Project Based Case Study Answers

Subject Name : Management

Assessment 1 Project Charter

Part A
Theoretical Explanation of Each Project Element
Project Scope
Business Case
Milestone Schedule and Deliverables
Risk Assumptions and Constraints
Resource Estimate
Stakeholders
Team Operating Principles
Lessons Learned
harter Signatures

Part B
Project Charter
Letter to Sponsor
Project Scope
Business Case
Milestone Schedule and Deliverables
Risk Assumptions amp Constraints
Resource Estimate
Stakeholders Register
Team Operating Principles
Lessons Learned
Charter Signatures
References

Part A

Theoretical Explanation of Each Project Element

Project Scope

Project scope forms an important element of the project charter and same entails the determination as well as the documentation of the range of specific set of project objectives, relevant deliverables / tasks, deadlines and costs. The overall documentation concerning the scope of a project referred as the scope statement essentially explains overall boundaries concerning a project, establishing the responsibilities concerning each of the team member as well as setting up the procedures on how the completed work can be suitably verified as well as approved (Salameh, 2014, 23).

Business Case

All of the projects as well as program need to possess the business case which shall demonstrate overall value concerning a work. In a conceptual stage over life cycle the outlining of business case shall be undertaken and the same shall be utilized by top management for assessing and approving the initiation of the project to proceed further (PMI, 2013, 66-69).

Milestone Schedule and Deliverables

Deliverables shall represent the interim results which shall contributes to completion of overall project in the requisite manner, like that of creating a product / service or attaining a specific outcome. Deliverables could in addition be final output of a project. Deliverable shall represent one or else more number of items / services which shall contribute towards overall fulfilment concerning objectives of a project as well as shall be created through project processes. The said measurable results validate realization concerning the day to day work objectives of project. Project team shall undertake the definition of milestones in being the means for identifying critical project activities / activity dependencies as well as for providing the ways for comparing the project performance with planned targets (PMI, 2013, 66-69).

Risk Assumptions and Constraints

Constraints as well as assumptions shall need to be identified as well as documented in a broad level at the time of project initiation. These shall be refined as well as documented in a comprehensive manner during the latter stages. They shall be inputs for various processes of project management. The assumption analysis represents an element of risk process in the project. In case the constraints change, or else assumptions get proven to be wrong, the same has impact on various elements of the project plan. Hence, constraints as well as assumptions shall be required in being identified, consistently tracked, as well as controlled effectively over the course of project lifecycle (Tenera amp Pinto, 2014, 915).

Resource Estimate

Estimation of the resources required to undertake a project is a key planning exercise and needs to be undertaken in a careful manner. The six key inputs with respect to tis include the activity list, relevant activity attributes, concerned organizational process assets, enterprise environment factors, and availability of the resources (Badewi, 2016, 764).

Stakeholders

Project stakeholders represents the individuals / entities who possess interest with respect to the specific project. The various stakeholders include sponsor for the project, one who has interest or else stands to gain on the successful project completion, and one who can have negative / positive influences over completion of the project (Mesquida amp Mas 2014, 852).

Team Operating Principles

Team operating principles are set of rules that are laid on project initiation and ned to be complied by all team members. The same aids in aligned team operation that aids in project completion as planned.

Lessons Learned

The success trends of projects is less and hence learning from projects undertaken in the past is crucial. The documentation from past project covering the key learnings shall aid to prevent previous errors and ensure successful outcomes.

Charter Signatures

The authorization of a charter shall happen by way of charter document being signed off by sponsor / owner, project manager, and governance committee members if applicable.

Part B

Project Charter

Letter to Sponsor

To CEO Sponsor, Insurance Company
From Branch Manager Project Manager , Insurance Company
The project charter presented below covers all key elements well-defined and documented at a broad level. These are on the basis of agreed terms, outcomes, and business impacts targeted.
At the outset, the business case analysis indicates a favourable picture with positive returns justifying the undertaking of the project. Furthermore, the detailed broad level planning of the project indicates its feasibility and success potential.
All of the key elements scope, business case, risks, stakeholder planning, lessons learned guidance are presented in a clear, specific, and business objective aligned manner. On approval, the project shall proceed to the initial stage of planning phase.

Project Scope

The project is undertaken at an insurance company and the same is undertaken by the same company. The companys lease is coming to an end in two months and the company needs to vacate its existing premises and move to a new premises with fresh lease. This move needs to be undertaken in a manner that has least amount of impact on the companys customers as well as employees.
The scope of this project entails the following i planning, managing, implementing, and monitoring / controlling the vacating of personnel and resources from the existing premises and moving the same to a new premises, ii the overall move shall be undertaken in a manner that has least amount of disruption to the customers / employees, iii complete the project in a period of 8 weeks and of which 6 weeks shall entail actual moving, and iv complete the project within the allocated budget of 100,000.

Business Case

The business outcome of investing in this project has twin objectives ensure seamless and least disrupting move to new premise, and ensure value addition on this move. The financial assessment of this business motive and realities indicate a success potential as presented below
Years 1 2 3 4
Total Project Cost (1,00,000) - - -
Returns 20,000 24,000 31,200 40,560
Net Cash Flow (80,000) 24,000 31,200 40,560
NPV 5,899
IRR 9
ROI 6

Milestone Schedule and Deliverables

The key deliverables of the project include the following i approved project charter, ii project management plan document, iii status review of actions needed and documentation, iv implementation plan for the move, v implementation through timed transfers and end-to-end setup at new premises, and vi project closure.
The milestone schedule is presented as follows
Milestone Completion Date Acceptance Criteria Stakeholder Judge
Project charter approved Day 1 The charter is complete and signed-off by Directors Project Sponsor (CEO)
Project management plan documented and approved End of Week 1 PMP documented fully and signed-off by sponsor Project Manager (Branch Manager)
Status Review amp Documentation Completion End of Week 1.5 Data collection, review of resources, and complete status review update Project Manager (Branch Manager)
Development of Logistics Plan End of Week 2 Practical and actionable logistics plan Project Manager (Branch Manager)
End to End Transfers and Complete Move to New Premises End of Week 7.5 Execution of the logistics plan Project Manager (Branch Manager)
Project completion End of Week 8 Assessing project success and documenting learning from projects Project Manager (Branch Manager)
Table 2.1 Milestone Schedule

Risk Assumptions amp Constraints

The initial risks that are relevant to this project are collated and presented below
Project (Potential) Risks Risk Owner Contingency Plans
Ineffective control on project leading to non-conformance with schedule / budget as per PMP Project Manager (Branch Manager) Developing effective control / monitoring process and enforcing the same as per PMBoK guidelines
Team conflicts arising from ambiguous role descriptions Project Manager (Branch Manager) Documenting, communicating, and enforcing specific and clear roles / responsibilities
Ineffective management of the implementation causing loss of material resources Project Manager (Branch Manager) Ensuring all the resources are adequately insured and developing effective planning with adequate controls
Expenses going beyond the allocated budget due to unexpected external events Project Manager (Branch Manager) Assigning a portion of the allocated budget (5 to 10 per cent) as contingency fund for such situations.
Table 2.2 Identified Risks
Resource Estimate

The resource required for undertaking this project is presented as follows
Funding Completion within the allocated budget of 100,000
People Project team comprising project manager and two other members. All of them are employees of the insurance company.
Equipment No procurement required.
Other None
Table 2.3 Resources Required

Stakeholders Register

The stakeholders identified based on preliminary assessment is presented as follows
Stakeholder Interest in Project Priority
Project Sponsor (CEO) High High
Project Manager (Branch Manager) High High
Team Member 1 (CIT Manager) Low Low
Team Member 2 (Administration Manager) Low Low
Table 2.4 Stakeholder List

Team Operating Principles

The principles of team operation is presented as follows and these shall be adhered for effective team collaboration and operation
Team operating principle
1 Team meetings shall be planned and communicated by Project Manager and all meetings shall be chaired by Project Manager.
2 All decision making shall be undertaken by the Project Manager and in case of issues concerned stakeholders need to communicate with Project Manager.
3 All project team members should work in a collaborative and supportive manner.
Table 2.5 Team Operating Principle

Lessons Learned

The lessons which are learned from earlier projects and that shall be useful for the current project are as follows
Lesson
1 Planning of the project is the crux of the project success and hence there shall be comprehensive efforts to undertake the same in an effective manner
2 There shall be emphasis on enforcing the controls and monitoring processes designed in a consistent and planned manner
3 The focus shall be on ultimate business needs for which the project has been undertaken rather than the specific project activities as seen as end in themselves
Table 2.6 Lessons Learned

Charter Signatures

Sponsor Department / Organization Signature
CEO N/A Project Manager Department / Organization Signature
Branch Manager N/A Core Team Members Department/ Organization Signature
CIT Manager N/A Administrative Manager

References

Badewi, A. (2016). The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM) practices on project success Towards developing a project benefits governance framework.International Journal of Project Management,34(4), 761-778.
Mesquida, A. L., amp Mas, A. (2014). A project management improvement program according to ISO/IEC 29110 and PMBOK.Journal of Software Evolution and Process,26(9), 846-854.
PMI. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). PMI
Salameh, H. (2014). A framework to establish a project management office.European Journal of Business and Management,6(9), 19-26.
Tenera, A., amp Pinto, L. C. (2014). A Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project management improvement model.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,119, 912-920.