Appropriate charts such as the Gantt chart and the Work-Breakdown Structure (WBS) help time-manage the project, creating not only an atmosphere of collective responsibility through task assignment but also setting clear due dates. The corresponding appendices A and B deal with the division of the WBS and the Gantt chart per the identified responsibilities. Identifying and visualizing the tasks and outputs of the project aimed at computerizing sepsis protocol at Northwell Health in this way permits the proper project management execution.
Project’s Tasks and Deliverables
Delivering a final product only becomes possible when the created plan deals with and meets smaller goals throughout its implementation. As deliverables may be “tangible or intangible part of the development process,” their apperception within the project went beyond the scope a list of instruments provided to nurses for sepsis computerization (Sipes, 2016, p. 86). The plan was therefore developed with the requirement for provision of services, such as nurse IT training and feedback lines, in mind.
Thus, the identified deliverables are the practicum project plan, project scope statement, project charter, hardware, software, training, lines of feedback, as well as qualitative and quantitative research results. Altogether, these deliverables align with the task of computerizing sepsis protocol and creating an electronic procedure of sepsis treatment. While the creation of the plan itself is the primary goal of the project, the second stage is related to the delivery of assigned outputs.
The tasks of the project closely mirror the outlined goals, resulting in a dependent relationship between them, with changes in one sphere resulting in changes in the other. An essential step in task assignment and deadline identification became their correspondence and alignment with the actual time possibilities within teams (Harris, 2016). Therefore, close communication of team leaders and inter-team communication are necessary for the efficient implementation of the project.
Work-Breakdown Structure
The WBS makes possible assigning those responsible and directly contacting those answerable for aspects of project development and avoiding unnecessary confusion concerning the assigned goals. Without breaking down bundles into smaller tasks, it is not possible to make teams responsible for result deliverance and thus puts the project at an executive disadvantage (Sipes, 2016). The roles and responsibilities assigned over the scope of the WBS become a crucial step to project execution.
Gantt Chart
A Gantt chart helps to envision the moments where the identified project tasks will overlap, creating possible drawbacks and issues. Sowan (2015) outlines it as “a project management bar chart that illustrates phases and activities of the change, resources required (e.g., cost, time), and personnel involved,” and additionally states its project significance (p. 20). Thus, the Gantt chart as a visual representation of the project deadlines becomes another stepping-stone in achieving project success.
Conclusion
While it is possible to execute a project without time-management charts, it is evident that their creation streamlines the project into achieving at least the appropriate tasks in the proper sequence. Deadlines and responsibilities become the core of the project, without which its application becomes impossible in a timely fashion. Thus, the WBS and Gantt chart become indispensable aides of the sepsis computerization project at Northwell Health.
References
Harris, J. (2016). Key foundations of successful project planning and management. In J. L. Harris, L. Roussel, P. L. Thomas, & C. Dearman (Eds.), Project planning and management: A guide for nurses and interprofessional teams (2nd ed.) (pp. 1-30). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Sipes, C. (2016). Project management for the advanced practice nurse. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Sowan, A. K. (2015). Applying IT-related business process reengineering in an informatics course for graduate nursing programs. Archives of Nursing Practice and Care, 1(1), 16-24. Web.