Project Management

Attack finds itself, like all other PC manufacturers facing a changing industry, one that is orientations from a growth market industry to a maturing market industry and Eke all competitors In the marketplace, Attack Is experiencing tremendous cost pressure and demands from management to adapt. In order for the company to survive must less thrive, company CIO John Strider believes a PM implementation is very necessary but he Is conflicted about the best way to Implement said PM office.

Does he implement a PM-heavy or PM-light model? Can the PM implementation change the organizational culture for the better and deal with the pressure Attack is acing or would the PM Implementation be disruptive to the organizational culture and as such become more of a problem than a solution. Questions about the main purpose and mission of the PM and the main challenges and obstacles in Implementing the PM are questions that John will struggle with and questions that this assignment tries to answer.

The purpose and objectives of a Project Management Office (PM) as defined by MAMBO is as follows: A project management office (PM) is a management structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources. Theologies, tools, and techniques. The responsibilities of a PM can range from providing project management support functions to actually being responsible for the direct management of one or more projects.

There are several types of PM structures in organizations, each varying In the degree of control and influence they have on projects within the organization, such as: Supportive – Supportive Amos provide a consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best practices, training, access to information and lessons learned from other projects. This type of PM serves as a project repository. The degree of control provided by the PM is low. Controlling – Controlling Amos provide support and management frameworks or methodologies, using specific templates, forms and tools, or conformance to governance.

The degree of control provided by the PM is moderate. Directive – Directive Amos take control of the projects by directly managing the projects. The degree of control provided by the PM is high. While the PM of Attack was still in its implementation phase, one of the problems facing Strider was defining its purpose while gradually proving its value. The PM group was still evolving from its inception in 2006 but still had not build complete consensus regarding its purpose, responsibilities and authority.

Strider believed in using a PM light/low implementation approach, where project focused responsibilities were going to be the primary means used to prove the merits of the PM. The plan was to create acceptance of the PM by consulting and mentoring individual projects before branching out into a more enterprise role for the PM. This approach used a minimal staff of experts who worked through internal project managers to perform the responsibilities of the PM. The focus was on the development of skills of internal project managers.

Not everyone involved believed in the light approach, Mark Nelson the new PM manager agreed with the light approach to begin with but he also felt the delays from using this light approach might compromise the groups’ ability to provide effective PM services and to demonstrate its value to the functional areas of the business and by extension executives that had not bought into the idea of implementing the PM. Without constraints, Nelson would employ a team of people consisting of project analysts, as well as managers very rapidly.

He was more concerned in the group’s productivity and outcomes than in how the group might be perceived or affects organizational culture at Attack. The issue of implementing a PM and the obstacles associated with implementing the PM at Attack is not unique to Attack. Most organizations that are implementing a new PM do so as a result of changing times, changing market forces or changing personnel and culture. Attack finds itself having to deal with changing market forces as the PC industry moved away from a growth market industry to a mature market industry.

Cost pressures increase tremendously on mature markets since areas for growth are no longer viable. Managers must effectively manage processes and supply chain to maximize profits in a mature market industry. PM offers centralized efforts that are dedicated to improving the practice and results of the organizations project management. The challenges for implementing the PM at Attack are roughly the same most companies have had to overcome in implementing Amos. Some of Attack’s challenges are as follows: Lack of recognition of value of PM to the organization and evaluating the effectiveness of the PM within the organization –

Because many mature organization view PM as Just another reporting mechanism for senior management, it will be difficult for Strider and Nelson to get the functional areas to recognize the real value/output of the PM. Strider’s concern was how would implementing the PM change the organizational culture. Would implementing too quickly raise red flags? Persons outside the PM will have reservations because to them, the PM cannot get the project done, they are not the ones writing code, installing servers, meeting with users or dealing with customers.

The challenge is eating these units to realize the value of the PM even though the PM might not PM show value of best practices and rigid centralized planning, control and methodologies? It is easier to make a case for implementing the PM than it is to provide measurements or metrics to measure the success of the implementation or the effectiveness of the PM once implemented. Another challenge of implementing the PM at Attack is the failure to decide of the type of PM that will be implemented. After a year in existence, all the executives are still not on board with he idea of a PM and its necessities.

Strider is still debating with himself about the type of PM structure that is right for the organization. For effective PM implementation, the PM teams need to have a strictly defined hierarchy with the organizational structure. Sponsors, direct and indirect reports and other relationships to the PM need to be clearly defined. These steps are required for the PM to be efficient and effective. Another challenge of implementation is a rigid corporate culture and failure to manage organizational resistance to change.

Strider understood Attack was moving from an organization that had no formal project management to a company that would like to be very formal. He understood the forces opposing the PM implementation can be overwhelming at times. He understood the resistance from the IT organization and also understood the resistance culturally within Attack. He believed he had only two choices, conform the PM to culture and survive or fight the culture and fail. He decided to work within the culture and to develop forces that would promote the PM and overcome these entrenched cultural resistances.

These efforts would include mentoring, coaching and training that would be provided by the PM team to other functioning areas. Would this hybrid approach work? These are questions that only time and reflection will answer. Conclusion: There is a saying in project management, “if you cannot measure, you cannot control and if you cannot control, you cannot manage”. PM solves this for organizations that take the time to implement a suitable and effective PM. By continuing with its implementation strategy, Attack PM should be able to enhance its reputation and s a result gain top to bottom recognition and organizational support.

Implementing sound methodologies and project management best practices within an organization can definitely affect the bottom line in a positive way. Attack at this point in the maturing market can least afford to continue doing business as usual. Organizational and cultural resistance might be an issue but it is up to the executives, functional managers and project managers to mentor and educate the larger organization to the benefit to implementing PM and project management practices that will have a costive effect on the company long term.

A project schedule is a layout that indicates the logical sequence, expected duration and dependencies that exists between activities. Activities are arranged by use of project schedule. Depending on the magnitude of a project, how long it will take to start its implementation and any other reason; the details of the activity schedule may differ.

Before assigning resources to the activity schedule, the following steps have to be undertaken: The main activities should be listed; the main activities should be broken down or decomposed into manageable tasks which are assigned to individuals during implementation to form their short term goals;

The sequence and order in which related tasks are to be undertaken and their relationships (done by techniques as critical path analysis) are developed; the start-up and completion time of activity is established by realistically determining how long it can take to finish an activity and hence the whole activity; the date of task completion and the quantity of output expected is determined and finally, the kind of person to undertake an activity and task allocation is determined on basis of technical expertise and competence.

After a successful completion of activity scheduling, resource assignment follows the following schedule: activities are entered into resource schedule proforma for each activity; a list of necessary resources is identified and listed for each activity, related resources are put into cost categories; determine their measures in terms of cost and quantities and finally identify the funding sources.

The best project management tool that can both accommodate project schedule and resource assignment is the Gantt chart or horizontal bar chart it is a tool used to plan the time scale of a project and the estimated amount of resources required. It is a useful tool for analyzing and planning more complex projects. Possible resource conflicts

A conflict is the behavior intended to obstruct the achievement of some other personal goals. It is an ongoing hostility between two or more groups. In any project appraisal, conflict issues have to arise because of different backgrounds of individuals involved. These conflicts may have either positive or negative impacts towards the project. The negative effects can lead to project delay, failure of the project and can lead project team turn over while the positive effects can cause members to search for a new approach, can trigger the thinking of a new idea, can cause tension that stimulates creativity and can make people clarify their opinions.

Possible sources of conflicts can be: poor communication channels, lack of support from management, lack of information and lack of resources or necessary tools to do the job. Due to the fact that we have our own unique ways of picturing things, differences in perception can cause conflict because of different views of the same situation. According to brian and Cronin, conflicts will also arise as a result of differences between corporate and individual goals, differences between formal and informal groups and conflict between an individual and the job. 1. Unbalanced work load This is one element that contributes to resource conflict in an organization.

If in any case an individual is overqualified or under qualified to perform a certain task, this would raise conflict between an individual and the job. Overspecialization of a job leads to monotony that brings about job dissatisfaction while under qualification of the task would lead to job complexities. Besides, if an activity was to be performed by ten people but instead performed by five people, there is a conflicting issue of inadequate human resource that will bring about conflict. If these elements are not considered, they will amount to unbalanced work load that could result to conflicts in project appraisal. 2. Poor schedule adjustment

As defined, activity schedule is a layout that indicates the logical sequence, expected duration and dependencies that exists between activities. If at all there is no logical sequence to be followed in undertaking the project, the conflicting issues in project appraisal would emerge. This would mean that the target completion period and costs-benefits are not met, hence increasing conflicting issues in project management. If for example an activity is to take two weeks but instead takes four weeks, there is time constraints factor that is not met within the stipulated period deemed to be of economic value. Since time is a critical resource to success factors of a project, if not properly managed, would result to increased conflicts.

Project management can be regarded as an important application especially as to how this approach highlights the focus of a particular project that takes place within a specific period, resources and other constraints. Project management has therefore introduced means to achieve many goals of an organization without having to put the entire institution at risk; this is to say that since projects are defined according to their uniqueness and given constraints, its management needs to be specific according to what needs to be executed based on the established limitations.

In the government sector, governments come up with numerous projects of various nature which can be said to be also driven by many factors such as, for instance, the incumbent administration and other political forces that may further define the potentiality of a certain proposal.

Similar to other organizations, governments rely on contracts as a means to push through with a certain project; however, what makes this scenario unique is that other than the political factors, there are a greater amount of considerations involved such as the degree of stakeholder influence and at the same time, depending on the height of the profile of the project, the project itself can be easily subject to public scrutiny. This is why, as Howes (2001) pointed out, government project management approaches are typically found to be restrictive with high demands on “productivity, accountability and cost containment” (Howes, 2001, 214).

This is a stark contrast between the project management approaches in the commercial sector which, according to Howes (2001), have become prevalent because of the greater number of project management in the commercial setting; in this regard, the author pointed out that even though there are the common principles applied between the two practices, it is important to see their differences because they have significantly diverged in vocabulary and in practice, and the fact that as commercial project management approaches are common, government project management techniques are found to be usually different.

As a tool, project management in the government sector has been important especially as the government continuously have projects of varying magnitudes. However, unlike in the commercial practices, it is notable that these projects are also subject to many filters such as policies, regulations, and other components that need to be considered in order for the project to move on (Crawford & Helm, 2009).

Hence, in such scenario, it can be said that in the government context of project management, the complexity is due to the amount of bureaucracy that is present which, as compared to the commercial sphere, can be regarded to be too many (Frame, 2002). This paper therefore presents an evaluation of different government project management case studies which further distinguishes them from the more common commercial context. It should be noted that governments also get their projects and grant contracts to commercial bodies, thereby, certain factors need to be considered.

Therefore, from the case studies, it can be examined how certain commercial or private entities have managed to address and adjusted to the government framework of project management. 2. 0 Review of Literature 2. 1 A Discussion on Projects and Project Management As a means to comprehend what project management is, it is initially significant to define what constitutes a project. In general terms, a project is “a one-shot, time-limited, goal-directed, major undertaking, requiring the commitment of varied skills and resources”, and has a “finite, lifep” (Stuckenbruck, 1981, 1). Webster and Knutson (2006, 1) further discuss a project as, ubiquitous. Projects are the driving force for many organizations in most industries. Projects can be looked upon as the change efforts in the society, and the pace of change has been increasing. From this, it is evident that it is through projects that certain goals and objects are achieved because this is how they get actualized. For instance, a government may have envisioned integrating information technology as an essential platform of the future; this can take place when the government implements a project that solidifies that vision, such as for instance, computerization and digitization.

Hence, a single or a multitude of projects can be implemented as long as they serve a common or a single goal. This is why it is critical for projects to be managed whether they are small-scale projects such as fundraisers or huge projects such as the construction of a new bridge or government building. In any case, it shows that projects are enforced not just by objective but also by its function or outcomes (Webster & Knutson, 2006). When it comes to the execution of the project and its management, Howes (2001) discussed the many elements that need to be considered especially in the aspect of skills.

The author pointed out that it is important that the ability to comprehend the relationships among the people, budgets and technologies, in addition to the execution of planning for the maximization of productivity, motivation for execution, the analysis of the results and the revision and fine-tuning of the plans as a means to respond to the realities every project is subject to. This also reflects what Frame (2002) mentioned as to the changing business environment.

All projects are bound to face countless obstacles that demonstrate that projects are still prone to external forces; which is why it is important to manage them and implement approaches as a means to prevent any risks or problems from arising at critical levels.

2. 2 Project Management in the Government Context

Project management in the government context is discussed by Procca (2008) in which the author mentioned a project that would develop a model specific for a government initiative.

This is an important example of how project management principles are modelled and designed after the requirements of a particular government agency or initiative. As Procca (2008) explained, the importance of these applications which change over time can be seen in the changing environment of the agencies and in the societies. Hence, in the formulation of an effective project management approach for a government sector, Procca mentioned the integration of government-driven initiatives such as research and development as among the fundamentals in the design of a specific project management technique.

Arif (2008) presented a case study on an e-government initiative in a municipality in Dubai; the author mentioned the amount of adjustments the government sector had to make in order to make room for a critical development in the municipality, especially for an IT project management. Arif mentioned that since change was about to take place at the municipal level, in order for the project to become successful, the stakeholders were informed and their responses were assessed.

The author also pointed out that the success of such projects rely on the aspects of communication and knowledge.

3. 0 Research Method and Data Collection

3. 1 Purpose of Study

This paper aims to highlight project management as a tool used in the government settings, and highlight how the actual applications have made this distinctive. As a means to further distinguish the practice from the other project management approaches, this study examines selected cases which demonstrate an application of a project management methodology in a government project.

Hence, this study also aims to show some projects which the government may take project management depending on the proponents that will be included in the initiative. This research therefore assesses these examples as a means to define distinctive elements that make project management work best as a tool in the government given that the methodologies, processes and work environment are different from the common examples.

3. 2 The Qualitative Paradigm

As a means to effectively execute the aim of this research, this research utilizes the qualitative paradigm and identifies it as an effective methodology for this initiative. According to Potter (1996, 57), it has been observed that the three facets of qualitative research are people, institution and text; the author also mentioned that the qualitative evidence gives way to a venue of exploration especially as to what is to be examined can be considered as a phenomena. Hence, although the qualitative paradigm does not give a definitive or quantifiable result as compared to the results from the quantitative methodology, the qualitative approach allows an investigation as the needs of those who use certain tools such as project management.

This therefore demonstrates an examination and a presentation of project management in a specific context. In this regards, through the qualitative paradigm, this study presents a comparison of case studies in which project management is applied in government projects, and from there, an analysis of the important points of the selected case studies will serve as the points of analyses of this study. 3. 3 Data Collection This paper identifies the following articles/case studies presenting project management applications in the government setting:

An e-government initiative is examined by Dye (n. d. ); in this paper, Dye mentioned how a the project portfolio management can benefit government projects especially those that have a technological nature. This time, the author proposed means to effectively implement a project that can provide improved services to the people and organizations while at the same time, acknowledging the government aspect as a proponent in the project. The next case is the examination of the Department of Energy projects as assessed by an independent research team.

This document by the Civil Engineering Research Foundation specifies the important points in the evaluated series of projects implemented by the DOE. This document thereby gives a comparative resources as to the approaches, implementation and status of some DOE projects. This source provides a comprehensive overview as to how project management was approached in this specific government agency. From these resources, the next provides an overview of these studies and from there, the different aspects in the project management approach are identified.

4. 0 Analysis and Discussion

4. 1 Project Management

Portfolio in an e-Government Project: Considerations In an article by Dye (n. d. ), the author mentioned that governments have been embracing the advantages of the electronic world especially in terms of how it can effectively provide service to the people through this specific platform. The author enumerated five important factors that have further enforced such initiative as the outcomes can be generally considered also beneficial to the government. These factors are as follows:

1. Through the e-Government platform there was the foreseen reduction in the costs of the operations especially as most transactions will be done electronically. Hence, there is the cited decrease in the overhead of the operations. ? Economic development was identified to be further encouraged especially as this initiative can help the promotion of sectors such as tourism in addition to meeting many business needs. ? The efficiency was seen in the integration of information and communication, especially as to how this can lead to easier access and utilization.
2. There is also the increase in the access across the government sectors at national, regional and local levels. Generally, the initial approach to project management in this case needs to apply the basic practices in any project management initiative. As Dye (n. d. ) mentioned, it is important to consider the following factors that even the government should not overlook: ? Examining the capacity of the agency in responding and accommodating the possibilities of the project.
3. Identifying the resources needed to make it possible, and how, in effect, the project still maintains a good business sense. ? Identifying the projects or sub-projects that need to be pursued not only by means of prioritization but also relevance. For instance, for an e-government project, what are the platforms that need to be implemented — Government to Government, Government to Business or Government to Citizen? From here, it is important to further identify which initiatives should be done first.
4. In addition to identifying the projects that need to be pursued, it is also important to identify which projects may have to be accelerated (as based on a pressing need), which projects have to be continued, and which projects have to be terminated. From this case, this shows that the government has to identify the many kinds of returns it can expect, from the business to the social responses. It is therefore inevitable that as the government uses resources in order to make its electronic projects possible, the calculation of the return-on-investment tends to be only natural.

As Dye explained this case (n. d. , 5): Saving money should not be the broad vision that should motivate e-gov. Quantifying value is not necessarily about financial return. While the return to a “for-profit” business may be an increase in the financial, the primary return on e-gov is increased efficiency, however it is measured by the myriad of stakeholders… As e-gov investments continue to come under more scrutiny, selecting the right projects becomes even more important.

Moving beyond simple financially- based decision criteria enables governments and their agencies to invest in the projects that most closely match the desired goals and objectives. In this regard, the project management approach in this context is by means of identifying the right goals and objectives that enforce the e-Government project and at the same time, ensure that the previously mentioned “capacity” also include the presence of political sponsorship and desire; information policy; infrastructure; human capital; and existing resources for the budget.

In terms of the management aspect, Dye (n. d. ) mentioned that the project management and control should come from those in the upper management, especially when it comes to making logical and difficult decisions; when certain structures need to be changed; and that the management is open to evaluation as a means to gather knowledge by means of the lessons learned. In addition, since this is a government project, whether the project management team and the main contractors are in-house or outsourced, it is important to emphasize the following factors:

1.  The case of privacy and security, especially as public records are being handled;
2. How to address the gap between institution and citizens, and how technology is supposed to help in this concern;
3. The acknowledgement of the public sector in terms of the limitations of the initiative, especially as the electronic platform also enables access to the global audience;
4. The reality of continuous demand for technology which the government agencies need to maintain.

4. 2 Project Management Approaches at the Department of Energy

According to the independent study by Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF, 2004), projects at the DOE during a certain time frame can be considered as a success because of the following factors:

1. The presence of effective Integrated Project Teams (IPT) which include those who will deliver the main tasks of the project in addition to personnel who would also function as procurement and facilities/user.
2. The presence of an effective DOE Project Director who possessed the competitive skills needed in the leading and the management of the different projects of the agency.
3. The said director was noted to differentiate and demonstrate substantial skills and leadership and how to efficiently direct the execution of the projects.
4. In addition to the Project Director, the study also identified that another success factor is the presence of Contract Managers who were competitive in their skills and leadership. Generally, the report demonstrates how the success of these projects mostly relied on the combination of structure and people.

In the projects at the DOE, it was shown in the study that the project management methodologies had to comply with certain policy requirements which is a standard in government projects. Hence, the Policy and Order for these DOE projects also determined the scope, schedule and budget of the projects. Primarily, the standards applied in these project demonstrate how they managed to pull through within the specific policy and order that was imposed on the projects; these policies and orders spell out the project management processes and procedures that need to be complied with.

Apparently, the presence of these agency-imposed standards were critical in these DOE projects especially as these initiatives were of high value and of high risk. In addition to projects costing millions of dollars, these projects required critical skills. Examples of these projects were environmental management initiatives which include decontamination activities and building projects which would house nuclear-based activities and products.

4. 3 Analysis

Based on these two documents it can be gathered that the factors that differentiate government-based project management approaches are as follows:

1. The number of the stakeholders involved are usually greater, especially as the eventual beneficiaries of these projects are the public, in addition to the fact that the costs of these projects are substantial.
2. The presence of important project management structures that combines the best practices of the principles and at the same time, the integration of the relevant government policies and regulations that need to be acknowledged in the execution of these projects.
3. The emphasis on the importance of good leadership and management as expected from the individuals coming both from the project team and the government agency.

As a tool, project management is definitely important in the government setting although as governments have many pre-conditions, how they approach project management is different from the usual approach as seen in the commercial settings. In a sense, what these studies can show is that projects in the government are not easy; there is indeed the acknowledgement of the presence of the bureaucracy thereby making the project management processes more complex.

Moreover, it is also inevitable that in certain cases, government projects have been questioned, especially for projects that would become too controversial. This is because as the government project usually concerns the public, both the government and its projects become subject to scrutiny. From this it is important to look at certain successful government projects such as those reviewed by the CERF as to the general success of the projects implemented by the DOE.

Apparently, the success has been attributed to the people themselves and how through effective leadership and management, the government structure through policies and orders, have managed to work with the project management principles. This is therefore an important aspect in the success of these projects because a project moves dependent on the mobilization of the members of the project team as led by its leaders and managers.

5. 0 Conclusion

Governments need to apply project management approaches as tools in the successful execution and implementation of its projects that are representative of its goals and objectives. As can be seen in the examination of the two primary sources of this paper, the general project management principles and best practices still apply in the government setting especially as these best practices would prove to be the forces behind the successful government projects. It should be also noted that as a tool, project management requires leadership, effective management and the competencies of the members of the project teams as a means to ensure that the success does not only rely on the results of the project but also in the quality.

In any successful project management initiative in the government, it is therefore important to integrate project management knowledge and practice, and at the same time, make sure that the established standards of the agencies are followed because these define further the greater scope and impact of government projects.

6. 0 References

1. Arif, M. (2008). Customer Orientation in E-Government Project Management: a Case Study. Electronic Journal of e-Government, 6, 1-10. Center for Technology in Government (2004).
2. New Models of Collaboration: an Overview. Civil Engineering Research Foundation. (2008)
3. Independent Research Assessment of Project Management Factors Affecting Department Energy Project Success. Crawford, L. , Helm, J. (2009). Government and Governance: The Value of Project Management in the Public Sector. Project Management Journal, 40, 73-87.
4. Dye, L. (n. d. ) Project Portfolio Management: A Critical Tool in Managing E-government Investments. Frame, J. D. (2002).
5. The New Project Management: Tools for an Age of Rapid Change, Complexity, and Other Business Realities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Howes, N. (2001).
6. Modern Project Management: Successfully Integrating Project Management Knowledge Areas and Processes. New York: AMACOM.
7. Potter, W. J. (1996). An Analysis of Thinking and Research about Qualitative Methods. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Procca, A. (2008). Development of a Project Management Model for a Government Research and Development Organization. Project Management Journal, 39, 33- 57.
8. Stuckenbruck, L. (1981). Introduction. The Implementation of Project Management: The Professional’s Handbook, L. Stuckenbruck, Ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Webster, F ; Knutson, J. (2006).
9. What is Project Management? Project Management Concepts and Methodologies. The AMA Handbook of Project Management. P. Dinsmore ; J. Cabanis-Brewin, Eds. New York: AMACOM.
10. Williams, T. , Klakegg, O. , Magnussen, O. ; Glasspool, H. (n. d. ) Practical Implications in Governance Frameworks for Public Projects.

Currently HLR Inc. has a growth rate of 25%. The target for the succeeding year has been set at 35%. But there are many issues that are to be dealt with in order to meet this target. The process of project management at HLR is not organized. Project management is seen as limiting. The business unit managers are not knowledgeable about business processes. Lower level staff is more in touch with the processes but are no recognized by the unit managers. Also each business unit involved uses a different information system. Marketing feels that many opportunities are lost due his disparity in systems. HLR Inc.

has now decided to implement Standard Customer Relationship Management Processes to standardise the procedures followed and the data stored by each business unit. It is also expected that implementing this project will ensure timely delivery of customer projects within budgetary limits. The time frame for this project is eighteen months. Sales, Product Fulfilment, Customer Service, Billing and Marketing are the business units that will be involved. The technical staff for the project will be recruited from a software vendor. Marketing will one of the business units that will welcome the project management initiative.

This unit feels that due to a lack of unified systems across units involved in servicing customer orders, many lucrative orders are lost. They face difficulties in gathering data from across multiple systems. The accuracy of the data is also not certain. By conforming to a single system marketing’s job will become easier. They data they have access to will also be more accurate. The whole process will also be speeded up making it easier for the company and the customer. Sales will be affected in terms of the accuracy of the data they maintain.

They will have to make sure that the data they collect from the customer conforms to the requirements of accuracy that the new system will implement. Product Fulfilment will be the most affected. They are the business unit that services customer orders. The complaints of deliveries that are not on time and not within the set budget are mostly aimed at this unit. The implementation of the new system will mean that Product Fulfilment will have to make the most change in its way of operation. Customer Services will also be similarly affected. Order shipping and invoicing are under the purview of this department.

This implies that this department shares responsibility for late deliveries. By implementing the new system here, delivery of orders on time can be guaranteed. Billing follows up invoice issues and passes on financial information to sales and executive management. This unit will be positively affected by the implementation of this project. The accuracy of the data they pass on to sales is now a certainty. The business unit managers will also be affected by the implementation of this project. Currently they are not knowledgeable about the business processes. Instead they are dependant on lower level staff for the same.

When this project is implemented, they will have to wok in coordination with managers of other units. They will also have to be more aware of the various processes involved. The lower level staff will also be affected by this project. So far the staff at HLR Inc. had been involved in maintaining the legacy systems that the company was suing. When the new system is in place however, the staff will have to learn how to work within the framework of the new system. They will also have to learn the newer technology that will be used. Coordination between business units will also become the order of the day.

All the concerned business units must be notified of the new project that is to be implemented. A suitable way to do this would be to initially call a meeting of all the managers of the concerned business units. The project must be explained in detail to them. They must also be given an overview of the technology that will be used and the processes that will be put in place. This is to ensure proper communication between the managers and the lower level staff. The next step would be to call a meeting of all the lower level staff who will be involved in running the system. They must be given a thorough and detailed explanation of the project.

If necessary, training sessions must also be organised to make sure they are comfortable with the system. As with any change, this project too will initially be met with suspicion and scepticism. The various business units must be informed about the shortcomings in the system currently in place. The benefits of the new system and the benefits the business units will accrue by using the same must be explained. A memo might be considered for the same. This will serve to ease the transition from the old to the new system and will ensure that the staff approaches the change with an open mind.

Assignment – Five Phases Project Management Strategy November 5, 2012 Five Phases of Project Management Life cycle management is a business management approach that can be used by all types of businesses (and other organizations) to improve their products and thus the sustainability, employing the principles of project life cycle – the five phases of project management, which consists of, initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. Iniation Phase

The first phase of a project is the initiation phase. During this phase, a business problem or opportunity is identified and a business case providing various solution options is defined. Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated to deliver the approved solution. Terms of reference are completed outlining the objectives, scope and structure of the new project and a project manager is appointed. The project manager begins recruiting a project team and establishes a project office environment.

Within the initiation phase, the business problem or opportunity is identified, a solution is defined, a project is formed and a project team is appointed to build and deliver the solution to the customer (Barkley, 2005). Planning Phase Often the most time-consuming of the phases of project management, the Planning phase is where you lay your project groundwork and is critical for a successful implementation of the subsequent Execution phase (Reynolds, 2009).

Additionally, in this phase Project Planning builds on the work done in Project Initiation, refining and augmenting Cost, Scope, Schedule and Quality (CSSQ) and Project Plan deliverables. Usually, additional members join the Project Team, and they assist the Project Manager in further elaborating the details of the Cost, Scope, Schedule and Quality (Macek, 2010). The planning phase produces a project plan, project charter and/or project scope outlining the work to be performed. During this phase, a team should prioritize the project, calculate a budget and schedule, and determine what resources are needed0 (LaBrosse, 2008).

This phase is the basis for the successful execution of the subsequent Executing phase. The planning phase is also the phase where, definition of work packages, detailed planning, clarification of responsibilities, risk analysis, and interfaces are defined. Project Planning marks the completion of the Project Plan –i. e. , no work is left uncovered. Execution Phase Execution. This is where the project team does the work to crate the final deliverables of the project. It is the largest part of most projects and it goes far better if adequate time was taken to properly plan the work of the project (Reynolds, 2009).

Resources’ tasks are distributed and teams are informed of responsibilities. This is a good time to bring up important project related information (Project Plan Execution, 2009). During the Execution phase, the project manager spends a considerable amount of time in communication making sure the resources (people, equipment and materials) are available to do their work and know what work needs to be completed. There is a significant amount of work in this phase, as a project manager works to juggle many aspects of the project.

During this phase, you’ll use all of your management skills to implement and manage cost and quality, risks and change, and several other factors (Reynolds, 2009). Monitoring The next phase of the Project management life cycle is monitoring. Successful Project Management Principles & Controls are summarized as three main methods; continual focus on the Project Plan, constant update of the Project Plan (especially the triple restraints, and most importantly, measure status and project progress against the Project Plan -making adjustments to get back on track, if necessary (Project Plan Execution, 2009) .

Closure In Project Closeout, the Project Team assesses the outcome of the project, as well as the performance of the Project Team and the Performing Organization. This is accomplished primarily through soliciting and evaluating feedback from Customers, Project Team members, Consumers and other stakeholders. The primary purpose of this assessment is to document best practices and lessons learned for use on future projects. In addition, key project metrics are also captured to enable the Performing Organization to compare and evaluate erformance measurements across projects. Project completion is signified by accomplishments such as (1) all tasks finished, (2) agreed deliverables completed, (3) testing completed, and (4) training materials prepared. The project benefits should be measured and compared with the final business case. Not all the benefits of the project are immediately apparent. The results must be compared with the cost-benefit analysis along with all the other forecast benefits that the project was planned to provide the organisation.

Analyzes how each phase could support the organization’s business strategy. There is a dramatic rise in the use of project management as organizations shift to provide customer driven results and systems solutions. Some implementations of project management have been successful, while others are incredible failures. A common occurrence in many organizations is too many projects being attempted by too few people with no apparent link to strategy or organizational goals.

Unfortunately, this is why the organization I currently work in is struggling to successfully complete the EMR, too few resources and too many projects being implemented simultaneously and most not align with the strategic plan. Experience indicates that the support of upper management is critical to project success, upper management was absent as participants of the project until the decision was made to delay the go-live. In our case, Upper management did not take action to create an environment for more successful projects in their organizations.

Project management must be regarded as a company-wide project management competency designed to benefit the entire company (Kerzner, 2005). It also includes developing a corporate culture that is based upon effective organizational behavior and creating a well-developed project management methodology, accompanied by the proper supporting tools, which is vital to achieving organizational goals. Once the organization recognizes that project management is a core competency, the organization can convert this competency into a sustainable competitive advantage.

The ultimate purpose is for the sustainable competitive advantage to become the pathway for a strategic competency that becomes a primary drive during strategic planning activities (Kerzner, 2005. As the project management strategy matures, the business value derived from each phase increases. Increased value subsequent to increase project portfolio leads to the alignment of project management and organizational strategy across the organization/enterprise. Keeping each phase of the project on track yields a successful project, which means managing the triple constraints and strict management of metrics (monitoring phase).

The project goals then extend throughout the team to the suppliers, contractors, and stakeholders. The five phases of project management assists the organization in creating a strategic value chain that gives companies a competitive edge. References Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic planning for project management (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. LaBrosse, M. (2008). Key principles of project management. Food Management, 43(5), 27-27. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/215900222? ccountid=32521 Macek, W. (2010). Methodologies of project management. Wspolczesna Ekonomia, 4(4), 267. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/1115291842? accountid=32521 Project Plan Execution – where you “walk the walk” as the Project Manager. (2009). Retrieved from URL Managerhttp://www. mastering-project-management. com/project-plan-execution. html Reynolds, D. (2009, May 13). Phases of project management: Initiation. Bright Hub weblog. Retrieved from www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/1672. aspx Reynolds, D. (2009, May 13).

Phases of project management: Planning. Bright Hub weblog. Retrieved from www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/1673. aspx Reynolds, D. (2009, July 28). Phases of project management: Execution. Bright Hub weblog. Retrieved from www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/1674. aspx Reynolds, D. (2009, May 13). Phases of project management: Monitoring. Bright Hub weblog. Retrieved from www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/1675. aspx Reynolds, D. (2009, May 13). Phases of project management: Closing. Bright Hub weblog.

Table of ContentsPage 1. Executive Summary (207 words) 2. Introduction (280 words) 3. Project Definition Phase (949 words) 3. 1Problems Encountered during the Project 4. The Project Manager (790 words) 4. 1Assessment of Kris Hodgkins 5. Risk Management (938 words) 5. 1Evaluating Risk Management 6. Miller’s Dilemma (821 words) 7. Final Discussion (398 words) 8. Conclusion (142 words) 9. Appendix 10. References 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Being a successful hotel operator, the Regency Hotel Group (RHG) has the experience, the resources as well as the capability of managing the Regency Plaza Project.

So the question is, why has the project been dogged by various problems? From slow sales growth, unhappy customers to increasing costs, internal conflict as well as work delays, the list is extensive. One major reason for this appears to be poor planning. With proper planning and project management in place, scheduling and coordination is made much easier. Any arising problems could be identified and resolved which would lead to less time and money spent on rectification. This would in turn enable more time and resources to be spent on the refinement of the works which would result in the completion and success of the project.

The RHG has established a reputation and a brand name associated with good service, luxury and an extensive range of amenities. Failure or even further delays on this project would be detrimental to their reputation. This goes to show the importance of project management in relation to the organization’s strategic mission. This report will assess how the Regency Plaza project was managed and implications for future project managers to take note of. 2. Introduction Lewis (2005; P23) mentioned that haste makes waste and it is very true.

But in the “hurry up and get it done world”, there is little patience with “wasting time” on all that planning. The result? Rework and rectification, which is 100 percent waste. Experts estimated that one-third of the cost of the average project goes to correcting errors through reworks. Having said the above, there is still no flawless project process. Why is that so? This is because we are all human beings, and human beings tend to make mistakes. In situations where time, cost and resources are of special concern, project anagers tend to make more irrational decisions, resulting in more re-work. The Regency Plaza case study is a key example. So how can these errors be minimized? What projects managers can do to minimize these errors is to ensure that there is proper planning, project design and project management. Projects are stepping stones of corporate strategy and its success is the lifeblood of every organization RHG is well known for her luxurious fittings and high service quality in the hotel industry. The Regency Plaza project was formulated using this strategy in the challenging market environment.

The role of the project manager (which in this case is Hodgkins), is to take responsibility for the overall success of the project. However, this is not seen in the Regency Plaza project. As indicated, this project has been racked with many uncertainties. This essay will evaluate the following: 1) The Project Definition Phase of Regency Plaza, 2) The Role of the Project Manager, 3) The Overall Risk Assessment, and lastly 4) The Implications for the Project Manager facilitating the pace of the project. 3. Project Definition Phase

The overall project definition phrase goes according to the following cycle diagram which shows the interrelationship between the 3 stages of project definition. Goals RHG had a clear goal in mind of what they wanted to achieve in this project development; that is, to develop Regency Plaza. This is their first attempt venturing into building luxury condominiums units together with hotel rooms. The financial aim was to earn projected gross profits of $134. 4 million and net profits of $26 million. In the development of Regency Plaza Project, luxury condominium units are also included.

The management failed to take into account the fact that they are venturing into a new business territory involving long-term residential condominium units. Hotel guests and condominium residents have different levels of expectations not to mention the fact that the Regency Plaza is a luxury development. While being established and successful in their main business is good, perhaps this has also contributed to the over-confidence of the management and their failure to set appropriate realistic goals.

A project priority matrix was first developed to identify the various levels of project priorities in terms of time, performance and cost which interelate to the goals set. Project Priority Matrix | | | | | | | | | | | | This would signify the following for the Regency Plaza Project: ? If the project is behind schedule, there will be a reduction in the completion time in order to successfully market the product ?

If the project is behind schedule, cost budget will be increased to speed up work ? The original specifications fixed cannot be compromised Specifications When the project management team under the leadership of project manager Hodgkins was set-up by RHG management, plentiful amounts of information/data/specifications was provided. It was a tough period for Hodgkins as she needed to undertake many decisions of deciding on the project’s main specifications. For instance; she had to decide on the number of units that would be offered when the project was completed.

From RHG’s perspective, obtaining the maximum profit from the 96 units would be deemed as a wise decision, whereas considering the duration and deadline of the project, choosing to build more units would be tedious not only in terms of planning and meeting deadlines but also with regards to cost in terms of materials. At the same time, one of the key strategies of the development was allowing buyers the option of customising their units. As such, the decision to opt for more units is a core decision which would greatly affect the project’s main specifications whereby the rest of the specifications that follow would be affected as well.

Tasks and Responsibilities As ambitious as RHG may be, following the concept development, they not only left key decisions but also the majority of the project responsibilities and decision-making power to Hodgkins. However, this fact was not communicated to the rest of the project participants, resulting in many individuals influencing the project manager’s decision. RHG management had failed to organize the task and responsibilities in a systematic manner where there is proper information dissemination and a tight chain of command.

The management also failed to supervise and maintain a series of checks and control for the entire project. It was also noted that the management had a different project team working on the hotel but the same contractor. It is essential that both teams work closely as any delay by either party would impact on the other as could be seen when construction slowed down on the hotel nearing the completion date due to issues with the condominium units. Conflict and unhappiness with the contractor and vice-versa also impacted the other. Decision making process hindered by too many parties pic] 1. Problems Encountered during the Regency Plaza Project Unable To Complete Before Scheduled Time In the case of the Regency Plaza Project, the hiccup encountered by the project manager was behind schedule If a clear and sufficient time frame was pre-planned in the project definition phrase, the possibility of such a problem occurring would be greatly reduced. The project manager had failed to allocate and include an amount of time/duration into the entire project duration as a contingency plan to rely on in the event of phrase failure or delays..

In the initial tender stage with the contractor, the lowest bid selected and the selected contractor was persuaded to cut off 3 months from their target date. This was agreed with the understanding that the timeline was tight but with minimal changes and disruptions, the time line could still be met. With this in mind, the project manager should note that no disruptions or delays could be tolerated. There also appears to be a lack of proper checks and progress updates, as if this was present, the problem would be flagged earlier on and measures to resolve this could be established.

Decision making hindered by multiple stake holders The decision-making process, right from the conceptualisation stage had to go through tedious discussions with the stakeholders. The nature of the project itself, with two separate project teams (hotel and condo) as well as the customisation element, meant that while the responsibility laid with Hodgkins and she was tasked to make major decisions, she had difficulty doing so as she needed to accommodate and take the various stakeholders into consideration while trying to obtain the optimum profit/benefits.

If the major decision maker has been determined during the project definition phrase, a systematic flow utilising the decision making matrix should be used to avoid the problem of too many decision-makers. 4. the Project Manager The role of the project manager involves integrating, planning, organizing, controlling and leading. Hodgkins needs to be able to properly communicate and combine the crossing points of functional departments, the subcontractors and other stakeholders. In the initial planning stage, Hodgkins needs to identify the task each stakeholder is involved in and the targeted completion deadline.

This will provide a better picture of the resources availabile at each stage of the project. Hodgkins is required to manage and organize the project team that was put together for her by Regency. This controlling role requires the project manager to plan out the objectives and processes required to reach the end goal. Following which, the assigned processes need to be implemented and at various stages, the results need to be tracked and tallied to ensure that the expected outcomes are reached. Lastly, project manager must be flexible and react decisively. There is a eed to constantly keep track and analyze the cause of any differences and re-evaluate the whole process and make the necessary changes. A project manager should lead by example as it is a highly visible management style that will build and sustain cooperative relationships. The skills required as a project manager would be as follow; 1. Good communication ensures that valuable information related to the project status is provided in a timely and effective manner. 2. Ability to work as a team will allow team members to understand their roles and responsibilities on the project and work collaboratively. 3.

Listening skills is important because good listening skills is needed to truly hear and try to understand what others on the project are trying to say 4. Planning skills will help the project manager provide each functional department a clearing schedule of their work. 5. Persuasion techniques – influencing without direct authority and obtaining win-win situations 4. 1Assessment of Kris Hodgkins Hodgkins dismissed Farley’s, a renowned condominium marketing consultant, suggestion on building larger but less units. Her focus was to hit the projected sales targets and failed to consider the merits of Fraley’s suggestion.

She also realized that customization had disrupted the completion of the project, but did not try to persuade the management on giving up the idea. If she had done so with the evidence of the increase in cost, wastage of materials and potential complaints from customers that may likely lead to damages to the company’s reputation, the management may have reconsidered their commitment. Hodgkins choose not to discuss with the buyers about the option on customizing individual units, as she felt that most of the customizing could only be done after the building was completed.

This resulted in the wasting of materials and resources as the base design that was constructed had to be ripped out and rebuilt according to the buyers’ changes. This has also resulted in a delay in the work flow because with incomplete drawings the main contractors are not able to get accurate quotes from the subcontractors. By not processing and disseminating vital information promptly, miscommunication occurs, the work process is lengthened and the pressure is placed on the final recipient. A key example of this is the situation where Hodgkins only delivers sketches from the interior designer to O’Brian and Sinclair when she had the time.

An instance where miscommunication results is when Hodgkins never explains to Helen Miller that the reason why the bills she received are so expensive is because of the complexity of the work and the incomplete design provided by Susan Randolph. Incomplete control and bad planning where there is no proper task breakdown structure in place resulted in continual changes to design even while the opening date is closing in. This causes the already tight timeline to be stretched even further, not to mention the fluctuation in manpower, increasing costs and subsequent further delay to the project.

As mentioned earlier, the two project managers from Regency are working as different entities although the main objective is for the building to be completed sooner. Furthermore when Hodgkins realize that sales was not doing very well, she did not discuss with Farley and the sales staff on ways to improve sales figure. It can be concluded that Hodgkins is not a good project manager. She failed to communicate vital information to the stakeholders. She was given a team to help on the sales but did not make good use of it. It was only till things were getting out of hand that she called for a meeting.

If she had done so earlier, this would have reduced the amount of time and resources wasted. There is also evidence of poor control and checks, bad planning and a refusal to address issues and update management of problems. 5. Risk Management The Risk Management Process consists of four stages which are elaborated below; 5. 1Stage 1: Identify – Risk Identification Identification ensures that actions and contingencies are focused upon specific risks. Actions may then be developed to specifically target this risk and attempt to reduce its impact.

Risk Breakdown Structure i. Complexity – The strategy of customisation of condominium units resulted in the delay of the project’s completion. Hodgkins did not identify and assess such risks when she took on this project. If she had done so, it would have allowed her to factor this in when assessing the contractors and costs and would also have given her ample time to develop choices of strategy to tackle the problem. ii. Subcontractors – Time was an issue during the designing process when making alterations to the condominium.

This would have been acceptable if the issue had been addressed at the beginning and contingency plans were made. But Hodgkins preferred to take the chance of hoping customers would settle for what was given instead. This was a curious decision that she made in view of the fact that customisation was a selling point for the condos and the target market consisted of wealthy couples who were likely to have higher expectations and would want something personalised and unique. It would not be surprising and would in fact be expected that they would opt for customisation despite the additional cost to them.

This judgement error by Hodgkins resulted in problems with regards to work schedules and budgets. Once alterations were required, the process of designing these changes would take weeks. This placed a lot of pressure on the contractors. iii. Construction Management – Due to the customization option available to the buyers, Hodgkins was required to ensure proper management of the overall construction of the project. Any delay on any aspect of the project, eg the delay in completing floors would have a chain effect and cause delays to other parts of the project (i. . the Millers’ case) and result in additional costs. While the buyers are willing to pay for the cost of alterations that they have made, the extra costs associated with the delaying of the entire project would not be their responsibility. Due to the fact that the contract between RHG and the contractors was a fixed sum contract, as such the contractors would be extremely cautious of committing to anything. 2. Stage 2: Analyse – Risk Assessments Rank risks according to the likelihood that the risk will occur and also the severity of its occurrence.

The ranking is usually done using words such as ‘Severe’ or ‘Highly/Likely’ which are then linked to numerical values that can be multiplied together. The results can then be ranked, with the highest number the one which most requires attention. For Regency Plaza Project, the major potential risks are plotted below Risk Management Assessment Matrix | | | |Contractors- Time Length | | | | |Complexity |Construction Management | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 4 Likelihood 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 Impact

Red zone–Major Risk Yellow zone-Moderate risk Green zone–Minor risk 5. 3Stage 3: Planning – Risk Response Development Risks cannot be ignored. They may be tolerated, treated, transferred to another party or terminated. Below are some plans that can be used to tackle the major risks: i. Complexity – Solutions of strategy to reduce possible risk damage will be accepting the recommendation offered by Farley on building larger units. If Farley’s recommendation had been taken up, the risk of complexity will be reduced due as there will be lesser buyers and conversely less complications and liaison required.

This will result in lesser probability of alterations and the progress of the project can be increased tremendously, while additional cost due to delays is avoided. In terms of the consideration of revenue, bigger units can be priced higher thereby making up for the lesser units. Another alternative will be as mentioned before, if Hodgkins had identified the risk of complexity upon taking up this project, she will then have the necessary time to plan out and tackle the source of this risk.

Other than factoring in sufficient contingency time, she would also be able to appeal to management and stakeholder to lengthen the time scheduled for completion. This additional time would enable additional marketing of the units and possible recommendations from satisfied buyers which would assist in the slow sales. ii. Subcontractors – If the issue had been tackled earlier then a visible framework could have been set up with adequate and fixed deadlines that would cause little or no problems to the contractors and allow the changes to be made before critical areas of the condominiums were constructed.

This difference would also help avoid the majority of complaints from customers regarding delays and slow service. iii. Construction Management – This again could have been planned more effectively if the scope of change had been correctly defined and agreed at an earlier date, allowing for more efficient use of resources and better planning. 5. 4Step 4: Management – Risk Response Control Hodgkins should monitor the project progression, do an extensive risk assessment, anticipate possible risks and handle unforeseen new risks.

All these should be updated to project team members and stakeholders during regular meetings. Problems should be embraced and resolved and not concealed and denied. All the team members should be encouraged to identify problems, mistakes and new risks, and ensure that constant communication and information flow amongst the project members. Hodgkins should also make an effort to communicate and highlight issues specifically to the hotel project team who will be directly affected by any problems on the condominium project. 6. Miller’s Dilemma

In view of the Millers’ predicament, Hodgkins was found to be trapped in a tight spot with only five options to consider. Option 1: The first option of telling the Millers that it was too late to customize the unit would have a disastrous impact. The buyer-seller relationship and reputation of Regency Plaza and its management would be put at stake if the Millers, who are active and influential members of the Boston social circles, were to spread the information amongst their social circle (who are the potential target market of this project).

Even if the Millers decide to undertake this option, extra time and coordination would be required as changes to the unit might involve shutting down the entire floor, hindering construction on other units and causing further delay to work schedules. At the same time, the positive effect of this option might not be beneficial to Hodgkins either as it may make no significant impact on the already delayed work schedule. Option 2: The second option would involve pushing through the changes. This would reduce the amount of demolition work required and keep the Millers satisfied.

However, on a macro view, putting the unit on hold would delay schedules and have impact on both direct and indirect costs, eg delaying the hotel project and thereby the loss of possible income from occupancy. Should the Millers decide to draw out this option and the changes take a longer time, the cost liability during the holding phase would be a grey area which would add on to the complexity of the problem. Option 3: The third option to hire a small general contractor to finish the unit before closing may not resolve the Millers’ problems.

Extra overhead expenses would be extremely expensive and it would be tedious for Hodgkins to handle two general contractors. The possibility of conflicts and disagreements on roles and responsibilities might arise between the different groups of contractors, adding complexity and delay to the project. This may also impact the morale of worker in Kelly Construction thereby impacting quality of work. But the advantage of hiring small contractors could be beneficial looking at it from a microscopic view. Changes to the Millers’ unit could be accomplished while works on other units could be carried out concurrently.

This would allow works to be completed and costs would not be borne by Kelly Construction which would minimise any other inconvenience. On hindsight, this option might be appealing to the Millers as well as they could get their unit on time. But, the price of satisfying the Millers by increasing management expenses significantly may be too great for Hodgkins to justify paying for. Option 4: The fourth option involves stopping work and handing over an empty unit. The advantage of this approach will be that the Millers could finish the unit at their own convenience while works on other units could be done concurrently.

However, Hodgkins could still be trapped in the dilemma if she were to execute this approach. On top of the fact that the costs have already been incurred and work would need to be undone, the bank’s unwillingness to lend money could add on to the Millers’ frustration, which could be extremely unfavorable to the reputation of RHG. Regency would also lose control over the project and may be forced to deal with other occupants who want this option. In a construction sense, there may be future issues with works to units done by external contractors. Option 5:

In general, the last option of moving the Millers to a different unit on a higher floor would be a more feasible and win-win alternative. It would generate the least negative impact on both time and cost. Most importantly, all parties – the Millers, Kelly Construction, Susan Randolph, Hodgkins and even the RHG, could benefit from this approach. A higher floor unit is of a higher value. Offering to move the Millers there (it is of course recommended that RHG absorbs the price difference), would help to “compensate” the Millers for any inconvenience caused.

This move would be a positive long-term investment in exchange for the satisfaction of the Millers and sustainability of the positive impression for RHG. Likewise, moving the Millers to a higher floor in which interior work had not yet started would buy additional time for the contractors as no demolition work is required. There would be no wastage of materials and significant cost savings would be anticipated. Susan Randolph would also have a larger time frame to make changes to the designs while cost assessment and approval could be done concurrently without affecting the schedule.

In view of the fact that sales figures are not high, there would not be any significant inconvenience caused to RHG and in fact this move may assist in sales if the Millers are positive about the Regency Plaza Project and this is circulated in their social circle. 7. Final discussion The above evaluation has revealed that the Regency Plaza was not very well managed. A major factor contributing to the failure is poor planning. The project seems to be in a mess as roles and responsibilities are not properly defined and allocated, the decision- making process is muddled and is not well communicated. there are no proper checks. These problems could be easily overcome if delegation of roles and responsibilities was communicated clearly (refer to appendix on RAM). Every modification introduced within the project phase can have certain impact on the level of achievement of the project (Lock 1992). Each modification could take several weeks so that quotes could be gathered and reviewed. In the case of the modification of the Millers’ unit, this caused the delay of the scheduled completion of the twelfth floor and has also affected the safety and infrastructure of the building.

As such the risk management aspect was not well taken care of. If the issues had been addressed earlier through constructing a project network, this would cause little or no problems to the contractor as it allows changes to be made before critical areas of the condominium were constructed Newell (2002) suggested that assumptions must be made for the purpose of project planning. However in Hodgkins’ case, her assumptions are flawed and not thought through properly. She assumed that most buyers would not customize their units and would settle easily for what was given.

By assuming such scenarios, she had overlooked the target market for the project, ie the wealthy. This error in judgement disrupted the completion of the project, raised overall budgets and caused much dissatisfaction among the project group. To make matters worst, the marketing strategy adopted by Hodgkins was that of word of mouth. With complaints of delay, cted the sales performance of the project was affected and a poor image of Regency was projected. Hodgkins would have done better to have done research on the buying patterns of her target market or spoken to her contacts, market specialists or even to have discussed with her team.

If the above problem was to be addressed or realized earlier, the impact would have been minimized. While assumptions may not be a bad thing and in fact are encouraged, they must be made with a contingency plan and for Hodgkins case, she does not seem to have any. 8. conclusion The Regency Plaza project was a race against time and time means money. This situation put Hodgkins in a tight spot and many decisions needed to be made immediately to avoid any delays. Many irrational decisions were thus made which affected the overall progress of the project.

As a project manager, success of the project should be the first priority. Coming up with possible alternatives to tackle the tough situation is critical. Although many possible solutions were provided, however Hogkins did not appear to have used many of them to resolve the current issues related to the project. Lock (1992) mentioned that to achieve the project objectives, People, Communication, Jobs and Resources must be properly organized. Planning and coordination is essential. To summarise, Project Managers are key to the success of any project and are worth their weight in gold. . Appendix Responsibility Assignment Matrix(RAM) Task/Resource |PM: Hodgkins |KDS |O’Brian and Sinclair |Kelly Construction |Millers Designer: Randolph |Consultant: Farley |Sales Team | |Sales and Marketing |R | | | | |C |R | |Building Architectural |A |R |R |C | |C | | |Customization |I | |C |R | | | | | Managing the subcontractors | |I |I |R | | | | |Miller’s interior design |I |I |C |C |R | | | |Construction invoices |R | |R |R | | | | | R = Responsible (People who do the work) A = Accountable (People who make sure the work gets done)

C = Consulted (People who provide input before and during the work) I = Informed (People who are kept informed of progress) Blue boxes refers to the stakeholders 10. REFERENCES 1. Ballard G & Whelton M, 2002, Wicked Problems in Project Definition, Retrieved on 14th September 2009, from http://www. leanconstruction. org/pdf/WickedProblemsinProjectDefinitionIGLC10. pdf 2. Gray C. F & Larson E. W, 2008, Project Management: the managerial process, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, America. 3. Juan R. S, 2009, Good Project Manager, Retrieved on 27th September 2009, from http://www. gaebler. om/Good-Project-Manager. htm 4. Lewis J. P, 2005, Project Planning, Scheduling & Control 4th Edition, McGraw Hill, America 5. Lock D, 1994, Project Management 5th Edition, Gower Publishing Company Limited, America 6. Meredith J. R & Mantel S. J, 2003, Project Management; A Managerial Approach 5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, America 7. Newell M. W, 2002, Preparing for the Project Management Professional PMP 2nd Edition, Amacom, America 8. The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), 2009, Retrieved on 20th September 2009, from http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newPPM_RAM. htm 9. Weiss J.

W & Wysocki R. K, 1992, 5-Phase Project Management, Perseus Books Publishing, America 10. Yagiz O, 2008, Project Planning, Retrieved on 14th September 2009, from http://www. emu. edu. tr/~oyagiz/MGMT409/MGMT409-05-BW. pdf BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Berkun S, 2005, The Art of Project Management, O’Reilly Media, Inc. , America 2. Bruce A & Langdon K, 2007, Manage Projects Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 3. Burke R, 2003, Project Management Planning and Control Techniques 4th Edition, John Wiley & Son, UK 4. Egeland B, 2009, Project Management Tips, Retrieved on 27th September 2009 from http://pmtips. et/ 5. Lewis J. P, 2007, Fundamentals of Project Management 3rd Edition, Amacon, America 6. Lockyer K, 1985, Critical Path Analysis 4th Edition, The Bath Press, Great Britain 7. Lovegrove H, 2008, Good Project Managers are hard to find! , Retrieved on 23th September 2009 from http://www. pmhut. com/good-project-managers-are-hard-to-find 8. Randolph W. A, 1988, Effective Project Planning and Management; Getting the Job Done, Prentice Hall, UK 9. Reh F. J, 2009, Project Management 101, Retrieved on 16th September from http://management. about. om/cs/projectmanagement/a/PM101. htm 10. Shackleton E, 2005, Managing your people; real life lessons from top business leaders, BBC Books, London 11. Tusler R, 1996, An Overview of Project Risk Management, Retrieved on 22th September 2009 from http://www. netcomuk. co. uk/~rtusler/project/riskprin. html ———————– Performance Cost Time Constrain Enhance Accept Marking Consultant (Farley) Clients Vocal Neighbourhood Groups Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) KDS Associates Regency Hotel Management Project Manager Hodgkins Decision Making Process

In the construction industry, projects are navigated to work between architects, landscapers, interior designers and engineers; as well as countless alternative parties that configure the process. The importance of project management is the value of building strategies and processes, in order to complete the acquired task to the highest quality result, the project manager needs to establish and evaluate construction schedules, estimate project costs and coordinating the site, just to name a few.

In this essay, I will determine an opinion on the importance of project management through professionalism and knowledge of the industry and the requirements necessary to lead a project through risk analysis. Hypothetical scenarios will be attained throughout this context to ensure a deeper understanding of the role required from a project managers perspective. This will be reviewed by values and strategies that are competently used in the industry to ensure the success and timely application of a project.

MANAGEMENT IMPORTANCE

Relevant definitions of the managerial role in a project needs to be appropriately defined to understand the scope of this paper. “Practical Construction Management” allows a unique process for a project manager to “Plan, direct, coordinate, or budget, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organisation, scheduling and implementation”.

In order to meet time restraints, three critical conventions can be derived from this definition. According to Albert Lester project management comprises of “the individual or body with authority, accountability and responsibility for managing a project to achieve specific objectives”. Lester states the importance of final success of a project, prioritising all objectives and ensuring the client is complacent with the standard of the project.

Depriving a project development without project management, would resign in a disorderly manner. Creating the first argument towards project management importance. Thus, introducing the manageable aspects of triple constraints as shown in Figure 1 below. Randal Wilson masters project time management, cost control and quality management by introducing the statement of “An important aspect of managing time, cost and quality for a project work activities is the interconnection of these three element.

Any change to one of these elements has an effect on one or both of the others”. Cost management, time management and quality management are the defining elements, as it is the development of what deliverables are necessary in order to complete the work required. A project manager breaks down the elements of the triple constraints.

Figure 1: Triple Constraints. Retrieved from: Wilson, R. (2015). Mastering Project Time Management, Cost Control, and Quality Management: Proven Methods for Controlling Three Elements that Define Project Deliverables. FT Press.

After developing a knowledge through Krishnaphani;s, The Four Pillars of Project Management scope, time and quality, I have enhanced the understanding of triple constraints valuing them as the following:

• Time references the start, duration and end of a project, which directly links to the number of required elements that are compulsory at the end (scope) and the number of services and aids allotted to the project (cost).
• Cost is the estimated sum that is acquired in order to complete the project. Cost has a vast recourses consisting of risk analysis, bills, materials, sub-contractors, contractors
  and other potential resources; just to name a few.
• Quality makes up the end deliverables of a project and is measured for scope upon delivery of the final stages of the project.

Defining goals at an early stage are ground breaking in a project. Goals are the core principles for everyone involved and is knowledgeable of the job that needs to be done, how long the activity will take until completion, resources available and whom they should speak to if encountering a problem throughout the duration of the project. Vladimir Cordier discusses projects without project managers and how having a project manager professional is added value before the project is underestimates by a manager, by stating;

“How many times have you heard: ‘we don’t need to hire a project manager, it costs money Bill will do! And off you go, within seconds the outcome of your project has been decided”. Vladimir Cordier deliberates his opinion by stating that ‘Bill’ and the rest of his team undertaking the project would have undetermined critical path milestones, risks, issues, cost, criteria for the project and the list could go on. Thus. leading to many unrealistic targets and scheduling.

Vladimir Cordier also helps determine the importance of a project manager professional in the role by stating that “If your project is not too complex, and Bill (a ‘manager’ turned occasional project manager) has got good project manager skills, then you might get away with it. However if you are looking at a complex project which ps than one department, includes third party providers.

Outsourcing/insourcing, and has a lot of unknowns from the start … the lack of a professional project manager leading them, is what caused most of the issues in the first place” going on to say that “Even big cooperation’s still put their senior executives in charge of leading big transformation and change endeavours, when their core skills, qualifications and experience are not in project management. Don’t get me wrong, most of them are excellent managers, but not project managers”.

VALUES

Project managers aren’t just on site to plan, direct and coordinate as directed by “Practical Construction Management” ; it is a project managers duty to have the knowledge of nation-wide health and safety programs in action to ensure the contractual obligations are enforced before the work can commence.

“The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015” is cordoned in New Zealand with the main purpose of the act to “provide for a balanced framework to secure health and safety of workers by – Protecting working and other persons against harm to their health, safety, and welfare by eliminating or minimising risks arising from work or from prescribed high risk plant”. According to “Level Authority on Sustainable Buildings” , trades workers have had the highest accident compensation corporation claims since 2007.

Alleging that most of the injuries are a result from falling objects or the use of power tools. Although other hazardous materials can be responsible for respiratory and alternative health related issues. An example derived from “WorkSafe” states “An architect that designs a building has duties under the HSWA to ensure health and safety, and must also ensure the design complies with the Building Act. Under HSWA the requirements of the Building Act will be taken into account in determining what is required to comply with the architects HSWA duties”. Therefore the second argument is developed from the components of site supervision and the necessary consents that need to be implemented.

Individuals that are conducting the skills and experience to enter the project management profession are generally required to have a bachelor’s degree in preferentially business and management orientated education or equivalent. When developing your project management skills through your tertiary education two key acts to follow according to the “Department of Building and Housing” are the Resource Management Act 1991 and The Building Act 2014.

These laws define the processes and what you need to get them completed, which is vital in the success of a project. The Resource Management Act 1991 protects the land and the environment recognising the interests of the community. The Resource Management Act 1991 is divided into regional councils and city or district councils. Both councils are reliable for different aspects of land. The regional councils centralise plans that focus on air, water, land and soil.

Whereas city or district councils prepare plans that affect the environment; for example the “Department of Building and Housing” claims “that the focus on managing aspects of subdivision and land use that can affect the environment such as the height, appearance and location of buildings and signs, and the noise, glare and odour associated with the activities that take place around buildings”. Noting that every district or regional plan differs and is determined by the desires of the community in the specified area.

The Building Act 2004, being another key act to follow when managing a project, involves the construction, alterations, demolition and maintenance of a new or existing building. The Building Act sets out the minimum expected requirements for building work to “ensure buildings are safe, healthy, and built right the first time. It covers how work can be done, who can do it, and when it needs to be consented and inspected” as disclosed by the “Department of Building and Housing”. All project managers need to know these Acts in order to complete a successful project.

Figure 2: A Beginner’s guide to resource and building consent. Retrieved from: Department of Building and Housing . (n.d.). A beginner’s guide to resource and building consent processes under the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Building Actc 2004. The Ministry for the Enviornment and Department of Building and Housing.

As shown above in Figure 2, several steps need to be implemented and completed before a building can start its construction phase. The more knowledge a project manager has of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, The Resource Management Act 1991 and The Building Act 2004 the easier it will be to plan, direct and coordinate the site and additional professionals on the project to oversee the scope of the work.

STRATEGIES

Firstly, defining milestones which is discussed by Tricia Hussung , she determines key milestones by using strategies for successful project management, stating that “It is important to define key milestones throughout the lifecycle of the project. A good way to get started is by including four main phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure. Then you can perform an evaluation after each phase and know your team is doing by examining deliverables. This process keeps you informed about any problems that arise while ensuring that each phase of the project is completed successfully”. An informative and efficient way of presenting a projects key milestones is a Gantt Chart.

Figure 3: Exemplar of a Gantt Chart. Retrieved from: Anderson, B. (2016). What is the purpose of a Gantt Chart. Successful Projects.

According to Brett Anderson “A Gantt Chart is a timeline that is used as a project management tool to illustrate how the project will run. You can view individual tasks, their durations and sequencing of these tasks. View the overall timeline of the project and the expected completion date. As the project moves forward with actual performance updated, the Gantt Chart will adjust simultaneously displaying an up-to-date project schedule with new start and finish dates for incomplete tasks and record the original baseline of your plan”.

Shown above, in Figure 3 is an exemplar of a construction project’s design milestones displayed through a Gantt Chart. The milestones are a key part to success as it indicates the relevant responsibilities for the involvement of team members. Milestones need to be accomplished by the finish dates in order to complete the project in junction with the time frame given by the client or necessary superiors.

The second strategy is for project management risk analysis. The most common types of risks in project management are cost; typically due to a lack of accuracy in estimation of costs, scheduling; the risk that milestones have a prolonged completion which can increase the cost of the project, and performance; the risk of the construction team not producing an outcome satisfactory to the project specifications. There are also several potential risks when undergoing a project, that is just the nature of the business. Thus, a risk mitigation strategy will be implemented within the project to help reduce threats.

Figure 4: Risk Mitigation Fundamental Steps. Retrieved from: MITRE. (n.d.). Risk Mitigation Planning, Implementation, and Progress Monitoring. Systems Engineering Guide.

MITRE states that “Risk mitigation planning is the process of developing options and actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives. Risk mitigation implementation is the process of executing risk mitigation actions. Risk mitigation progress monitoring includes tracking identified risks, identifying new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project”. Shown above, in Figure 4 is the fundamental steps in risk mitigation to avoid and reduce risks in a project. A Gantt Chart also helps reduce Risks, as it helps track start and finish dates. If a milestone is taking longer than expected, this could delay other milestones in the Gantt Chart. Therefore, a risk mitigation strategy will take place, as shown above in Figure 4.

SUMMARY

This paper summarises the importance of project management through professionalism and knowledge of the industry and the requirements necessary to lead a project through risk analysis. Sometimes on smaller projects architects can take the role as a project manager. Although on larger-scaled projects this is not smart, due to the countless factors which have been determined. Mulcahy states; “Every Project manager wants to be successful, yet there are many definitions of success”. Therefore, a deep understanding of the industry needs to be demonstrated to undergo the role of a project manager which is stated in this paper, including management importance, values and strategies.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, project management is extremely important to projects as it navigates work between architects, landscapers, interior designers and engineers; as well as countless alternative parties that configure the process. Without this navigation from a project manager professional a whole project can turn backwords if the correct leadership skills are not set in play. Mulcahy mentions that what makes a project successful debating that “We all have too much to do and need to handle as much work as possible.

However, the best project managers conform that what they think they know is actually correct…The best project managers are able to get their heads out of the sand to see the whole big picture and how the project, themselves, problems and the team fit into it”. The importance of project management was determined through hypothetical scenarios which lead to believe a deeper understanding of the role required from a project managers. This was reviewed by values and strategies that are competently used in the industry to ensure the successes timely application. Moreover, it is distinctively apparent that in order to complete a project you need a capable project manager with the superlative skills and experience.