Program Management Issues - Essay Example

? Program Management I am also interested in Major Global Programs of technological modernization in big corporations, the kind of programs looking to increase productivity through savings using features such as a driver technology. The main challenge when implementing a tech portfolio is the difficulty of shifting the entire enterprise into the new processes and technologies before it becomes obsolete. I am particularly interested in a Game Changer Program of Projects in the Corporation* that will have great impact particularly in improving the working methodologies for all the users in the company thus increase productivity. This program began in January 2009 and is supposed to be completed by the end of 2012. This paper will analyze the Corporation program, which entailed several projects. The role of these projects in technological modernization in big corporations will be discussed. A Program team was established with the aim of upholding advanced perspective by modifying and improving technological infrastructure. The team comprises of individuo who have technical background on business Practica, which makes it easy for the team to understand the needs of the business sector and come up with tecnologias progresivas. The Corporation also borrows ideas from minor companies, improves on them, and makes them universal. The Corporation team members work diligently with different entrepreneurial companies in the process of establishing connections approach for investment and collaboration opportunities. 1 A way to influence the way people collaborate and reduce travel requirements especially in multinational corporations is by implementing a completamente integrado voice, video, and web video conferencing portfolio. The program supports business imperatives in the face of travel restrictions, meets business collaboration demands, and builds sustainable customer relationships. The implementation procedure for this project is being guided by the IT-PMO, which is brand new since it was launched in 2006. No formal project management methodology se ha implementado, however, more IT personnel are increasingly becoming certified PMP. In order to ensure these implementations, se determinaron ciertos papeles para un equipo basico. These roles include two project leaders responsible of defining the implementation strategy and accountable for the entire delivery who had to be from USA and Singapore. Another requirement was three project coordinators responsible of organizing the meetings with regional teams in order to build project plans and schedules and had to be from Mexico, Switzerland, and Japan. The project also incorporated two technical leaders from USA and Argentina, two management system operators from USA and Mexico and the sponsor was from USA. The core team had one meeting per week during the dos y medio anos. Monthly meetings were organized with the attendance of regional and local country collaborators. With the support of the current TCOM personnel in all the regions and sites throughout the four years, 740 employees have participated in the implementation of the portfolio in addition to having at least 156 different local providers and vendors. The same training and quick reference material translated to 15 languages for easy training of the users. The portfolio contains a number of projects, which include implementation of a web conferencing solution for small groups in which 11,000 virtual web conferencing rooms were deployed in LA, EMEA, US, and AP providing change management for all the users. Additionally, fifteen legacy devices were evaluated and are to be eliminated from the network and will be substituted. Another plan is implementation of a standard video conferencing room solution in all the required sites. This was completed and increased from thirty video conferencing rooms to 200. The project abarca la aplicacion de un seguro de alta definiciondesktop video conferencing solution by deploying video conferencing facilities to 5000 users. However, this is yet to be completed. Another scheme was implementation of a video conferencing service to handle big corporation requirements. This entailed signing an outsourcing contract to handle and support massive multipoint video conferences in forty sites at a go. This part of the project was delayed and is yet to be completed. Another plan was implementation of some unified communication facilities for communication and messages. This involved deploying new voice managers to provide IP telephony through the network where old devices are out of the market in addition to deployment of unified messaging and softphone implementation. This plan is still facing delays. Some projects in this portfolio have been successful especially those that entailed giving response to real employee and corporation needs. Some examples include a web site with a dynamic updating process that was delivered with operational guidance and ROI simulators to estimate benefits delivered by videoconferencing projects.2 The project aimed at decreasing traveling expenses by 50% through 2010 and 2011. The response was immediate particularly the use of web conferencing for global organization meetings using the new video rooms. All local and regional IT organizations collaborated to make this possible by providing resources, dedicating part of their time towards carrying out the project and annual commitments. The project resulted in improvement in employee quality of life. It was reported that the average days spent out of home per average executive have diminished from 30 to 21. Another aspect that turned out to be fue exitoso en la implementacionof home office. From 2011, the home office has been implemented in other countries other than the USA. During the first two years of the program, the project team and the local TCOM personnel were enthusiastic. They attended meetings every time they were called upon to do so and supplied accurate reports. Other projects in this portfolio have not been completed due to delays resulting from inadequate integration of stakeholders and insufficient prior planning. However, there are great opportunities for their completion which rely on empowering and giving authority to the program manager to enable them make minor amendments to the original plan. This would enable readjustment of the project requirements, making of business decisions after proving technical facts, and obtaining appropriate budget from sponsors. Some of the challenges that the Corporation faced and lessons learnt were the following: The aforementioned phase of the project has enabled identification of faults that should be avoided. The aim to increase productivity through savings and getting cheaper and nicer gadgets and video conferencing stuff is outrageous. Obtaining high quality video conferencing gadgets can be very difficult to attain in a short term. To enable this, investments should be made earlier.3 Saying “no” in patriarchal corporations is politically incorrect. Having leadership engaged and informed continually especially before making major commitments and add additional or special features than the ones initially set is key to keep the teams focused in priorities and completion of the projects. Between the restrictions that were found is the late discovery made related to the implementation of the new desktop solution which might require huge bandwidth consumption and expenses would only be shifted from one area to other. Currently, the desktop solution is on hold until a new bandwidth study and the budget for 2013 is released. Another shortcoming was that the previous notion that a service provider can sign a contract for Global video conferencing management was impractical. During the last two years, the team and virtual local team members became weary. Additionally, recibieron multiples asignaciones adicionales for other projects and started becoming absent. In future, it would be more appropriate to set a real deadline for the operations or reconsider terminating the project in case of excessive delay.4 Another irregularity was the several weeks spent trying to evaluate legacy equipment. Even though a report had been submitted, it was not looked into and the same leadership pushing for changes in the legacy equipment did not authorize the budget to do so. This kind of inconsistencies should be identified as risks and pointed out in the risk management plan right from the start of the project. Conclusion Game Changer Program of Projects was established with the objective of upholding advanced viewpoint by adjusting and improving technological infrastructure. The team carrying out the program comprises of with business background that picks up ideas from different companies, improves them and converts them into international projects. The participants include two project leaders responsible of outlining the enactment strategy and answerable for the total delivery, three project coordinators responsible of coordinating the meetings with regional teams to shape project plans and schedules, two technical leaders, two administration system operators and the sponsor. The core team had one meeting per week during the two and a half years. Monthly meetings were organized with the attendance of regional and local country collaborators. The program embraced a number of projects which include enactment of communication facilities for communication and messagesimplementacion de un seguro de alta definicion desktop video conferencing purposes. The program was faced by some challenges which include lessened commitment from some team members, poor planning as well as poor leadership. To avoid inconsistencies, the planning should entail identification of possible risk involved in the project. Bibliography BORCHARDT, John. Global Management. July 14, 2010. http://www.labmanager.com/?articles.view/articleNo/3725/article/Global-Management (accessed July 9, 2012). CHARAN, Lafley, The Game Changer: How Every Leader Can Drive Everyday Innovation. London: Profile Books, 2010. Read More