and progress is being tracked against the approved scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
At the latest status review, you identify several issues:
- The project is 2 weeks behind schedule
- Two key team members are overallocated, while another team outside the project with relevant skills has available capacity that could potentially be leveraged
- A critical integration task is creating a dependency bottleneck, slowing down testing
- Actual costs are beginning to trend above the planned budget
- A key stakeholder is requesting that a high-visibility feature be delivered earlier than planned
You have been asked to recommend how to move forward while protecting overall project value.
YOUR TASK
Respond to the following prompts using concepts from this week’s module:
- Identify the Core Constraints
What are the primary constraints affecting this project?
Consider schedule, resources, dependencies, cost, and stakeholder priorities. - Recommend Two Optimization Actions
Propose two specific actions you would take to improve delivery.
At least one action must involve a decision about leveraging the external team capacity.
Briefly explain how each action improves flow, reduces bottlenecks, or increases predictability. - Evaluate Trade-Offs
For each action, explain one key trade-off.
What improves, and what potential cost, risk, or coordination impact is introduced? - Use of Baselines
How would you use the scope, schedule, or cost baseline to support your decision-making?
Focus on how baselines help inform decisions, not just track performance. - Final Recommendation
Provide a concise recommendation to stakeholders.
What should be done, and why does it best protect overall value delivery?
SUBMISSION EXPECTATIONS
- Length: 300–500 words
- Focus on clarity and reasoning rather than length (Quality not Quantity)
- Use course terminology where appropriate (e.g., flow, constraints, trade-offs, baseline, bottleneck)
- Responses should be structured and easy to follow (short paragraphs or bullets are acceptable)
done