Project management
Introduction
This paper discusses about creating an online booking system by replacing the already existing manual system. Virtucon group is been requested by Globex and RALS committee to create an online booking system that will help them to keep the track of details of the exhibitors and the volunteers. This online system will be replacing the existing one and will help to increase the efficiency and reduce the manual work. It will also help the exhibitors to perform their relevant tasks more easily and efficiently and now they will be able to rely less on the manual system. It will also help the exhibitors and volunteers to get quality service instantly.
Part 1: MOV – Measurable Organizational Value
The goal of this project will be to create or develop an Online Booking System that will be going to replace the current manual system. In the current system the exhibitors book heir site/s by calling or by mailing the coordinator of the event. They record the booking in a spreadsheet and the payment was been made through credit cards or cheques. This exiting process is not sustainable so the decision is made to develop an online system which will help the exhibitors to book and pay for their sites along with the entry passes online. Globex is a long-standing client of the Virtucon group so they have requested this group to manage the development of this system. Project manager will add the value into the IT project through aligning the system with the overall business objectives effectively (De Bakker et al., 2010). It could be performed by utilizing the qualified and skilled human resources, involvinginnovative practices and training the technicians to deliver the value to this project. In this project the following areas are been prioritized as per the goal of the project. The five areas in accordance with their importance are been ranked as customer on the first as the customer is the most important element for any business. The other four areas are strategy, financial, operational and the last on is social.
In respect of this project the two types of value is been considered by the project manager:
Better: It is important for the project manager to improve the quality of the project as the clients want the most prominent quality. For providing better quality the manager can provide the tickets in printed form along with providing e-tickets (Meskendahl, 2010). The manager can also train on how to access the system effectively. The manager can also use the quality control tools to improve and enhance the quality.
Cheaper- It is important to cut down the costs as it will help to increase profitability. Cutting costs is also important as it will help to increase the efficiency and the resources will be optimized more effectively.
The scope of this project is to give an in-depth understanding about the project and its deliverable outcomes to be attained. In respect of this, the online booking system is to be developed for the company. For this, a scope management plan will be developed by the project manager.
Scope Management Plan
| Project Title: To establish an Online Booking System |
| Project Budget: under $2000 |
| Project timeline: 45 days |
| Goal/ Objective: The key objective of the project is to create or develop an Online Booking System that will be going to replace the current manual system. |
| Project Implementation plan:
· Assessment of needs of the business · Arrange the required resources · Develop a communication network · To develop project budget, schedule and database · Develop risk management plan · Project monitoring and evaluation |
| Deliverables:
· Entire description of the various project related activities · Various effective strategies been developed · Online system for booking tickets · Various different ways to promote this online service · The status of the work performance · Activities to be carried on are decided |
| Limitations:
· Budget and time limitations · The lack of resource availability |
| Verification:
· Audit · Feedback analysis · Total Quality Management (TQM) |
| List of resources | |
| People | The people involved in this project are the technicians, the human resource, the administration staff, the financial manager, the IT technician (Turban et al., 2011). The role of these people is to successful attaining the goal of the project on time and effectively within the allocated budget been set. |
| Technology | The team should use CRM, SQL server, the manager can also use peer-to-peer networking, wireless technologies, the manager should also create barcodes along with QR codes on the entry tickets. |
| Facilities | There should be flexibly among the team members so that the goal of the project can be achieved on time (Kopp et al., 2010). The e-tickets should also be generated that will help the clients to book their tickets instantly. |
| Others | The training programs must be conducted so that people can be trained more effectively and they can provide better quality service to the clients (Holzmann, V., & Spiegler, 2011). |
CRM software
SQL server
Peer to Peer network
Part 3: Work Breakdown Structure for the Online Booking System
| Activity | Price |
| Hiring technicians, skilled workforce, recruiting effective personnel. | $200 |
| Hiring a good web designer | $350 |
| Providing support team | $100 |
| Designing user friendly interface | $200 |
| Creating web portal | $100 |
| User interface designer | $300 |
| Marketing plan | $100 |
| Project management activities | $120 |
| Resource planning | $150 |
| Project budget | $120 |
| Time tracking | $100 |
| Change control | $100 |
| Total | $1940 |
Part 4: Project Risk Analysis and Plan
Every project in its initiation involves certain risks. It is very important for the project manager to identify and analyze the various risks that can be presented in the project. The risks if not mitigated on time can also have an impact on the performance of the project (Fang, C., & Marle, 2012). The assumptions made for this project include that a specific team member must always be presented for the project, all the required resources for implementing the project are available with the project manager, the budget estimated is in accordance with the goal of the project, the team has the required software or hardware, the project will be completed in the estimated time, the goal of the project will be achieved accordingly (Tosuntaş et al., 2015).
Risk Identification Framework
- Technical- the technical risk can be arise in the form of obsolete technology, poor quality, interfaces, breakdown of any system, etc.
- Cost- The risks associated with cost is that they should exceed the budget and the risk could also be of poor estimating of cost of the project (Devi, T. R., & Reddy, 2012).
- Financial- The financial risk could that the required resources are not available, budget is not enough, there could be also risk of liquidity, the company may not have the required funds or is not able to invest in the project (Kumar et al., 2013).
- People-There is a possibility that the human resources required are not capable of performing the tasks, there are no skilled workers or the team is not enough qualified (Menoni et al., 2012). There is lack of skilled technicians in the company.
- Schedule-The risk here can be that the tasks or the activities are taking more time than it was expected. This will delay the project and its operations and in return will increase the costs unnecessarily.
| Person responsible | Risk mitigation |
| Technician manager | The manager could adopt the latest advanced technology so that the quality of the service can be enhanced or improved. The manager can also identify the risks as soon as possible and then rectify them accordingly. The |
| Financial manager | The manager could plan the budget well in advance, the manager should make proper estimation of the costs involved in the project. |
| Human resource manager | The manager could see that there are the necessary skilled people available or not. The manager could also recruit the skilled personal with the required competency level. |
| Financial manager | The manager should see that proper audit program, accurate financial reporting, the budget is properly allocated as per the tasks or the activities, etc. |
| Project manager | The manager could see that the activities to be carried out are scheduled properly and he / she can also manage the resources required effectively. Starting the tasks or the activities on time is also one thing which can be done by the manager. |
Part 5: Quality Management Plan
The quality management plan is required by the team as it helps to explain about what will be the quality planning, assurance and control. The quality management plan should be in support of the project. The company should always focus on the quality aspect at can affect the performance of the project (Kianto et a., 2014). The clients always look out for the effective quality from the company. So, the company or the project team should adopt the total quality management tool to enhance the quality (Savage et al., 2010). The project manager should adopt the latest or advanced technology to deliver the appropriate quality to the clients. The project manager should also ensure that all the required quality parameters are been achieved effectively.
A set of verification activities that the Virtucon group can adopt to ensure the project quality are as follows:
- Conducting effective internal audits
- Conducting external audit
- Gathering effective and honest feedback which helps the manager to identify the risks in the system and he can improve or enhance the functioning of the system.
A set of validation activities that the Virtucon group can adopt to ensure the project quality are as follows:
- Incurring total quality management tool
- Adopting the quality function deployment
- Using statistical control
By adopting these sets of activities the project manager can validate as well as verify the quality of the Online Booking System.
Part 6: Closure and Evaluation
A:
Article 1: Andrés, J., Berski, S., Domingo, L. R., & González‐Navarrete, P. (2012). Nature of the ring‐closure process along the rearrangement of octa‐1, 3, 5, 7‐tetraene to cycloocta‐1, 3, 5‐triene from the perspective of the electron localization function and catastrophe theory. Journal of computational chemistry, 33(7), 748-756.
According to Andrés et al., (2012) this article states that project closure process is a process to close down the project. This also states that the project ensures that the project meets the expected quality, target set, the expected outcomes are attained, the overall procedures are in accordance with the objectives, the documentation are done accurately, the resources required are gathered, etc. Project closure process also helps the project manager to ensure that all the actions required to be carry out are documented and implemented accurately or effectively. It will also help to make sure that the results obtained are been disseminated to the relevant people in the project team so that they can identify how successful the project was. It is important that the project closing is planned accurately and all the financial criteria’s is been fulfilled. It is also identified that the project closure takes place even if the project was canceled or been altered or terminated before attaining al its mandatory requirements.
Article 2: Tørseth, K., Aas, W., Breivik, K., Fjæraa, A. M., Fiebig, M., Hjellbrekke, A. G., … & Yttri, K. E. (2012). Introduction to the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) and observed atmospheric composition change during 1972–2009. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12(12), 5447-5481.
According to Tørseth et al., (2012)the monitoring and evaluation of the project is important as it help to provide information and also make sure that the information is relevant and used by the management to assess the projects. It also helps to determine that the project objectives are met or not effectively. Monitoring also helps to assess the project continuously in regard of the implementation schedule. Monitoring also helps to provide regular and timely feedback to the project manager about the constraints that can hinder the performance of the project and also the successful factors. Monitoring is also helpful to minimize or reduce the risks of project failure, assess the progress during the time of implementing the project. Monitoring and continuous evaluation also helps the project manger to improve the decision-making.
Article 3: Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014). Project risk management methodology for small firms. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 327-340.
According to Marcelino-Sádaba et al., (2014) it is stated that project closure checklist is required by the project manager t make sure that the relevant activities which are related to the project closure are been addressed appropriately. It also includes that whether all the deliverables were met or not, ensuring that the appropriate feedback been obtained, proper evaluation been conducted of the performance, the effective transfer of knowledge been occurred or not.
On the basis of the above articles, that there is a need of project closure and project monitoring and evaluation for the project manger to complete the project effectively.
The closure checklist that the project team uses to make sure that the project has been closed properly.
B: Closure checklist
| Activities | Yes/NO |
| Project met the expected quality | Yes |
| Expected outcomes were attained | Yes |
| Evaluation and monitoring is been done effectively | Yes |
| Proper feedback was obtained | Yes |
| Effective transfer of knowledge been occurred | Yes |
C: Project evaluation –outline
Project manager will evaluate the project by firstly define the scope of the project. Secondly, the manager will develop the project plan that will help to guide future project-related decisions. Thirdly he will do the project verification to ensure that the work is been completed. Lastly the project manager will check that the controls are in accordance to manage the proposed changes.
References
De Bakker, K., Boonstra, A., & Wortmann, H. (2010). Does risk management contribute to IT project success? A meta-analysis of empirical evidence. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), 493-503.
Devi, T. R., & Reddy, V. S. (2012). Work breakdown structure of the project. Int J Eng Res Appl, 2(2), 683-686.
Fang, C., & Marle, F. (2012). A simulation-based risk network model for decision support in project risk management. Decision Support Systems, 52(3), 635-644.
Holzmann, V., & Spiegler, I. (2011). Developing risk breakdown structure for information technology organizations. International Journal of Project Management, 29(5), 537-546.
Kianto, A., Ritala, P., Spender, J. C., & Vanhala, M. (2014). The interaction of intellectual capital assets and knowledge management practices in organizational value creation. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 15(3), 362-375.
Kopp, G. A., Morrison, M. J., Gavanski, E., Henderson, D. J., & Hong, H. P. (2010). “Three Little Pigs” Project: Hurricane Risk Mitigation by Integrated Wind Tunnel and Full-Scale Laboratory Tests. Natural Hazards Review, 11(4), 151-161.
Kumar, V., Bhaskaran, V., Mirchandani, R., & Shah, M. (2013). Practice prize winner—creating a measurable social media marketing strategy: increasing the value and ROI of intangibles and tangibles for hokey pokey. Marketing Science, 32(2), 194-212.
Menoni, S., Molinari, D., Parker, D., Ballio, F., & Tapsell, S. (2012). Assessing multifaceted vulnerability and resilience in order to design risk-mitigation strategies. Natural Hazards, 64(3), 2057-2082.
Meskendahl, S. (2010). The influence of business strategy on project portfolio management and its success—a conceptual framework. International Journal of Project Management, 28(8), 807-817.
Savage, D. W., Martell, D. L., & Wotton, B. M. (2010). Evaluation of two risk mitigation strategies for dealing with fire-related uncertainty in timber supply modelling. Canadian journal of forest research, 40(6), 1136-1154.
Tosuntaş, Ş. B., Karadağ, E., & Orhan, S. (2015). The factors affecting acceptance and use of interactive whiteboard within the scope of FATIH project: A structural equation model based on the Unified Theory of acceptance and use of technology. Computers & Education, 81, 169-178.
Turban, E., Bolloju, N., & Liang, T. P. (2011). Enterprise social networking: Opportunities, adoption, and risk mitigation. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 21(3), 202-220.
