By using the information illustrated below, please give some detailed feedback regarding the following questions.
1. The specific tasks and milestones required for this project plan.
2. Five specific project risks (including size of the project and context within the organization) that could arise as the plan is implemented.
3. An assessment of each risks impact on project outcomes (in quantifiable terms).
4. Mitigation strategies for each risk.
5. A change management plan.
Adaptation of XML Technologies in Adobe Systems
Introduction and Description:
The Adobe XML Project will be a part of the Adobe Integrated Information Infrastructure Program. The Program will provide the workforce with information infrastructure and tools that adapt and evolve to support management, science and technology programs, and will eliminate the barriers caused by standalone systems (adobe.com). This purpose of this paper is to describe how the Adobe XML Project will be managed in conformance with project management methods.
Problem/Result Statement:
Today government, industry, and universities are all embracing XML as a technology that will assist in the sharing and reuse of information. Virtually all major software vendors including IBM, Microsoft, Sun, SAP, Oracle, and Software AG have made XML important parts of their product offerings. Having said this, Adobe must include XML as part of its infrastructure capabilities. XML has been so widely adopted because it is an open standard and is relatively simple to learn and use. It provides a self-describing way of labeling both text and data. XML allows information content to be processed with very little human involvement and exchanged across diverse computer hardware, operating systems, and applications. These capabilities are extremely valuable to a company like Adobe that has diverse missions, works with many external partners, and by necessity must use computer hardware and software supplied by many different vendors. While XML is used in many applications not related to the Web, the value of XML will continue to grow as Web Services become an increasingly important tool for conducting day-to-day business (xml.nasa.gov).
Mission and Objectives:
This project supports the goal of the Adobe Integrated Information Infrastructure Program; providing information systems and technologies that enable anywhere, anytime access to information and people. Enabling consistent implementation of agency-wide services and applications is fundamental to providing the information systems and technologies that enable anywhere, anytime access to information and people (xml.nasa.gov).
The specific objectives of the Adobe XML Project are as follows:
• Provide to Adobe programs and projects the tools, mechanisms, and assistance they need for discovery of XML-related information in order to increase re-use of information and interoperability of information systems.
• Increase awareness of and share lessons learned about XML and XML-related technologies.
• Provide training to agency developers on specific aspects of XML-related
technologies.
• Provide to the Adobe CIO recommendations for Agency XML-related policies and standards.
• Coordinate Agency XML Communities of Interest.
Scope:
Adobe is an information-centric company. The end result of virtually all the activities that the company performs in support of its missions is information that is shared with the customers, shareholders, private industry partners, and with the international community. In order to be most successful, the company must use management approaches, processes, and technologies that allow the customer to generate, transmit, and utilize information effectively and efficiently. This plan details why Adobe should invest in a set of activities that will advance agency-wide the appropriate use of a key information handling technology known as the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The activities described will assist the agency in developing, and will be fully coordinated with the ongoing effort to define, the Adobe Enterprise Architecture. The Adobe XML Project Plan will describe how the activities proposed in this business case will be implemented.
Performance Measures:
The following performance measures will be tracked to ensure effectiveness of the investments proposed in this plan (itu.gmu.edu):
• Number of submissions to the Adobe XML Registry.
• Number of communities of interest submitting artifacts to the Adobe XML Registry.
• Number of subscriptions to artifacts in the Adobe XML Registry (indicating overall usage of the artifacts).
• Number of inquiries to the Adobe XML Registry.
• Number of individuals participating in the Adobe XML Working Group.
• Customer satisfaction surveys conducted to determine degree to which user community is satisfied with XML support at agency level.
• Number of visitors to the Adobe XML Working Group Web site (proposed).
• Number of XML-based applications implemented by members of the XML Working Group (will be tracked on web site).
Project Management Practices:
1. Our project team must determine at the start if the estimated time, funds, and staff resources are adequate to fulfill the promise.
2. Our project team will identify other priorities or organizational issues that could hinder the project.
3. The project should be lead by only one project manager.
4. Our project team will communicate with any person or department affected by the project:
• The project team will generate a list of individuals or departments the project will affect but who are not represented on the team side.
• The project team will establish communication with those affected by the project before the project starts, throughout the project, and at the project's conclusion.
5. Our project team will generate and deliver a value-producing promise to the customer:
• The project team will listen carefully to the customer and become familiar with the customer's environment to understand what would produce value to the customer.
• The project team and the customer will jointly define the promise.
• The project team will continuously, throughout the project, communicate with the customer to determine if the targeted promise is still valuable to the customer.
• The project team will fulfill the promise on time and to the customer's satisfaction and delight.