Phase 2 Discussion Board - Assignment Example

Phase 2 Discussion Board Roles that might need to be filled by the vendor This project, entails upgrading the billing system of IRTC Manufacturing enterprises that was installed ten years ago. Whereby, the project manager will be required to utilize a budget of one hundred dollars’ to ensure that all vendors have been assigned paid for their roles. Among the roles that were required to be executed include; end user roles, business analyst and team leader role. Whereby, the consultation cost for the vendors was $140 per hour, business analysts, and cost was $120 per hour, programmers and testers was costing $100 per hour.

On the other hand, the cost for instructional designers, trainers and business analyst was budgeted to be paid $90 per hour. This means that when selecting the best vender to fill each role, it is vital to take into consideration the cost of each vendor with respect to the available budget (Stack pole, 2013). Advantages and disadvantages of using the vendor in these roles for this project There are several advantages and disadvantages of using a vendor in this case. Among the advantages include; unlike full time employees, hiring a vendor tends to be cost effective in the long run because they tend to become very productive in the future after they have understood all the project deliverable (Gido & Clements, 2009).

In addition, vendors may be readily available to execute the project activities. This is because they tend not to be very committed to other projects as compared to the experienced contractors. Additionally, vendors tend to act as project accelerators because they help to ensure efficient learning of a project. In addition, project vendors may have more appropriate technology unlike experienced vendors this may make them more suitable for this project (Gido, & Clements, 2009). However, vendors tend to have some limitations.

Among the limitations include; they black adequate experience to execute the project without supervision. Additionally, they may require some additional training to be efficient and productive. This means that the company may be forced to incur additional cost to cater for training. In addition, outsourcing vendors might be an economical in the short run because they tend to charge fixed cost for their services (Kloppenborg, 2009). Therefore, it can be scrutinized the benefits of utilizing project vendors in upgrading legal billing system outweighs that its disadvantages.

Therefore, project managers should carefully identify the appropriate vendors to fill the available positions. Filling the roles for the following 3 positions: i).End user. The main responsibilities for the end user in this case include; delivering profitability to the company through making online purchases and payments as well as making online inquiries for their outstanding bills. Therefore, the person who will be responsible for this position will be required to have effective IT skills. The end-user specialist should further be able to utilize database and word processing to perform various operations.

In addition, one should be able posses both communication and analytical skills (Information Resources Management Association & Khosrowpour, 2001). Therefore, Chris was selected for this role because he has the required experience and sills. For instance it has been reported that he was previously acting as a customer service representative. This means that she has experience in handling the customers properly. Additionally, he is more cost effective because he can work for 24 hours per week and charge a lower cost. ii). Business analyst.

The main responsibilities for business analyst entails defining the scope of a business, determining the requirements in order to accomplish the project successfully, making proper assessment of the documents and making suggestions on how to solve the issues. In addition, business analyst is also responsible for making verification on any unclear issue (Wysocki, 2011). Therefore, in order to perform the above roles effectively, a business analyst should posses the following skills; communication skills, managerial and technical skills, problem solving skills as well as decision making skills (Wysocki, 2011).

Therefore, Robin was selected as a best vendor for this role because he has the experience and skills required to be a business analyst. iii). Team leader. The main responsibilities of a team leader include; motivating all members of the team, setting a good example to the team members, solving the problems that might be facing the members as well as helping the team members understand goals and objectives of the project. In above connection, the team leader should have some skills; such as skills of understanding the behaviors of team members, communication skills, problem solving skills as well as listening skills (Margerison, 2002).

Therefore, Terry was selected for this role because she has the required skills and competencies to perform this role. In addition, he has the ability to coordinate the team members more effectively based on his previous working experience. References Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2009). Successful Project Management. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning. Information Resources Management Association & Khosrowpour, M. (2001). Managing Information Technology in a Global Environment. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.

Kloppenborg, T. J. (2009). Contemporary Project Management: Organize, Plan, And Perform. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Margerison, C. J. (2002). Team Leadership. London: Thomson. Stack pole, C. (2013). A user's manual to the PMBOK guide. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Wysocki, R. K. (2011). The business Analyst/project Manager: A new Partnership for Managing Complexity and Uncertainty. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.