Communication Foundation of Project Management

Question: Discuss about the Communication Foundation of Project Management. Answer: Introduction The document is prepared for the organization named as Grand Wines that is an employer for a lot many sales executives and representatives. The company includes sales services and operations on a daily basis. However, there are a few drawbacks that are associated with the current system that is utilized in order to execute the sales operations as it lacks the use and application of technical advancements. The project that has been proposed is an attempt to overcome the drawbacks of the existing system with the distribution and implementation of wireless data entry devices. These devices would allow the sales personnel to enter the data in the company database from any location and keep the same updated at all times. SWOT Analysis Strengths The company is already established and holds a strong position in the market The company has a large workforce that includes varying set of skills. It would be easier to find the required combination of skills to achieve the business objectives of the project internally rather than looking for external options to achieve the same Weaknesses The project would give rise to numerous changes and due to the presence of huge workforce; these changes may be resisted and difficult to manage as well. The project does not have any scope to alter the defined and estimated schedule of six months which may be difficult to maintain during the project activities. Opportunities The number of order completed in a single day would increase with the better organization and management of the data Customer trust and engagement will also show marked improvements with the application of latest mechanisms in the sales operations The technical advancements would allow Grand Wines to appear as a technically innovative organization which would provide a competitive edge to the company Threats The use of wireless devices and flow of information over the cloud would cause the emergence and introduction of a number of different security attacks and risks. These risks may have low to severe impact on the information that is exchanged and the data that is entered through the devices If the occurrences of the threats are not prevented and controlled then the same may take a toll on the performance and reputation of the organization. The engagement of the customers might alos get negatively impacted (Ommani, 2011) AUD 60000 is the budget allocated for the project and the breakdown of the costs is depicted in the table below Cost Category Allocated share of budget (AUD) One-time Cost Equipment, hardware, tools 16600 Development Costs 11400 Integration and Implementation Costs 12400 Human Resources Costs 12700 Costs for Marketing Activities 6800 Objectives To develop and implement a system to integrate the sales operations and activities with the wireless device to allow the sales personnel to make data entry from any location To complete the project activities in the estimated schedule and budget of six months and AUD 60000 respectively. To increase the customer base with the technically advanced sales operations and better quality of services The present system that is used to give shape to the sales operations is not technically advanced and therefore includes a number of drawbacks in terms of slower processing, increased vulnerabilities for human errors, duplication of order entries and likewise. The newer system that has been proposed will offer numerous benefits in terms of technical advancement, faster processing, no scope for human errors, and removal of redundant data along with streamlining of all the operations. Also, the sales representatives will be able to update the database from any location and at all times. Deliverables Project Charter: Feasibility analysis and authorization for the Project Manager to start the project activities. Project Plan: Project strategy and approach, project scope, project team details, risk assessment method and details of budget and schedule. System Development and Design Plan: Design diagrams and the developmental activities that will be covered during the project timeline. Test Plan: Types of testing that will be conducted, testing tools that will be used, defect management method and defect reporting procedure as well. Marketing Plan: Marketing strategy, mediums that will be used along with the associated details Closure Report: List of all the activities that are executed and the information on the acceptance and sign-offs as well (Palmerini, 2014). The project team will not execute any of the activities that would include communication or negotiation with any of the third parties. Acceptance Criteria Project success will be evaluated after the analysis of the factors such as adherence to the delivery dates that are estimated for the project deliverables and milestones, ability to complete the activities within the estimated budget and schedule, enhancement in the orders that are successfully handed and completed, number of open defects that are critical and severe in terms of priority and severity and feedback that is collected from the sales representatives and customers. Project charter, project plan, system development and design plan, test plan, marketing plan and closure report are the set of milestones and deliverables that will be provided. The table below includes the delivery dates of the project deliverables Project Deliverable Due Date Project Charter 30th December 2016 Project Plan 16th January 2017 System Development and Design Plan 24th February 2017 Test Plan 10th April 2017 Marketing Plan 15th May 2017 Closure Report 26th June 2017 Assumptions and Constraints The project start date shall be 26th December 2016 and end date shall be 26th June 2017 with a total duration as six months. The project shall be completed in not more than AUD 60000. The project team will be provided with development; testing and implementation environments set up and tested in advance. Stakeholder Role and Responsibilities Project Client Project funds, project specifications along with approvals and sign-offs Project Manager Planning and initiation activities, reviews and inspections, communication with the team members, allocation of duties and resolution of disputes Finance Analyst Project budgeting Technical Associate Designing of the system along with assistance to the development and implementation teams System Developer Creation of the wireless data entry system and integration of the devices with the existing operations Database Administrator Linking of the database with the wireless data entry devices Implementation Associate Implementation of the system with the approved changes Test Associate Test creation, test execution, defect logging and defect reporting Marketing Associate Marketing approach and strategy, selection of marketing platforms (Missonier, 2014) The team gained lessons on the overall management of the project and the significance of the project management methodology. Also, the team gained knowledge and skills on the technical aspects associated with the design, development and implementation of wireless data entry devices in an existing system. Communication Plan The plan will serve the purpose to set up common communication guidelines for all the team members. Project Client Project Manager Finance Analyst Technical Associate System Developer Database Administrator Implementation Associate Test Associate Marketing Associate Information Exchange Business Requirements: Project Client will provide the details on the expectations in terms of functionalities and system qualities to be covered. Project Status Report: Information on the set of completed and pending activities. System defects: Test Associate will provide the information on the new, open and closed defects. Sales Information: Sales services and operations that are covered on a daily basis (Alatalo, 2012). Frequency Business Requirements: Project initiation phase Project Status Report: Daily System Defects: Weekly Sales Information: Daily The information will be shared with the aid of a SharePoint location that would be accessible by all the approved members of the team and the project client. Effective communication will allow the development of the clear approach among all the members of the team and the same would ensure that there is least amount of re-work involved at all the stages of the project (Zulch, 2014). The team members will have a daily meeting that shall be attended by all the members and the information will be exchanged through the use of internal emails and communicators (Muszynska, 2015). Interactions with the client shall take place through the use of teleconferencing medium and emails as well. Change Management The project will introduce a number of changes in terms of the methods that are used in the sales operations along with the reporting structure and data handling and management as well (Tripon, 2011). It would not be easier for the team members to get used to these changes at one go. It would therefore be required to have a dedicated change management plan and team members to make sure that the changes are handled and managed successfully and with much ease. These changes would also include the technical aspects of the devices and the functionalities that are implemented in the same. The changes shall be managed with a change management methodology and approach that shall be decided by the Project Manager along with the Implementation Associate and the entire procedure shall be covered in a series of phases as planning, preparation, handling and management. There shall also be the involvement of a lot of trainings to ensure that the employees have the required clarity on the devices and their usage (Suresh, 2016). Project Meetings - Agenda The meetings shall take place on a daily basis with the basic agenda as the understanding of project progress and discussion on the issues and conflicts (Rebori, 2016). The facilitator of the meeting shall be the Project Manager who shall circulate the meeting invitation, meeting location and meeting slot to all the team members in advance. Absence from the meeting shall be informed to the Project Manager well in advance. Any of the issues and conflicts shall be discussed in a polite manner. References Alatalo, U. (2012). Communication Strategy in Projects. [online] Available at: https://www.dphu.org/uploads/attachements/books/books_5840_0.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Missonier, S. (2014). Stakeholder analysis and engagement in projects: From stakeholder relational perspective to stakeholder relational ontology. [online] Available at: https://fenix.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/845043405428939/12%20Stakeholder%20analysis%20and%20engagement%20in%20projects.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Muszynska, K. (2015). Communication Management in Project Teams - Practices and Patterns. [online] Available at: https://www.toknowpress.net/ISBN/978-961-6914-13-0/papers/ML15-266.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Ommani, A. (2011). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for farming system businesses management: Case of wheat farmers of Shadervan District, Shoushtar Township, Iran. [online] Available at: https://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1380639652_Ommani.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Palmerini, E. (2014). Regulating Emerging Robotic Technologies in Europe: Robotics facing Law and Ethics. [online] Available at: https://www.robolaw.eu/RoboLaw_files/documents/robolaw_d6.2_guidelinesregulatingrobotics_20140922.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Rajablu, M. (2015). Managing for Stakeholders: The Role of Stakeholder-Based Management in Project Success. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271138669_Managing_for_Stakeholders_The_Role_of_Stakeholder-Based_Management_in_Project_Success [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Rebori, M. (2016). How to organize and run effective meeting. [online] Available at: https://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/cd/other/fs9729.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Suresh, H. (2016). Change Management Must for todays Organization. [online] Available at: https://www.providersedge.com/ehdocs/transformation_articles/Change_Management_-_A_Must_for_Today-s_Organization.pdf [Accessed 21 Dec. 2016]. Tripon, C. (2011). Change Management and Organization Development. 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