Prompt

What are the root cause issues in the project, and how can they best be addressed to transform the project into a well-functioning system?

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

1. Introduction
   1. Establish a context for your report by summarizing the important details of the case and identifying the purpose of this report for your audience (i.e., your executive leadership).
   2. Explain the underlying engineering management principles that guided your inquiry. Remember that your audience may have a different philosophy, so be sure to clearly articulate your understanding of engineering projects as complex systems and explain why this analogy is useful.
2. Project Methodology
   1. Assess the extent to which the project suffers from methodological dysfunctions. To what extent has methodology been logically and consistently applied through each of the stages of development? Defend your position with specific evidence.
   2. Specifically identify examples of handshake issues in which the silos between working groups prevented effective transitions from one design step to the next.
   3. Evaluate the current use of the project's resources and personnel. Are all team members working in appropriate roles related to their specific expertise? Could the team's resources be more strategically allocated? Defend your position with specific evidence.
3. Project Team
   1. Characterize the mindset of the engineers on the project team. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Defend your position with specific evidence.
   2. Specifically describe the motivations, dispositions, and assumptions of the engineers working on the project team. How are they distinct from those of the nontechnical members of the project team? Illustrate with specific examples.
   3. Assess the extent to which the distinct mindset of the engineers impacts their work performance. In what ways are the engineers not thinking or acting strategically? To what extent are they failing to maintain a holistic view of the entire project? Illustrate with specific examples.
   4. Communication
      1. Characterize the overall effectiveness of internal and external project team communications. Where have there been successes and failures? What have been the impacts of each?
      2. Draft a revision for one example of failed internal communication between technical members of the project team. Be sure to apply appropriate terminology that more effectively communicates the ideas.
      3. Draft a revision for one example of failed external communication between technical and nontechnical members of the project team. Be sure to apply appropriate terminology that more effectively communicates the ideas.
4. Ethical Concerns
   1. Evaluate the extent to which the project has been hampered by ethical dilemmas. Has there been an appropriate balance between engineering integrity and business needs? Defend your position with specific evidence.
   2. Identify which elements of the engineering codes of ethics apply to the ethical dilemmas present in the case. Cite specific examples of each to illustrate.
   3. Reflect on the ethical concerns in this case in regard to how they inform your own personal moral code as an engineering manager. How would you weigh the costs and benefits of the opposing values in this case? Illustrate with specific examples.
5. Conclusion
   1. Referring to your analysis, characterize the overall health of the existing project: Is it a well-functioning system? Why or why not? Defend your position with specific evidence.
   2. Determine general recommendations for how you will improve the health of the project now that you are taking over the role of manager. Be sure that you address each of the identified issues in the earlier sections of your report.

Milestones

Milestone One: Introduction and Project Methodology In Module Four, you will summarize the important details of the VALID case study and set the context for the case report that you will create for executive leadership. Furthermore, you will assess the project methodology in the VALID case, analyzing the engineering design process used, the handshake issues, and the resources and personnel. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Ethical Concerns In Module Five, you will analyze the ethical factors at play in the VALID case study, explain how the engineering codes of ethics apply to the case, and evaluate your own personal moral codes as they apply to the case. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

Milestone Three: Communication In Module Six, you will analyze the internal and external communication that took place in the VALID case study, characterize its overall effectiveness, identify communication failures and successes, and describe the impact of each on the project. You will also draft revisions of failed internal and external communications. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.

Milestone Four: Project Team In Module Seven, In Milestone Four, you will analyze the project team in the VALID case study and discuss mindset, motivation, disposition, and assumptions. You will also assess the work performance of the project team and how it might have been affected by mindset. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.

Final Submission: New Manager Case Report In Module Nine, you will writ your conclusion (critical element V), complet your introduction (critical element I.B), and revise your milestones to submit your final project in its entirety. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final project. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.