Introduction To Modern Project Management Practices

Project Background

The paper mainly focuses on the construction of a building for Wesfarmers in order to provide the facility of warehouse. The warehouse facility is needed by the company “Wesfarmers” for the purpose of storing materials and goods. It is identified that the design of the building is done in order to accommodate need for future loading docks, truck space as well as car parking space.

b. Project background

The organization “Wesfarmers” started its journey in the year 1914 and now it is considered as one of the largest companies of Australia. The company has it’s headquarter in Western Australia and the business operation of the company mainly cover supermarkets, hotel and convenience stores, office supplies, industrial safety products and more. It is identified that with expansion, the company faces difficulty in storing goods as well as products. For resolving this issue, the company wants to construct a building in Australia, which would be helpful for providing the facility of warehouse so that the products and materials of the companies can be easily stored.

c. Project stakeholders

The stakeholders who are involved in the project are as follows:

Project manager
Project planner
Supervisor
Architect
Worker
Contractor
Supplier
Civil engineer
Machine operator
Financial manager
Human resource manager

2. Project scope

a. Project objective

The objectives of the project are as follows:

To construct a building for “Wesfarmers”
To provide the facility of warehouse for storing goods and materials for the company
To resolve the issue that the company faces due to improper storage facility

The lists of deliverables for the project are as follows:

Design drawings
Technical interpretation
Site investigation report
Design review
Tender document
Manufacturing process improvement
Progress report
Marketing study

The milestones of the project are provided in the table below:

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase	0 days	Tue 2/13/18	Tue 2/13/18
Milestone 2: Completion of planning phase	0 days	Thu 3/22/18	Thu 3/22/18
Milestone 3: Completion of design process	0 days	Fri 3/2/18	Fri 3/2/18
Milestone 4: Completion of construction phase	0 days	Fri 4/13/18	Fri 4/13/18
Milestone 5: Completion of closure phase	0 days	Tue 4/17/18	Tue 4/17/18

d. Technical requirements

The technical requirements of the project are as follows:

Architectural: The technical requirements are associated with concrete, masonry, metals and more.

Mechanical: The technical requirements are also related with plumbing as well as fire protection.

Electrical: The technical requirements are associated with electrical, communication as well as electronic safety and security system.

Site/ Civil: Earthwork utilities, exterior improvements as well as utilities related with electrical and water supply system.

e. Limits and exclusions

The limits and exclusions of the project include:

Budget: It is identified that the estimated budget of the project is around $357,560. The project manager must complete the project within this estimated budget.

Time: It is quite important for the project manager to complete the entire project within 115 days.

Scope: The project must follow the scope, so that the entire project will be completed successfully.

b. Project schedule

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish
Construction of building for Wesfarmers for providing warehouse facility	112 days	Thu 2/8/18	Fri 7/13/18
Initiation phase	25 days	Thu 2/8/18	Wed 3/14/18
Development of business case	7 days	Thu 2/8/18	Fri 2/16/18
Undertaking feasibility study	9 days	Mon 2/19/18	Thu 3/1/18
Establishing charter	10 days	Mon 2/19/18	Fri 3/2/18
Appointing project team members	9 days	Fri 3/2/18	Wed 3/14/18
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase	0 days	Fri 3/2/18	Fri 3/2/18
Planning phase	23 days	Mon 3/5/18	Wed 4/4/18
Creation of project plan	8 days	Thu 3/15/18	Mon 3/26/18
Creation of resource plan	7 days	Thu 3/15/18	Fri 3/23/18
Development of financial plan	6 days	Mon 3/5/18	Mon 3/12/18
Creation of quality plan	5 days	Tue 3/27/18	Mon 4/2/18
Development of risk plan	8 days	Mon 3/26/18	Wed 4/4/18
Creation of acceptance plan	7 days	Tue 3/13/18	Wed 3/21/18
Development of communication plan	6 days	Tue 3/13/18	Tue 3/20/18
Milestone 2: Completion of planning phase	0 days	Mon 4/2/18	Mon 4/2/18
Design phase	26 days	Wed 3/21/18	Wed 4/25/18
Creation of rough sketch	10 days	Wed 3/21/18	Tue 4/3/18
Integrated design process	12 days	Tue 4/3/18	Wed 4/18/18
Architect drawing	15 days	Tue 4/3/18	Mon 4/23/18
Arrangement of meetings for permit	16 days	Wed 4/4/18	Wed 4/25/18
Milestone 3: Completion of design process	0 days	Tue 4/3/18	Tue 4/3/18
Construction phase	67 days	Wed 4/4/18	Thu 7/5/18
Break ground	12 days	Thu 4/26/18	Fri 5/11/18
Excavation	15 days	Thu 4/26/18	Wed 5/16/18
Foundation	17 days	Wed 4/4/18	Thu 4/26/18
Concrete slab Pour	18 days	Mon 5/14/18	Wed 6/6/18
Providing utilities like Sewer, electrical, Water	16 days	Mon 5/14/18	Mon 6/4/18
Framing	15 days	Thu 5/17/18	Wed 6/6/18
Roofing	17 days	Fri 4/27/18	Mon 5/21/18
Lighting and electrical	20 days	Thu 6/7/18	Wed 7/4/18
Insulation	21 days	Thu 6/7/18	Thu 7/5/18
Drywall	18 days	Tue 6/5/18	Thu 6/28/18
Flooring	17 days	Thu 6/7/18	Fri 6/29/18
Milestone 4: Completion of construction phase	0 days	Wed 6/6/18	Wed 6/6/18
Closure phase	27 days	Thu 6/7/18	Fri 7/13/18
Post project review	5 days	Mon 7/2/18	Fri 7/6/18
Stakeholder sign off	4 days	Thu 6/7/18	Tue 6/12/18
Documentation	5 days	Mon 7/9/18	Fri 7/13/18
Milestone 5: Completion of closure phase	0 days	Tue 6/12/18	Tue 6/12/18

4. Cost estimates (Budget)

It is identified that the estimated budget of the project is around $ 357,560.00. The table below provides cost estimation for each of the project activity.

Task Name	Duration	Cost
Construction of building for Wesfarmers for providing warehouse facility	112 days	$357,560.00
Initiation phase	25 days	$26,600.00
Development of business case	7 days	$5,320.00
Undertaking feasibility study	9 days	$6,480.00
Establishing charter	10 days	$7,600.00
Appointing project team members	9 days	$7,200.00
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase	0 days	$0.00
Planning phase	23 days	$36,400.00
Creation of project plan	8 days	$6,080.00
Creation of resource plan	7 days	$7,280.00
Development of financial plan	6 days	$4,320.00
Creation of quality plan	5 days	$3,600.00
Development of risk plan	8 days	$5,760.00
Creation of acceptance plan	7 days	$5,040.00
Development of communication plan	6 days	$4,320.00
Milestone 2: Completion of planning phase	0 days	$0.00
Design phase	26 days	$41,560.00
Creation of rough sketch	10 days	$7,200.00
Integrated design process	12 days	$7,200.00
Architect drawing	15 days	$15,000.00
Arrangement of meetings for permit	16 days	$12,160.00
Milestone 3: Completion of design process	0 days	$0.00
Construction phase	67 days	$246,360.00
Break ground	12 days	$11,520.00
Excavation	15 days	$20,400.00
Foundation	17 days	$17,680.00
Concrete slab Pour	18 days	$23,760.00
Providing utilities like Sewer, electrical, Water	16 days	$16,640.00
Framing	15 days	$19,800.00
Roofing	17 days	$17,680.00
Lighting and electrical	20 days	$21,600.00
Insulation	21 days	$42,000.00
Drywall	18 days	$28,080.00
Flooring	17 days	$27,200.00
Milestone 4: Completion of construction phase	0 days	$0.00
Closure phase	27 days	$6,640.00
Post project review	5 days	$1,800.00
Stakeholder sign off	4 days	$3,040.00
Documentation	5 days	$1,800.00
Milestone 5: Completion of closure phase	0 days	$0.00

5. Risk management

Risk	Description	Impact	Probability	Mitigation strategies
Improper estimation of budget	Due to improper estimation of the project, the project manager faces difficulty in completing the project and as a result the project progress is obstructed due to shortage of budget.	High	High	It is quite important to estimate the project budget by analyzing the market cost of the materials as well resources of the project properly.
Lack of predictability	Due to lack of predictability, the project manager faces difficulty in estimating the duration of the project effectively.	High	Medium	Experienced project managers must be assigned so that they can have more power of prediction in comparison to the new project managers.
Inexperienced project manager	If the project managers are not inexperienced then they will face difficulty in completing the project on time and budget	High	Medium	It is very much important to hire project managers based on their experience.
Improper quality of materials	Due to use of improper quality of materials, the project will face quality related issues.	High	High	It is very much important to use proper quality of materials within the project.
Improper design of the project	If the design of the project is not created properly then the civil engineer will face issue during project construction.	Medium	Medium	It is very much necessary to create proper design for the project.

6. Project organization and Management

Project Stakeholders

a. Project organization

A project organization is a structure that generally helps in facilitating the co-ordination as well proper implementation of various project activities. Its main reason is to create proper environment that generally helps in fostering interactions among the various team members for minimizing the amount of overlap, conflicts as well as disruptions. The figure below reflects the project organization structure of Wesfarmers.

b. Project roles and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the project are provided in the table below:

Roles	Responsibilities
Project manager	The project manager is the person who is responsible for delivering project with proper authority and responsibility. In addition to this, it is identified that the entire responsibility of initiating, planning, controlling as well as executing is done by the project manager.
Project planner	The project planner is the person who mainly works with the business directors in order to oversee as well as direct the project progression.
Supervisor	The supervisor of the project is mainly responsible of developing, implementing the various project works. In addition to this, they also help in developing, maintaining as well as improving business relations that are quite vital for the success of the project.
Architect	The project architect is the person who mainly engages in designing sketches, preparing budgets as well as meeting with clients.
Contractor	A contractor is the person who is mainly responsible of day-to-day oversight of construction site so that the entire building must be constructed properly.
Supplier	Supplier provides all the necessary resources that are needed in order to construct the project successfully.
Civil engineer	The civil engineers are the person who is mainly responsible of creating, improving the condition of the organization by constructing the building for providing the facility of warehouse.
Machine operator	The machines operators generally operates machines for completion the work operation of the project on proper budget and time.
Financial manager	The financial manager is the person who is mainly responsible of financial reports, direct investments as well as engages in developing various types of strategies as well as plans for the long-term financial goals.
Human resource manager	Human resource manager is the person who is mainly responsible of planning, directing as well as coordinating the administrative functions.

c. Project controls

i) Change management (Strategies)

The change management strategies for the project include:

Proper prediction: It is necessary to predict the duration as well as budget properly so that the entire project can be completed successfully.

Arranging meetings on a weekly basis: Proper meeting must be arranged on weekly basis in order to know the status of the project.

Proper track on the utilization of resources: Proper track on the project resources must be kept so that the project managers can be able to complete the project within the budget.

Use of proper quality of materials: It is necessary to use proper quality of materials in the project for providing quality based outcome.

ii) Management reporting

Role	Report
Financial manager	The financial manager analyzes that the budget of the project is not sufficient for completing the project.
Human resource manager	The human resource manager analyzes that the resources of the project are not used properly.
Project planner	The project planner estimated that the project needs two weeks more for completing the building construction successfully.

Status report	Discussion
Monthly	The project manager discusses about the status of the project.
Weekly	The project manager analyzes that whether the project is progressing properly or not.
Daily	On a daily basis, the operations of the project are tracked.

7. Communication Plan

a. Meeting reports

Communication type	Discussion	Medium	Frequency	Audience	Owner	Deliverable
Kick off meeting	Project initiation phase is reviewed.	§ Face to face	Once	§ Project sponsor § Project team § Stakeholders	Project manager	§ Agenda § Meeting minutes
Project team meeting	The status of the project is reviewed with the help of team members.	§ Face to face § Conference hall	As required	Project team	Project manager	§ Agenda § Meeting minutes
Status meeting	The status of the project is reported.	§ Face to face § Conference hall	Monthly	PMO	Project manager
Project status report	Report on the project status including activities, progress and more	§ Face to face § Conference hall	Weekly	§ Project sponsor § Project team § Stakeholders	Project manager	§ Agenda § Meeting minutes

References

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