Global Demands for Environmental Sustainability to Avert against the Effects of Global Warming - Assignment Example

Project management Introduction Developing an effective project plan is easier said than done. According to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBK), project plans can either be in form of a summary or they can be comprehensive (P.M.I. 2008). Murray (2009) defines project plans as formal and official documents that helps in guiding the processes of executing a project and managing the project. Project plans are useful in outlining planning decisions and assumptions and in aiding in communication among relevant stakeholders. In addition, they are useful in recording the permitted components of the project such as the scope, budget, baseline, risks, schedule and resources among others as indicated by TSO (2009). This report seeks to develop a sustainable project plan of an ecologically friendly, ten units of zero-carbon one bedroom housing project to align to present global demands for environmental sustainability to safeguard and avert against present and future effects of global warming. The Project Plan The project plan defines the following variables The purpose of the project The aims and objectives of the project The scope and expectations Tasks and responsibilities Assumptions of the Project Constraints or risks to the project Management Approach Budget The timeline of the project The purpose of the Project Owing to the rising pressure to conserve the environment and to ensure energy efficiency, modern buildings especially commercial ones are hard pressed to comply with ecological standards. This project seeks to establish ten units of one-bedroom residential housing project that is zero-carbon to demonstrate that it is possible for everyone to live and function in an eco-friendly space both at work and at home. The aims and objectives of the project The main aims and objectives of the project is to develop residential housing that Promotes efficiency in terms of energy where renewable energy is used Enhances water efficiency to avoid water wastage Allows efficient refuse disposal and discharge Promotes healthy living for occupants and ensures the comfort, privacy and luxury of the occupants is not compromised Ensures all the practical housing needs of the occupants are met Uses building materials and construction components that reduces embodied energy and promotes recycling and reuse In addition, the project seeks to Guarantee potential end users are engaged in the design process Ensure the goals and objectives of the project that are set, are met within the prescribed budget Ensure the set project aims and objectives are accomplished within the set project timeline The scope and expectations The project will develop a zero-carbon one-bedroom residential houses that have a zero carbon housing concept which meets the present and future challenges of housing related to ecological conservation but still ensures aestheticism, flexibility and comfortability required in modern living. In addition, the project will develop residential houses that use minimal resources where all resources including building components are energy efficient and promote environmental sustainability. The project expects that the zero-carbon houses will provide an ideal living environment for the occupants where their needs in terms of energy, ventilation, thermal needs, waste disposal, efficiency in service provision and more importantly safety are not compromised and in fact are effectively and efficiently accomplished. It is anticipated that the zero-carbon housing project will offer greater levels of efficiency in the method of construction, utilization of energy, minimal emission of carbon dioxide where each material used in the construction of the house enhances the house’s sustainability credentials. In addition, the expectations are that the zero carbon houses constructed will have a system with high insulating and airtight potential and capacities to ensure increased and efficient daylight levels, integrated with highly efficient cooling and ventilation systems. Beyond the scope and expectations of the project When developing project plans, there are aspects and issues that are over and above the scope of the project owing to varied factors as noted by TSO (2009). There are components beyond the scope and expectations of this project, which are that the design for the zero carbon one-bedroom residential housing projects cannot be used in designing a zero carbon commercial premises. Tasks and responsibilities The main stakeholders to the zero-carbon one bedroom residential housing project includes the project sponsor who becomes the definitive decision maker and will be responsible in acting as a tiebreaker in case there are issues not agreed upon by the relevant stakeholders. In addition, the project sponsor will offer oversight over the progress of the project, offer guidance on key and critical issues impacting the project and they would evaluate and approve the recommended elements of the project as suggested by Heldman (2011). The project sponsor for this project is the British Government. The other role in the project is that of the steering Committee which shall be tasked with allocating available project resources, approving finances and the methods of allocating them, resolving conflicts, offering direction to the overall project manager and more significantly, assessing the deliverables of the project as suggested by Morris & Sember (2008). The other role in the project is that of the project manager. The project manager will be Mr. X who will be charged with the responsibility of managing the project as stipulated in the project plan and according to the set standards set out in the PMBOK Guide. According to the PMBOK Guide as highlighted by (P.M.I. 2008), a project manager should control and oversee the project process, which comprises of Initiation Planning Execution Monitoring and Control And Project closure. The project manager will not only oversee the above mentioned stages of project development but also ensure key aspects of the project are effectively and efficiently integrated. These key aspects includes management of time, management of costs, quality management, scope management, managing the human resources, managing communications, risks assessment and management and managing procurement as highlighted by Saladis & Kerzner (2011). Among other roles of the project manager will entail serving as a link to the project’s Steering Committee, supervising consultants and suppliers, offering managerial functions of directing the project team towards achieving project goals and objectives, organizing, resolving conflicts and managing the budget set out for the project (Maylor, 2008). The steering committee will identify the project participants who will be tasked with acting as consumer advocates in the areas they represent, communicating the purpose, status and development of the project to staff in their area. Other factors include evaluating and approving deliverables of the project, offering recommendations, risks identification and assuring quality of products and services that will permit accomplishment of project goals and objectives as supported by TSO (2009). In this project, the expertise of experts in areas of engineering, architecture, environment sustainability and designing among others will be required to offer guidance where required. This group of experts will be established and defined by the project steering committee. Assumptions of the Project Among the key assumptions established in developing, the project plans are that the zero-carbon housing will act, as the test to illustrate that modern residential housing can be energy efficient and eco-friendly irrespective of size and use. The assumptions are that the management will guarantee the relevant stakeholders are available when required to complete assigned roles, responsibilities and goals and the appointed project committee will engage in executing the project plan efficiently by ensuring they are available for meetings to hasten consensus on key issues and in approving decisions hence saving on time. Another assumption is that failure to establish appropriate changes to project deliverables within specified time in the timeline set will lead to delays in initiation and execution of the project. The project personnel will comply with the set communications plan, the government will provide necessary sustainable infrastructures to support the new sustainable systems. All involved parties will comply with standards established within the project plan and that the project plan is flexible enough to accommodate any changes that may occur owing to generation of new information and occurrence of new challenges. The assumptions of the project also are that ecological sustainability is an important aspect to the international community and more so in England and therefore, the government will be willing and ready to sponsor the project. Constraints and risks to the project In any project, there are real and perceived risks and constraints, which are inevitable. Understanding these constraints and risks allows for effective planning, preparation and management to counter, manage or safeguard against them as echoed by Maylor (2008). The constraints and risks identified in this project includes lack of reliable source of finance especially if the government is unable to fund the whole project singly which may impact the timeline of the project and more significantly influencing the accomplishment of the set project aims and objectives. Compared to risks, there are barriers to the project, which are critical and difficult deal with, which can harm the plans of the project. Among critical barriers to the zero-carbon one-bedroom residential housing project includes among others the withdrawal of the project funding by the project sponsor, who is the British government and inevitable natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding which can destroy the housing project. Owing to the rising levels of international insecurity due to terrorism, acts of wars and terror attacks are critical barriers that can destroy not only the project initiatives and make them invalid but also causing destruction to the housing project itself upon completion. Risk assessment and management There are risks that can impact this project among them low levels of knowledge among user group participants, unclear consultant project deliverables, impractical costs and timeline estimates, low commitment among project team and poor working relationships. Nevertheless, these issues can be managed through effective leadership and management, teamwork and through communication along and across. As identified, the risks are significantly related to human factors. To ensure risks are effectively countered, the project should be monitored and reviewed regularly and regular assessments done. This can easily be done using monthly status reports prepared by the project manager as highlighted in the project’s communication plan. Since risks mitigation strategies should be agreed upon by the project management, it is vital to spare time in each meeting held by the project committee to establish new risks and analyze suitable mitigation approach to apply. Important point for the committee to take into consideration is that the mitigation strategy should be founded on evaluated impact of the risk, the capacity of the project to accept the risk and the viability of mitigating risks. Just as the project manager handles issues in management during the development of the project as outlined in issue management plan, he shall put across changes and recommended contingency measures to the project committee each month or more regularly as need arises. Although risks, critical barriers to the project and constraints pose significant threat to the project, effective planning and strategizing and the importance of the project to all stakeholders, the project is expected to run smoothly within the set timeline. Management Approach Effective management determines the success and the outcomes of the project. Managing a project involves creating a balance between competing constraints to the project, which are and not limited to quality, threats and risks, scope of the project, quality, resources and capabilities and the budget (P.M.I. 2008). Management of issues and changes to the project As earlier indicated, any projects are prone to changes due to revelation and generation of new information and challenges in the course of the project development. Although changes are definite and needed, it is fundamental to understand that any changes to the project plan influences critical success factors of the project which can either be available time, available resources both human and financial resources and the quality of the project as noted by Heldman (2011). This means that it is crucial that decisions to review and make changes to the zero-carbon housing project plan should be managed and implemented by first, the project manager documenting the issue once changes influencing the scope, timeline and resources of the project are identified. Secondly, the project manager evaluating the changes and establishing the associated effect to the project and afterwards, forwarding the issue coupled with appropriate recommendations to the project committee for assessment and making of the final decision. Thirdly, once the project committee receives the issue and the recommendations from the project manager, it should arrive at a mutual understanding and decision on if the requests made can be approved or better still improved on depending on the insights and recommendations offered by the project manager and based on its competence as a committee (Morris & Sember, 2008). If it happens that the project committee is unable to reach a clear consensus on whether to approve or refuse changes to the project plan, through a written summation of the issues, the project committee should further refer the issue to the project finance, British government, for the final decree. Fourthly, once the project sponsor, the British government receives the summation and evaluates the issues, the project sponsor shall offer the final resolution on whether to approve or reject the recommended changes as supported by (Morris & Sember, 2008). Finally, once an approval or a rejection to the recommendations is made, the project manager is mandated to notify the personnel who brought in the request in the first place on the appropriate actions to take. Important to note is that the projects steering committee or the project Sponsor’s decisions, resolutions on issues are final, and therefore, there are no appeals. Communications Plan According to TSO (2009), communications forms an integral aspect of any project and is no different for this project as exchange of information among key stakeholders’ forms the basis for successful initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing of the project. Relevant parties involved in the development of the project need to be informed on the status and progress of the project and more importantly the milestones that have been overcome and those yet to. Through communications, the participants are made aware of the progress, which helps in getting them engaged in the whole process (Heldman, 2011). During the development of the project, the relevant personnel and stakeholders shall be informed, engaged and consulted using a communication plan designed for this specific project. The communication plan is intended for the project stakeholders who include the project sponsor, the project manager, the project committee, user group participants and the subject matter specialists. For effective communication among the identified stakeholders, communication shall be facilitated through a top-down, bottom-up and middle out communication approaches. The need for the top-down approach is to ensure that there is a sense of executive control, support and direction. The top management shall be required to communicate directly to all participants regardless of position and status and at the same time, listen directly from them. The top-level management shall be responsible for developing clearly defined, measurable, specific, attainable, strategic, realistic goals (Heldman, 2011). The bottom –up approach is essential in facilitating buy- in and boosting the confidence of participating personnel in ensuring the anticipated outcomes of the project are realized which is generated by involving them in critical processes of decision-making and problem solving. According to Morris & Sember (2008), when participants feel involved and part of the decisions made, they are likely to commit and be more accountable, this safeguards against participants feeling that the changes, and decisions are only made by the project committee. An important aspect of the communication plan for this project is the communications outreach. For the zero-carbon residential housing project, there are varied events integral for its success, which includes the monthly status reports, which will be written by the project manager to the project committee. The status reports which shall be tracked against the project plan entails an outline of the project tasks completed in the preceding month, a review of activities scheduled for completion in the coming month and an outline of the status of issues and decisions. Apart from the monthly status reports, there is the monthly project committee meeting, overseen by the project manager where the project committee meets once a month. It is crucial that each committee member have a copy of the status report beforehand to allow them to assess it in advance. In addition to these two, there is the bi-monthly status meeting for the project team in which each team member attends. Just as the project committee, the project team should have a copy of the status report. Through use of communication technologies such as websites and emails, the stakeholders such as the subject matter experts can be informed routinely using an official website for the project. Budget The budget for the ten units, one bedroom zero carbon residential housing projects include Solar PV panels 1,450, 000 Timber 1,500,000 Ventilation system 750,000 Heat recovery system 880,000 Electrical systems 1,970,000 Thermal insulation systems 680,000 Waste disposal system 1,500,000 Water harvesting system 250,000 Biomass pellet boiler 200,000 Personnel 14,000,000 Other building materials and components 2,300,000 Contingency funds 1,500,000 The timeline of the project The project will take approximately one year for completion. The timeline will include the initiating the project which will occur in the month of April 2012 and will include developing the project charter. The second phase will involve planning the project, which will entail developing a work plan, establishing the control plan of the project, finalizing the project Plan, and receiving approvals, which will take place from the month of May through to August. In the month of August to February 2013, the execution and control of the project will take place, which will constitute designing, building, testing and implementing the project. The month of March will see evaluation of the project and closing the project. Conclusion As indicated in the project plan, the project is based on the PMBOK methodology, which suggests the implementation of a project in five process groups namely initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing the project. The methodology has been applied owing to its application of key knowledge areas, which takes into consideration elements such as scope, quality, risks, communications, issue management, management of cost, time management and resource management. The main reasons for applying it in this project are because the methodology is flexible to changes, it is applicable in projects across geographies and industries and more importantly, the methodology factors in important human elements in project management and it bases its solutions on information and resolutions and not on structures and documents. References Heldman, K. 2011. Project Management JumpStart. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Maylor, H. 2008. Project Management 3rd ed. London: Prentice Hall. Morris, R.A. & Sember, B.M. 2008. Project management that works: real-world advice on communicating, problem solving, and everything else you need to know to get the job done. Washington DC: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Murray, A. 2009. Managing and Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2. Accessible from http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/gempdf/PRINCE2_2009_Overview_Brochure_April2011.pdf P.M.I. 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge- PMBOK Guide 4th ed. Project Management Institute. Saladis, F.P. & Kerzner, H. 2011. Bringing the PMBOK Guide to Life: A Companion for the Practicing Project Manager. New York: John Wiley & Sons. TSO. 2009. Managing Successful Projects with Prince2.London: The Stationery Office. Read More