Project Management
Jaiden Williams
Understanding the competency
Project management involves applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the requirements of a project (Project Management Institute, n.d.). It gives a team a way to define the work, identify deliverables, and organize the tasks needed to produce them. It also requires attention to risk and communication across the people involved. In my own work, a scope of work, a checklist, and a schedule help turn a creative goal into a practical structure.
Connection to my leadership
Project management contributes to my leadership by helping me strategize and schedule ahead, including when I am working through a difficult period. On the Golfland Sunsplash project, I had to rethink how I approached the photos. I batched the work, made a checklist, created a scope of work, and wrote out the deliverables. Those actions helped me put a structure around the work instead of leaving the creative idea as the entire plan.
Connection to organizational leadership
I see project management as important within the Organizational Leadership degree because leaders have to coordinate work as well as set direction. A goal alone does not explain what has to be delivered or how the work should be organized. My Golfland experience showed me why an idea needs a scope of work, clear deliverables, and a practical approach to the tasks. Including this competency gives me a way to connect what I learn about leadership to the work I actually have to carry out.
Growth and development at ASU
Project management through my ASU courses has helped me strategize and schedule ahead, even when I am at my lowest. For Golfland Sunsplash, I had to completely rethink how I approached the photos. I batched tasks and made a checklist to organize the work. I also created a scope of work and wrote out the deliverables. This was a direct application of my current lessons to a real-world structure, and it shows my growth in turning coursework into a practical way of managing a project.
Artifact: Golfland Sunsplash Mesa
My artifact is the Golfland Sunsplash Mesa media project featured in the commercial work on Jai’s Archive. I worked with Tristan Lovely to develop photo and video content highlighting the venue’s atmosphere, attractions, and guest experience. The work focused on engaging visuals for social media and marketing, including arcade games, mini golf, and the family-friendly environment. I connect this artifact to project management because producing the work required me to rethink my approach, batch tasks, create a checklist and scope of work, and define the deliverables. The published gallery presents the creative work that came out of that process.
View the Golfland Sunsplash Mesa project and image gallery
Reference
Project Management Institute. (n.d.). Project management. https://www.pmi.org/about/what-is-project-management