Project Case Study: Closing the Project
You have concluded the project and must now present your work in a final summation to the client. As a project manager you are continually looking for opportunities and recommendations for further projects without trying to sell the customer. Making recommendations can be presented in a way that is not selling services but suggesting how future projects can positively impact the client organization.
The following requirements must be met:
• Write between 2,500 - 3,000 words using Microsoft Word in APA 6th edition style.
• Use an appropriate number of references to support your position, and defend your arguments. The following are examples of primary and secondary sources that may be used, and non-credible and opinion based sources that may not be used.
1. Primary sources such as government websites (United States Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Census Bureau, The World Bank), peer reviewed and scholarly journals in EBSCOhost (Grantham University Online Library) and Google Scholar.
2. Secondary and credible sources such as CNN Money, The Wall Street Journal, trade journals, and publications in EBSCOhost (Grantham University Online Library).
3. Non-credible and opinion based sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. should not be used.
• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased statements, information, etc.) in the paper and list each source on a reference page using APA style. An overview of APA 6th edition in-text citations, formatting, reference list, and style is provided here.
Initiation Phase
Business Case
At J. Smith & Associates, it has been realised that the furniture currently being used by the organization were outdated and needed urgent re-designing. This called for the initiation of the project that could help with designing the organization's furniture from the office chairs, the cabinets and the file storages systems, the office desks and the customer care desks. This was with an aim of improving the experience of the directors and employees of the organization whenever they are at the work place. Further, ensuring customer satisfaction was a factor that was closely considered when settling for this project's approval.
Feasibility Study
The project has been approved and is expected to cost USD50,000 which is equivalent to the amount that the organization have been losing on an annual basis because of lack of customer retention and loss of morale by the employees. Once the project is completed, the organization is expected to regain the amount used for the project in the first year of resuming full operations.
Project Charter
The project is expected to take three thirds of a year and will solemnly be under that watch of the project management team. This is a special unit within the organization that is mandated with the responsibility of ensuring a smooth running of any initiated project by the organization.
2. Project Planning Phase
This stage is where the solution to the project will be sought and developed in the best way possible and the stepwise procedures necessary to achieve it are outlined. It will also help with identification of the tasks that will be carried out during the project's life and the necessary resources to achieve it are also outlined in the best way possible. The activities to be handled are also clearly outlined. With the help of the ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, the project manager will coordinate the budgeting process by assisting with the provision of the estimates of the costs relating to the labor, the required equipped, and the costs of the materials (Wysocki, Kaikini, & Sneed, 2014). This proposed budget will help in monitoring and control the expenditures when the project is being implemented. After identifying the work, the schedule and the costs estimates, then the three fundamental parts of the process of planning are always considered to have been accomplished.
It is expected that this will help the firm with adequate time to search for the things that may act as threats to the project being successfully completed. This is a time known as the management of risks. These are the threats that can hinder any of the identified objectives for the J. Smith & Associate from being realized. This time is always the best that the organization will take to help with the realization of the key stakeholders and put in plan the best communication plan that will help identifying the needed information and method of method of delivery that will help in ensuring that the stakeholders stay informed. Finally, to ensure that this phase is thoroughly exploited, there will be establishment of a quality plan that will help in provision of the quality targets. For instance, the materials to be used in making of the furniture should be of quality and satisfy some set standards. There will also be identification of the control measures for the project as a whole, and also a development of an acceptance plan that will provide a list of that which the project must achieve so as to get the acceptance of the customers (Wysocki, Kaikini, & Sneed, 2014).
Financial Plan
The finance department is expected to allocated and approximated USD50, 000, with the help of the software, there have been proper breakdown of the way the finances will be used.
Quality Plan
To ensure quality, the procurement process of the materials to be based on the federal and state rules and the ones used in the whole project will be of high quality. When designing for this organization the furniture, we shall select office furniture that has been made from quality materials and wood from around the world. An Italian design would be appropriate for J. Smith & Associates. It is believed by most people that the executive desks that are made using the Italian design are very stylish, durable as well as suitable for the office needs.
Risk Plan
There are a number of risks that have been identified and methods and techniques of having them mitigated set up in place. They include disputes among the employees, collisions, and strain in the funding process, vandalisms, and insolvency from the part of the contractor. To help with mitigating these risks, the project management team have put in place surplus finances to help with curbing cases of insufficient funds, working at night to help with reduction of the effect caused by the noise to neighbouring business and offices, establishment of clinics at the site to assist with treatment of the victims of the accidents at the site.
Communication Plan
The main forms of communication during the whole process will be social media and emails. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp will be used to assist with communication of any cases of new developments to the team working on the project. The suppliers and the other stakeholders will be communicated to through the use of emails.
3. The Execution Phase of the Project
During this phase, there will be commencement of the implementation process of the project plan. This will be market by the start of the design process of the executive tables and chairs, establishment of the facilities of the board and conference rooms, the design of the furniture and customer desks for the second and first floors respectively (Westland, 2007). During this phase, there is significance in maintenance of control and communication as outlined during the process of implementation. The progress of the project will be continuously monitored under this stage and the necessary adjustments made and put down as variances from the initial plan. This stage will prove to be the busiest for the project manager of this designing process, individuals will be expected to carry out the tasks, and regular meeting will help with provision of information regarding the progress of the project (Westland, 2007).
4. Project Summary
During these final moments of the project, there will be a necessity of having the final deliverable given to customer. It will be marked with handling offer the documents to J. Smith & Associates, termination of the contracts of the suppliers, release of the resources of the project and having the closure of the project communicated to all the stakeholders. The lessons learnt in the course of the project will be documented.
References
Goh, M. H., & Leo, Y. N. (2014). Implementing your business continuity plan. Singapore: GMH Continuity Architects.Bottom of Form
Marmot, A., & Eley, J. (2009). Office space planning: Designing for tomorrow's workplace. New York, NY [u.a.: McGraw-Hill.
Means, J. A., & Adams, T. (2005). Facilitating the Project Lifecycle: The Skills & Tools to Accelerate Progress for Project Managers, Facilitators, and Six Sigma Project Teams. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Westland, J. (2007). The project management lifecycle: A complete step-by-step methodology for initiating, planning, executing and closing a project successfully. London: Kogan Page.
Wysocki, R. K., Kaikini, S., & Sneed, R. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme.