Assignment 2 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN Congratulations! The project sponsor has approved your business venture viability document (Assignment 2). You are to proceed to the next step: develop a project...

Assignment 2 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

Congratulations! The project sponsor has approved your business venture viability document (Assignment 2). You are to proceed to the next step: develop a project management plan. You will work in your assigned group adhering to your Student Group Contract, similar to Assignment 2.

The project management plan is a stand-alone document that the Project Sponsor will use to assist in obtaining Project Stakeholder sign-off. Amongst other things, it should present management plans related to ten knowledge areas and project process groups, such as executing, monitoring and controlling and closing the project.

Because the advancement of your project could really depend on this plan, you’ll want to make sure that it is as succinct, accurate, informed, and of course, as professionally presented as possible.

Submission Details

Note 1: You may include sections previously completed as part of the progress report where appropriate.

Note 2: Not all sections listed under ‘Other information related to…’ need to be completed. You may choose sections that are appropriate for your product/service.

Use the following structure for your report with sub-headings as appropriate:

1. Title Page

   1. Project title (i.e. the name of the company)

   2. Group details presented in a table with names, student numbers and APM period (with corresponding dates)

2. Table of Contents Page

   1. In addition to writing names against the headings in the body of the document, next to each heading, note the name of each person that contributed to that section,

      • (Ex: 4. Executive Summary – James Barnes, Paul Kelly)

   2. Include listing for graphs, charts, pictures, etc.

3. Executive Summary (approx. 1-2 paragraphs):

   1. Project Justification – (what is the issue that the product / service is trying to address)

   2. Project Aim – (what the product / service sets out to achieve)

   3. Project Scope –

      1. Inclusions – What the product / service is about,

      2. Constraints – What the project is not about (Ex: It could be about building an office building but not the adjacent parking lot)

      3. Assumptions – these are things that are a given (ex: a day will be defined as 8 hours, a work week will be defined a five days and Monday to Friday)

      4. Key deliverables of the product / service – What are things that need to be completed in order for the project to be considered successful

   4. Purpose of the Project Management Plan – how this specific document relates to your project, and what it covers.

4. Background

   1. Describe the issue / problem / opportunity / market gap that the project is set to address.

      1. Provide sufficient detail to prove that the project is not misguided (i.e. recognise project’s constraints and context).

         • Remember: “Say it. Explain it. Support it.”

      2. Don’t just list the
details – explain to the reader how and why they are related to the project.

   2. Describe how and why existing or similar approaches, products, technologies and/or projects might be applicable and/or relevant to your project. These could be competitors, and / or complimentary services.)

      1. Use a table to indicate how these projects are similar. (How you choose to label the table is up to you.)

5. Project Concept

   1. Describe the project. Explain it in a way that someone completely unfamiliar with the industry, concept, or product would understand.

      1. Include whatever pictures, sketches and/or drawings that you think best convey the project concept.

      2. Start with an overview and then discuss the various aspects and components in more detail.

      3. Mention the basic elements required to complete the project (e.g. for a construction project, you’d provide a general list of materials, functionality, required equipment, etc.)

   2. Project objectives

   3. Project requirements and deliverables – both for the plan and project.

   4. Project Key Performance Indicators (Identify at least five (5) KPIs)

      1. (i.e. how you will now that project is a success.)

6. Project Feasibility

   1. Discuss the feasibility and sustainability of the project, and identity key areas of strength and weakness.

      1. Include a detailed and defined SWOT analysis

      2. How likely is it to penetrate the market? How sustainable is it in the market?

   2. Approval requirements

      1. (Ex: ISO, government, professional associations, etc.)

   3. Project assumptions - (Identify at least 5 assumptions about the product / service, not the project as noted in section (3. c)

   4. Known constraints - (Identify at least 5 constraints about the product / service, not the project as noted in section (3. c)

   5. Possible improvements / going forward - (Identify at least 5 improvements.)

7. Project Stakeholders’ Management:

   1. Describe the specific target(s) / users of your project (This is where you establish the suitability & fit of your project), including:

      • Who would use it?

      • What would they use it for?

      • How would they use it?

   2. Describe the additional internal and external stakeholders within the project

   3. Stakeholder register and stakeholder management plan

8. Project Schedule Management:

   1. Key milestones

   2. Project WBS to at least 3 levels of decomposition (work packages). Include activity and activity attributes

   3. Activity list

   4. Project schedule network diagrams (if applicable)

   5. Activity resource requirements

   6. Resource breakdown structure

   7. Activity duration estimates

   8. Project Gantt Chart (MS Project or other PM software)

   9. Describe how the schedule will be managed during the project (How will you measure it, suggest, implement and record changes?)

   10. Other information related to time management:

       1. Change Control documents (though these can come much later in the semester)

       2. Enterprise environment factors

9. Project Cost Management:

   1. First pass estimated costs of in Australian dollars. (For our purposes, costs need only be approximate for large-scale projects.)

   2. Provide justification or basis for cost estimates. Where did your numbers come from?

   3. Describe how the costs will be managed during the project. (How will you measure it, suggest, implement and record changes?)

   4. Other information related to cost management (not all will apply or be relevant):

      1. Change control processes

      2. Tools for estimating (Software, prior projects, estimating, Rawlinsons Handbook, etc.)

      3. Rough order of Magnitude (ROM) – what are the parameters?

      4. Tools and techniques used for estimating

      5. Cost baseline parameters

      6. Variable costs vs. fixed costs?

      7. Specific performance measures (EV, CPI, etc.) and their acceptable parameters

      8. Enterprise environmental factors

      9. Marketplace conditions

      10. Commercial databases

      11. Organisational process assets

      12. Cost estimating policies (does organisation have a policy on estimating?)

      13. Organisation’s cost estimating templates

      14. Historical info, prior files, existing knowledge, etc.

      15. Project scope statement

      16. Constraints that can limit cost estimating

      17. Delivery dates

      18. Skilled resources

10. Project Quality Management:

    1. Briefly describe the quality items that will be measured during the planning, executing and monitor/control phases of the project. (Identify at least 7 quality items.)

    2. Briefly explain and justify the measurable items and units of measure in a Quality Definition Table.

    3. Present the final Quality Definition Table developed for quality management.

    4. Provide a quality checklist, if applicable

    5. Provide a summary and analysis of the outcome.

    6. Other information related to Quality Management:

       1. Change control processes

       2. ISO

       3. Total Quality Management

       4. Six Sigma

       5. Benchmarking – comparing actual with others

       6. Design of Experiments – statistical method for developing optimal conditions

       7. Cost of Quality (COQ) – cost incurrent for preventing non-conformance

       8. Additional quality planning tools - such as matrix diagrams, etc.

       9. Quality Management Plan – how it will be done and addresses

       10. Quality control and quality assurance (if relevant)

       11. Group Work Activities

           • Brainstorming

           • Benchmarking

           • Charting processes

           • Ranking

           • Defining control

           • Undertaking Benefit/Cost Analysis

           • Processes that limit and/or indicate variation

           • Control charts

           • Flowcharts

           • Histograms

           • Pareto charts

           • Scattergrams

           • Run charts

       12. Others

           • Validity of the methodology

           • Change management approaches and strategies

           • Adherence to review and acceptance procedures

           • Resolution of emerging issues and how they are monitored in the project execution

           • Engaging appropriate project personnel and skills

           • Maintenance of documentation and records

           • Outputs that meets agreed customer requirements

           • Adherence to budget within time and cost

           • Quality metrics – how it will be measured

           • Process improvement plan

11. Project Human Resource Management

    1. Project organisational chart

    2. Responsibility assignment matrices

    3. Discuss the responsibility, accountability, consultation and informed roles in your project

    4. Resource histogram

    5. Staffing management plan

12. Project Communication Management

    1. Stakeholder communication requirement

    2. Communication Matrix(external and internal)

    3. Communication guidelines

    4. Escalation process for resolving issues (that cannot be dealt with at a lower level)

    5. Other information related to HR and Communications Management:

       • Change control processes

       • Enterprise Environmental factors

       • Organisational process assets

       • Stakeholder communication requirements

       • Info to be communicated (format, content and level of detail)

       • Person responsible for communicating info

       • Methods of communication (e-mail, fax, etc.

       • Frequency of communication (daily, weekly...)

       • Methods for updating and refining communication plan

13. Project Risk Management:

    1. Identify at least ten or more risks to your project

    2. Perform qualitative risk analysis

    3. Plan the risk responses

    4. Complete a risk register for the project, including development issues and operational issues.

    5. Provide a risk matrix with the above-mentioned risks and explain your reasoning.

    6. Other information related to Risk Management:

       1. Risk management planning

       2. Quantitative risk analysis

       3. Risk monitoring and control

       4. Risk analysis techniques used

       5. Risk acceptance parameters/criteria

       6. Risk categories

       7. Change control processes

       8. Enterprise Environmental factors

          • Risk tolerance, etc.

14. Project Procurement Management:

    1. Briefly describe the various types of required contracts for all relevant elements related to your product / service

    2. Provide the make-or-buy analysis for relevant items (including office space, computers, etc.)

    3. Other information related to Procurement Management:

       1. Plan purchases and acquisition

       2. Plan contracting

       3. Request seller responses

       4. Select sellers

       5. Contract administration

       6. Contract closure

       7. Evaluation criteria

       8. Weighting system

       9. Screening system

       10. Seller rating systems

       11. Proposal evaluation techniques

       12. Risk acceptance parameters/criteria

15. Conclusion

Summarise the above, including a sentence about each section.

16. References

Must be CDU Harvard method, with correct formatting refer to: http://www.cdu.edu.au/library/downloads/pdf/CDUHarvardReferencing.pdf

17. Appendices 


    1. Copy of your Group Contract

    2. You could include analysis, calculation, templates, etc. as Appendix.

NOTE: Templates to assist you in completing the Tasks can be found at www.intropm2.com/ on the Welcome pa