Establishing A Social Media Research Centre – Project Management Plan

Project management can be understood as the process of planning, executing and then completing a definite task to meet the specific goals (Burke, 2013). The report is based on the case study in which an establishment of Social Media Research Centre is to be done. The Company’s boss named David Wright hand over the responsibility to Bruce for establishing a research centre for which the operations will start in February 2018. For starting a fully fledged project, a research group will be formed till June 2017 (Bell, 2014). The report will include all the essential elements which will be required to effectively manage project of establishing research centre. The essential elements include Project Charter, project schedule, Gantt chart, Work breakdown structure, budget and more. This will clear the set of activities which are to be taken during the project implementation. Bruce need this project to be completed within 8 months and with a budget of AUS$ 50000. This report will help in gaining insights as to how the project will set up and how it can be completed effectively in the given set of resources (Kerzner, 2013).

This is the plan used to determine the time that will be required for completing each activity in a business (Kerzner, 2013). Here is the time management plan for this project:

S. No.	Project activities	Duration of activities (in days) Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	Start Date	End Date	Description
1	Establishment activities for Social Media Research centre	224	1 April 2017	30 November 2017	It is the initial phase which relates to the generation of ideas related to the establishment of Social Media Research centre (Heagney, 2016). The support activities will also be discussed and what is to be done will be determined.
2	Beginning of the Project	61	1 April 2017	31 May 2017
2.1	Development of Project charter	30	1 April 2017	30 April 2017	A charter for the project is developed in this phase so that everything can be made clear as to what is to be done for completing the project. It is prepared in the previous month for providing direction to the project.
2.2	Taking meetings for beginning the project	31	1 May 2017	31 May 2017	In this phase, the meetings will be organised for starting the activities which could later on, complete the project (Heimerl, et. al., 2010).
3	Analysis of the needs	61	1 June 2017	31 July 2017
3.1	Collecting data and information for the needs and requirements	30	1 June 2017	30 June 2017	This phase determines the requirements of the project and building of plans which helps in meeting those requirements effectively.
3.2	Preparation of documents for meeting the requirements	31	1 July 2017	31 July 2017	This phase is related to the fulfilment and building of all the documents which helps in meeting the requirements of the business and project. These documents will be referred in present and in future to fulfil the requirements of project.
4	Technical Review	90	1 August 2017	31 October 2017
4.1	Preparation of documents for technical review	7	1 August 2017	07 August 2017	In this section, the documents will be prepared which will be helpful in reviewing the project technically (Kerzner, 2013).
4.2	Project planning	07	08 August 2017	14 August 2017	This phase is related to planning of the project. The activities will be planned and the further project will be completed based on those plans. This will make project better planned and managed.
4.3	Preparation of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)	7 Days	15 August 2017	21 August 2017	In this phase a work breakdown structure will be build up in which the tasks will be equally divided among the employees and project team as per their specialisation and everyone will be motivated to work as a team and to complete the project on time (Burke, 2013).
4.4	Preparation of project schedule	07 Days	22 August 2017	28 August 2017	Scheduling is necessary for completing the project on time. The schedule will be prepared in order to complete the activities on time and with discipline.
4.5	Allocation of resources available	07 Days	29 August 2017	4 September 2017	The resources will be allocated to the team members as per their requirements and tasks. The project manager will have to identify the speciality of each member so that allocation can be done successfully (Bell, 2014).
4.6	Stakeholders analysis	07 Days	5 September 2017	11 September 2017	The analysis of all the stakeholders will be done so that the project team could determine that what are the requirements of all the stakeholders and how they could meet them effectively.
4.7	Estimation of project costs	7 Days	12 September 2017	18 September 2017	This phase will cover the activities related to estimation of project activities so that budget could be managed as per that (Heimerl, et. al., 2010).
4.8	Development of time phased budget	7 Days	19 September 2017	15 September 2017	A time phased budget will be prepared in this phase so that the resources can be easily allocated and requirements can be met as per the time required in each activity of project.
4.9	Analysis of risk	7 Days	26 September 2017	2 August 2017	All the possible risks will be analysed and recorded so that proper actions could be taken as per the nature of risks and their effects on the business.
4.10	Maintenance of risk register	7 Days	03 October 2017	09 October 2017	The risks will be recorded and entered in the risk register. This register will be then shown to Bruce within a week (Kerzner, 2013).
4.11	Development of Quality management plan	14 Days	10 October 2017	23 October 2017	This phase will include the development of quality management plan in which the activities will be completed as per the plan and in the set quality limit which helps in maintaining the quality criteria of project activities.
4.12	Development of change control management plan	15 Days	24 October 2017	31 October 2017	A change control management plan will be developed which will be used in the case of emergencies. It will be used when Plan does not work and the need for Plan B occurs. This will help in meeting the contingency situations (Gido, et. al. 2012).
5	Website design	30 Days	1 November 2017	30 November 2017
5.1	Development of modules	10 Days	1 November 2017	10 November 2017	The modules will be developed in this phase in which the technical coding will be prepared which will be used when the project will begin.
5.2	Testing of activities	10 Days	11 November 2017	20 November 2017	Testing is significant in the project in which it will be seen whether the project activities are working properly or not. This phase will help in knowing the efficiency of the activities.
5.3	Development of website and running it	10 Days	20 November 2017	30 November 2017	In this phase, the designed website will be launched for the benefits of the customers and for providing the details to the public (Heimerl & Kolisch, 2010).
6	Going through the checklist of closure	1 Day	29 November 2017	29 November 2017	A checklist is to be developed and it is to be checked to see whether all the activities have been completed successfully or not. Once the checklist is completed and the activities are completed, the project closure will be done.
6.1	Closure of the project	–	–	–	–

(Burke, 2013)

Direct labor cost	$ per day
Project manager	20
Noah	16
Oliver	16
Amelia	15
Assistants	40
Total direct labor cost per day	107
Indirect cost (50 % of direct cost)	53.5
Total cost	160.5
20% fringe	32.1
Total cost per day	192.6
Total days in project	244
Total project cost	46,994

Constraints:

No information related with the quoted cost of the project is being provided by the project management companies.

They quote the cost on the basis of the project quality of the project.

Assumptions:

Assumption is made that the inflation will not impact the cost of the project.

Sponsor will charge 50% for the indirect cost (Kerzner, 2013).

Known Known’s:

Assistants are not required in the project hence their cost will also be not included.

Per day basis project cost that is being charged will not change in any condition.

Known Unknowns:

Treatment for the indirect cost is unknown.

Risk register preparation is done to record the possible risks attached to the project (Lock, 2013). The possible risks which can occur to the Social Media research centre project are as follows:

	1	2	3	4
Definition of risk	Operational risk: The operational risk is involved in every project. In the project of Social Media Research centre, there are some operations which no longer works now and it can have negative impact on the process and functions of the organisation	The risk of high staff turnover ratio due to high work pressure on the employees. David could identify that this could hamper the project quality and will also increase the overall costs of the project	The image of the company of David is not so good in the market and the stakeholders are affected due to it. The efficiency and output of the company is also low as compared to other companies.	Financial risk is the highest risk which can occur in the project. David is investing a huge sum of money in this project and if the project fails, there will be huge financial loss
Risk response	Proper response is to be given to these risks. The plan should be made in order to reduce the risks in the organisation	David could respond and can provide training and motivation classes for the employees who reduce the work pressure and also the staff turnover.	Clear identity and good reputation is necessary for a company to achieve its goals. It will let the company get effective sources of finance and also good employees to work.	A complete and fully fledged project management plan is necessary for managing the financial risk and to reduce this risk
Objectives	The main objective is to make sure that whole operations of the project runs without any hurdles	The main objective of this is to create a healthy environment in which every employee can perform best and the reputation of the organisation can improve in the market.	The main objective is to reduce this risk and set up a good image of the company in the market	The main objective is to make organisation safe from financial risk and to bring benefits to the organisation
Logical framework	Likely	Likely	Less likely	Likely

(Meredith & Mantel Jr, 2011)

Name of the project: Social Media Research Centre	Project Manager:	Date:
Features	Type	Basis	Mode of completion	Owner	Status
The project of Social Media Research centre is established so that the good level of research can be carried out in future with high quality.	Project structure formation	For growth and development	Project plan is made and then it is followed to complete the research.	David Wright	Work In Progress
The second objective of the project is to complete the activities in a given time and in a given cost.	Beginning of project	Reduction of the project cost and the expenses to be incurred in the project	Time based Budget	Bruce	Work in Progress
Reduction of the overall cost of the project	Related to finance	This might result in the compromise with the quality of project but with training the project team will learn how to develop maximum with minimum resources (Gido & Clements, 2012)	Time based Budget	Bruce	Work in Progress
Teamwork is needed to complete the project	Operations	When there will be proper teamwork, coordination and cooperation will be automatically gained.	Promoting team meeting promotion of team work and meetings are conducted	David Wright	The work is in progress
Employees working in high stress and work pressure	Operation	This will develop in employees the habits of working in high pressures which will increase their capabilities and will make them capable of working in the time of pressures too with the maintenance of quality of work in project	Motivation is required	David Wright	Processing

(Heagney, 2016).

Activity No.	Task description	Due Date	Current status
1	Establishment of Social Media Research Centre	30 November 2017	Accomplished
2	Beginning of the Project	31 July 2017	Accomplished
2.1	Development of project Charter	30 April 2017	Accomplished
2.2	Conducting meetings for starting projects	31 May 2017	Accomplished
3	Analysis of project needs	31 July 2017	Yet to accomplish
3.1	Collection of information of the requirements of project	30 June 2017	Yet to accomplish
3.2	Development of documents for requirements	31 July 2017	Due
4	Review of technical processes	31 October 2017	Due
4.1	Development of documents for technical review	07 August 2017	Due
4.2	Project planning	14 August 2017	Due
4.3	Development of work breakdown structure	21 August 2017	Due
4.4	Development of project schedule	28 August 2017	Not accomplished
4.5	Allocation of resources for projects	4 September 2017	Not accomplished
4.6	Stakeholders analysis	9 November 2017	Not accomplished
4.7	Estimation of costs of projects	18 September 2017	Not accomplished
4.8	Development of time phased budget	25 September 2017	Not accomplished
4.9	Analysis of risks	2 October 2017	Not accomplished
4.10	Development of risk register	9 October 2017	Not accomplished
4.11	Development of quality management plan	23 October 2017	Not accomplished
4.12	Develop the change control management plan	31 October 2017	Not accomplished
5	Designing of website	30 November 2017	Not accomplished
5.1	Creating the modules	10 November 2017	Not accomplished
5.2	Testing of the coding	20 November 2017	Not accomplished
5.3	Launching website for use	30 November 2017	Not accomplished
6	Checking the closure checklist	29 November 2017	Not accomplished
6.1	Project closure	–	Not accomplished

References

Bell, J. (2014). Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

Gido, J., 1945, & Clements, J. P. (2012). Successful project management (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Heagney, J. (2016). Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Heimerl, C., & Kolisch, R. (2010). Scheduling and staffing multiple projects with a multi-skilled workforce. OR spectrum, 32(2), 343-368

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Lock, D., & Books24x7, I. (2013). Project management (10th ed.). Burlington, VT: Gower.

Meredith, J. R., & Mantel Jr, S. J. (2011). Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Turn in your highest-quality paper
Get a qualified writer to help you with

“ Establishing A Social Media Research Centre – Project Management Plan ”

Get high-quality paper

NEW! AI matching with writer