Project Life Cycle - Research Paper Example

?Project Management Contents An Introduction to Project Management 3 Project Life Cycle 4 Selection of the appropriate option for the given business case 4 Work Break-down Structure (Haugan, 2002) 5 WBS Dictionary 7 Gantt chart 14 Responsibility Matrix 15 Budget 15 Total Expenditure 16 Risk Analysis 17 Reference 19 An Introduction to Project Management In almost every field of life we come across a lot of task that involves team work. Team work is essential when the work is time-consuming, complex & needs the involvement of various specialized activities. Starting from arranging a festival to constructing a bridge, every activity requires team work. In the corporate world, this group activity has got a definite term which is known as Project Management. A project is not a routine task, it is a certain set of functions designed to achieve a particular goal. Sometimes the project team involves people who usually do not work together; they are acquired from different departments, different organizations & different localities. In simple terms, Project Management involves a temporary group activity. Project Management is related to the application of knowledge, techniques & skills to complete a project efficiently & effectively. It is a strategic decision by the organization to enhance their competencies by tying the project outputs to the organization’s objectives. Previously project management referred to the collection of project data & metrics for evaluation & then accordingly making changes to increase efficiency & productivity. For the past decades, this area of management have become quite popular within the corporate world because of the following reasons- (ds.psu.edu 2) The average salary of a project manager is quite high in comparison to the managers of other domain. Every year, a huge amount is spent for the purpose of accomplishing various projects. Lately, project management has been included as a subject of study in various educational institutes. It acts as a control mechanism for various projects. Project management helps in controlling the human capital, budget, quality, resources, time frames & communication. Project Life Cycle Projects always have a starting date & an ending date which means just like products, projects also have a definite life cycle that starts with the starting date & ends with the ending date. The diagram shows the different phases of a project life cycle- (weill.cornell.edu 1) Here we are given a particular business case where we have to modify the present structure of the University into a Wi-Fi enabled campus. We need to replace all computers & introduce iMacs for the classroom. Also we are required to complete the job within the month of June as the research would start from July onwards. We need several staffs for this purpose. Selection of the appropriate option for the given business case The appropriate solution that has been selected for the business case is requesting financial aid from the government as it is a reliable source of funds. On the basis of this option we are going to discuss further about this case with the help of the A3 tool. The context of Toyota can be considered while exploring the concept of A3. The managers of the company implement a tool called A3 that is named keeping in mind the internationally accepted paper size.A3 consists of a series of boxes arranged in a template. The boxes include the operations in the following order- 1. To establish the context of the business & the importance of a specific issue 2. To define the present status of the problem 3. To identify the desired outputs 4. To analyze the circumstances to ascertain causality 5. To offer countermeasures 6. To establish an action plan 7. To chalk out the follow-up process This method helps the managers to train others regarding the analysis of the root-cause & channel them towards scientific thinking. This is a tool for constant improvement & learning. We are required to use one management tool for the current business case & we would consider applying the A3 framework. (Shook 30-32) Work Break-down Structure (Haugan, 2002) WBS task Starting date Ending date Resources 1.1 Arranging a truck for the job 3.6.2013 4.6.2013 Ali 1.2 Placing Order for new machines 5.6.2013 6.6.2013 Ali 1.3 Taking care of the shipping & customs clearance 7.6.2013 14.6.2013 Ali 1.4 Purchasing Apple iMac computers 17.6.2013 18.6.2013 Ali 1.5 Arranging a place for stocking up the new machines 14.6.2013 17.6.2013 Ali 1.6 Making Payment 19.6.2013 20.6.2013 Ali 1.7 Checking each & every computer personally 17.6.2013 18.6.2013 Ali 1.8 Keeping the documents related to purchase 17.6.2013 18.6.2013 Ali 1.9 Placing the computers in proper places 19.6.2013 21.6.2013 Ali 1.10 maintenance of the machine 14.6.2013 28.6.2013 Ali 2.1 Writing an application letter to the Government requesting them to increase their funds 3.6.2013 20.6.2013 Saud 2.2 Applying to various research institutes to help us conduct researches at the lowest cost with their help 4.6.2013 6.6.2013 Saud 2.3 Talking to the bank manager for financial support & fixing an appointment with him 5.6.2013 7.6.2013 Saud 2.4 Visiting the bank 3.6.2013 25.6.2013 Saud 2.5 Going through various schemes & analyzing those accordingly 20.6.2013 28.6.2013 Saud 2.6 Selecting a particular scheme suitable for the institute 10.6.2013 14.6.2013 Saud 2.7 Approaching various business houses for sponsorship 11.6.2013 14.6.2013 Saud 2.8 Selling off the non-used assets 17.6.2013 21.6.2013 Saud 2.9 Investing in various profitable business 3.6.2013 21.6.2013 Saud 2.10 Getting the insurance done 5.6.2013 7.6.2013 Saud 3.1 Publishing recruitment notification in various portals & newspapers 17.6.2013 28.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.2 Keeping track of the number of candidates that are interested 3.6.2013 25.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.3 Arranging interviews 3.6.2013 7.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.4 Scrutinizing the resumes 10.6.2013 11.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.5 Arranging the initial round of interview 12.6.2013 14.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.6 Selecting the suitable candidates for the second round of interview 17.6.2013 18.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.7 Further screening for the final round of interview 19.6.2013 21.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.8 Preparing the appointment letter 21.6.2013 24.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.9 Fixing the salary after discussion with other authorities 21.6.2013 24.6.2013 Abdulrahman 3.10 Arranging the training of the new staffs 24.6.2013 28.6.2013 Abdulrahman 4.1 Printing admission forms 3.6.2013 7.6.2013 Eisa 4.2 Answering student’s queries 10.6.2013 11.6.2013 Eisa 4.3 Arranging counseling sessions 12.6.2013 14.6.2013 Eisa 4.4 Arranging prospectus 3.6.2013 7.6.2013 Eisa 4.5 Arranging for hostel accommodations 3.6.2013 25.6.2013 Eisa 4.6 Breaking up the fee structure according to semesters 17.6.2013 28.6.2013 Eisa 4.7 Arranging for seminars by eminent market leaders 17.6.2013 19.6.2013 Eisa 4.8 Organizing quiz & various contests 3.6.2013 28.6.2013 Eisa 4.9 Planning college festivals 17.6.2013 19.6.2013 Eisa 4.10 Organizing tours 10.6.2013 14.6.2013 Eisa 5.1 Market Research 3.6.2013 28.6.2013 Hamid 5.2 Making POPs & Banners 3.6.2013 5.6.2013 Hamid 5.3 Distributing the pamphlets 5.6.2013 7.6.2013 Hamid 5.4 Encouraging students to participate in the research program 3.6.2013 14.6.2013 Hamid 5.5 Hiring staffs for road shows 10.6.2013 14.6.2013 Hamid 5.6 Displaying ads on newspapers & magazines 17.6.2013 26.6.2013 Hamid 5.7 Arranging a conference hall for the program 3.6.2013 7.6.2013 Hamid 5.8 Gathering equipments required for the seminar 10.6.2013 12.6.2013 Hamid 5.9 Making invitation mails 17.6.2013 20.6.2013 Hamid 5.10 Sending the mails to the respective speakers 20.6.2013 25.6.2013 Hamid Gantt chart Kindly note that there is no Pessimistic time frame for this project, hence PERT cannot be applied. Also we already have 5 staffs & we require are hiring 10 more staffs for our project. Responsibility Matrix Here we have used the RACI matrix Activity Ali Saud Abdulrahman Eisa Hamid Replacing computers R C C A I Gathering funds C R I I A Recruiting sufficient number of staffs A I R C C Looking after the admission I C A R I 5.0 Proper marketing of the institute A I I C R R= Responsible, A= Accountable, C= Consulted, I= Informed Budget Resource requirements- 1. Work breakdown structure- It has been already introduced. 2. Historical inputs- No such information is available. 3. Scope- This statement describes the entire project. It is guidance towards the resource planning stage. It identifies the reason behind the project & work required to complete it. This is turn helps the manager to identify the resource required. 4. Resource pool- It’s the task of the manager to determine which resources are already available & which are required to be brought in. The resources include people, equipment & material. Here we will estimate each one. 5. Alternative resources- When taking up a project, we should always keep an alternative project plan & our alternative set of resources should be always ready. 6. Organizational policies- In this point, we should consider the policies of the organization which should support the entire project. 7. Duration estimates- The various time spans required to complete each work package should be considered with proper consideration of cost & resources. It’s also important to keep the feasibility factor in mind. (euroi.ktu 2-9) In the present case we can find that the work structure has been constructed & accordingly we can find that- Estimated staffs required- 10 Estimated time required for the completion of the project- 30 days Fund allocated- 2, 50, 000 AED Total Expenditure Resources Quantity Cost per head Phone bill Electricity consumption + internet Final cost (in AED) Staffs 5 1000 5000 Computers used 4 500 each 2000 Phones used 2 500 each 1000 Total= 8000 AED Total Fund Allocated= 2, 50, 000 AED. Estimated Cost of 20 computers= 95533.20 AED. Fund Remaining= (250000AED - 95533.20 AED) = 2404466.8 AED. Expenses= 8000 AED Fund Remaining= (2404466.8 AED – 8000AED) = 2396466.8AED Staff to be recruited= 10 Salary to be offered= 1000AED each. (10*1000 AED=10000 AED) Fund that will Remain for future expenses = (2396466.8AED - 10000 AED) = 2386466.8 AED (for.gov.bc.ca) Risk Analysis Potential Risk factors for the project 1. Fluctuation in market price of computers 2. Poor admission in the next session 3. Inflation 4. Political disturbance 5. Employees leaving job 6. Unavailability of suitable human resource 7. Up gradation of Technology 8. Entry of new gadgets in the market 9. Poor performance by students even after the implementation new machines 10. Untrained staffs 11. Lack of funds 12. Natural calamities 13. Poor storage of the computers that were newly bought 14. Poor maintenance 15. Health Hazards to the staffs 16. Change in Government policies 17. Economic downturn 18. Increase in the cost of other resources 19. Competition 20. Lack of employment opportunities for research scholars Reference ds.psu.edu. Project Management Defined. College of Information Science & Technology, 2008 (Print) Shook,John. MIT Sloan Management Review. 2009 (Print) weill.cornell.edu. PMO Project Phases. Weill Cornell Medical College for.gov.bc.ca. Enhanced Forest Management Pilot Project euroi.ktu. Introducing Project Cost Management Haugan, Gregory T. Effective Work Breakdown Structures. Vienna:Management Concepts, 2002, (Print) Read More