Project Management
Name
Institution
Date
Project Management
- Question: What is the leadership structure of the team?
The leadership structure that will be used in the realization of the project will be matrix organizational structure. According to Bobera (2008), the matrix organizational structure will be essential in giving the project the central attention. Kuprenas (2003) further explains that the matrix organizational structure will help to improve the success in the realization of the project implementation. The structure will also be essential in improving communication within and between the various functional groups in the matrix and will allow continuity in cases when some of the team members withdraw from the project.
- Question: What is the communication plan for the team?
According to Koivula (2009), communication is a core aspect of any project management. Ceschi, Sillitti, Succi and Panfilis (2005) further states that communication is the root of failure for a project. The project’s communication plan involves an upward and downward communication channel that will also include a project kickoff meeting, project team meetings, monthly project status meetings and periodical reports provided to management and stakeholders. Reports will be given to the functional managers on a weekly basis, the director manager in the central office biweekly. The shareholders and the board will be provided with the progress reports on a monthly basis to create a profile of reliable and positive service delivery.
- Question: How often will the team meet?
Given the importance of communication, it would be critical to ensure critical meetings of the project teams for various activities such as sharing of information and ideas and communication of goals. The project teams will meet on a weekly basis with their respective team members. Status meetings will be monthly and ad-hoc meetings with management will occur as needed.
- Question: What work will be completed (WBS)?
The chronology of the various primary phases is as discussed. The first phase will be the Procurement Phase that will involve the purchase of licenses if needed and stand-up or an on-line training system. The training phase will then follow that will involve teaching Engineers and help desk analysts. It will also run concurrently during the completion phase. The completion phase will involve upgrade after learning on the use of the new system. The other phase is the deployment phase that will involve the upgrade of the systems. Moreover, there would be the transition to operations and maintenance phase. This phase will involve a precise definition of how responsibilities will be transferred from the project management team to other stakeholders (Dobson M. & Dobson D., 2011). The last phase would be the project closeout phase which Staples (2010) explains that it will involve evaluation of the project to determine key areas that may be improved.
- Question: What is the time to complete each work package?
Time goals are essential in the achievement of design goal and is hence to prudent to ensure good allocation to various activities during project management (Shenhar, 1997). Every work package in this project will be completed in approximately one month. Given that the project is divided into five work packages, five months will hence be needed for the completion of the project. However, an extra month is added to account for any instances of unproductive time due to various challenges (Kelsey, 2006).
- Question: How does the WBS relate to the organizational breakdown structure (OBS)
The activities of the project are categorized into subunits according to the nature of the work and proposed design of the project. The design of the breakdown structure relates to the organizational structure by the duties categorized into the work breakdown structure to complete the project activities within the limited period. Various assets, in the number of 1,400 will be required with the total number of 1,400 personnel in various personal specializations to enable every individual to work on a single entity. However, personal specialization variance will be kept at a minimum to prevent complexity (Baccarini, 1996). The personnel will be needed during the various phases except the procurement phase.
- Question: How long will the project take?
Given that the project realization will require approximately one month for the every sub-phase implementation, five to six months will be sufficient for the completion of the project’s activities. The extra one month will be used to allow for flexibility during the projects implementation.
References
Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity—a review. International journal of project management, 14(4), 201-204.
Bobera, D. (2008). Project management organization. Management Information Systems, 3(1), 3-9.
Ceschi, M., Sillitti, A., Succi, G., & Panfilis, S. D. (2005). Project management in plan-based and agile companies. Software, IEEE, 22(3), 21-27.
Dobson, M. S., & Dobson, D. S. (2011). Managing multiple projects. Place of publication not identified: American Management Association.
Kelsey, R. B. (2006). Software project management: Measures for improving performance. Vienna, Va: Management Concepts.
Koivula, J. (2009). Succeeding in Project Communication-Effective Tools for the Purposes of Change Management Case Company: VR Ltd. Passenger Services.
Kuprenas, J. A. (2003). Implementation and performance of a matrix organization structure. International Journal of Project Management, 21(1), 51-62.
Shenhar, A. J., Levy, O., &Dvir, D. (1997). Mapping the dimensions of project success. Project management journal, 28(2), 5-13.
Staples, L. (2010). Project management: A technician guide. Research Triangle Park, NC: International Society of Automation.
Appendix
Communication Plan
| Communication Media | When communicated | To whom |
| Meetings | · Start of project
· Monthly
|
Project teams |
| Memo | · Monthly | Project teams |
| Report | · Weekly to functional managers
· Biweekly to director manager · Monthly to shareholders and the board
|
As indicated in the previous section |
