PPMP20009 Project Management Report
Your tasks include:
1. An introduction/problem statement. Remember your target audience is the senior management team at Kocom.
2. Propose two leadership styles that you believe would support the Lean transition and beyond.
3. Identify and propose four leadership competencies that you believe would bring out the best outcome for this transition and beyond.
4. Identify and propose four best practices that you believe will support lean leadership and help maintain the Lean systems after their implementation.
5. The PMI talent triangle describes skills that are seen to increase a project manager’s competence in three categories (see week 6 lecture slides). Select two skills from each category and demonstrate how each skill would support this transition.
6. Identify and propose five characteristics of agile self-directed teams that will help you deliver the Lean initiative successfully.
7. Propose two best quality control tools for Lean which could be implemented in various departments of Kocom that will improve their efficiency and quality. Provide specific examples on how the tools will be implemented.
8. Identify two risks during or after the Lean transition and elaborate their mitigation strategies.
9. A conclusion recommending a preferred approach to proceed with the Lean transition and beyond.
10. A brief account of the teamwork deployed in this assignment, listing three lessons you have learned as a team. To support your arguments a transcript of the final team meeting or a link to a recording of a ZOOM meeting should be included as appendix Which will be excluded from the word count.
Solution
Introduction
The paper will offer important strategies for Kocom to adopt lean transformation. In order to make it successful feasible and possible, the report for assignment help first will discuss two different leadership styles which would be supportive for the transition and retain the transition. In this context, leadership competencies even will be discussed to confirm best practices for lean leadership. Leadership style cannot be justified without the competency of a project manager (Zhou, Zhao, Tian, Zhang & Chen, 2018). Risk mitigation strategy even will be incorporated to conclude with the successful incorporation of lean management in the process. Finally, it will evaluate team activities to confirm the learning throughout.
Leadership Styles
Kocom is going to adopt lean management. Lean management is the approach for managing an organization in a way that one can confirm continuous improvement with a long-term approach for work which eventually identifies incremental small changes in the process to improve quality and efficiency, eliminating waste in the process. Considering the main characteristics of lean management, cooperation, collaboration, effective acknowledgment of the future requirements, and innovation are important to confirm effective justification of lean management in the process of Kocom. Considering the main objectives, a visionary leadership style would be much helpful (Zhou, Zhao, Tian, Zhang & Chen, 2018). Long-term addressing is an important consideration, thereby, visionary leadership can be helpful in offering long-term vision (Cadden, Millar, Treacy & Humphreys, 2020). It directs people towards shared common reasons for organizational betterment. The leadership style in the process confirms the development of the clear vision and as it incorporates the entire team in the process, thereby indirectly it addresses cooperative and collaborative organizational culture which is another important consideration for lean management. The attribute of clarifying the vision to everyone by 'whys' confirms long-term interest for the Kocom, it monitors performance and sets standards in the context of larger vision with the balanced positive and negative feedback for motivation. All referred attributes secures retention of lean management in a better way.
Another important leadership for lean management can be affiliative leadership as it helps to confirm harmony in the work culture by making a perfect connection with each other. Leadership directly addresses the communication, collaboration, cooperation confirming positive interaction to enhance team performance (Wachira, Karanja & Iravo, 2018). By emphasizing the personal needs of others, it recognizes opportunities to confirm positive feedback which is another motivational factor that leads the work culture towards betterment. By satisfying employee needs, indirectly it confirms effective addressing to the goals without putting any pressure on the workforce. Such type of leadership can encourage the workforce of Kocom to be involved in the work culture actively and spontaneously which eventually helps to attend and retain lean management in a better way (Leffingwell, 2021).
Leadership Competencies
Considering the leadership styles, it is important to have some leadership competencies to perfectly address the leadership styles accomplishing all objectives which are required for the organizational culture (Seemiller, 2018). The first and foremost consideration is having leadership courage. Leadership is a personal attribute, hence, without proper type of courage or leadership courage, no leadership style can properly be exercised in the organizational culture. A leader needs to be brave enough to take the right decision at the right time even if he needs to go against the majority. The competency eventually helps the leader to be confident enough to get in stuck with one thing as well as try new things as per requirements by being innovative to address all challenging situations in an organization. Another important leadership competency is communication. As per identified leadership styles, communication is important for both the leadership styles as effective communication confirms success for a leader. Communication is a two-way process of listening and speaking. Most of the time, people misinterpret communication, as only a way of speaking, however, smart ones always have the competency of effective listening skills to respect others with enough attention for the speaker (Realyvásquez-Vargas et al., 2018). It does not only confirm hearing whether it makes the other person feel that the leader is attentive and present to understand before comment. Effective communication immediately gets followed by building a relationship which is another important competency for an organization. Having a proper connection with each other with the proper type of communication, specifical communication between leader and the group is very important for which a leader needs to have a strong relationship with a person of the organization. With a better relationship or strong relationship, one can accomplish anything as empathetic attitude makes people much more convinced than a commanding tone. Finally, shaping the culture of the organization is another competency for a leader (Holweg & Maylor, 2018). An organization always goes through different types of changes where the leader is responsible to maintain the positivity of the organizational culture for which he needs to have the competency of shaping the culture even during any change in the process. A leader is responsible to confirm that whatever activities are there in the organizational culture are being maintained by dedicated employees who can manage the change of the process by the structured approach and better engagement with team members through communication integration with the leader (Seidel, Saurin, Marodin & Ribeiro, 2017).
Best Practices for Lean Leadership
Best practices for lean leadership need to be such practices that can exactly address the objectives of lean leadership i.e controlling quality, removing waste, innovative processes to confirm the continuous improvement of the organization (Bridges & Bridges, 2021). Hence, leadership needs to accommodate maintaining and acquiring new initiatives to confirm that innovative approaches are being taken for continuous improvement as well as the positivity of the organizational culture is even being retained. Best practices for the competency of leadership can be plan-do-check-act. Four interrelated processes confirm that a leader needs to have the competencies like planning, doing, checking, and acting. A leader needs to be a good planner to visualize objectives for the workforce which can be long-term (O'Connor, Hill, Kaya & Martin, 2019). Without effective planning, lean management cannot be accommodated with positivity, hence one needs to be supported with the competency of effective and efficient planning, so that he can assume the future requirements successfully and plan accordingly so that an organization like Kocom can confirm their strategies in a way that can address future changed requirements effortlessly and successfully.
Project Manager’s Competency Skills
Organizations often seek added skills in business intelligence as well as leadership with competencies so that the leaders can support every activity of the organization for directing longer-range strategic objectives. PMI talent triangle can be referred to as an ideal skill set which is the combination of strategic and business management expertise, leadership, and technical expertise with digital skills (Horváth, 2019). Kocom is an organization of communication devices, for which digital technologies are most important. Hence, technical skills are the most important skills for Kocom as per the industry type to confirm competitive advantage for it by making its products the best in the market with added features by innovative technologies. Technical expertise can be the only skill that can help to have technical excellence in the work culture. Thereby, from the category of technical skill, technological understanding and skills for effective implementation of the technologies are important to confirm success for an organization. From the leading concern, the most important skill for a project manager is effective communication. A project manager is responsible for different types of responsibilities for which he needs to have an effective relationship with every stakeholder for which communication plays a significant role (Horváth, 2019). A project manager is expected to have expertise in different types of communication skills like writing, facial, and body language to confirm effective communication in the process. A leader has a connection with both internal and external stakeholders, thereby, different types of communication skills are needed which eventually helps him to be a successful leader as the communication skill plays the most important role to satisfy all his job roles and responsibilities ("Styles of Leadership - avoid career-ending mistakes", 2021). Apart from communication in the leadership aspect, he is even expected to be an expert in motivational skills. An organization needs to have positivity in its structure to confirm development and betterment. Motivation is such a factor that helps the project manager to maintain and retain positivity with acquired strategies as per the requirement of the situation. A leader cannot be successful without efficiency in motivation. For the strategic and business management category, the project manager most importantly needs to be innovative. Innovation plays the key role for a business to confirm effective addressing of market requirements. The efficiency of a project manager in innovation skills can help an organization to have the best strategy management which not only helps to address the present goal of the organization, rather can confirm for addressing to future objectives or requirements of the market. Business management even includes some difficult situations where a project manager is expected to exercise negotiation skills ("5 leadership styles used in project management", 2021). Negotiation skill helps the project manager to choose the best alternative for the organization which eventually helps to support the transition in organizational culture. An organization when going to have a transition needs to have the support of technological knowledge as well as the skill of implementing the technological innovation in the process to have the best of the transition sustaining positivity (Smith & Jones, 2018). Without communication and motivation, such a type of technological involvement of transition cannot be addressed. Any project manager without innovation or negotiation cannot confirm strategic and business management which is most important during the transition of the organization as strategies eventually cannot help the transition due to its new requirements.
Agile Self-directed Teams and Their Impact
Five characteristics of self-directed teams are their self-driven attitude, trusting each other, decisions that are taken by employees or employees engaged in the decision-making process, high self-awareness, and strong communication (Doyle & Doyle, 2021). The agile self-directed team helps in addressing the betterment effortlessly and in a less time-consuming manner. A self-driven attitude or self-directed team helps to sustain a participative organizational culture where employees work by wish with maximum contribution and activation without any sort of comparison with eventually addresses improvement in the organizational culture (Yue, Men& Ferguson, 2019). On the other hand, the agile approach can be referred to as the iterative approach for project management or software development which helps the team for delivering value to the customers in a low time-consuming manner. It mainly objectifies teamwork in a small consumable direction without going for the 'Big Bang' launch. Hence the self-directed agile team directly addresses lean initiative by its five principles or approaches. A self-driven attitude due to active participation in the work culture helps to have a cooperative, collaborative organizational culture which eventually can address the common goal regularly in the process and thus it confirms better addressing to the waste removal from the organizational culture with one of the most important lean initiatives. As there is no compulsion on employees, hence, they try to remove waste to attain sustainability in terms of all resources specifically for time and budget to make the work culture more productive and thus lean initiative that addressed (Sinha & Matharu, 2019). For lean initiative, cooperation and collaboration in the work culture are very important to sustain continuous improvement. In an agile self-directed team, they connect effortlessly and without effective communication, they trust each other for satisfying the common goal. Such a type of team exercises the trust factor by strong and effective communication with each other (Yue, Men & Ferguson, 2019). Specific acknowledgment of each other and effective communication eventually help them to sustain that much trust factor that an organization can confirm continuous improvement in its work culture and eventually it gets ready for long term objective satisfying a condition of lean management (Tarjomefa.com, 2021). Such type of excellent work culture eventually helps the leaders to exercise their leadership style like visionary leadership style and affiliative leadership style in a better way as they are well aware of the objective and participate in the workforce wholeheartedly to offer better scopes for exercising the leadership confirming continuous improvement, waste removal, and long-term objective satisfaction in the process. Most importantly self-directed agile team takes an active part in the decision-making process which eventually initiates the belongingness of the workforce for the organization (Bach & Bach, 2021). The workforce in such teamwork culture does not only work as paid staff, rather as a contributor of the work culture, and thus they confirm the best satisfaction of the objectives of the organization which eventually justifies continuous improvement addressing to long-term objectives. The main lookout of lean management.
Quality Control Tools for Lean
To do quality control, it is important to sustain the organizational culture in a way that can opt for continuous improvement. Without the support of effective tools, such type of quality control, improvement cannot be accessed in organizational culture. Hence, it is important for Kocom to identify and exercise the quality control tools which can initiate quality and efficiency for lean management. The main principles for lean management are to identify value, map the value stream, create the flow, publish the pool, and continuously improve ("Competencies & Traits of a Lean Leader", 2021). It needs to have the support of technological excellence most, as it belongs to the communicative industry with the products like CCTV, smart home, intercom alarm, etc. It basically can help to outline the process to reach the potential customers by accommodating excellence. Technological excellence mostly depends on innovation. Innovation can be both positive and negative as it is a matter of proficiency and practice. Thereby, Kocom needs to have such type of tool support which can remove the waste to make lean manufacturing successful. In such context, FMEA (Failure Model and Effects Analysis) can be helpful as it would help the project manager or leaders to understand the negative consequences in the process to review the flow and anticipate to address the issues before being served to the customers before become severely crucial for the entire process (Anjalee, Rutter & Samaranayake, 2021). The tool directly would help Kocom to remove waste which is important for lean manufacturing influencing work indirectly to help to quality control as well as continuous improvement for the process.
Risks and Mitigation Strategies
In implementing lean initiatives or even after the process, Kocom can have several risk factors in its work culture due to the transition it has sustained. The most crucial respect it can have is wrong timing. Implementation of a new initiative for lean management needs to be in a proper time so that, it can only contain positivity for the work culture without acquiring negativity (Toledo, Gonzalez, Lizarelli & Pelegrino, 2019). To avoid such risk factors, the best way out is to do proper planning where effective communication, justified leadership styles, and skills are really important (Sinha & Matharu, 2019). Another important risk during or after the transition can be an improper human resource. Entirely lean management depends on the efficacy of human resources for all its accomplishment. If human resources would not be effective for such type of transition and without the help of an effective leadership style, then the entire work culture can be at stake ("9 Lean Leadership Practices to Get the Best Performance Out Of Your Team", 2021). To avoid the risk factor, Kocom needs to have efficient, experienced employees specifically successful leaders to confirm effective accomplishment of all the objectives.
Conclusion
The report has confirmed in-depth discussion for the transition of Kocom to adopt lean management which has successfully evaluated two leadership styles that can support the lean management for the senior management of Kocom. Leadership competencies are even evaluated where it has been seen that it needs to have such leaders who can objectify the model of plan-do-check-act to confirm the transition successfully. The competencies eventually help Kocom to secure the best leadership where communication would play a significant role. As per the discussion of the talent triangle, the project manager needs to have competencies over technological and leadership aspects to confirm better strategic and business management with the support of skills like communication, innovation, negotiation, acknowledgment of technological knowledge, etc. A self-directed team with their attributes can better sustain lean initiative confirming quality control with the help of the tools like FMEA analysis and affinity diagram. Time and resources can be respected for Kocom for the transition via effective planning and proper identification of human resources would be helpful.
Reflection and lessons learned
As per the discussion, the team needs to have effective communication, collaboration, negotiation, and decision-making skill to support all the stages of transition confirming the success of the project. Most importantly, the team needs to have innovation skills as long-term objectification cannot be done without innovation.
The team of Kocom for sustaining the lean transition successfully, needs to be efficient and effective and cooperative and collaborative. It even needs to have justified support of leadership with the help of affiliative or visionary leadership style having some important leadership skills to confirm cooperative and collaborative work culture for continuous improvement waste removal and most importantly the practice of innovation. The team needs to adopt a participative approach where the leader is expected to adopt a plan-do-check-act model when the leader does not only be a leader, rather a member of the team to confirm the transition where competency skills of the project manager like technological skills, negotiation, innovation, communication skills would help to sustain positive effect of the transition. The Kocom can have the best result by the agile self-directed team as such an active motivated team can directly address clean initiative without any sort of compulsion. Quality control tools like affinity diagram and FMEA analysis eventually help Kocom to confirm improvement as well as value creation where much lookout needs to be taken for identifying proper human resources and exact time to exercise a new approach for the lean transition in the work culture.
As per the discussion, three main lessons for working as a team are being effective communicators where speaking and listening both are important as it helps to be cooperative and collaborative which is a must for a team. Another important lesson is to have emotional intelligence and support of effective leadership to confirm the effective accomplishment of the project. Finally, in the present context, innovation is the most important aspect to exercise for any field.
References
MBA642 Project Initiation, Planning and Execution Assignment Report
Assessment Description
In this individual assessment, students will be given an opportunity to analyse the organisational factors that promote effective project management. The success and failure factors, along with ethical considerations for each of the 5 IPECC phases, will need to be considered.
Assessment Instructions
Please choose one of the following projects as the basis for your research (For your chosen project you are to focus on the construction and implementation of the project, following the IPECC phases, and not its current operations beyond what is required in closure).
Cross river rail project Brisbane
(https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/ )
National Broadband Network Project
(https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/the-nbn-project)
The new Royal Adelaide Hospital
(https://www.cpbcon.com.au/en/our-projects/2011/nrah )
Please note that the above links are provided to give only an initial outline of what the project delivered, and substantial additional research will be required to complete your assessment successfully.
Once you have conducted thorough research about your chosen project, you are then required to prepare a 1800 word report in which you are to:
- Analyse in detail both the steps critical for your chosen project’s success and the critical pitfalls that could have lead to its failure. Relate the specific success and fail factors to your nominated project and do not just describe a generic theory or simple definitions.
- For each of 5 IPECC stages, you are to analyse the success and failure factors for each of those stages. You are required to analyse at least one success criteria and at least one failure criteria for each stage. If you are unable to identify success or fail criteria for a particular stage, you are required to postulate at least one criteria; but it must be based on sound theory and your knowledge of the case study.
- Integrate the ethical considerations into each of these steps and show how ethical
considerations may impact the success or failure of the chosen project.
In preparing this report, you will need to use at least 10 sources of information and reference these in accordance with the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include websites, government publications, industry reports, census data, journal articles, and newspaper articles. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your proposal. Wikipedia and other ‘popular’ sites are not to be used.
Solution
Introduction
Data is becoming one of the most essential things which people need in their daily life. A cellular network is a good option for calling, but for getting good internet speed, cellular networks are not as good and as reliable as broadband internet. For solving the broadband availability in every area of Australia this project was launched in 2009 named National Broadband Network (Holmes et al., 2020, p. 195). This is Australia's own wholesale broadband access network. The objective is to provide fast internet to everyone with the lowest possible cost of service. For assignment help In this report success and failure factors with IPECC stages, ethical considerations and the impacts will be analysed.
Analysis of the success and failure factors
In the project of the national broadband network project, the success and failure factors both are included. In the process of fulfilling the project, the company gives the wireless uninterrupted service which is the success and also the post-paid and prepaid methods. However, the price of this networking is too high and because of this reason, the company faces some issues in getting the customers. Also, as this service is wireless, it has security risks and these two are the most significant failure which the project may face.
Success Factors
In this assignment, the chosen project is the national broadband network project. There are so many success factors of this project which will be discussed below:
- Wireless uninterrupted connection: Broadband system is the transmission of wide bandwidth data which has been worked over a high-speed internet connection. This entire system is wireless and because of this reason, the connection cannot be interrupted (Fathi, Modin& Scott 2017, p. 1321). There are so many obstacles that can be seen in the wire connection which are totally omitted in this system. So, the consumer can enjoy the uninterrupted data service which will be beneficial for the project.
- Prepaid and postpaid options: Both the options are available in the broadband system of prepaid and postpaid connections. So, it may lead to success as the customers can choose their preferred system on their own choice. Contrary to the above fact, there are so many customers who are not interested in the post-paid system and because of this reason, it may ruin the entire idea (Mascitelli& Chung 2019, p. 3). They have the overview that the postpaid systems take more money than the prepaid ones.
Failure Factors
At the time of adopting any project, there are also many factors that may lead to failure. The company of the broadband network also should be prepared to face these failures and there are also so many ways to overcome those.
- High price: The entire national broadband network project is based on a high-technology system. The developer has to involve so many strategies to continue an uninterrupted connection. So, the charges of the system are too high and, in many cases, it is beyond the range of affordability. So, it may lead to the point of failure as there are so many people who cannot afford it and it becomes a loss for the company.
- High-security risk: In the broadband system, the security risk is too high. According to the stated data, the framework of a personal firewall is needed in each and every computer or mechanical device (Manda 2017, p. 36). So, it is a bit of dissatisfaction for the customers rather than the dial-up network. So, it may lead to a bit of failure. The main reason for the security issue is that the entire system is wireless and the hacker can easily hack the codes in the system to operate the data.
Analysis of One Success and One Failure Factors with IPECC Stages
Success factor of wireless uninterrupted connection
Initiating: In the stages of IPECC, initialising the project plan is the first step that is mandatory in every strategy. At the initial stage, the broadband network project has the requirement of wireless uninterrupted connection. It is the point of success as the initial part of the project is interconnected with it.
Planning: The entire planning of the broadband system is important to stable the success for the future basis. Wireless networking is important to make a proper plan for the broadband system. It is necessary to make the system uninterrupted which helps to continue the connection of the customer and it can be easily preferred by them for the benefits.
Executing: The entire plan of executing the success is necessary at the beginning. If the company of Australia can get proper demand from the customers, then they can easily portray the idea of the broadband network (Sagarik et al. 2018, p. 343). It helps to get uninterrupted service rather than dial-up networking. So, the benefits of this system should be understood by the customers and only after that they can buy the plans. In this way, the succession plan can be executed.
Controlling: The entire framework of the execution plan can be observed by the headquarters and their leaders and managers. The proper control is needed to optimise the risk factors (Philip & Williams 2019, p. 308). If any type of hacking mentality may come to interrupt the entire system, it should be stopped at the beginning. So, the pepper focus of a person should always be maintained to control the entire framework.
Closing: After clearing all the steps, the project plan of broadband networking can get the success of uninterrupted and wireless techniques. All the obstacles should be overcome from the start which helps to promote the growth of success.
Failure Factor of Broadband Connection
Initiating: In the initial stages, it was said that all the copper lines will be replaced with fibre optic cables and internet speed will be around 100 megabits per second. But in reality, the story is different from the imagination. In the initiating stage many places were covered with copper cables and due to that average user can usually get only 25 megabits per second out of the network (Campbell & Milner 2019, p. 23). As per the global index, the average internet speed of broadband is 75 megabits per second but the Australian National Broadband Network falls short in terms of initialisation.
Planning: The planning was to implement fibre cables from start to end of the country. But there were some limitations which may be a lack of planning, funding or else. For getting fibre cable connection the whole setup needed to be upgraded and that could not be possible. Due to that customer are not getting the proper speed which was planned earlier at the starting. The number of subscribers has also exceeded as the network is currently observing 25% growth every year in the subscriber numbers (Holmes et al., 2020, p. 205). Proper planning was not done to accumulate all these extra customers and that is also causing the slow speed problem.
Executing: In the execution stage, the whole planning was not executed as per the requirements. Future prospects were not taken into consideration and due to that the whole system now needed a restart for giving smooth services to the customers. Due to the bad implementation of copper lines and fibre optical lines, it is not possible to get proper, and reliable internet speed.
Controlling: For controlling the whole operation highly capable persons were needed for maintaining the speed issues and ping issues. But that was not happening at all which is creating internet speed issues regularly.
Closing: After all of these steps here comes the closing part where another important failure issue can be seen which is a security issue. The users have to use VPN or firewalls to keep safe from malicious websites and data breaches. With irregular internet speed and unreliable networks, the future of the national broadband network is not good at all.
Ethical Consideration of Those Steps and Their Impacts
Speed unreliability: As per the initial promises, the national broadband network cannot provide the same internet speed all day. There is a new concept called a busy period in which the users cannot get the exact speed which the customer has opted for (Barry 2018, p. 6). The ethical considerations are not being maintained in this case and due to that market share cannot be captured significantly by the organisation. Private players are doing well with their competitive nature. Due to unreliable speed, users are not showing interest in the organisation although the company has promised fibre to the home and fibre to the premises options the implementation is far away from reality.
Security issues: The security issues are there in the network and users are forced to use DNS servers and virtual private networks for safeguarding the data (Schram et al. 2018, p. 16). In the present scenario, the internet is like an open book and anyone can surf anything which can be harmful to others as well. Hackers can hack profiles, social media handles and others without any hassle. The tracking by the tech giants is also possible with this network. That is why the users have to take their own precautions for safeguarding their own data and this is a huge ethical problem that the National Broadband Network is facing. The network should provide basic security measures for hassle free uses of the internet in every house.
Coverage issues: As per the planning stage it was promised that within some years broadband will be provided to every house but that has not become reality. Till now there are various areas where broadband is not present at all (Gregory 2019, p. 36). This problem is causing the coverage ethical issue, and ethical standards are also degrading. Many users are still waiting to know when the broadband will come which is not expected from this kind of firm.
Planning and sustainability issue: The prices of the internet are too high compared with other countries and private players. That is why it becomes impossible to sustain for most users. The brand promised that they will provide the internet at the lowest possible price but that is far from reality. This causes the sustainability issue and the company is facing losses which are aiming for ethical issues as well. Overall, these issues are causing a bad impact on the business and sustainability is currently at stake for the company.
At the staring the project was seemed to be successful due to unavailability of other competitors and a good service but as the time passes there were problems discussed above have started to come. Due to bad impression about the services stared to build and negative impact was seen in the sales and customer retention. All the issues with services impacted the vision of the establishment and the network seemed to be unreliable to many of the customers. That impact can be easily monitored by decreasing number of subscribers.
Conclusion
In this report, various aspects of the National Broadband Network have been discussed where success factors, failure factors, ethical considerations and their impacts are attached. The National Broadband Network is a part of Australia's networking system and to upgrade the services to have a better experience, the whole organisation should be revamped with new ideas and technology. Only this can save the company from being irrelevant and demolish in the future.
References
PROJ6000 Principles of Project Management Report
Task Summary
After reading the project case study, use it to develop a 2,000-word Project Charter, describing the entire project in a short, succinct, and professional document.
Context
Project leadership is about inspiring the project team to do their best from the outset. This requires a combination of verbal and written communication skills and a range of applied leadership skills. One of the foundational documents that helps “kick off” a project is the Project Charter. The Project Charter describes the entire project in a short, succinct, and presentable document that can be shared with project staff or other stakeholders and aims to commence the project in earnest. The Project Charter helps to clarify the project context, the project team roles, and the goals of the project.
Instructions
You will be given a project case study to use in order to develop your Project Charter. Though all students will receive the same case study, it is expected that each student will think about the project from their own perspective as an up-and-coming project manager in order to formulate a unique Project Charter. Use your own style based on your critical thinking of what it means for you to lead a project. You may use one of the templates provided in the learning resources or develop your own format.
Please follow the instructions below:
1. Read the case study provided by your lecturer. This will form the basis for your Project
Charter, because you will assume that you are the project manager for this project.
2. After reading the case study, begin to develop your project charter. This needs to be a 2,000- word report (+/- 10%) and must use a minimum of six (6) references (academic literature and industry publications—please consider the case study as a 7th reference). Please ensure all references are cited in-text.
3. The Project Charter must include the following headings and should be written as if you are presenting it to the project team that will build this project. You are the project manager.
The contents of your Charter should include:
a. Background of the project
b. Reasons for the project
c. Project objectives
d. Proposed project management approach or methodology/methodologies
e. Constraints, limitations, and risks
f. Leadership structure (project manager and his or her senior aides: list their roles and explain what each does in the project. You need to cite four (4) roles)
g. Project risks and their mitigation
h. Project stakeholders and how to interact with them
i. The vision of the project and the type of project team culture you wish to promote in your team
j. Reference list
Solution
1. Introduction
A project charter is a traditional document that contains a brief overview of every element of a specific project. Project management is a proper combination of planning, organizing and managing the resources for the successful execution of the project (Collins, 2011). A sustained project requires effective development of skills and goals among the team members (Anantatmula, 2016). For Assignment Help, It is created in the initial phase of project development by the project manager. This project charter will be helpful in interpreting the aim and goals of the objective, designating the importance of specific individuals and outlining their responsibilities regarding the project, providing an assessment of the project plan, and identifying prospective risks associated with the project. The project charter is developed to outline the project management process of My Florida Regional MLS regarding the launch of ePropertyWatch. It will contain a short background analysis, established goals, management method of the project development team, analysis of potential risks and limitations, stakeholder analysis, a review of the management structure, and a short discussion regarding the vision of the project.
2. Background of the Project
A project charter is not complete without the establishment of a proper background. An appropriate background of a project helps the project charter find its relevance in the eyes of the shareholders and sponsors of the project. In this case, the project background will detail essential elements that impact the execution of the project. A proper inauguration of a product named ePropertyWatch is the main project (Studocu, 2021). The project is being managed by My Florida Regional MLS, one of the biggest global MLS service providers (Studocu, 2021). It operates from Orlando; Florida and its services encompass the entire region of the American state (Studocu, 2021). MLSs are databases that can help individuals gain important information regarding real estate properties sold by property owners. ePropertyWatch is a service that will enhance the capabilities of My Florida Regional MLS, which will help the MLS service provider to increase its potential and offer improved services to its customers. The product is being provided by CoreLogic to selected MLS providers for free (Studocu, 2021).
3. Reasons for the Project
It is essential to outline the reasons based on which a specific project is developed. A proper reason can help in influencing investors and sponsors, which can be beneficial for gaining the required resources that are needed to complete a project. It can also help motivate the team of workers and managers that are tasked with the proper execution of the project in question. An adequate reason defines the boundaries of the project, helps develop a project plan, and is heavily significant. In this case, the inauguration of ePropertyWatch is the main project. Successful execution of the inauguration process will be highly beneficial to My Florida Regional MLS. The product, developed by CoreLogic, which is an esteemed organization, can rapidly enhance the services provided by My Florida Regional MLS. It can help improve the quality of the information that is offered to My Florida Regional MLS's clients, reduce costs in operating processes by implementing the product in its operations, lower the chances of providing customers with improper or inaccurate information, update the database with real-time information, improve client contentment and help My Florida Regional MLS to retain its customers by making a significant improvement to its database.
4. Project Objectives
Objectives of a project are defined as the goals and guidelines that a project management team must abide by while executing tasks required for a project's completion. Setting optimal goals are essential. Objectives can act as a measurement factor based on which a review of the project’s success can be initiated. Proper, clear, concise, and transparent project objectives are of utmost importance as these objectives guide the execution of every step of project management and shape decision-making. Project objectives are generally created based on some critical factors that define the project's success. In this case, the launch process of ePropertyWatch by My Florida Regional MLS will comply with pre-defined project objectives provided in this project charter. The objectives are created using the SMART template of goal-setting. The dimensions of this framework are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (Landers, Bauer, & Callan, 2017)
• Specific- The project will be completed by making use of the designated budget.
• Measurable- The project’s progress is tangible will be measured by unbiased inspectors.
• Attainable- The project is attainable as its aim is realistic. The implementation of ePrpertyWatch is similar to other projects that have been executed before by the My Florida Regional MLS’ project management team.
• Relevant- The launch of ePropertyWatch will enhance the services of My Florida Regional MLS, which is highly relevant in retaining existing clients and bringing in new customers.
• Time-Bound- The project is achievable within the allocated time limit.
5. Proposed project management methodology
A proper methodology is necessary for the satisfying execution of a project. It can help in standardizing the work process. Creating an appropriate framework for the work will be far easier with proper management of project methodology. It can also help in adequately sorting the separate tasks. Almost all competent project managers make use of a relevant project management methodology. The waterfall method, PMP method, and agile methodologies are some of the most popular project management methodologies. This method can also be integrated into traditional frameworks. The project management approach that will be beneficial for executing the launch process of ePropertyWatch is an agile project management approach. Agile project management is helpful because it provides much-needed flexibility to the project management process. This methodology stresses the importance of testing, which will help My Florida Regional MLS assess if the ePropertyWatch system is running as intended. Agile methods will also help with implementing any change in project requirements and deliverables which will help the project team satisfy the stakeholders of the project. It can also reduce risks. The project plan, as stated in the case study, follows a streamlined process that can be executed by implementing agile procedures. Agile methodology can help the project team by providing the management team with better control over the project's execution, lowering risks of missing deadlines, and providing a much-needed transparent quality to the procedures, which can help the project team increase predictability of certain elements such as budget.
6. Constraints, Limitations, and Risks
• Project Constraints: Constraints are the inter-connected elements that help in forming the project’s boundaries. There are three main constraints that the project management team needs to concern themselves with. These are the time, scope, and cost constraints. Time constraint outlines the schedule under which the project team needs to complete the whole process. Scope constraints define the constraints that impact the aim of the project, the tasks that are required in order to be executed, and other attributes of the project process. Cost constraints highlight the allocated budget under which the whole launch process needs to be completed.
• Project Limitations: Limitations are similar to constraints as it specifies specific barriers that obstruct a project to develop further. In the case of the launching of ePropertyWatch, the project team at My Florida Regional MLS will need to make sure that the project is completed within eighty-four total work hours (Studocu, 2021). The management team needs to plan accordingly and make sure that the deadline is not exceeded. The team also needs to perform the required tasks in such a way that maximizes cost-efficiency. Usage of tools and equipment that makes the spending exceed the allocated budget will not be encouraged by the project manager. The scope limitations are defined by proper communication with the stakeholders and taking note of their requirements. The project team will not take up any project tasks that do not further stakeholders' interests.
• Related Risks: Digital security risks, stakeholder conflicts, and issues relating to the procurement of equipment are the significant risks associated with the project.
7. Leadership Structure
Leadership is crucial as the qualities of the leaders impact the project's execution process heavily. The project management team will be working under a hierarchical leadership structure. A hierarchical structure will enable the project team to easily distinguish authorities and decide the priority level of leaders' orders. It will allow better control of the project team and enhanced monitoring and reviewing capabilities of the leaders. It can also help with establishing a straight communicational channel that runs through all levels of management.
• Project Sponsor: These are the stakeholders that have a personal interest in making sure that the project is being executed in such a way that satisfies the scope of the project. These individuals will be in charge of allocating financial and non-financial resources of the project team and will be the central authority of the project. The board directors and shareholders of My Florida Regional MLS are the project sponsors for this project.
• Project Director: The project team will be answering to a project director who is at the top of the leadership hierarchy. This individual will be providing the project team with overall guidance and direction regarding the scope of the project.
• Project Manager: The project manager will be responsible for managing the project team overall. The project manager will be an influential part of the decision-making and planning system of the project team. Patrick Williamson is nominated to be the project manager because of his expertise in handling projects of this scale and his academic excellence while participating in the Project Management Institute's training program (Studocu, 2021).
• Instructor: The instructor is an individual who will answer to the project manager and is responsible for managing the project workers. The instructor will make sure that the workers reflect the vision of the project and are operating in a way that satisfies the interests of the project stakeholders.
8. Project Risks and Mitigation
Risks- The launch process of ePropertyWatch is an intricate project, and several risks are associated with it. The concern regarding data breach and piracy is a significant risk that is associated with the project. Cybercrimes are rampant and malicious individuals can target My Florida Regional MLS' launch process of ePropertyWatch to malign the company and to obstruct its competitive advantage. Disagreement between various stakeholders can also be identified as a highly probable risk that stunts the progress of the project completion process. Many stakeholders are connected to the project, such as My Florida Regional MLS, its managing directors, shareholders, employees, individuals of the project team, and the customers. Conflict can come up between these stakeholders, which is a significant risk. Other than that, the scarcity of required resources and the unavailability of skilled workers are also risks that should be mitigated.
Mitigation strategy- Risk management is crucial as it lets individuals evaluate and respond to threats (Denney, 2020). The risks that are identified above can be mitigated through the adoption of particular strategies. A proper security system with password authentication features, high-quality integrated firewalls, and other safety features can safeguard the project team's digital resources and database. Designing an appropriate interaction and communication strategy can severely lower the chances of stakeholder conflicts. Adequate training programs and procuring required tools and equipment beforehand can solve the issue of scarcity. Committed teams with the required expertise are crucial.
9. Stakeholder Analysis and Interaction Strategy
Stakeholders have a crucial impact on project governance (Derakhshan, Turner,& Mancini, 2019). Many stakeholders have distinct interests tied to the successful inauguration of the ePropertyWatch launch process. Company My Florida Regional MLS, its managing directors, shareholders, employees, individuals of the project team, and the customers are the main stakeholders of the project. To make sure that the interests of the shareholders align cohesively, communication and interaction strategies will be a part of the project planning. Information regarding the project deliverables and the progress of the project will be provided to the stakeholders promptly. Notifying the customers of the upcoming feature is an integrated part of the project plan. A Question-Answer session will also be hosted on behalf of the project development team to foster interaction and communication. Timely emails containing a progress report, video conferencing, and other interaction strategies will also be a part of the project management process.
10. Project Vision and Team Culture
The project vision is to create a standardized and properly structured project plan that can be utilized by any other MLS providers if they so desire in the future. The project development process will be well-structured and include properly defined steps. The entire management and development process will be thoroughly optimized to ensure that the project runs at maximum efficiency. The project will also significantly enhance My Florida Regional MLS's services which is also a significant part of the project. Work culture has a considerable influence on employee performance (The impact of organizational culture on job performance: a study of saudi arabian public sector work culture, 2018). The team culture that will be encouraged is one of open communication and transparency. Team members will be encouraged to share ideas without hesitation. Team building and bonding activities will also be encouraged as these increase productivities.
11. Conclusion
The project charter contains several vital elements that will define the ePropertyWatch launch process taken up by My Florida Regional MLS. The project team will adopt agile methods to execute the process. Limitations, constraints, and risks that are associated with the project are also discussed here. A stakeholder analysis is included with the project that will decrease potential conflicts. This project charter will be beneficial to the project team in adequately executing the project work.
References
PROJ6000: Principles of Project Management
Task Summary
After reading the project case study, use it to develop a 2,000-word Project Charter, describing the entire project in a short, succinct, and professional document.
Context
Project leadership is about inspiring the project team to do their best from the outset. This requires a combination of verbal and written communication skills and a range of applied leadership skills. One of the foundational documents that helps “kick off” a project is the Project Charter. The Project Charter describes the entire project in a short, succinct, and presentable document that can be shared with project staff or other stakeholders and aims to commence the project in earnest. The Project Charter helps to clarify the project context, the project team roles, and the goals of the project.
Instructions
You will be given a project case study to use in order to develop your Project Charter. Though all students will receive the same case study, it is expected that each student will think about the project from their own perspective as an up-and-coming project manager in order to formulate a unique Project Charter. Use your own style based on your critical thinking of what it means for you to lead a project. You may use one of the templates provided in the learning resources or develop your own format.
Please follow the instructions below:
1. Read the case study provided by your lecturer. This will form the basis for your Project
Charter, because you will assume that you are the project manager for this project.
2. After reading the case study, begin to develop your project charter. This needs to be a 2,000- word report (+/- 10%) and must use a minimum of six (6) references (academic literature and industry publications—please consider the case study as a 7th reference). Please ensure all references are cited in-text.
3. The Project Charter must include the following headings and should be written as if you are presenting it to the project team that will build this project. You are the project manager.
The contents of your Charter should include:
a. Background of the project
b. Reasons for the project
c. Project objectives
d. Proposed project management approach or methodology/methodologies
e. Constraints, limitations, and risks
f. Leadership structure (project manager and his or her senior aides: list their roles and explain what each does in the project. You need to cite four (4) roles)
g. Project risks and their mitigation
h. Project stakeholders and how to interact with them
i. The vision of the project and the type of project team culture you wish to promote in your team
j. Reference list
Solution
Background of The Project
Multiple Listing Service is the kind of service that is controlled and run by real estate brokers. As stated by Halvitigala, D. (2018), real estate brokers of particular region unitedly make a database regarding real estate properties which are available for the customers and are ready to be sold. For Assignment Help This particular database is called multiple listing service (MLS). Thus, real estate brokers are able to see the available real estate properties that are listed for sale within their particular region or locality. Multiple listing service is created to provide compensation and cooperation to the real estate brokers by the other listing brokers.
My Florida Regional MLS is considered to be third largest MLS which is having over sixty thousand customers in Florida region. It is based in Orlando, Florida and operates mainly in Central Florida and the densely populated are of Florida’s West coast (councilofmls, 2021). My Florida Regional MLS is known for its ‘curated customer journey’. However, currently My Florida Regional MLS becomes Stellar MLS.
Feasibility analysis is important for any MLS. It decides pricing of the plots. In Florida, Washington County is the cheapest to buy a vacant plot over there. Besides that, Bay County, Citrus County and Marion County are preferred sites for new constructions. Permits for single family or duplex dwelling is not required in Florida. However, as stated by Shpak et al., (2020), dwelling for multifamily or business require relevant permit. Zoning law is another important factor in feasibility analysis. In Florida, zoning law is not about only physical property, it is applicable on pets or animals, whether they are allowed in a property or not. Zoning law is applied to preserve historic zones of Florida.
Prior starting a project, PSM or Process Safety Management is done by the project management team to prevent hazardous effects of chemicals. Project that serves My Florida Regional MLS, maintains regulations established by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). FDACS regulates professional mappers and surveyors of Florida.
Reasons for The Project
In order to deliver required services such as strategic business plan, time frame, budget management, potential customers to the My Florida Regional MLS, a planned project is needed. The project is also initiated to bring a strong management team that can create charter, stakeholder assessment, high level plan, execute, monitor and control all the required steps that need to be taken for the betterment of the MLS. Large scale real estate projects are not only expensive but these are also risk oriented and have stakeholder challenges. For instance, eProperty Watch is a project plan that is developed by CoreLogic, with the aim to provide free services to the leading MLSs. Such projects are made to meet the following issues.
Budget Management- Project managers hire and manage various contractors, establish good relations with them and monitor the cost that changes due to vendors’ demand, managing protocols, change in orders and expenses for materials. Finally, they are able to keep the project under budget.
Time Management- It is important to keep track of time as delaying in activities such as failing to coordinate with stakeholders, not placing supply orders on time, delaying in paper works can slow a project and affects the whole project financially.
Risk Management- The main threat of a project comes from over budget and longer time. As stated by Starr, Saginor &Worzala, (2021), projects managers hire licensed management teams who are certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by Project Management Institute (PMI). Such professionals have four years degree and have experience of 4,500 hours of project management involvement.
Communication Challenges- Another reason of this project is to mitigate communication challenges that are unavoidable in any large-scale project. As, real estate brokers and MLSs need to build local support and goodwill through communicating with various stakeholders such as local leaders, customers, suppliers and political leaders.
Project Objectives
The project objective is to maintain the life cycle of a proposed project related to the real estates and to serve the real estate brokers of various MLSs. Proposed project management which is created to serve MLSs has almost same processes like other management models to organize, run and execute the proposed activities. This whole approach is SMART as it is considered to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time based. Life cycle of a project includes initiating, planning, implementation and closure. According to Doszyn Mariusz, (2020), acquisition, approval, new construction, sales and marketing, debt servicing, completion and finally handover are the pivotal steps or a complete life cycle of a proposed project management related to real estate business.
Land Acquisition- The first objective of a project is to identify a potential land or property and then research on required zoning or entitlements and finally assessing the budget.
Approval Stage- After acquiring a land, developers need to get approvals from different administrative and governmental organizations.
Development of New Construction- Once a property or site has got approval, constructor will develop plans to build new construction over the site.
Sales and Marketing- After getting approvals, a site is finally ready for sales. Sales and marketing are important to attract target customers.
Debt Serving Stage- This part is done by the developers where they serve debt including principal and interest at any point of time of the real estate project development process.
Completion and Handover of Property- After the completion of real estate project development, plots are finally ready to handover to the interested customers.
Proposed Project Management Approach/ Methodology
An effective project management approach relating to real estate is an art where certified professional project managers and a project management team work hard to set all the required constituents of a real estate project to run the process in sync. With the aim to manage costs and time, to control schedule and to establish goodwill through communication, a methodology is required in construction industry which is called project management methodology.
According to councilofmls. (2021), different MLSs adopt different types of project management methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, Lead, test-driven development and extreme programming. However, Scrum and Kanban are the most used methodologies in real estate business.
Scrum Methodology- As stated by Bibik, (2018), Scrum is considered to be an Agile project management methodology. This methodology is used by the leading real estate company CBRE which operates with its 480 offices over the world. In this methodology, the scrum master mitigates all obstacles to perform the work. This methodology helps project management to manage the threats coming from new entrants and automation technologies.
Kanban Methodology- According to Matt, Rauch & Riedl, (2018), in this methodology, management team can visualize the work and thus team can understand the workflow. This helps the team to set their strategic action plans to run the entire project.
Constraints, Limitations and Risks
Time, legal and Cost are the major limitations and risks for any project management.
Time- Mismanagement in time due to lengthy paper works, collecting permits, repaying old debts can affect the business directly. Especially in such cases where people are waiting to get a property and still if they have to pay rents due to late handover. For instance, a company had to extend their corporate lease as their headquarter was not ready in time. Even, fine is imposed on the MLS members if they fail to register full listing by the given time.
Legal- As there is no such institution, only to monitor the flow of money in real estate sector, therefore, this industry becomes an easy target for money launderers.
Cost- Currently, property prices are increasing in Florida due to high demand and low interest rates. Freddie Mac predicts that real estate property prices rise by 6.6% in Florida in the coming years. However, there is a risk for properties of not to be sold.
Leadership Structure
Leadership structure can be either hierarchical or non-hierarchical and this structure determines how authority, accountability and workflow work together. In hierarchical structure the power remains in a center and top position. Whereas, in non-hierarchical the power is in a structure with decentralized authority (French, Ooi & Mori, 2015). In case of providing services to real estate companies or MLSs, leadership structure must be non-hierarchical where every individual involved in the project has fixed job to perform on the basis of their expertise.
Role of Project Manager- A project manager supervises the project from initial step of land acquisition to the final stage of project completion and handover stage. It is the responsibility of the whole management team to manage the issues relating with vendors (Markoc, Cizmeci, 2021). For instance, such responsibilities belong to the developers of eProperty Watch, CoreLogic.
Role of Marketing Coordinator- In order to launch a real estate project, communication and creative materials are required and a marketing coordinator is responsible for doing these marketing jobs including promotion and digital campaign (Thaichon & Ratten, 2021).
Role of a Trainer- It is important to conduct a training program just before a product launch. Trainers are responsible for developing such training programs to upgrade the project management staffs to run the project smoothly. For instance, eProperty Watch conducted effective training programs to help the Florida based MLSs.
Role of Quality Assurance Technician- It is the responsibility of the quality assurance technicians to ensure the quality of products and to monitor the proper handling of products before the product launch. With the help of professional technicians My Florida Regional MLS is able to operates their business with 50,000 real estate agents and brokers across the Florida.
Project Risks and Their Mitigation
A common issue in real estate business is that often when a project is in its mid-way or at the stage of handover, customers find drawbacks in the project related to property’s actual size, location, gravitation and shape. According to Rajan Annamalai & Jain, (2013), project management should deal with the licensed surveyors and mappers while searching for a property to build new construction in order to avoid issues related to property’s contour, shape, location, dimension and gravitation.
Another issue is related to financing, finance management and debt management can deal with favorable financing institutions that reduces the cash outflow. As stated by McAlpine &Porter, (2018), value of a real estate not only depends on its design, location, durability, materials used, rather it also depends on political stability and socio-economic condition. However, unstable value of a property is a threat to the real estate MLSs. Project managers must stay up to date on market condition.
Luxury Real Estate Group and Redfin are the leading competitor of My Florida Regional MLS. In order to get sustainable competitive success, project management should provide best location at best prices, transparent contracts and should establish goodwill through great communication strategies.
Project Stakeholders and How to Interact with Them
People who impact on a property development project or who are impacted by the project are considered as stakeholders. Developers, customers, lenders, financial institutions, investors, utility companies, central and local government, landowners, architects, engineers, consultants, brokers, agents, valuers, mappers, construction companies, local residents and environmental groups.
Project management team needs to schedule meeting and conference call to provide project summary, approval papers and other important documents to the stakeholders (Hayibor, 2017). With the aim to build local support and goodwill to get zoning approval from local government, even in this current pandemic situation, it is advisable to conduct a ‘screen to screen’ meeting with the stakeholders. Sending newsletter to the stakeholders can attract even those stakeholders who are not directly involved in the project. In order to get honest feedbacks from stakeholders, informal communication such as lunch meeting can be a good idea.
Vision of the Project and Project Team Culture
In order to provide great services to the MLSs relating to real estate, the vision must to be the leading real estate service provider in the Florida region. Another vision is to make this project a preferred place where professionals want to get employment. Consistently developing collaborative partnership through mutual trust, must be another vision for the project management team.
Vision and strategy of a project team decides its team culture. Leadership, empowerment, innovation, task-oriented and customer service excellence are some of the common team cultures. However, in this particular sector, customer service excellence is the most important culture that needs to be maintained. With the aim to get sustainable success in providing services to the real estate MLSs, it is advisable to the project management team to build their customer service-based project culture by communicating priority, alignment of operational rules with officials.
Reference list
PROJ6003 Project Execution and Control Report Sample
Task Summary
In this assessment, you will further analyse the case study that was introduced in Assessments 1 and 2. You will participate in the discussion with your classmates demonstrating your understanding of Project Status reporting by:
Identifying effective project status reports and discussing their challenges and pitfalls, explaining the difference between the status reports provided for teams, sponsors, and steering committee considering their unique needs, as well as creating and justifying a sample of a status report that would be submitted to a chosen stakeholder of the project from the given case study.
This assessment allows you to practice professional communication with peers, either face-to-face or virtually.
Note: At the discretion of the Learning Facilitator, this assessment can be delivered in class as a presentation/discussion, using recordings or writing directly on the discussion forum. This might require to initiate the task ahead of the submission deadline and will be communicate by the Learning Facilitator. Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.
Context
As a Project Manager, you are managing the execution and control of the project, but you are also ensuring that your stakeholders are aware of the project’s progress with the level of detail that they need. How would you communicate project progress and status to key stakeholders? How would you ensure that they have sufficient information to make key decisions and assist you in further progress of your project? This will depend on the stakeholder group, their power and interest and their communication preferences and requirements.
Solution
Introduction
In project management, status reports play an instrumental role as they capture the progress of a project within a specific timeframe. It acts as a vital communication tool that helps diverse stakeholders of a project to remain updated about how the work is moving forward. According to Ward, in a project context, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly reporting systems could be introduced that would facilitate accurate and honest reporting in a timely manner (Ward, 2018). For Assignment Help The concept of project status reporting has been critically evaluated in the paper by focusing on the Department Asset Management System project.
Three Effective Status Reports Used in Project Management
Variance Report – While working on a project, a number of variances could arise that could deviate the project team from the intended project path. A variance report could be used to help the project team and key stakeholders like teams to ensure that variances do not arise in the future. In the case of theDAMS project, a variance report would enable the project team to keep track of the project milestones, the project deliverables and project objectives. Moira has argued that a project team must be aware of the cost variance as it would help to ascertain whether the estimated project cost is above or below the set baseline (Alexander, 2017).
Stoplight Report - The DAMS project would be completed within three years, so a stoplight report would serve as a useful communication tool. It would help the stakeholders such as the departmental teams, Subject Matter Experts and others to identify whether the project is at risk, or it could be at risk or it is moving on the right track. Since during the project, numerous contingencies could arise, the report would be vital to keep the stakeholders updated about its progress.
Summary Report – The summary project relating to the DAMS would provide an overview of the entire project. Heldman (2005) has stated that using a summary report would highlight the current project status and help to review the progress and make suitable changes.(Heldman, 2005).
A. Challenges and Pitfalls of These Status Reports
Although the variance report, the summary report and the stoplight report would serve as vital communication modes in the DAMS project, they have several challenges and pitfalls. In variance report, the main challenges that could arise include delay in time to make the reports and ambiguity of informationsource. Tracking of variance would only reveal the end result, and the report could be generated only when a specific project lifecycle has been reached. Thus, time would act as a main constraint. The stoplight report would categorize the status of a project into three main heads. However, the main challenge associated with the report is that it does not focus on the call to action. The main challenges associated with a summary project report include the consumption of considerable time to make the report.
B. Difference Between The Status Reports Provided for Teams, Sponsors, and Steering Committee Considering Their Unique Needs
The status report that is prepared for teams would give a comprehensive insight into how the project is moving forward. Since the DAMS project would be replacing existing systems and manual processes, the report would capture comprehensive information on technical aspects(Schibi& Lee, 2015). Thestatus reports that would be provided to sponsors only shed light on the project deliverables and the factors that influence the deliverables, such as risks, issues and budget. The information on the project performance would be the main component of the status report. The status report that would be provided to the steering committee would mainly capture information about the current status of the project. Based on the reported information, the committee could give suitable advice to support project delivery (Schibi& Lee, 2015).
C. Sample of a Project Status Report To Be Submitted To Subject Matter Experts
A summary status report could be submitted to the Subject Matter Experts, who are one of the most important internal stakeholders in the DAMS project.
Summary Report
Things that went well
Things of surprising nature
New things learned
Date: August 11,2021
Conclusion
In the case of the DAMS project, it is necessary to utilize suitable status report so that proper communication and flow of information would be possible between diverse stakeholders. It would ensure that suitable information is passed on to the necessary stakeholders in accordance with their needs. Using suitable status reporting tools would be vital to ensure that proper communication is done and the involved stakeholders are aware of the project’s status.
References
PROJ6001 Integrated Project Management Report Sample
Context:
Enterprise Environment Factors (EEFs) influence on various aspects of organisations, operations and project outcomes, even a project team usually has no control over them. Nevertheless, it is important for the project team to effectively manage EEFs as they can impact on project success. In PMBOK 6th Edition (PMI, 2017), EEFs are key inputs to project management processes, and directly and indirectly connected to Impact analysis, Benefit realisation, and Stakeholder engagement. Reflective exercises can help increase the value of the learning experience by relating new materials of learning to prior knowledge and create a better understanding of the discipline. Reflection improves learning by providing a structure to reflect systematically over time on the learning process, and to develop critical reflective aptitudes, skills and habits. Successful reflection enables self-awareness, personal and professional growth, lifetime learning, and will help students develop into active and aware learners and become a reflective practitioner in their professional life.
Instructions:
In this assessment, students are to work individually or in groups (max 4 members) to complete a project management report to Executive Management, using PMBOK 6th Edition (PMI, 2017) as a guide. Referencing other provided learning resources and personal research are highly encouraged too. This assessment contains 2 parts.
Part A – Module 4 Discussion activity: EEFs and Tools of Impact Analysis
In Assessment 2 Part A, students will use their project developed for Assessment 1:
• Identify relevant enterprise environmental factors (EEFs) of the project;
• Propose a tool, technique or framework intend to use for qualitative and/or quantitative impact analysis of EEFs;
• Justify why the selected tool/technique is appropriate.
Students are encouraged to identify EEFs from the project chosen and share personal thoughts with group members in the class. Actively seek feedback and inputs from facilitators. The individual and/or groups should organise discussion notes and upload it on the Blackboard accordingly.
Assessment 2 Part A is due at the end of Module 4. The discussion can be arranged in a “Main post and Responding post” format, or In-Class discussion notes format.
Part B – Impact Analysis Report and Individual Reflection
In Part B, students will assess and incorporate the feedback received from their peers in Module 4 discussion and submit a report on the impact analysis of EEFs identified within 1500 words. The report should address the following:
• Evaluation of the internal and external factors and their impact on project management processes;
• Development of strategies to realise and optimise potential benefits;
• Drafted communication plan and outcomes to diverse stakeholders.
At end of the report, each group member is required to provide a 500-word or equivalent of personal learning reflection. The reflection should cover
• What key knowledge and skills you learned through this subject?
• How will they benefit you further study and career?
• Any good or bad of your overall learning experience?
Solution
Introduction
The case study describes how the Denmark based toy manufacturing company, LEGO has experienced in implementing agile stage gate model. For Assignment help The existing stage gate model describes a framework of product development where the phases from ideation to marketing are fragmented into different stages with predefined tasks and fixed deliverables. In this model, the proposed plan approves the required production costs. So with the changing needs of customers and market evolvement, the plan of actions cannot be changed because of the cost approval issue. Because of this linearity and rigidity, LEGO has decided to adopt the agile model which will be adaptive with the market changes and respond to the market needs, along with its existing stage-gate model.After this adoption, LEGO faces some internal and external challenges of project management, that are described below:
Impact of Internal and External Factors on Project Management Processes
Internal Factors
Company Culture
The adoption of hybrid requires a major cultural transformation where the company needs an involvement of leadership. Some of the existing managers and employees create change resistance out of fear that the existing stage-gate is replaced (Miner,2015). The leadership should educate the team that the existing stage-gate is not removed, rather it is modified with the new agile method. The existing company’s core skill is not changed, rather there is a cultural shift. The senior leader does not need to forget the stage-gate and learn new agile. Only, they have to add new criteria with their existing stage-gate’s stages; the customer feedback and risk assessment. The cultural shift comes because of the new team constructions. In the earlier stage-gate model, the team were distributed as per their work disciplines, whereas the new team gathers all the disciplines in each single team.
Skill Availability
The company faces the challenge of resource availability for the defined works for first two sprints. The management also cannot avail the right skills in their existing resources who will establish the planning of production for next two weeks for first two sprints. The earlier stage-gate system allows them to develop a product step by step; on the contrary this new hybrid model asks them to complete a single production of a part in each stage (ThomasNet News, 2014). The management approach of the company also faces that the existing planning process does not fit to the new hybrid approach. The short-term production processes the long-term focus. So, the company needs new hires of management who will match to their need. The existing management cannot estimate the required number of resources for the short-term production where the amount of work becomes higher than the existing process. The company faces the challenge of sudden unavailability of resources with their approved cost structure.
Governance Approach
The new project managers of agile team face the problem of measuring team performance with the application of existing team metrics. In the new project team, there are employees of different disciplines who have different KPI metrics. The managers face the difficulty with measuring the progress of the short-term goals defined in the daily short-sprints. They face problem with gauging whether the daily deliverables are met and attending the stand-up meetings because the team members are also involved in other projects. The company, LEGO faces the challenge to determine the amount of time an employee will devote for one project as he is also involved in other projects. the case study shows that the interviews of the management reflect that they failed with dedicating 50 percent of time. Rather they find it is better to determine 30 percent of time per project for an employee.
Company Infrastructure
The company faces the challenge of implementing the sprint deliverables in a physical production. The software team can accomplish a product completion in a sprint within one week but the development of new machine cannot be easier. Even the prototype making takes time in each stage. The team can meet the definition of ‘done’ with the business case but the team faces the challenge of redefine the definition of ‘done’ with the physical production.
External factors
Consumer Trends
LEGO has been capable of adopting new consumer trends of e-buying. The customer focussed strategies in ecommerce buying helped LEGO to increase its sales revenue21 percent from 2019 to 2020 (Cooper & Sommer, 2018). The hybrid facilitates them to demonstrate the ideation and concept feasibility which allows them to get the customer insights quickly. The availability of ecommerce enables the company to gauge the customer responses and understand how much productions they had to manufacture. Also, it can easily judge their product failure from customer feature.
Government Regulations
LEGO has to comply with the government regulation of fair play act. They has to obey the regulations of European union while complying with fair play act; needs to maintain a proper trademark on the web visibility, avoidance of using internet address and also apply the infringement rights of other countries. LEGO has to comply with the rule of producing safe toys for kids from the US government.
Financial Consideration
Compared to 2019, the revenue of LEGO is increased by 13 percent and the sales revenue has increased by 21 percent. The profit percentage is increased in one year by 10 percent which is equal to 12.9 billion (Research and Markets, 2015). Only challenging factor of LEGO is the reduction of foreign currency rate in many countries.
Strategies To Implement Appropriate Courses of Action
1. Cross Functional Leadership
The agile model has a team where people from different discipline gathers to accomplish a team project. Here, the management has to take the approach of cross-functional leadership. The leaders have to develop the skill of resolving potential challenges of a cross functional team. Where people from different work discipline joins, there are some potentials of arising completes. There are some task dependencies which create obstruction in production and challenges for the team members of different disciplines to cope with. The leader must understand the problem and should have profound knowledge to give right suggestion to the team.
2. Governance Approach
The leaders must segregate the projects which are using hybrids from the other projects which use the existing stage-gate, a
s there are some previous long-term projects is still continuing. The leaders can call for daily stand ups for ensuring to track the update and meet their deliverables. As the employees are also involved in many other projects, the stand-ups will conduct more than one project, instead of focusing on one project.
3. Developing a Demo-able Simulation
The definition of ‘done’ for the hardware product can be resolved by developing a demo software feature which gives the simulation effect of the actual product. The company can take feedbacks and insights of customers by sharing this simulation software through virtual experience. Building a 3D print can be a long-term task (Del Guercio, 2016). In the case of LEGO, they ask customers to take part from the planning process. It is helpful in reducing the number of changes after the prototype is built.
Articulate Project Management Outcomes To Stakeholders
The study analyses the qualitative and quantitative data systematically to determine the interest of stakeholders and whose interest will be prioritised throughout the project. the study identifies the priority of the stakeholders with the help of stakeholder power grid tool (Melnick, 2011). The power-interest grid described in figure 1 is used for categorising the stakeholders according to the priority of their interest during a change model in the project. The stakeholders are categorised into four groups, depicted in the 4 quadrants:
The intensity of engagement depends on the level of power and interest of stakeholders. For instance, the stakeholders who have high interest and high power will have regular engagement and active consultation. The priority of the project is to satisfy that stakeholder.
Figure 1: Stakeholder power grid
Source:
Conclusion
LEGO faces that the agile is good for its productivity and adaptability but it is challenging to match with their strategic goals. As the agile model is developed for short term focus, it loses its direction for company’s long-term goals. In order to respond to this challenge, LEGO adopts hybrid model that integrates the existing stage-gate and also applies the new agile model. the new model replaces the stage-gate’s way of working but keeps its stages. Each stages of the stage-gate is approached with agile model’s real-time and customer-focussed prototype generation. LEGO works in multiple industry where they need high efficiency. Adopting this stage-gate model, LEGO has improved its productivity 30 times faster and also reduces the market generation times by 30 times.
Reflection
key knowledge and skills
• From this case study analysis, I have learnt a different perspective of change model. I have learned how LEGO has managed the change resistance of their company culture by only adopting the agile principles in the process, not their stages of project management (Sanchez et al, 2019). This study gives me the lesson of effectively applying the agile behaviour in the management instead of fixing any particular method. I have realised that the application of true agile method is flexibility. So, they integrate this with their existing stage-gate model.
• The study helps me to understand the true transformation of the company by adopting the agile principle which emphasize on empowerment of employees (Solli-Sæther et al, 2015). It enables me to understand the power of leadership behind the success of agile transformation, as the leaders eases of the sudden challenge of meeting deliverables, reducing the delivery time from one month to two weeks.
• I have also learnt how to manage the deliverables based on the priority of the stakeholders.
Benefit in the further study and career
• In the long run, I will apply this agile project management to have better control on the deliverables. It will help me to ensure that customers are satisfied.
• It will help my career of a manager and also an employee to understand the right metrics of performance while I am working in a team and when my individual work is recognised. From this project, I came to know the metric of a team-player (Project Management Institute. 2013).
• Also, I will be acquainted easily with the understanding of hierarchical power when I will be in an agile team. The flexibility of employee empowerment will allow me to accept easily any agile model.
• This experience will help me in my further career to integrate any model with a new promising model as per their flexibility. This helps me to develop my competency through the experiential project management.
• This project gives me the lesson of handling the projects with practical knowledge instead of prioritising the degrees and certificates.
overall learning experience
In this experience I have learnt the project management and its practical functionality throughout the study of LEGO’s adoption of agile model. This experience is valuable as the markets are rapidly changing with the advancement of technology and this project makes us understand how we can overcome the perceived weakness in the traditional project management models. This experience is complementary as it gives the understanding of being risk-averse instead of holding back while failing to give faster response to the changing needs of customers. In this research process, I have observed that many organizations have lost their strength in their traditional project management model and also deprived the people from their existing job. This learning experience makes me aware how to adopt change management without affecting the job roles of the existing employees. For this reason, overall, the experience is very useful for me. This helps me to know how to act ethically and also enter in new market disruptively.
References:
PROJ6000 Principles of project management Report Sample
Instructions
You will be given a project case study to use in order to develop your Project Charter. Though all students will receive the same case study, it is expected that each student will think about the project from their own perspective as an up-and-coming project manager in order to formulate a unique Project Charter. Use your own style based on your critical thinking of what it means for you to lead a project. You may use one of the templates provided in the learning resources or develop your own format.
Please follow the instructions below:
1. Read the case study provided by your lecturer. This will form the basis for your Project Charter, because you will assume that you are the project manager for this project.
2. After reading the case study, begin to develop your project charter. This needs to be a 2,000- word report (+/- 10%) and must use a minimum of six (6) references (academic literature and industry publications—please consider the case study as a 7th reference). Please ensure all references are cited in-text.
3. The Project Charter must include the following headings and should be written as if you are presenting it to the project team that will build this project. You are the project manager.
The contents of your Charter should include:
a. Background of the project
b. Reasons for the project
c. Project objectives
d. Proposed project management approach or methodology/methodologies
e. Constraints, limitations, and risks
f. Leadership structure (project manager and his or her senior aides: list their roles and explain what each does in the project. You need to cite four (4) roles)
g. Project risks and their mitigation
h. Project stakeholders and how to interact with them
i. The vision of the project and the type of project team culture you wish to promote in your team
j. Reference list
Solution
1. Background of the Study
My Florida Region is one of the leading Multiple Listing Service providers based in Orlando, Florida. Multiple listing is referred to as the services provided by the brokers and the real estate agents in which the brokers come together and create a database for the listing of the properties for the sale of the properties within the area of operation. The company has an active subscriber base of more than 50,000 which include the owners of the real estate and brokers across 14 shareholders associations to whom it provides services. The company is the largest multiple listing service providers across the world. It is seen that the company has a dedicated project management team which is led by Patrick Williamson. It is seen that the company has an efficient project management team across the globe. Various project management techniques such as Kanban, Scrum, and test-driven development have been implemented. In general, it is seen that nearly 7500 hours of experience is required for an effective project management programme. It is also noted that the PMP needs to have a requirement of earning 60 professional development units on a three-year basis. In this project charter, the project plan to develop and ePropertyWatch is explained in detail based on the various aspects such as the methods, stakeholders’ analysis and limitations.
2. Reasons for the Project
It is seen as per the case study that the Multiple Listing Service provider in the United States have differentiation in staffing capabilities. This is generally based on the capacity of the firms to recruit the staff based on their desired budget. It is seen that only the large MLS's in the country can afford efficient and trained project management staff for full-time project management purposes. The record shows in most of the cases the project manager collaborates with the MLS’s and the vendors. The main reason for the project is to introduce the ePropertyWatch Launch and the product which will provide free services to the MLS. The main purpose of the project is to reduce the gap of the costs among the MLSs to increase the project efficiency of the organisations.
3. Objectives of Project for assignment help -
The objectives of the project are as follows:
- To initiate and plan the stakeholder assessment of the project.
- To launch an ePropertyWatch for the increased efficiency of the project management of the MLS’s who are unable to hire expert project management officials.
- To increase the efficiency of the project management of the organisations.
4. Proposed project management approach
Project management approaches are those methods that are used by a project manager to manage the project Morgunova, 2020). Several project management approaches are used by the managers of the project such as the "agile project management approach" and “traditional approach of project management”. In the project, an agile project management approach will be proposed for the proper management of the project. The "agile project management approach" is also known as the "iterative project management approach" and in this approach, the project goes through several repetitions and steps that help to make the project more accurate (Azanha, Argoud, Camargo & Antoniolli, 2017). This approach is also known as the modern approach of project management and the feedback of the project is taken from the client after every step completion. Thus, the project goes through continuous development during the life cycle of the project and the chances of errors get reduced. The advantages of choosing the "agile project management approach" has been discussed below:
a) Better Quality of Project: The project quality gets better with the application of the agile project management approach as the project goes through continuous development during the cycle of the project (Thesing, Feldmann & Burchardt, 2021).
b) Satisfaction of Customers: In the "agile project management approach" feedbacks are taken from the customers after every step helps in the proper development of the project. Therefore, taking feedback from the customers regarding the project gives satisfaction to the customers (Thesing, Feldmann & Burchardt, 2021).
c) Minimum Errors: The continuous development of the project with feedback at every step from the customers helps to reduce the errors in the project and makes the project more precise (Thesing, Feldmann & Burchardt, 2021).
5. Project Constraints, Limitations and Risks
Project constraints are those factors that can affect the quality and delivery of the project. EpropertyWatch projects also have several constraints and limitations that can affect the quality of the project leading to disruption while delivering the project (Zhang & Cui, 2021). The project constraints of ePropertyWatch have been discussed below:
a) Time: Time is an important factor in the project as it determines the efficiency of the project manager. Time can be a constraint in the project and can affect the delivery of the project. If the time is not managed properly in this project the project can get delayed and affect the satisfaction of the customer (Zhang & Cui, 2021).
b) Cost: The cost is another factor of the project that determines the value of the project. A project that is overvalued cannot give a benefit in return and affects the quality of the project. Therefore, the allocation of cost can become a limitation and affect the valuation of the project.
c) Quality: The quality of the project is another factor that can be a limitation to the project as the change in the quality of the project can affect the precision of the project (Zhang & Cui, 2021).
Limitations:
a) Choosing the correct platform for running the project is a limitation.
b) The project does not have a dedicated project manager who can handle the project efficiently.
Risk:
a) The risk of finance is considered to be one of the biggest risks in this project, under allocation of funds in the project may cause shortage of funds which will affect the quality of the project.
b) The risk in the clarity of the project may also affect the project in a negative way as the stakeholders of the project may not understand the project clearly.
6. Leadership Structure
Leadership structures are one of the important aspects of project management. It helps in the determination of the feasibility of the project and its efficiency over a while. It helps in the effective planning of the task along with overseeing the projects along with motivating the team members (Chingara & Heystek, 2019). In this project, the principal player is the market coordinator of the project. He is responsible for all the creative and communicational aspects of the project led by the project manager who plays the main role in controlling all the members for the efficient finish of the project.
Role of the leaders in doing the project
In this section below it has been discussed about the role of Patrick Williamsonin a detailed manner.
Conducting training programme
Leaders play a vital role in giving training to the employees. Understanding each team member's expertise, leaders can easily conduct training sessions. Here in this project Patrick Williamson can easily conduct a training session for the employees in an effective manner. This training session is beneficial for the employees to understand the works in a detailed manner (Chingara & Heystek, 2019). Along with that, during the training session Patrick Williamson can easily motivate and encourage all the team members to enhance their performance which gradually has a positive impact on the organisation’s growth in the long run. During the training session Patrick Williamson can easily summarise the working schedule and working plan to the employees. However, the employees can easily better their performance with a proper idea of the working plan in a detailed manner. Conducting training programmes by the he is able to help the employees to understand how to deal with the customers in an effective manner which gradually helps to sustain in this competitive and globalised world in the long run (Chingara & Heystek, 2019).
Developing proper communication
The primary role of the leader is to develop proper communication. Developing proper communication with each of the shareholders, investors, staff and brokers. Maintaining proper communication with individual stakeholders Patrick Williamson of this organisation can easily improve the working environment (Chingara & Heystek, 2019). Along with that, better communication helps the leaders to understand the requirements of the customers. However, understanding the requirements of the Patrick Williamson can easily enhance customer satisfaction. With proper communication, the leader can easily maintain a proper working environment.
Developing marketing plan
The other important role of the leader is to develop a marketing plan. Developing a proper marketing plan is important to improve or enhance the sales rate in the future. The leader of this project named Patrick Williamson has played a vital role in developing a marketing plan by understanding the requirements of the customers effectively.
Monitoring working details
The other important role of the leader is to monitor the working details appropriately. Here in this project Patrick Williamson has taken the initiative to monitor the result report of staging, production environment and many more. Monitoring every individual work plan is important to identify all the risks. By this, Patrick Williamson can easily mitigate all the risk factors on a prior basis by monitoring every working detail.
7. Risks in the Project and Ways to Mitigate Them
Every project has risks associated with it that can affect the project in terms of growth, cost and quality. The ePropertyWatch also has some risks associated with the project that can affect the efficiency of the project and needs to be mitigated at the earliest stage for making the project successful. The risks that are associated with ePropertyWatch has been discussed below:
a) Communication Risk: A proper communication among the stakeholders helps to make the project more successful with the implementation of ideas communicated among them. Communication such as conducting meetings, keeping proposals for the work and providing information for the project increases efficiency (Parker, Kunde & Zeppetella, 2017). If the aforementioned communications are not done properly then the stakeholders might not get the information regarding the project and the risk of communication will arise.
b) Technical Risk:The project in this assessment will be an online project that will require the proper use of software and technologies for success. Choosing the correct software and platform for running the codes will make the project a success (Willumsen, Oehmen, Stingl & Geraldi, 2019). However, if the proper platform for coding and software for making the project run are not chosen as per the needs of the project can arise as a risk to the project.
c) Cost Risk: Every project needs to be financed and a shortage of funds can create the budget of the project inflated. Thus, the cost risk arises here with the shortage of funds and the risk might shift to other operations of the project and will affect the project negatively (Qian et al. 2017).
Table 1: Stakeholders of ePropertyWatch and the ways of communication
(Source: Researcher)
The table shown above depicts the number of stakeholders in the ePropertyWatch project and the ways through which the stakeholders can be communicated (Council of Multiple Listing Services, 2018). It can be observed from the table that there are 8 stakeholders named "project manager, sponsor, vendor, QA technician, marketing coordinator, trainer, support centre manager and staff of the project." Among the stakeholders, the project manager is majorly responsible for the outcome and success of the project. The ways through which the stakeholder of the project will be communicated are emails, phone classes, official notice, board meetings, training sessions and staff notice. The above ways mentioned are formal ways to communicate with the stakeholders and this will help to reduce the communication gap among the stakeholders with success in the project.
9. Vision of the Project and Type of Project Team Culture
The vision of the project is to launch an ePropertyWatch for the increased efficiency of the project management of the MLS’s who are unable to hire expert project management officials. Along with that, the culture of the team is supportive and cooperative. The leader of the project has taken initiative to build proper communication with each other. By this, all the team members focus on improving the customer's experience. Along with that, with the proper innovative ideas of individual team members, the leaders can develop any decision which is gradually beneficial for the organisation. The feedback system within the organisation also helps the organisation to enhance employee satisfaction. Strengthening teams through diverse situations is beneficial for the organisation to sustain itself in the long run. Along with that, with a proper collaborative and cooperative manner the organisation has increased their growth in the future.
References
PROJ6003 Project Execution and Control Report Sample
Task Summary
In this assessment, you are required to write an individual report of 2000 words (excluding tables, figures, and graphs) proposing a change to be implemented in the case study, provided by the Learning Facilitator, addressing:
Change impact analysis, tools & techniques to manage the change, integrated change control process to submit the change and options to implement the change along with its associated risks.
A change request form must also be submitted attached to the report demonstrating how the change would be requested for the given project.
The intention of this assessment is that you take a practical approach by considering this change to be submitted to key stakeholders of given case study.
Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.
Context
During project execution, project managers ensure that project work is completed as specified in the Project Management Plan and according to project requirements. Requirements may change throughout the course of a project. Changes need to be controlled, ensuring all of their impacts upon the project are managed effectively and are incorporated into existing management plans and project baselines.
Task Instructions
To complete this assessment task, you must:
1. Ensure that you have read the given case study and resources from the subject, as all as any additional research you may find relevant and that will add value to your report. Review your subject notes, as well the Lecture slides and any other information provided by the Learning Facilitator in support of this assessment.
2. The report should encompass a practical approach in addressing the following requirements:
a) Identify and propose one (1) change you believe is required for the case study and justify it by applying tools & techniques from quality management in identifying root-cause for the issues found in the case study.
b) Critically analyse the impacts of your change proposal on scope, time, cost, quality of the project.
c) Propose and justify tools & techniques used to manage the change.
d) Explain what processes are involved in submitting your change request given the scale of your change proposal and address responsibilities considering the stakeholders from your case study.
e) Identify and discuss options (at least 2) to satisfy the proposed change and any risks associated with each of these options.
f) Complete the Change Request Form (CRF) provided or one that is used from a workplace.
3. The report should consist of the following structure:
• A Title Page with subject code and name, assignment title, student’s name, student ID, lecturer’s name, word count and date submitted.
• An Executive Summary (150 – 200 words) providing the summary of your report, containing key findings, tools & techniques used, methodology, constraints and recommendations. This section allows the reader to rapidly become acquainted of a large portion of your material. It is usually around 10% of your report and written last.
• A Table of Contents with the structure of the report, including page numbers and headings.
• An Introduction (150 – 200 words) that will also serve as your statement of purpose for the report—this means that you will tell the reader what you are going to cover in your report as well as provide:
- Background of the case study and context of the report
- What the reader can expect to find in the body of the report
• The Body of the Report (1350- 1600 words) in which you will cover five (5) requirements listed above (a to e). This section of your report will contain the information that is required to demonstrate your understanding of the case study and key Project Management concepts under discussion by applying them into your report.
- The report layout should be logical and lead the reader through a story which identifies the key points being discussed and takes the reader to your conclusion.
Solution
Introduction
“Change management” refers to the systematic approach in dealing with transition or transformation of the organisations processes technologies or goals. The main objective of change management is to effectively implement the strategies for carrying out the change controlling add and help in the workforce to adapt the change. For Assignment Help, These strategies have definite procedure which is structured in nature for requesting the change and mechanism for responding to the request and following them appropriately(Ali & Miller, 2017). The main objective of this report is to critically evaluate and analyse the technology transition into the state based government department in Victoria. This department aims to integrate a new system known as Asset Management information system within its organisation that will help it to store the details of new as well as existing assets across multiple locations. The supplier is an experienced vendor, Great IT Systems. This project will highlight specific changes that are essential in order to implement this new organisational transition(Makepeace, Tatham& Wu, 2017). Specific tools and techniques will also be used in order to manage the change and implement it within the organisation in a successful manner(McShane, 2018).
The change that is being evaluated after the case study analysis
One of the major issues that exist in the provided case study is that there is a lack of communication between the external stakeholders and internal stakeholders of the state government department in Victoria for implementing the Department Asset Management System and integrating it into the organisation in a successful manner (Banaeianjahromi&Smolander, 2019). The non-departmental or the external stakeholders comprise the training team known as "Trainers Are We" who is responsible for the supply of the training materials as well as the providence of any to the key stakeholders of the corporate teams for each of the applications of this new system (Torrens University Australia, 2021). On the other hand, the internal stakeholder of the department comprises of the Subject matter Experts, who do not understand the need for the new application and possess the thought that this new system will impose more work for them rather than simplifying the organisation's processes. The external stakeholders who are responsible for providing training to the internal stakeholders have not been able to meet with the internal stakeholders of the department and as a result, there exists a lack of understanding about the efficiency of the new system.
In this context, a proper communication channel must be developed between the training team and the Subject Matter Experts who are seconded to the project team such that they are able to educate the staff and provide them solutions who are going to use the system once it has been delivered within the department. In addition, some of the other major problems of this new application in the testing process faced by Rick, who is the branch manager, is that the featured promises did not match the one which is promised to the branch reference group. Therefore, review of the new system must be taken into account by the Vendor Project Manager and the Training Team Project Manager before its final implementation into the department in order to match the expectations of this staff to the features of the DAMS system.
Critically analyse the impacts of your change proposal on the scope, time, cost, quality of the project
Scope: Review of the new department asset management systems by the when the project manager, as well as the training team project manager, will help in fixing the major issues present in the current system. The first being the screen terminology does not completely match with the one promised to the branch reference group as well as features of the system which have been promised to be automated is still remaining as manual data entry(Smith, 2011). With the help of the systems review, User Acceptance Testing (UAT) members would be able to mitigate the problem of the new system such as incorrect reference data, confusion in context to field names and headings screens which are not user friendly. The walkthrough would also enable the management staff to ensure that the branch managers as well as the staff have completely understood the application and are able to utilise it in the most effective manner.
Time: This new change will require at least 2 months for its final release and its final roll out to the branch offices which is planned to be delivered by the beginning of February 2022 might get scheduled to March-April 2022.
Cost: An extra cost of 60,000 AUD would incur in this context of change as new training sessions are needed to be held by the management team at the cost of 1000 AUD for a time period of 60 days.
Quality of the Project: This change will bring a significant positive impact on the quality of the project. This review process would greatly benefit the branch managers as well as the department's internal training team as they will be able to communicate with the project management team regarding the glitches as well as the issues in the new application and report them for making the appropriate changes in order to derive the best outcomes. Providence of re-training would also ensure that the internal training themes have been able to understand that application effectively and utilise it for the purpose in an efficient manner. Another positive impact is that this review process will greatly help in ensuring that the staff is provided with all the solutions regarding their questions as well as issues of the new software.
Propose and justify tools & techniques used to manage the change
Lewin’s Change Model will greatly help in managing the change by its step by step process. The three processes in Kurt Lewin's Change Model is as follows
Unfreezing: The User Acceptance Testing of the new application has reviewed several floors of the new application which the features provided does not match with the promised ones. In this context, it is essential for the management staff to provide a new training session for the branch managers as well as the staff in order to keep them constantly motivated about the usage and its possible effect on the department(Bakari, Hunjra&Niazi, 2017). The trainers must also be provided with proper materials for development in order to ensure that their expectations from the new application are met and they are able to gain a piece of overall knowledge about the new systems such that they can develop a solution for the staff whenever they come up with new queries regarding the application.
Techniques
To implement the change model in the organizational change, the higher authorities of the organization have to focus on a survey for the company and they have to understand the necessary changes to support the management. The management authorities of the organization can frame the issues to communicate the changes using the long term vision. (Torrens University Australia, 2021)
Changing:
The review process by the management staff must also take into account appropriate sessions of training for the trainers as well as branch managers of the department. For effective delivery of the training, good communication is essential between the internal as well as external stakeholders of the department such that the problems and the solutions can be brought up and trainers are able to enhance the learning in each of the training sessions.
Techniques
The managerial authorities of the company has to focus on the information flow that bring out the iterative approach that sustain the change with the adequate information to focus on the variety of skills and expertise for coordinating the problems for defining the influences for achieving the common goals. (Torrens University Australia, 2021)
Refreezing: Before the final release of the application, key performance indicators must be established within the organisation by the project management team as well as the staff management in order to ensure that their employees all the staff accept the new system in a positive manner rather than a technology transition which is implemented to increase your workload. The key performance indicators would also help the staff management as well as the internal training providers to constantly monitor the effectiveness of this new application and finally integrate it within the organisation's processes for achieving the desired objectives.
Technique
The organizational authorities are needed to be focused on the better ways to tie up with the new changes into the new culture for identifying the changes that supports the change barriers. The organization has to develop the sustainable ways that sustain the changes in a long term process. The managing executives can create proper reward system to get the profitable outcomes for implementing the change regarding the project context. (Torrens University Australia, 2021)
Change proposal and address responsibilities considering the stakeholders from the case study
The processes involved in submitting the change request along with the responsibilities of the major stakeholders in the context of the changes is as follows:
A meeting must be scheduled comprising of the project team manages the property managers and the branch training team head in order to discuss the flaws of the new application and report them appropriately to the present apartment program manager and the vendor project manager(Chan &Oppong, 2017). The current vendor project manager of the company has to be focused on the stakeholder management process that helps them to get the benefits in their DAMS programme.
Communication between the external stakeholders which include the training team and the major internal stakeholder, the Subject Matter Experts and the project team is essential in order to develop an understanding of the knowledge gained from the training process and its effectiveness in real live scenarios. The initial communication with the Department Senior and executive management expectorations that bring out the beneficial aspect to complete the project and it also helps the company to get the critical overview regarding subject matter experts. (Torrens University Australia, 2021)
New schedules for meeting between the training team and the internal training provider of the department must be arranged such that the training team are able to solve the queries of the internal training providers and enhance the learning process(Chan &Oppong, 2017).
Initial communication between the department senior and executive management and the subject matter experts is essential in order to understand the effectiveness of this new system and what long-term benefits it is going to bring for the department on its successful integration.
The proposed change and any risks associated with each of these options
The first option that related with the risk is mentioned in the following section
Training need
Training need analysis is needed to be conducted by the training team Trainers are We, and report must be provided to both the vendor project manager as well as the major internal stakeholders of the department. Lack of communication can become a barrier in this context as the time period for the change proposal is limited. (Torrens University Australia, 2021) Effective mediums of communication such as emails or video calls must be used in this context in order to mitigate the issue of communication. It is also essential for the project officer to continuously assess the training needs as well as the progress of the training and report it to the program manager.
New quarries
During the final release of the new application and its integration into the organisation processes, the staff of the branches might face several issues as well as queries regarding the new application. In this context, the branch managers must provide efficient training in order to handle and respond to the queries and problems of the staff such that they remain continuously motivated as well as gain enthusiasm in learning the new application. (Torrens University Australia, 2021) The positive impact of this application must also be stated out to all the staff such that they are able to understand the long term benefits of this application. As the vendor do not propose the important and effective resources for the project work, it come up as a problem and it can bring out different risks to provide the better solution for the quarries
Conclusion
After the completion of this project, it can be concluded that the benefits of implementing the new system are into the organisational processes is not immediately visible to the internal stakeholders. Therefore, is essential for the project managers to address the issues of this new application and meet the query is as well as the problem is of the branch managers as well as the staff. During this technological transition process, it is essential for the project managers to keep their workforce continuously motivated with the help of good communication and active listening. The rising concerns of the Subject Matter Experts group regarding the effectiveness of this new application are due to the limited communication with the external stakeholder, which is the training team. Therefore, it is essential for the project manager to establish a good communication link between the internal and the external stakeholders of the department such that a smooth transition can be maintained.
References
PROJ6002 Project Planning and Budgeting Report Sample
Context:
The backbone of a project manager’s work is the Project Management Plan. This plan is the document which describes how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled. It integrates and consolidates all of the subsidiary plans and baselines from the planning processes. In this subject, you will be creating components of a Project Management Plan for your selected Case Study.
Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. Managing the project scope is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project. Project Time Management includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project. Plan Time Management is the process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule. Effective scope management is one of the key factors determining project success. Failure to accurately interpret a client's needs or problems will produce a misleading definition (scope of work). If this causes rework and additional effort, there may be project cost and time implications. Therefore project success will be self-limiting if the scope of work is not adequately defined.
Instructions:
This assessment has two parts: Module 2 Discussion Activity (Part A) and Scope and Time Management documentation (Part B).
Part A – Module 2 Discussion Activity
Schedule Management.
How might changes to project scope affect the project's schedule, and how would a project manager formally communicate such variances to project stakeholders? Illustrate some examples from the given case study to support your discussion.
Output Provide an initial discussion of approximately 500 words by the first half of Module 2. Respond with approximately 250 words for each feedback/comment to at least one fellow student’s discussion by the end of Module 2 (Total 750 words for Assessment 1 Part A).
Part B – Scope and Time Management Plans
In this subject, you will be creating subsidiary management plans of a Project Management Plan using the information found in the case study provided by your learning facilitator at the commencement of the subject.
In modules 1, 2 and 3, you will work individually or in a group of 2-3 students on the given case study. For Assessment 1 Part B, you are responsible for submitting the project scope and time management plans for the case study. The plans must contain, but not limited to, the following plan components:
• Project goals and objectives
• Project scope statement
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Project schedule
For the project scope statement and WBS, you can use the templates found in this module’s Learning Resources or a format of your own. For the project schedule, you are responsible for submitting a schedule and a network diagram using the critical path method (CPM). Your schedule can be created using scheduling software e.g.
ProjectLibre or Microsoft Project. Your network diagram can be hand-drawn and scanned or created using drawing tools e.g. in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.
Solution
Scope management statement
Overall description of the work
The current report will provide a clear scope statement of the National Project Management Symposium project. A significant endeavour is to plan and conduct a national symposium for a society that draws around 1350 people. For Assignment Help The registration cost for a 3-day symposium that offers free admission to all seminars is $2,500 per participant, as the event does not benefit (Kuzyk et al., 2019). Challenges associated with organizing such a conference include the selection of a program committee, the selection of a topic, the contact of exhibitors, local preparations, program planning, and ongoing.
Deliverables
For the 2022 Annual December Symposium Melbourne is chosen as the host town or chapter. The statement of work details the activities carried out by an entire project is to provide a high-quality value-added program (Kululanga & Kuotcha, 2010). This is helpful for the society and the guest program that reflects the hosting city well and also to fulfil rigorous financial standards. A great program is vital since it permits people to be created during the learning program. This contains the managers responsible for each course, the social program, local arrangements, and other information.
Justification for the project
Effective management of the project scope provides a clear insight into the big assignment is planning and conducting a nationwide symposium for a company with 1350 participants. It helps differentiate between something being necessary and what is not necessary for the undertaking for planning and conducting a nationwide symposium for a company (Travel Oregon & Driftline Consulting. 2020). The project management scope also identifies the project control aspects to handle items that might be modified and during the duration of the project. More significantly, project scope management concentrates on planning and monitoring, which is why a project manager can easily manage customer or stakeholder expectations and successful completion of the project. This will help the members of the team to organize the event using a functional approach. A major milestone is that when stakeholders may anticipate finishing the National Project Management Symposium project. More complicated projects may contain milestones for certain phases in the creation or completion of a workable product.
Constraints
National Project Management Symposium project comprises essentially a set of interrelated working operations that are restricted to the scope of the project, and accessible budget allocated for this program, and the schedule for delivery of the project. The key activities in planning and development projects are the milestones (International Project Management Association. 2020). The milestones of this program are the approval of the project, the delivery of a high-quality value-added program. Also, to ensure that the team works well. If customer demands or issues are not properly comprehended, the scope of the job might be improperly defined. In case of this rework or more effort, project cause and time implementation might occur. The main objective of the project is to define and manage what is included in the project and what isn't included. The program administration covers the procedure needed to oversee the development's satisfactory delivery.
Assumptions
The National Project Management Symposium project has considered few assumptions regarding functional strategy in order to achieve high scope of success of this event. The main functions of the Australian officers are members of five other company partners who would help in other roles. There will be developments on the structure of the work breakdown and the Gantt activity diagram. Design and construction, pharmaceuticals, utility, technology, automobile, research and development, military, education, and production are all the technological tracks. Sessions on the preparation of professional certificates, on Taguchi principles of quality assurance statistics, and future practice will be included.
Inclusions/Exclusions
The stakeholders check has revealed that the expected results of the current project will meet all the evaluation criteria and demonstrate a high scope. For example, if an efficient remote office user interface is required for a centralized account opening procedure, the stakeholders would conduct quality and user tests to make sure this need has been fulfilled (Figliola, & Library of Congress. 2017). One of the major variables affecting the success of the project is effective management of scope. Overall project management is an approach that determines and establishes the planning process, the list of all project objectives, tasks, results, deadlines, and budgets. In program management, changes are typical for a large project.
Reference List
PROJ6004 Contracts and Procurement Report 1 Sample
Context:
General
Procurement and contracts are integral to successful project management. Planning for purchases and acquisitions, requests for proposal, vendor selection, contract administration, and contract closure are integral parts of the process. Learning from Case Studies and benchmarking against better practices, standards and excellence is vitalto understand complexity of issues and successful strategies for procurement and contract management. It will also ensure improved responsiveness to key issues, promotesupplier- client relationships through proactive management of risks and ultimately deliverhigher level of focus on performance-basedoutcomes.
Specific (Assessment 1 Part A and Part B Context)
The context of Assessment 1 is a further deep-dive discussion with other students of key issues to better understand the principles of project procurement, challenges, risks, and to develop key procurement themes and quantify financial exposure. Using blackboard and class interaction to develop risk mitigation, to benchmark issues and capture lessons learnt. Discussion Board Participation based on further review of the subject Learning Resources and the Case Study. Students are encouraged to look at the full suite of module Learning Resources as well as otherpublic documents associated with the Case Study. Through a variety of contributing perspectives, Assessment 1 aims to encourage a further understanding of the procurement and financial risk, mitigations and benchmarking against better practices and excellence reports to ensure successful completion. The specific roles and responsibilities of project manager and procurement manager in the completions effort is also explored.
Students are also encouraged to understand and explore the related organisational issues, stakeholders and the funding and other procurement aspects associated with the Case Study drawing upon the learnings from similar procurement projects from the Essential Learning Resources.
Instructions:
There are 2 important aspects to Assessment 1 discussion boardparticipation:
• Protocols for postings: As a minimum requirement the student will submit a main post of approximately 250 words on the relevant topic, and then reply to at least 2 other students. The objective to create a fluent generation of ideas and authentic perspectives on each topic.
• Rules for participation: a culture of mutual respect towards other students or participants, being timely and relevant (staying on the topic), being creative and bringing critical thinking and thoughtful approach in the interactions. It is expected that student contribution to a particular discussion will be made within 3 days of start of a new Module.
Assessment 1 Part A and Part B will involve discussion board contribution by individuals exploring the following key issues:
• Typical procurement and risks required to be managed for complex projects;
• Specific financial risks from the Case Study project (use research information, initiative and judgement);
• Possible risk mitigation actions that relate to the Case Study project and how these relate to better practice guidelines
• Areas for further vendor negotiations and management - to achieve a successful contract completion.
• Areas of key accountability for Project Manager and Procurement Manager in facilitating successful outcome for the Case Study project;
• The questions for discussion board are formulated to critique the above topics and bring out ideas thoughts, develop solutions and ensure students active participation, leadership, feedback, cooperation and time-management aspects. It is expected that the students will undertake sufficient research and reading toeffectively contribute and share ideas individually during Modules 1 to 3 discussions, This is important for discussions to achieve sufficient depth of analysis asto provide high quality of information to satisfy the requirements for the case study analysis – based on the above guidelines.
Solution
Part A
Primary challenges to procurement management and globalization of contracts
These elements play a critical part in defining and launching the Bowen Terrace's operating requirements in Brisbane. For Assignment Help, The suggested procurement procedure includes a number of components.
Imitation request
For the desired output, this procedure necessitates the identification of needs for each part of the activity. It will be the most preliminary step of the procurement procedure in the context of the current project.
Development of requirement
A broad ideology is offered to the available contractors in regard to the required resources as part of this component of the procurement process.
Request for approval
It covers a wide range of activities across the designated fragments. To analyse the project's demands and capabilities, a sequence of approvals must be conceptualised and defined (Muller et al., 2019).
Managing Responsibilities Related To Contract
It takes into account the requirements as well as the organization's ability to indicate changes in operational models. The contracts are included in the proposals, and when they've been reviewed, a relative approval process begins.
Risk Mitigation Approach
The below risks are the risks related to finance in the Bowen Terrace project:
Risk related to construction
The firm is likely to have a substantial impact on the time frame and cost specificity. A construction process is, in many situations, an unexpected procedure, thus the dangers of time and resource limitations are relatively high in this circumstances.
Operating risks
There will be a financial problem for each of the different departments responsible for maintaining the stadium if the operating costs exceed the allowed level. Running a stadium is a significant responsibility, and as a result, the risks of misbehaviour and risk are high across the board (Radujkovic & Sjekavica, 2017).
Procurement Management approach
For the given scenario, the project procurement cycle begins with a need-based ideology and ends with the selection of a group of qualified contractors to achieve the intended outcomes.Because the desired process necessitates a wide range of operations and maintenance options, it necessitates a thorough examination. Public projects are an important reality for any social organisation since they give a steady development aim for any chosen public project management.
Muller, R., Drouin, N., & Sankaran, S. (2019). Modeling organizational project management. Project Management Journal, 50(4), 499-513.
Radujkovic, M., & Sjekavica, M. (2017). Project management success factors. Procedia engineering, 196, 607-615.
Smith, G. (2020). PROJ 6016 Capstone Case Study – Bowen Terrace.
Part B
Recommended Strategy
Transference of Risk
When the project is giving out the expected outcomes and all of the processes are efficiently running but there are some of minor defects then the contracting party or the vendor to which such responsibility is delegated must take the responsibility. Insurance is one such option to mitigate risks as it covers the projects from various risks such as financial risks, natural hazards and other sorts of risks.
Purchase Authorization
It specifies how well contracted resources and information systems can be used. Various processes necessitate a series of purchases, each at a different level.
Proposal Evaluation
Individual contractors and contracting organisations submit proposals for undertaking these operations, which are reviewed by the authority. Because the activities are large-scale, a number of requests and suggestions have been made to take advantage of the opportunity.
In which situation the strategy would align and benefits of strategy
The procurement process depiction through a flowchart
It also gives organisations the ability to interact and thoroughly investigate each step of the process. A flowchart is an excellent representation of each of the several methods that can be used to create significant long-term benefits (Bjorvatn& Wald, 2018).
Evaluation of Tenders
All of the previously described principles for measuring and managing the project's development aspects must be met during the evaluation phase. The tender evaluation process is carried out using the available process divisions across the given format.
Reference
Bjorvatn, T, & Wald, A. (2018). Project complexity and team-level absorptive capacity as drivers of project management performance. International Journal of Project Management, 36(6), 876-888.
Smith, G. (2020). PROJ 6016 Capstone Case Study – Bowen Terrace.
MBA642 Project Initiation, Planning and Execution. Report 3 Sample
Your task
Individually, you are required to prepare an eight-page project management plan for a company based on the assessment instructions below.
Assessment Description
The purpose of this individual assessment is to allow students to create an integrated project management plan that meets industry standards and objectives. In analysing the organisational factors that promote effective project management, students will also consider factors that may lead to ethical compromises.
Assessment Instructions
Presume that you have just been employed by one of the companies listed below to manage the project to deliver the following new setup in Melbourne.
- A standard setup house
- A music festival
- A traditional chocolate shop
For the purposes of this assessment, you are to assume the setup in Melbourne will be an identical model and operations, with the location being entirely sustainable (without goods/services being shared between the two locations).
Within your research, consider the size, location, and requirements of the new setup in Melbourne and make sure you identify the unique operational, management and procurement needs of the company you select. Then, when considering your plan, think about your chosen company’s various operational and logistical requirements to begin operations in Melbourne.
Your final proposal must include the following:
• A one-page executive summary that covers all the significant proposal items (not included in the page limit)
• A one-page overview of the company, its operations and identifying the essential requirements for the move.
• In your own words, outline the project and briefly address the background, context, main objectives and main work packages in the project.
• An outline of the main steps and work packages within the project life cycle, being your baseline for the further identification of risks, project team and requirements.
• Outline the resources (Human, material, services, approvals) required to deliver the project successfully.
• The following original documents as part of your Word document submission (not in pdf or other formats):
o Work Breakdown Structure, highlighting the main tasks and elements of your project.
o A Gantt chart showing the main tasks and overall project schedule (Minimum of 20 tasks and maximum of 40 tasks in different levels), including the define activities process.
o A scheduling flowchart showing the links, dependencies and critical path between your various tasks.
o Risk assessment plan, including identification, classification, categorisation, potential impact (likelihood and severity matrix), and a mitigation and action plan for the most critical ones for your project.
Your plan should detail everything required to have an open, functioning location with the same standards and specifications as the existing location. However, you do not need to consider any elements relating to marketing, communications, or other methods of gaining new customers for this location.
As this is a professional report, it is expected that you will complement your research with matrix diagrams, tables, or other formats to present your findings clearly and concisely that align with best practices in project management. Also, your report must include:
• Title page, table of contents, introduction, context and project objectives.
• The WBS and the Gantt chart. You may include the full Gantt chart in the appendix.
In preparing this proposal, you will need to utilise relevant theories and concepts covered in weeks 1 to 12, use at least 10 sources of information, and reference these following the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include websites, government publications, industry reports, census data, journal articles, and newspaper articles. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your proposal. Wikipedia and other ‘popular’ sites are not to be used.
Solution
Overview of the company
Hickinbotham Homes is a real estate development and construction company specialising in building and renovating outdoor living spaces. The company has been in operation since 2012 and is based in Australia. The company focuses on creating outdoor living areas that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. For Assignment Help, Hickinbotham Homes' processes involve designing, constructing, and maintaining outdoor living spaces. They are experienced in designing and building outdoor living areas such as decks, patios, pergolas, kitchens, fireplaces, lighting, and entertainment areas. In addition, they offer landscaping services such as lawn care, garden maintenance, and irrigation systems. The essential requirements for implementing Hickinbotham Homes operations include the proper licensing and permits from the local government and the relevant authorities, as well as the necessary certifications and insurance. They must also have a team of experienced and qualified professionals who can carry out the job efficiently and safely. The company must also have a reliable supply of materials and equipment and access to the necessary tools and machinery.
The Project
Hickinbotham is planning to build a new set-up in another part of Melbourne. Since the company mainly deals with construction and building, they are about to start building a new project in Melbourne. The clients from whom this company collects and uses raw materials for building a construction project, such as cement, sand, steel, etc., are very reliable and genuine. This company has the best-experienced employees and designers who give their best and complete any project exceptionally. The Hickinbotham family's mindfulness of the need to further develop building and improvement techniques, safeguard the climate and protect the valuable water asset has seen them acquire numerous extreme advancements with their local area domains.
Background
Being South Australian, Hickinbotham has private information on neighbourhood building conditions and money, plan, land, soil types, and other structural considerations. With South Australia's best scope of the estate, yard, customary and two-story homes, Hickinbotham offers an unparalleled range of more than 300 plans. In many cases, a house and land bundle is the most helpful speculation, particularly for first-time financial backers. It removes the mystery of independently choosing a house plan and a block of land and furnishes a bundle that permits occupants to move in when the house is constructed. Hickinbotham house and land bundles for clever financial backers are accessible across South Australia in prime improvement regions that will probably draw in the best rental returns.
Context
Hickinbotham mainly offers construction consultancy. Recently they have been trying to provide house projects to their clients at the lowest price they can help so that they can grow more in the market of construction consultants. The Hickinbotham record remains solitary, implying clients can relax, realising their fantasy home is good to go. A 25-year primary assurance means something when a family has been doing business for over sixty years. At Hickinbotham, they coordinate the best home plans with pursued blocks of land across South Australia and afterwards bundle these with broad incorporations and additional discretionary items to give a reach to invigorate and move others.
Main objectives
The main objective is to build another new set-up in Melbourne. They are currently attempting to offer house ventures to their clients at the most negligible value they can. So they can fill more in the market of development advisors. The Hickinbotham record stays single, which infers clients can unwind, understanding their dream home is all set. A house and land bundle is a reasonable answer for house buying, where a block of land and another home can be bought in a total bundle. The comfort and reasonableness of a house and land bundle make it the ideal choice for first-homebuyers and first-time financial backers the same.
Main work packages
Initiation- In the initiation of the project it would cost $50000.
Planning- Planning is the second, which is more about innovative ideas and knowledge rather than finance.
Execution- In this stage, labour costs, various equipment costs, and costs of the raw materials are considered, which is $30000.
Closing- It insinuates cleanup of the area, reviewing each ace and cons of the entire construction work and alongside that last documentation and legitimate papers, which nearly costs $20000.
Project Life Cycle
Initiation
The initiation stage is the first stage of the project life cycle, and it is during this stage the idea for the project is established and the project is formally initiated. During this stage, the project sponsor must define the project's scope, set the budget, and identify the stakeholders and resources required to complete the project. The first step in the initiation stage is to define the size of the project. This includes identifying the goals of the project, the timeline for completion, and the resources that will be required. It is also essential to identify the stakeholders involved in the project and determine their roles and responsibilities. Once the project's scope has been defined, the project sponsor will need to set the budget for the project. This includes estimating the cost of materials, labour, and other resources necessary to complete the project. The funding will also need a contingency plan in case of unexpected expenses or delays. It is essential to ensure that the budget is realistic to complete the project within the given timeframe and budget. Once the scope of the project and the budget have been determined, the project sponsor will need to identify the stakeholders involved in the project. This includes subcontractors, suppliers, and other professionals interested in the project. It is essential to ensure that all stakeholders clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and that they have the necessary resources to complete their tasks (Willaret al., 2021).
Planning
The planning stage is the second stage of the project life cycle; during this stage, the project is planned in detail. During this stage, the project team will need to develop a detailed project plan, including the timeline, tasks, resources, and stakeholders. The program should be documented to be easily referenced and updated as the project progresses. The first step in the planning stage is creating a project timeline. This includes identifying the significant milestones that need to be met and the tasks that will be completed to meet those milestones. It is essential to ensure that the timeline is realistic and achievable so that the project can be completed on time. Once the timetable has been established, the project team must create a detailed plan. This includes identifying the tasks that need to be completed, the resources that will be required, and the stakeholders who will be involved. The program should also include risk management plans to mitigate potential risks that may arise during the project (Alnaggar, and Pitt, 2019).
Execution
The execution stage is the third stage of the project life cycle, and it is during this stage that the project is implemented and executed. During this stage, the project team must ensure that all tasks are completed on time and that all resources are utilised effectively. The project team will also need to monitor the progress and make adjustments as needed. The first step in the execution stage is to assign tasks to the appropriate individuals and ensure that all stakeholders have the necessary resources to complete their studies. The project team must ensure that the charges are completed on time and that any problems are addressed promptly. The project team should monitor its progress to ensure it is on track. Once all tasks have been completed, the project team must ensure that all stakeholders know the project's completion. This includes providing feedback to the stakeholders, ensuring that all documentation is complete, and ensuring that all resources have been utilised effectively (Malacarneet al. 2018).
Closing
The closing stage is the fourth stage of the project life cycle, and it is during this stage that the project is formally closed. During this stage, the project team must ensure that all tasks have been completed, that all stakeholders are aware of the project's completion, and that all resources have been utilised effectively. The project team will also need to document the progress and create a final report to be submitted to the project sponsor. The first step in the closing stage is to ensure that all tasks have been completed and that all resources have been utilised effectively. The project team should also ensure that all stakeholders know the project's completion and that all documentation is complete. Once all tasks have been completed, and all stakeholders are aware of the project's completion, the project team will need to create a final report to be submitted to the project sponsor. This report should include a summary of the project's progress, tasks completed, and recommendations for future projects (Kavishe and Chileshe, 2019).
Work Breakdown Structure
A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool used in project management to break down a project into smaller, more manageable tasks. It typically includes a hierarchical decomposition of the project into levels that represent increasing detail. Each level of the WBS contains tasks that are necessary to complete the project. It is used to organize and define the scope of the project in order to develop an appropriate schedule and cost estimate. Using a WBS helps to ensure that all of the necessary tasks are identified and accounted for in the project plan.
The WBS is divided into five parts and each part is subdivided into different tasks:
Planning and Admin
- Design and Architectural Rendering
- Plans and Drawings
- Specifications
- Permits
Substructure
- Excavation
- Foundations
- Footings
Envelope
- Frame, Beams, Ties, Trusses
- Sub Floor
- Exterior Walls
- Exterior Doors
- Windows
- Siding
Finishes and Finish Carpentry
- Paint
- Tile
- Flooring
- Cabinetry
- Drywall, Plaster
- Baseboard, Molding
Utilities and Systems
- Electric
- Heating and Air Conditioning
- Plumbing
- Gas
- Water
- Internet
Resources
Human
Architecture and Design: An architect or a designer will help plan the layout and design of the house, taking into account your preferences, budget, and local building codes.
Construction: A general contractor will oversee the construction process, hire and manage subcontractors, and ensure that the work is done according to the plans and within budget.
Engineering: Structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers will design and specify the systems that make up your house, such as the foundation, roof, walls, heating and cooling, and plumbing.
Tradespeople: According to Suresh (2020), a team of skilled tradespeople, such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and roofers, will perform the hands-on work of building the house.
Materials suppliers: Companies that supply building materials, such as lumber, roofing, and electrical components, will provide the materials you need to construct the house.
Inspectors: Building inspectors from your local government will periodically inspect the work to ensure that it complies with building codes and standards.
Financial
Purchasing the land to build a standard house is the first step in the set-up process. According to Krajewska, Szopinska, and Sieminska, (2021), land costs can differ significantly depending on the location, size, and other aspects. The materials needed to construct a typical house include lumber, roofing, electrical parts, plumbing fixtures, and more. It's crucial to budget appropriately for these materials because they can be pricey. The price of labour can be high, mainly if you work with experts like architects, engineers, and contractors. The wages of the tradespeople who will perform the actual physical labour of building your house must also be paid. It can be expensive to obtain all the permits and inspections needed to build a house.
Material
The house's walls, floor, and roof are all constructed from lumber. The house is shielded from the elements by roofing materials, which can be made of tiles, metal panels, or asphalt shingles. Windows and doors allow access to the house and natural ventilation and lighting. According to Paraschiv, Paraschiv, and Serban, (2021) insulation lowers energy costs by keeping the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The wiring, outlets, switches, and lighting fixtures that make up an electrical system are necessary for the house to be powered and illuminated. Sinks, toilets, and showers are examples of plumbing fixtures that provide water and waste removal for a home. Carpet, hardwood, or tile are flooring materials that add comfort and style to a home.
Services
The various services needed for setting up a standard house are Architecture and design, site preparation, construction, cleaning and landscaping, financing, legal services and inspections. These services are essential for constructing a new standard house. These services cover all aspects of the project.
Data
Different types of data are needed for building a standard house by a company. The floor plan, cross sections, and material list are important design data. The budget data is also essential to have a clear understanding of funds distribution. The schedule and contractor information together gives the company a good idea regarding the project's timeline.
Project Timeline
Figure: Gantt Chart
Source: (Self-made, 2023)
The project timeline for the construction of a new standard house includes following steps such as acquisition of land, contacting engineers, house design, land clearance, labour, construction materials, foundation and finally construction. These events happen one after another and the overall time required for these events to complete defines the total timeline for the project. The house shall need an approximate value of 15 weeks to be completely usable after it is done with furnishings, interior and other small detailings. The legalities shall be done with the buyers by the company and the timeline acts as an estimate for the company to understand the investment to be made for the project.
Scheduling Flowchart
A scheduling flowchart is a visual representation of the steps involved in a scheduling process. It is typically used to help organize and streamline the scheduling of resources, such as personnel, equipment, or materials. The steps of the scheduling flowchart are as follows:
- Schedule an initial consultation
- Gather information about the space
- Prepare a design plan
- Estimate cost of materials and labor
- Make any changes to the plan
- Order materials and schedule delivery
- Confirm delivery date and begin setup
- Assemble furniture and install fixtures
- Arrange accessories and decor
- Clean and inspect the space
- Finalise the setup and document the process
- Follow up with the client for feedback
Critical Path
Critical path is a project management technique used to identify the sequence of activities that must be completed in order for a project to be completed on time. It is the longest path through all of the tasks that need to be completed in order to finish the project. Identifying and managing the critical path can help project managers ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget.
Risk Assessment Plan
Risk analysis has been a tool for allowing and supporting determining the level of risks and their impact, which can cause some potential threats. Depending upon the results obtained, the analysis of changes in constructing a house can assess the existing risks and assign the factors with specific weight. To a great extent, the risk assessment plan influences the business continuity management development strategy (Paunescu and Argatu, 2020).
The primary risks are:
- Cost Overrun: Cost overrun is defined as the increased cost of the whole project of the construction than the estimated cost that was calculated during the beginning of the project. Several factors can be responsible for cost overrun, such as significant errors in designs and extra labour costs can be the reasons. Because of the competitive nature, a construction organisation's expectations beyond reality can suffer the project. In some cases, the cost of the projects exceeds due to meeting unrealistic deadlines from the architects and the contractors. This is a common risk factor in the construction industry.
- Incompetent contractors: One of the significant problems in the construction of a house is the incompetency of the labours. Unprofessional contractors can increase troubles in paperwork and with subcontractors. They delay the project, which leads to missed deadlines. Communication with the owner is also a problem. If multiple tasks are happening for the same contractors, possibilities are there that they will need help to perform with a specific speed and concentration.
- Design Errors: Because of the inadequate design of the structure, design errors can arise. The concrete of the house will be under more significant stress. The symptoms of these kinds of errors are due to insufficient design of the structures, which show spalling cracking of concrete. Moreover, high pressure and shear torsion can result in the cracking of concretes. Additionally, the size of the rooms can get distorted due to design errors. Abrupt changes in the design plan can cause stress on the construction, which may result in cracking. For instance, when thin sections are tied rigidly with massive teams as well as replacement concrete which is ununiform in the dimension of the plan.
- Safety hazards: The primary safety hazards in the construction of a house are:
- Vibration syndrome
- Working at height
- Trips, slips and falls
- Noise
- Handling of material by labour and equipment
- Moving of construction objects.
Mitigating strategy for the most critical risk and Action Plan:
Mitigating strategies help to implement mitigation in decision-making (Stehn et al., 2021). Design error is the most critical risk of house construction (Sharma and Gupta, 2019). To identify errors in design that can lead to structural damage, the first inspection should be conducted on the plan of the structure. With the help of petrographic analysis, testing the concrete's strength can be done. And proper communication regarding the design should be conducted.
References
PRJ5106 Research Methodology and Data Analysis Report 1 Sample
Assessment 1: Research Plan
1. Students identify an individual research area and discuss it with his lecturer or present in the class (subject to total enrolment).
2. write a research plan with a timeframe
Assessment 1 Detail
Students need to identify an individual research topic, discuss it with their lecturer or present in the class (subject to total enrolment) and then write a research plan with a timeframe. Provide references to at least three research studies, government reports and/or industry reports, using Harvard Referencing. Please note, websites are not acceptable resources for the purpose of the assignment.
Solution
Overview
Research area
Social Media presence is beneficial for the company in many ways like improving its competitive position and providing new opportunities for their businesses. For Assignment Help, In twenty century, social media interactive and new ways used as tools and adopted by many businesses.
In this research, a growing interest in social media capability and its importance for specific firms is not identified in the current literature. Some researches focus on social media utilization in a broad sense but do not target the firms and companies’ specific capabilities after using social media. This research includes social media's role and importance for various firms using the appropriate methods. This research identifies the gaps in research about social media capabilities and they are used in various firms.
Purpose
This research purpose is to analyze the social media contribution to different businesses and also determine the business's performance after using social media. This research analysis social media values and how social media benefits are used by companies for their business. Also, this research analyzes the social media impacts on customers' attitudes and perceptions and fills the identified research gaps.
Literature Review
The literature review analysis identifies the usefulness of social media in various businesses and creates research questions.
Social media analytics support company public relations
Tam & Kim ( 2019) define a social media presence as important for establishing brand values and also improving connections with existing clients and creating trust with potential clients.
Social media marketing and firm business performance
Tarsakoo & Charoensukmongkol (2019) define the strategic framework with the spanning capabilities aspects used for the social media marketing capability conceptualization.
Social media value and innovation
Muninger (2019) defines a conceptual framework with a qualitative approach that provides the capabilities to firms in their innovation process using social media benefits.
Social media and digitalization in small business
Olsson & Bernhard (2020) used information and communication technologies and woman entrepreneurship research theories regarding digitalization with the usage of social media.
Methodology
This research uses a discovery-oriented approach to analyze social media capabilities and how companies and firms use social media in different stages of their business and how social media provide various benefits in the innovative business process.
Research questions
This research includes the following questions:
- How is social media presence important for companies?
- How are social media benefits used by individuals?
- What are the attitudes of Companies and firms toward social media?
- How do social media impact customer purchase decisions and loyalty?
- How do companies improve their customer interaction by adopting social media?
Data collection
This research used an effective data collection approach and collect valuable information and data. This study uses the three-stage process that includes the organizations using social media, interviews of managers from various departments and also involve in social media use, and also the secondary data that includes information from internal and external sources.
Data analysis
After collecting the valuable information that includes retrieval of questionnaires, and responses and compiling the results. Carefully recorded all material like observations, interview transcripts, and secondary data to ensure the interpretations required to perform the qualitative content analysis.
Conclusion
This research is performed to analyze the importance of social media in different firms and companies. This research uses a theory-building and qualitative approach to develop an effective conceptual framework that defines how the company using social media benefits its innovation process. This framework supports the social media application, focusing on collected data from different resources, social media used by the manager for team empowerment, and different activities of the innovation process. Research results include identifying the answer to all research questions and also providing important guidance for social media strategies implementation in organizations to improve innovation.
Time Plan
The time plan includes the various activities that take place during the making of an effective research plan within in given period. In this research plan different activities are taking place that is defined below: