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Achieving Project Goals

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The Achieving Project Goals Simulation is a supplement used to emphasize the study of project management. This simulation consisted of managing a project involving rescue and rehabilitation of overpopulated elephants in Zakinaka National Park to a special conservation area in Ungabo National Park to avoid the scarcity of feeding these animals. This project requires management of the work breakdown structure and project network of the project while reconsidering original plans due to unexpected exposed situations (Achieving Project Goals Simulation, 2012). Four of the key points from the readings that are emphasized in the simulation include network fundamentals, scheduling techniques, project success, and the work breakdown structure (WBS). The subject of scheduling techniques and fundamentals are utilized to form the basis of planning and predicting and to help management decide how to use its resources to achieve time goals. Network fundamentals are composed of events and activities in understanding the duration, efforts, and critical path amongst making sequential decisions. The WBS is one of many important documents tailored for use of a project as used in the simulation through a linear responsibility chart listing the task breakdown in successively finer levels of detail. Project success is emphasized in the simulation since project success was modified to include completion of the project within a certain time frame, at the proper performance, and without disturbing the main workflow of the transport of elephants (Kerzner, 2006). The occurrences of bottlenecks most often require crunching the project. When crunching a project, the project manager must compromise more on time than risk. Both are very important. The simulation specifically identifies that risk is inherent in every project and no amount of planning can completely eliminate risk.

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