IPad - Project Management Environment Within the Organization - Assignment Example

iPad - Project Management Environment Within the Organization The most important part of any project is the setting up of the aim and objectives. Without the right aims the project may not be able to achieve what it is expected to. The aim has been well listed in the iPad project which clearly states that the ultimate objective of the project is to develop a new product and also specifies the product placement i.e. between iPhone and MacBook. The definition is very detailed as it outlines how this product will be different from the previous two ranges between which it will be placed. Not only does it specify the differentiation aspect of the product, but also goes on to specify what precise component of the product will need to be focused on during the project. This shows that there is complete clarity on the exact focus areas of the project and the expected outcome. One very positive aspect of this project report is the introduction of the company mission and the definition of the product. This helps in linking the aim of the project to the company mission and also defines what the product exactly is. The aim when seen in the backdrop of the overall company mission clearly gives the right direction to the reader about the ‘why’ aspect of the project. The next step in any project is the definition of its objectives. The main difference between aim and objectives is the degree of specification in both. Aim is more general and does not specify any timelines while objectives are more specific and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Reasonable and specify a Time frame). Most of the objectives listed the in paper are specific and measurable and have a specific time frame for completion. For example, the objective to “sell 1 million of the new device internationally within 2010….”, is very specific in terms of the number of sets targeted to be sold i.e. 1 million, the timeframe of “within 2010” and the place where they will be sold i.e. internationally. However, we cannot be sure of how reasonable the quantity target is. There is no supporting calculation which shows that this target is achievable or not. The success of any project depends on how well thought out its objectives are. This is not very evident from the first objective. The second objective is again vague as it says “Increase the product range by developing and producing a new tablet….” When the first objective was stated as saying that 1million sets will be sold, the second statement seems to be repetition of the first one as it is understood that the “new device” in the first objective is the “new tablet”. This confusion could have been avoided by placing the second objective in the first place. The next two objectives state specific dates for launching the products in US and internationally. These again lag in SMARTness as they do not specify how many units the company expects to be ready with for the initial launches. The relevance of the 6th objective is not very clear as to which “data plans” is being talked about. The next objective of “gaining the return on investment (ROI)” mentions a timeline for this objective to be achieved; however it does not specify what ROI is the project targeting. Without a specific and measurable figure, the stated objective is incomplete. The 7th objective is conflicting with the 2nd one as it states a specific date for the product launch while the 2nd one says Q1 as the period for developing and producing the product. The 8th objective is specific in providing the price of the new product. However, the previous objectives mention that there are 2 product models, basic and premium. This creates confusion as the 8th objective does not mention as to which model’s price it is referring to. The last objective is again ambiguous and very general as we do not have any measurable figures for the quality of Apple products mentioned in the objective statement. From the environment perspective, the project seems to have adequate execution level support with right quality of staff available at the various stages of the project. This can be seen from the “Group Responsibility Matrix”. The matrix clearly identifies tasks on one side and assigns responsibility to the experts on the other. It also shows the level of responsibility assigned to each member denoted by “A” and “R”. This is a very important step for a project management environment as it avoids any conflicts of responsibility at a later stage. (Dattatreya 2008). The methodology used in identifying the appropriately skilled team members shows that organization seeks to provide requisite support for a project management environment in it. This is also indicative of the presence of Project Management Office (PMO) in some form within the organization. This is because usually PMO provides this support by performing tasks like allocating project managers and team member to a project, setting standards and metrics for the project etc. However, there is no indication of the level of participation of the leadership team. Though the “Resource Requirements Lists” mentions the support required from specific leaders to help achieve the targeted goal, there is no mention of any timelines within which this will be required or the level of involvement of the concerned person. It would have been a better idea to get an agreement from the concerned person on their support before moving on with the project. Effects of project on individuals and stakeholders and development of an effective project team within an organization A project affects various stakeholders in different ways and hence there is bound to be a mixed reaction with respect to the support for the project. This can be seen from “Stakeholders” list. This list is quite exhaustive in identifying both internal and external stake holders of the project. A very positive aspect of this list is the bifurcation of the stake holders based on their support for the project or lack of support for it. This is a very critical aspect of a project as it helps in building requisite strategies for different situations. For example, the project lists some internal stakeholders who are against its implementation. This is a very logical outcome of selecting a particular project over others. This will undoubtedly result in some disgruntled managers who will be unhappy because this particular project was chosen over theirs. They are also not a part of this project and see it as a lost opportunity. There can also be employees who might have to be moved out of their current responsibilities on account of resource allocation to this project. They might be unhappy for being moved out of their comfort zones. There might be other employees who might be unhappy because they have not been able to be a part of this project. Thus, when a project needs support in some form at a later stage from these employees they will be in no mood to extend it. Hence, the project managers need to think of some ways of getting through with these softer issues. Similarly, the project lists down external stake holders who are against this project as competitors and environmental bodies. Both of them need to be tackled in a strategic way as they can create hurdles in the path of project completion. For example, when competitors get to know about the product this project is aiming for, they can come up with a similar product before the launch of the iPad. This could result in major loss of investment into this project. Thus the project managers need to ensure sufficient secrecy around the project and have patenting and other intellectual property related plans ready before project completion. The environmental bodies usually target technology related projects because they are perceived as source of pollution at the stage of development as well as when the product reaches its life’s maturity. Excessive use of such high tech gadgets is also professed as being harmful for general public health. Hence, the project managers need to be ready with their research on risks associated with respect to the aspects that can be used by the environmental bodies to indulge in any negative propaganda against the product resulting in delays in or even shelving of the project. The report has listed all the stakeholders as per their support for the project. However, the actual impact on each category is not mentioned. A brief description of the same along with a brief mention of any action plans for the problems that can arise for the project due to the stakeholder’s negative attitudes would have resulted in a thorough analysis of the stakeholders. This could have helped in avoiding any conflicts at a later stage of the project. Another important aspect missed out is the impact of those stakeholders who are supporting the project. These are the resources which can be used in a positive way for the project. Thus, a thorough analysis of these stakeholders in terms of their expectations from the project as well as their strengths which can be utilized for the project should have given a better direction to the project. These individuals could then have been made a part of the project team along with the ones already mentioned in “Responsibility Matrix”. Evaluation of project management tools, techniques and methodology used The field of project management has today become very scientific in its approach with various tools and techniques to help project managers in successful implementation of projects. A project has a life cycle and a number of phases within that cycle. The project report of iPad has followed the basic methodology of initiation, planning and execution (blog.limexchange.com). In the initiation phase, the project lists down the mission, definition, objectives, stakeholder listing and deliverables listing. In the planning phase it has listed down the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Project Responsibility Matrix, Task Time Span and its justification and resource planning listing. Within this phase, the report has also touched upon, though not in detail, the critical path analysis. A very important part of this phase is the risk analysis which has been adequately listed in the report. Without this analysis, no backup plans can be created for contingencies and hence can lead to a failure of the project. There is also a list of vendors for the iPad production. This is an important part of the planning phase as the suppliers of the components also need to be ready with their products to enable the final product to hit the market as per schedule. And finally planning phase requires that we pick up important learning from our previous experiences on similar projects. This has been listed in quite detail in the “Lessons Learnt Log” section of the report. However, there are a lot of steps within each phase and even some phases that should have received more focus. In general a project should have the following phases: Original concept, feasibility study, business plan, risk assessment, public inquiry, authorization, organization, planning, design, procurement, fulfillment, test/commission, handover, economic life and disposal (Lock 2007). This project focuses on some of the basic steps but misses out on many of them. For example, there is not feasibility report or business plan mentioned in it. A risk assessment has been conducted regarding impact on product and the project. However, nothing has been mentioned about financial plan, communication plan and procurement plan. All these are very important for the successful implementation of the project. Though the vendor list has been mentioned, there is no analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of each. Neither have any backup plans been created to counter the contingency of failure of any vendor. Even in the execution phase, nothing has been mentioned regarding the issues of cost management or quality management. The project uses various matrices and timescale sheets for allocating work and setting timelines. These are the usual tools for any project management report. There is also an MS project file which shows the various timelines visually. Thus the project has used visual tools, which is the positive aspect of the report. There are today a lot of tools like Project2Manage, Smartsheet and No Kahuna etc. available to help managers in project management tasks (blog.limeexchange.com 2009). Which exact tools have been used is not clear from the report. References blog.limeexchange.com 2009, 10 useful Project management tools for freelancers, viewed on 30, April 30, 2010. http://blog.limeexchange.com/2009/10/07/10-useful-project-management-tools-for-freelancers/ Dattatreya, Y 2008, The right environment for project management, viewed on April 30, 2010. http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/its-business-as-usual/the-right-environment-for-project-management-27575 Lock D 2007, Project Management, Gower Publishing Ltd. Read More