Blog Assignment: Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

This week we have been asked to look back at a project we were involved in be it personal or professional that was not successful or did not result in the desired outcomes. I found great difficulty in coming up with a project. I am pretty much a methodical person, when I plan to get some thing done I usually do with it resulting in what I want to occur, this is done by switching gears mid stream if necessary to ensure it.. However I am not perfect and some things are not always in my control. After much thought I selected a home improvement project I was involved in.

My home had an enclosed patio, what was once referred to as a Florida room. The entire structure was made up of jalousie window of which only the windows on the door worked after 40 years. As a result the room was unbearable cold in winter and hot in summer. I made a decision to remove the room and replace it with a sunroom. The estimate for the work was done in July and the permits were filed. Now it is November and I still do not have the room. I listened to what the company said about everything but they did not advise me about the actual permit procedure. The room is not done because after the permit was file it was returned because of other work done on the house over the fifty years it existed needed blueprints and permits as well.

While the company stated several things that needed to be changed to pass final inspection I was not advised that there could be items not previously permitted that would need to be. Because of this far more time was spent getting the permit and more money had to go into the project for the drawings for previous projects. The front steps, bay window and fence all were updated from the original home and all were done by contractors who at the time did not need a permit from the town to complete the work. But now permits are needed and as a result I had to hire an architect to come in and draw up plans for these items that were more that 20 years old to get a permit for them. All this before they would approve the current permit request.

I believe that had I done some deeper research on obtaining permits I would have handled this situation in a timelier manner. My SME, was not knowledgeable enough about the towns permit requirements and so caused the project to go over budget and over the timeline.

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, I