Expansion Of UTS Premises: Project Plan And Resource Allocation

Project Scope

Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) Technique 

The technique allows the employees to bring their own devices and gadgets at the workplace to carry out the professional tasks and activities. The technique makes sure that the employees are provided with enhanced flexibility and the option of remote working. It may help the organizations to improve the work-life balance of the resources and can be used to increase the productivity of the resources as an outcome (Davies, 2012).

It is a method for human resource management and development as it leads to the enhancement of the skill-set of the employees. The organization may use this method to train their employees on various different tools and skills. The internal employees can then be distributed in different projects for resource optimization, utilization, and cost-effectiveness.

It is a technique that may be used for HRM and forecasting. The technique can be used for enhanced communication among the resources to increase resource interaction and team collaboration. The responses received for the questionnaires can then be used analyse the required skills, performance, or requirements.

There are cloud-based tools that can be used for building trainings and sessions. The automated learning management systems can be used to enhance the skill sets of the resources. The cloud-based systems can be effectively utilised for storage and handling of the information associated with resource training and management.

The project scope includes the planning and analysis activities that will cover project planning, project estimations, and requirements analysis. The scope will include procurement of the tools and equipment required for the construction of five classrooms on the level 3 of the manning building. The construction of the classrooms is covered in the project scope. The development of the course content for Advanced Diploma in ERP along with registration and marketing of the course will be included in the scope (Javernick Will, La Ratta and Corvello, 2017). The selection, finalization, and confirmation of the trainers, marketing & advertising activities along with control activities will be covered in the project scope.

In order to cover the scope items, it will be necessary to have the construction material, site requirements, software & hardware, networking peripherals, and communication framework.

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
The Level 3 Project	242 days	Tue 12-02-19	Wed 15-01-20
Planning & Analysis	29 days	Tue 12-02-19	Fri 22-03-19
Kick-start & Project Initiation	2 days	Tue 12-02-19	Wed 13-02-19
Data Gathering & Analysis	7 days	Thu 14-02-19	Fri 22-02-19	3
Identification of the Requirements	7 days	Mon 25-02-19	Tue 05-03-19	4
Project Scope Definition	7 days	Wed 06-03-19	Thu 14-03-19	5
Project Estimations	3 days	Fri 15-03-19	Tue 19-03-19	6
Procurement Management & Contracting	3 days	Wed 20-03-19	Fri 22-03-19	7
Milestone 1: Project Plan, Project Procurement	0 days	Fri 22-03-19	Fri 22-03-19	8
Construction of the Classrooms	148 days	Mon 25-03-19	Wed 16-10-19
Site Preparation	10 days	Mon 25-03-19	Fri 05-04-19	9
Legal Formalities	7 days	Mon 08-04-19	Tue 16-04-19	11
Environmental Checks & Preparation	10 days	Wed 17-04-19	Tue 30-04-19	12
WHS Requirements & Inclusion	10 days	Wed 01-05-19	Tue 14-05-19	13
Foundation Activities	10 days	Wed 15-05-19	Tue 28-05-19	14
Cleaning	15 days	Wed 29-05-19	Tue 18-06-19	15
Construction of the Classrooms	45 days	Wed 19-06-19	Tue 20-08-19	16
Electrical Fixtures	7 days	Wed 21-08-19	Thu 29-08-19	17
Painting	15 days	Fri 30-08-19	Thu 19-09-19	18
Interiors	12 days	Fri 20-09-19	Mon 07-10-19	19
Finishing	7 days	Tue 08-10-19	Wed 16-10-19	20
Milestone 2: Construction of the Classrooms	0 days	Wed 16-10-19	Wed 16-10-19	21
Course Development & Marketing	50 days	Thu 17-10-19	Wed 25-12-19
Development of Course Content	20 days	Thu 17-10-19	Wed 13-11-19	22
Selection of Trainers	10 days	Thu 14-11-19	Wed 27-11-19	24
Marketing & Advertising	10 days	Thu 28-11-19	Wed 11-12-19	25
Registration of the Students	10 days	Thu 12-12-19	Wed 25-12-19	26
Milestone 3: Course Content	0 days	Wed 25-12-19	Wed 25-12-19	27
Control & Closure	15 days	Thu 26-12-19	Wed 15-01-20
Review & Monitoring	7 days	Thu 26-12-19	Fri 03-01-20	28
Feedback & Performance Measurement	5 days	Mon 06-01-20	Fri 10-01-20	30
Documentation & Closure Report	3 days	Mon 13-01-20	Wed 15-01-20	31
Milestone 4: Closure Report	0 days	Wed 15-01-20	Wed 15-01-20	32

 

There may be various strategies that may be followed to handle and manage the human resources in a project across different project situations and scenarios. The table below describes some of these situations and the strategies that may be applied to handle the same.

Situation	Strategy to Manage Human Resources
Determining resource requirements	Skills identification and analysis of the business case
Assigning responsibilities	Mapping of the skills with the resources
Addressing a skills gap through learning and development	Automated learning management systems, development of training plans and sessions
Overcoming shortfalls in performance	Performance review, development, and measurement (Stone-Romero, 2008)
Motivating the team	Discussions with the resources, resource rewards & benefits
Conflict resolution	Collaboration technique for problem-solving and resolution of conflicts among the resources

Position Description 

Project Plan and Resource Allocation

Chief Architect is the position that will be one of the most significant resources for the project. The resource will be the primary entity responsible for the construction of the five classrooms and will be provided with a team to carry out the job.

Company Information 

UTS is an education institute that is going to expand the college’s premises. The college is going to expand the premises and is ready to construct five classrooms for VET course delivery.

Minimum Requirements 

• Post-graduate degree in architecture with a minimum of 80% aggregate
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in the same/similar field

Soft-skills Requirements

• Communication and negotiation skills
• Creative analysis skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Leadership and managerial skills
• Collaboration skills

Candidate Duties and Responsibilities

• Development of detailed design and drawings
• Discussion and negotiation with the clients
• Coordinating with the contractors
• Site preparation and site visits
• Development of the 3D models
• Communication with the stakeholders

Permanent association with the organization for the construction of the classrooms and further projects

Salary Range

USD 100,000 to USD 120,000

Root Cause Analysis is the systematic process to find out the root cause of a specific problem or risk associated with the project. The possible factors and causes behind the problem are identified in the analysis procedure.

The root cause analysis for inability to find the trainers is done below.

• Problem Definition: Inability to find the trainers for the course.
• Data Collection: Use of interviews and domain analysis techniques for collecting the data sets
• Possible Causal Factors: Budget constraints, inadequate definition of the requirements, communication issues, contractual errors (Miller, 2004)
• Root causes: Organizational policies, project constraints
• Recommended Solutions: Effective planning and analysis, detailed communication plan

The three factors that shall be considered while measuring the individual’s performance against specific criteria are listed and explained below.

• Project Requirements & Specifications: The project scenarios, requirements, and specifications shall be considered while assessing employee performance. The performance may vary from one project to the other on the basis of the project demands.
• Project Environment: It is the responsibility of an organization to provide the resources with the environment to carry out project tasks. The availability of the environment shall be considered during performance measurement.
• Availability of the resources: The human resources need several non-human resources and facilities to perform project tasks. The availability and accessibility to such resources must also be considered (Berman, 2002).

Resource Role	Technical Associate
Complaints from Stakeholders	One Complaint Received External stakeholder pointed that the resource does not remain available for communication and meetings
Feedback from the Manager	Good. Rated 4 on a scale of 5
Feedback from peers	Good. Rated 4.3 on a scale of 5
Potential conflicts	Conflict during selection of the technical tools to be used in the project
Further training & development	Technical training to the resource on the use of Big Data tools and Business Intelligence concepts in the project

Resource Trainings 

It is required that the individuals are provided with the trainings and development sessions on a regular basis. The assessment of the resources in terms of the training and learning gaps shall be done and the specific areas shall be identified for providing the resources with the training. The training plan and schedule shall be in accordance for the specific requirements of the resources. This will lead to the overall professional development of the employee (Armstrong and Landers, 2018).

One-on-One Discussions 

The management shall also carry out one-on-one discussion with the employees to understand the employee concerns, woes, and ideas. The employees feel connected with the project and the organization through such practices and it also leads to the enhancement of their productivity and efficiency levels.

It is necessary to disband a project team to allow the resources to interact with the members in other teams and projects. The employee skills and performance improve through such processes and the project billing cycle also gets streamlined through such an activity.

The post implementation performance review for the project is done below.

Project	The Level 3 Project
Complaints from Stakeholders	One Complaint Received External stakeholder pointed that the resources were not available for communication and meetings
Feedback from the Manager	Good. Rated 4 on a scale of 5
Feedback from client	Good. Rated 4.3 on a scale of 5
Potential conflicts	Conflict during selection of the project approach and methodology
Further training & development	Training and development of the resources in the areas as creative thinking, analytics, and communication

Factors that Influenced Team Morale 

• Management and leadership styles and techniques followed by the Project Manager and team leaders
• Project conflicts
• Stakeholder support and cooperation
• Project risks and issues

Conflicts – Cause & Remedial Action 

There were a few conflicts that emerged in the project in the areas as selection of project methodology and technical tools.

There were planning and analysis issues in the initiation phase that led to such issues. They were resolved by using discussion and collaboration techniques.

Motivation & Encouraging Methods

The use of one-on-one discussions with the resources and the enhanced team collaboration & cohesion led to the improvement of resource productivity. The monetary and non-monetary rewards also motivated the resources to perform better.

The resources needed for the project were available as there was use of skill mapping and automated tools for resource identification and allocation that was carried out.

Inter-project & Intra-project Conflicts 

Inter-project conflicts are the ones that appear in a project between two groups while intra-project conflicts are the ones that occur among the same group.

The three examples of intra-project conflicts in the construction team of the project include inability to select the construction approach, difficult in making the decisions regarding selection of a specific tool, and issues in schedule determination for carrying out the construction activities (Nan, 2011).

Some of the conflicts that may come up as intra-project conflicts include inability to develop a common communication schedule, problems in selection of a specific project methodology, and issues in risk assessment for the project.

The review of the individual employee performance during the project is a process that can be followed for identifying low morale in a project team. The low productivity and efficiency levels are the indicators of the low morale in a project team.

Another method that can be used to identify the low morale in a project team is the assessment of conflict rate in the project. The higher conflicts in the project have a direct influence on the morale of the project team which may come down drastically and vice versa. The lower conflict rate is considered as a sign of positive and healthy work environment and work culture in the project.

These two methods may be followed to understand the low morale in the project team.

References

Armstrong, M. and Landers, R. (2018). Gamification of employee training and development. International Journal of Training and Development, 22(2), pp.162-169.

Berman, E. (2002). How Useful Is Performance Measurement. Public Performance & Management Review, 25(4), pp.348-351.

Davies, G. (2012). More BYOD ideas. SecEd, 2012(9).

Javernick Will, A., La Ratta, A. and Corvello, V. (2017). Routine project scope management in small construction enterprises. International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 9(1), p.18.

Miller, J. (2004). Root Cause Analysis – A Mock Case Study. Radiographer, 51(1), pp.19-22.

Nan, S. (2011). Consciousness in culture-based conflict and conflict resolution. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 28(3), pp.239-262.

Stone-Romero, E. (2008). Strategies for improving the validity and utility of research in human resource management and allied disciplines. Human Resource Management Review, 18(4), pp.205-209.