Steps To Identify Metrics And Timeframe For Effective Project Management

Identify Desired Area of Impact

Step 1: Identify the desired area of impact 

Area of Impact	Rank (1 to 5)
Customer	1 Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper
Social	2
Operational	3
Financial	4
Strategy	5

Step 2: Identify Desired Value – Better / Faster / Cheaper / More

The main desired value of the project is faster. In the current process, the sale and purchase cycle is slow and do not have a specific system. With the proposed mobile application and the website, these processes will follow a specific framework and will be faster and more convenient for the growers and buyers. Thus, “better” can also be considered as a desired value.

Step 3: Identify the Metrics

The project has an estimated budget of $1,217,320 and duration of 154 days. These metrics must be fulfilled in the project and the investment should be recovered in the next 6 months.

Step 4: Identify the Timeframe

After completion of the project, a timeframe is required to monitor the benefits and achievement of the MOV. For this project, the timeframe for achieving the MOV is set at 6 months after the project is completed and rolled out.

Step 5: Agree with the Sponsor

The sponsor who will provide funding for the project has requested to provide a presentation of all details and proposed features of the system as well as the expected cost benefit before the funds are made available. The same will be done in due course to agree with the sponsor regarding proceeding with the project.

Step 6: Summarise in a Clear Concise Statement

While any project requires financial benefits, this project is focussed on benefitting the customers with an effective system for buying and selling crops but it is also required a sufficient cost benefit is gained such that the investment in the project can be recovered in the next 6 months period.  

The functional scope items of the project are:

• An online market place for selling and buying crops
• A functional website for accessing the market place
• A smartphone application for accessing the market place

The project delivery scope items are:

• Project charter
• Project budget plan
• Project schedule plan
• Project list of requirements
• Website
• Mobile application
• Final project report document

The primary scope is to deliver the proposed new website and the mobile application through which, the customers will be able to access the online market place. Other related factors like development of business plan with the developed system, developing ideas for future upgrades and others are out of scope and hence, it is to be ensured that the project does not move out of scope. Monitoring of the project is necessary and the scope is to be managed to ensure the project is conducted within the budget and schedule limits and in the right direction.

People	Roles
System Architecture Specialist	Development of system architecture
Project Manager	Management of the project
Business and Marketing Specialist	Business analysis
Project Sponsor	Funding
System Designers	Design of the system
Testing Team Lead and Testers	Testing of the system
Training Team Lead and Trainers	Training of employees
Human Resource Manager	Appointment of human resources
Configurations Specialists	Configure the website and the app
System Developers	Development of the website and the app
Other Stakeholders	Other duties in the project
Team Leads	Managing the teams
Chief Architects	Assistance in developing system architecture
Customers	Use the system and provide feedback
Operations Manager	Management of operations

Hardware	Suitable and updated hardware for development of the website and the application
Software	Suitable software for development of the website and the application
Network	Internet connection for developing and testing the website

For the entire duration of the project, a project room and staying rooms will be provided for the project team members. In the project room, sufficient workstations and the software will be provided on which, the team members can work.

Travel Requirements	Rooms will be provided for project team members for the entire duration of the project in order to avoid travel requirements
Training Requirements	A training session will have to be conducted for employees to learn working on the new system

 Part Three: (15 Marks)

Milestones are included in the Gantt chart marked by a black diamond shape between the activities.   

The assumptions made in the project are as follows.

• It has been assumed that after the determination of the budget, there will be no further requirements for additional changes.
• It has been assumed that after the project is complete, the MOV can be achieved in the next six months.
• It has been assumed that the project is feasible in terms of the proposed features of the system.
• It has been assumed that the customers have access to computing devices.
• It has been assumed that the customers have access to the internet.

Risk ID	Description	Probability	Impact	Rate	Assigned To	Response Strategy	Threat or Opportunity
1	Lack of sufficient time for project can result in schedule overrun	2	2	4	Project Manager	Add flexibility to schedule	Threat
2	Lack of sufficient budget can result in budget overrun	2	3	6	Project Manager and Sponsor	Consider keeping some buffer budget	Threat
3	Software piracy may result in loss of license for project	3	4	12	Developers and Testers	Verify software license before purchase	Threat
4	Required resources for project may not be available	3	2	6	Procurement department	Make pre orders for required resources or wait for better and updated resources	Opportunity
5	The employees may not be technically skilled to manage the new system	4	3	12	Trainers	Conduct training sessions	Opportunity

The team’s philosophy is stated as follows.

The entire team is focussed on reaching the final goal of the project with specific consideration for showing professional behaviour throughout, delivering the best quality outcomes and meeting all the requirements of personal duties as well as the project.

Verification Activity	When?
Verification of project plan	At the end of project planning
Verification of the proposed features	At the end of final proposal of system requirements
Verification of list of requirements	After the list is developed during design phase
Verification of final outcome	After the project is devliered

Validation Activity	When?
Validate project proposal	Before sending approval for project
Validate project charter	After the planning phase
Validate project report	Before signing off

Identify Desired Value

Article 1: Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.

The authors have emphasized on the importance of project evaluation that follows the project delivery. The authors have explained that after the project is handed over, any other activities like payments, signing off and others should be postponed until the evaluation is complete. The project manager will have the power to restart the project if satisfactory results are not received during the evaluation process. The authors also said that unless satisfactory results are generated, the project should be restarted and evaluated again and again.

Article 2: Mir, F. A., & Pinnington, A. H. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, 32(2), 202-217.

These authors presented a slightly different idea than the previous article. These authors have emphasized project evaluation is a continuous process and should not be stopped if the results are satisfactory. The authors have pointed out that in many projects, the negative impacts are often evident after some time and not immediately. Hence, even after delivery and completion, the project should be under constant evaluation until the next project on the same domain.

Article 3: Kucharska, W., & Kowalczyk, R. (2016). Trust, Collaborative Culture and Tacit Knowledge Sharing in Project Management–a Relationship Model.

These authors have also discussed about the project evaluation process and have stated that in addition to the project manager, other stakeholders like supervisor, finance manager and others should also take part in the evaluation process. In that way, it will be easier for the project manager to identify any issues that has not been addressed in the project.

The closure checklist is as follows.

• Is the system delivered at the right time?
• Is there any budget overrun?
• Is the system complete with all features?
• Is the system tested before going live?
• Is the training plan for employees finalized?

Evaluation of the MOV will be done on a constant basis after the project is completed and the system is rolled out. This is because the MOV depends on the uses of the customers and hence, analysis of customer feedbacks is necessary. 

References

Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.

Joslin, R., & Müller, R. (2015). Relationships between a project management methodology and project success in different project governance contexts. International Journal of Project Management, 33(6), 1377-1392.

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Kucharska, W., & Kowalczyk, R. (2016). Trust, Collaborative Culture and Tacit Knowledge Sharing in Project Management–a Relationship Model.

Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014). Project risk management methodology for small firms. International journal of project management, 32(2), 327-340.

Marchewka, J. T. (2014). Information technology project management. John Wiley & Sons.

Mir, F. A., & Pinnington, A. H. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, 32(2), 202-217.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business and technology. Routledge.

Sánchez, M. A. (2015). Integrating sustainability issues into project management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 96, 319-330.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Svejvig, P., & Andersen, P. (2015). Rethinking project management: A structured literature review with a critical look at the brave new world. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 278-290.

Todorovi?, M. L., Petrovi?, D. ?., Mihi?, M. M., Obradovi?, V. L., & Bushuyev, S. D. (2015). Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach in project management. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), 772-783.