Assisting Project Risk Management Method Selection

Project goal

Discuss About The Assisting Project Risk Management Method Selection.

Tier One Suppliers Insurance Group provides insurances to tier one suppliers. They employ agents to visit clients and make deals with them, management, with the increase in business, it is trying to attract more customers and helps their agents to minimize time taken in sending the data captured in the field on to the centralized server.

Following are some of the key objectives for the proposed project:

• Minimize the overall data that is being consumed for entering the data by the agent.
• Minimize the overall error rate when the agent enters the data
• Attracting of new customers by shifting the focus on high-risk clients contrarily.
• Saving time by allowing agents to enter the data directly from the field.
• Responding to low-risk clients without physically visiting them thereby saving time.
• Closing of physical offices towards company for saving costs.
• Managing of customer’s risks properly to ensure that proper products could be renewed or sold.

The key objective for the project is to develop a new information system that would allow one to handle customer’s needs better and also allowing agents to attract newer and more customers with high risk profiles.

• Selecting a CRM vendor for the newly proposed system.
• Selecting of a cloud based technology as well for the system proposed.
• Integration of CRM system with the cloud based solution.
• Allowing agents to run the newly proposed system on majority of devices.
• Training agents so that they can adopt the new system with ease
• Training agents on the new information available via the system.
• Finally, to provide a system that would be able to generate a new report on the field so as to attract additional customers.

Following are some of the key deliverables for the newly proposed system:

• Migration of data from the current system to all agents for the newly integrated CRM based cloud solution.
• Ability to track status of each agent visits towards their respective clients.
• Ability track conversations of clients done by the respective agents.
• Improvement in the processing of new clients and also the maintenance of the older ones.
• Reduction in the overall time spent in transferring critical information from the agents into the system.
• Centralization of controlling of customers and agents.

• Goals for the proposed system mwatch with that of the goals of the company and are in line.
• The design and development of the project is also done so as to achieve the organizational goals.

Milestone Name	Start	Finish
Milestone 1: Project charter approval	Thu 21/06/18	Thu 21/06/18
Milestone 2: Purchase CRM and cloud vendors	Tue 10/07/18	Tue 10/07/18
Milestone 3: Approve UI design	Thu 09/08/18	Thu 09/08/18
Milestone 4: Coded system	Tue 23/10/18	Tue 23/10/18
Milestone 5: Tested system	Thu 08/11/18	Thu 08/11/18

Following are some of the key technical and project management requirements related to the project:

• The backup for data should be done either before or together while the planning phase of the system is in motion.
• The restoration of the backup should not take any longer than 2 hours if at all the project results in failure.
• All agents being entered into the system should have a valid operating license.
• Lastly, all the existing clients should not be affected in any way when the newer system is being developed and / or migrated. As a result to achieve this, separate resources should be allocated.

Following are some of the key exclusion and limits for the project (Tamir and Yang, 2015)

• There would not be any upgrades in the system after the User Acceptance testing has been done.
• The project should never cover any bugs once the project enters closure.
• The project would only deal with the payroll aspect of CRM as well as the storage aspect of the cloud.
• The project would not cover any marketing or financial planning aspects for the company.
• The project would is restricted to the business working days starting Monday and ending on Friday wherein the timings are : 9:00 Am to 6:00 Pm.

WBS	Task Name
1	Cloud based TOSIG Automated System
1.1	Project planning
1.1.1	Create scope statement
1.1.2	Identify stakeholders
1.1.3	Create project charter
1.1.4	Approve project charter
1.1.5	Milestone 1: Project charter approval
1.2	Project execution
1.2.1	CRM selection
1.2.1.1	Prepare CRM requirements
1.2.1.2	Conduct market research
1.2.1.3	Finalize 3 vendors
1.2.1.4	Approve CRM vendor
1.2.2	Cloud service provider selection
1.2.2.1	Prepare cloud service provider requirements
1.2.2.2	Conduct market research
1.2.2.3	Finalize 3 vendors
1.2.2.4	Approve cloud service provider vendor
1.2.3	Milestone 2: Purchase CRM and cloud vendors
1.2.4	System implementation
1.2.4.1	Graphic design
1.2.4.1.1	Create wireframes
1.2.4.1.2	Create UI screens
1.2.4.1.3	Handover to Developer team
1.2.4.2	Milestone 3: Approve UI design
1.2.4.3	System design
1.2.4.3.1	Create High Level Design
1.2.4.3.2	Create Low Level design
1.2.4.3.3	Handover to developer team
1.2.4.4	Coding
1.2.4.4.1	Create database
1.2.4.4.2	Implement business logic
1.2.4.4.3	Integration with database
1.2.4.4.4	Integrate CRM
1.2.4.4.5	Integrate cloud
1.2.4.5	Milestone 4: Coded system
1.2.5	Testing
1.2.5.1	System testing
1.2.5.2	Application testing
1.2.5.3	Prepare bug summary
1.2.6	Milestone 5: Tested system
1.2.7	Resolve bugs
1.2.8	Go-Live

The project starts on 6^th June 2018 and ends on 23^rd November 2018 with total duration of 123 days.

The total cost of the project has been done using Apportion method under Top-down approach. It is assumed that budget is available for each activity. The cost shall include following items (Marle, 2014).:

• Cost of cloud – Since the cost is calculated Pay as per use basis, any of the available vendors such as Cloud Central, Optus and Ninefold. It is estimated to be fixed at around $200.
• Cost of CRM license – It can be approximated around $2000.
• Labour cost – $66,840.

Resources are managed through RACI matrix: R- Responsible, A – Accountable, C – Consulted, I – Informed

Task Name	Resource Names	PM	GUI	PG1	PG2	DBA	TR	AO	BA
Create scope statement	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Identify stakeholders	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Create project charter	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Approve project charter	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Milestone 1: Project charter approval
Prepare CRM requirements	Business analyst	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	R
Conduct market research	Administration officer	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	R	I
Finalize 3 vendors	Business analyst	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	R
Approve CRM vendor	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Prepare cloud service provider requirements	Business analyst	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	R
Conduct market research	Administration officer	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	R	I
Finalize 3 vendors	Business analyst	ACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	R
Approve cloud service provider vendor	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Milestone 2: Purchase CRM and cloud vendors
Create wireframes	Graphical user interface developer	ACI	R	I	I	I	I	I	I
Create UI screens	Programmer 1	ACI	I	R	I	I	I	I	I
Handover to Developer team	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Milestone 3: Approve UI design
System design
Create High Level Design	Programmer 2	ACI	I	I	R	I	I	I	I
Create Low Level design	Programmer 2	ACI	I	I	R	I	I	I	I
Handover to developer team	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Coding
Create database	Database developer	ACI	I	I	I	R	I	I	I
Implement business logic	Programmer 1	ACI	I	R	I	I	I	I	I
Integration with database	Programmer 1	ACI	I	R	I	I	I	I	I
Integrate CRM	CRM license[1],Programmer 1	ACI	I	R	I	I	I	I	I
Integrate cloud	Cloud service[1],Programmer 1	I	R	I	I	I	I	I
System testing	Tester	ACI	I	I	I	I	R	I	I
Application testing	Tester	ACI	I	I	I	I	R	I	I
Prepare bug summary	Tester	ACI	I	I	I	I	R	I	I
Milestone 5: Tested system		ACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Resolve bugs	Programmer 1, Programmer 2	ACI	I	R	R		I	I	I
Go-Live	Project manager	RACI	I	I	I	I	I	I	I

(Mallery, 2011)

To manage the the associated risks for the project, the team would make use of a systematic approach wherein the risks will be identified. Risk assessment are handled using the Crawford Slip Method. This is because, this method is known for being simple and effective at gathering risks from the team and the experts and results are often accurate. In this method a simple slip is passed onto the participants and in a meeting a very specific set of questions are asked and they are to write their responses on those slips. Once these risks are listed, they are then reviewed and finalized for the final risk register. The risks are then categorized based on their probability and impact ratings so that an effective plan can be created to deal with them. Also, the meetings would be conducted regularly to update sponsors and stakeholders. Also, it would provide the necessary reports for risk management. The project manager and the team members are responsible for reporting of these risks. Once the project is completed, the project team would assess what risk factors have come up and how it needs to be handled. They would also allow for the outcome and assess if there is any scope for improvisation.

ID	Risk	Likelihood (1 to 10)	Impact (1 to 10)	Detection difficulty (1to 10)	When
R1	Miscommunication	5	5	7	During entire project
R2	Disinterest from stakeholders	2	5	2	During entire project
R3	Huge change in the requirements at testing phase	4	7	4	Finishing
R4	Software bugs	5	4	6	After development phase
R5	Extra emphasis on low-priority task	5	6	5	During development
R6	Sickness or resign of key resources	4	5	4	Anytime during the project
R7	Increase in the budget	6	7	5	Anytime during the project
R8	Unexpected quality of deliverables	7	6	4	After project completion
R9	Risks related to scheduling	5	4	5	Anytime during the project
R10	Deliverables deadlines are missed.	6	7	6	After each phase

(Pinto, 2015)

ID	Risk	Response	Contingency plan	Trigger	Responsible
R1	Miscommunication	Reduce	Conduct meeting	Integrity get impacted	Project manager
R2	Disinterest from stakeholders	Reduce	Convey pros and cons	New requirements	Project manager
R3	Huge change in the requirements at testing phase	Scope clarify	Correct signing of clients	Changes in requirements	Project manager
R4	Software bugs	Eliminate	End-to-end testing	Unable to execute certain functions	Programmer 1 and Programmer 2
R5	Extra emphasis on low-priority task	Shift the focus	Differentiate between high and low priority task	Lesser time for main tasks	Project manager
R6	Sickness or resign of key resources	Use alternate resources held as backup	Have other resources and extra backup time	Delay in project completion	Project manager
R7	Increase in the budget	Reduce	Use contingency cost	Cost not available	Project manager
R8	Unexpected quality of deliverables	Reduce	Use industry expert	Quality issue	Project manager
R9	Risks related to scheduling	Mitigate	Use advises from industry experts	Delay on project completion	Project manager
R10	Deliverables deadlines are missed.	Reduce	Use advises from industry experts	Delay on project completion	Project manager

(Deeprose, 2002)

Both current and future risks should be managed within the project scope, resources and time. The project manager and programmer 1 will be responsible for managing risks. They shall also find ways to mitigate, reduce or avoid them. In case, such. Identified risks are not feasible to eliminate or attend, then they should be considered as constraints of the project. To complete project on time and within the defined budget, extra resources may be added to the project. However, this should be considered only in worst case scenario. Budget and scope should only be altered when the risk is not handled using mitigation and avoidance techniques.

The communication plan frames platform using which the project members and stakeholders communicate with each other. In other words, it can be defined as a guideline of communication for the project. It is always kept updated with the change in the needs of the project. The roles of each stakeholder is defined precisely in it. The plan includes a communication matrix.

The communication matrix depicts the requirements and needs of communication in the project. It describes: What information is to be communicated, when it is to be communicated, who are the target audience and what are the communication methods. It makes sure that each and every meeting should serve its purpose (Heerkens, 2015).

What information to be communicated	Target audience	When	Methods of communication	Provider
Milestone report	Employees	Monthly	Meeting	Project manager
Project progress report	Project owner	Weekly	Email	Project manager
Team status report	Project manager and project owner	Biweekly	Meeting	Group members
Issues/conflicts report	Project owner	Weekly	Meeting	Project manager
Escalation report	Employees	When needed	Meeting	Project manager
Approved change request	Employees	Anytime	Meeting	Owner

 

References

Deeprose, D. (2002). Project management. 2nd ed. Oxford (UK): Capstone, p.14.

Heerkens, G. (2015). Project management. 3rd ed. USA: Mcgraw-Hill Education, p.12.

Mallery, M. (2011). Project Management Portal (PMP) from the University of Washington Information Technology Wiki – https://wiki.cac.washington.edu/display/pmportal/Project+Management+Portal. Technical Services Quarterly, 28(3), 365-367. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07317131.2011.574546

Marle, F. (2014). Assisting project risk management method selection. International Journal Of Project Organisation And Management, 6(3), 254. https://dx.doi.org/10.1504/ijpom.2014.065255

Pinto, J. (2015). Project Management. 2nd ed. USA: Pearson Education UK, p.20.