Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers - Essay Example

? Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Mr. ABC who has provided me with his precious guidance, assistance as well as inspiration throughout the entire phase of the project. He was always there to help me out whenever I faced difficulties and his always responded with a solution. I would also like to thank my English professor, Mr. XYZ for his immense contribution to the project by sharing his knowledge. He has also made considerable amount of contributions towards developing my critical thinking ability research skills. I am grateful to my parents, who have always assisted me in every step. This study only became possible for their blessings and confidence on me. Thank you all for believing in me and make myself belief that I can fulfill my dreams. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Chapter 01 – Introduction 4 Chapter 02 - Literature Review 4 Chapter 03 - Research Methods 7 Chapter 04 - Summary of the Response Details 8 Chapter 05 - Data Analysis 10 Chapter 06 – Conclusion 10 Reference List 12 Appendix 13 Chapter 01 – Introduction A project is referred to as an endeavor that is designed for achieving a unique product or result within a given time frame. The aim of a project is to bring beneficial changes to the end user or make value additions (Anderson, Grude and Haug, 2009). However, the temporary character of project differentiates itself with the usual business operation. As a result of that, the management of these two factors is completely different and requires a different approach. Project management is dubbed as the discipline that encompasses planning, organizing, motivating as well as controlling the resources of the firm to achieve particular goals (Faiz and Edirisinghe, 2009). A number of scholars have emphasized on the fact that a good project manager should encompass both management skills as well as technical knowledge. The primary goal of a project management and organization is the achievement of the project goals. However, the key constraints in this factor are time, scope, quality and budget. In addition, optimum utilization of the resources and integrating these resources to meet the predefined objectives is another challenge (Eastman, Teicholz, Saks and Liston, 2008). In this assignment, the aim is to develop a new software package and ensure its timely delivery to the client. The software to be manufactured is CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, for the client company XXX3 Ltd. The company is aiming to implement CRM for the purpose of managing the relationship with customers. XXX3 Limited is an apparel retailing company and therefore the company is obvious to have a diversified customer base. The software will be designed in such a manner that it fulfills all the objectives of the company. It is expected that once the company implements CRM into their system of operation, the company will be able to maintain a good relationship with its customers. Moreover, in this turbulent business environment, management of relationship with the customers is a key issue and therefore implementation of technology or a system that promotes management of relationship with the customers is a necessary activity (Edum-Fotwe, Egbu and Gibb, 2003). Chapter 02 - Literature Review Project Management Theory Project management is a vast area and requires knowledge of domain, technology as well as administration. Moreover, for better project management a company requires specialized skills. Larson and Gray (2006) states that maintaining a positive attitude, remaining clear about the project structure and managing proper communication will greatly help a company to achieve success. Project management encompasses 5 stages that are namely initiation, planning and design, execution, monitoring and controlling and closing. (Source: Alterspark, 2013) Stage 1: - Understanding / Initiation – In the first stage, research about the area of concern is carried out and this can include competitors, products or any other stakeholders (Love and Bullen, 2009). Stage 2: - Planning – In this phase, on the basis of the preliminary research, a strategy is formulated and planning is carried out to ensure proper management of the project. Stage 3: - Designing – In this phase, the entire project is designed, starting from its structure to the time scale. Stage 4: - Implementation/Execution – The blueprint designed at the earlier stage is implemented in this stage. The project enters the building phase and the product specifications are actually gets converted to a tangible product. Stage 5: - Closing / Conclusion – This is the last phase of project management cycle, and in this phase the project is completed for delivering the same to the client. Prior to this stage, a pilot study is carried out to assess the quality of the project and to identify the errors. The most important of the aforementioned stages is the project implementation stage. Hence, this stage is elaborated below. The factor which will be discussed is the evaluation and monitoring process of the project. For this project, two techniques will be put into practice namely leadership and time management. Leadership: - The Company will appoint a project manager who will oversee the entire process. The leadership style to be adopted will be as per the company culture. However, a strict supervision will be maintained over the employees so as to ensure timely completion and delivery of the project. Moreover, the quality aspect of the CRM software will be also considered. Time Management: - The time management will be done by the use of a Gantt chart. The following Gantt chart will be used to evaluate and monitor the project. Activity/Schedule Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Project Design             Identification of the resources             Accumulation of resources             Software/Product Development             Testing             Project Implementation             Theoretical Framework There is an ongoing trend that most of the renowned companies of the world are shifting their focus to project management techniques as a ‘way of working’ rather than a simple tool set or methodology. Eminent scholars have highlighted that project management acts as a key by which companies initiate business improvement methodologies such as lean manufacturing system or Six Sigma (Mindtools, 2013). Such techniques not only improve the performance of the firms but at the same time also enhance the competitiveness of the firms. Indeed, a robust project management methodology greatly helps a company to achieve the required condition for maximizing the company’s profitability (Ugwu, Kumaraswamy, Kung and NG, 2005). The significance of project management is almost equal in every industry. For example, an IT company needs better project management for the purpose of achieving the desired standard of result and also ensure timely delivery of the project. In the similar way, a company involved in manufacturing business gives equal stress to the management of projects. Interestingly, a manufacturing firm also considers the similar factors in managing a project. It takes into account the schedule of manufacturing, the overall productivity of the employees, and the allocation of the resources and also evaluation of the quality (Singh and Dunn, 2008). It has been found that organizations around the world have been investing large sums of money in the development of their project management system. Despite that, these companies are failing to get the required benefit because of improper alignment of the project activities and project management. Hence, it is obvious that companies successfully achieved the desired results must have properly utilized the project management ‘way of working’. At the same time, these companies have successfully developed a level of competency and knowledge (Project-management-skills, 2013). Reports have shown that there is considerable effect of project management on the performance of a company. As per published data, some of the well known companies of the world such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Boeing and GM to name a few have reported of being benefitted from the introduction of project management process. As an instance, they have enlightened the fact that after the introduction of the project management cycle, the process times have significantly reduced to 30-65%, reworks and scraps have also reduced by a margin of 35-75% and engineering changes and scope have also reduced to 45-68%. As a result of these factors, the overall profitability of the firms has increased by around 6% and to add to that ‘return on investment’ has increased by a staggering 20% margin (Eve, 2007). Chapter 03 - Research Methods The research methods chosen for a project plays imperative roles in satisfying the objectives of the study. The research approach which will be taken for this project will be simple and will not encompass any kind of special techniques. The principal aim will be to identify the exact requirement of the client. In addition, being a consulting firm the feedback of the consumers will be also taken so as to design the software that fits with the requirement of each group. Identification of the exact requirement will allow the company to design the CRM software as per the requirement. Therefore, it is obvious that the study will consider two sets of respondents namely customers of XXX3 Ltd. and managers of XXX3 Ltd. At first an interview session with the manager or coordinator of the client company will be carried out in order to know their requirements. In addition, a small questionnaire survey will be also carried out to underpin the expectation of the customers. The interview will be either through focus group interview or it will be a questionnaire survey. However, previous studies have shown that it is better to carry out focus group interviews when trying to underpin the requirements of clients. This will give an in depth understanding of the requirement and will mitigate the risk of project failure. The sample for this project will be the managers of the company and the technical head of the company. The sample will be 3 (2 managers and 1 technical head). Limited number of samples will be beneficial for such projects as this will not help in identifying requirements. In case of customers, the sample size will be around 10. Chapter 04 - Summary of the Response Details The study carried out to assess the requirement of the client and the customers have been underpinned through customer survey and manager survey. Result of Customer Survey The study considered 10 customers to know their expectations from the company. The following are the findings from the study. The first question asked was related to their demographics and the following were the findings. Fig 1 – Respondent Profile Fig 2 – Respondent Profile Hence, customers from genre visit the store. On asking them about their expectation from the company, around 7 of them stated that they would like the company to offer discounts during special occasions such as their birthday or anniversary. In the similar way, the remaining respondents expect that the company could offer them with customized pricing or offer additional discounts. On asking them about the importance of regular communication from the company’s side, each of them rate this activity to be highly important. The last question asked to them was about what they would like to get from the company as an identity of being a loyal customer. Regarding this context, some of them stated that they would like to receive loyalty cards or pay back card as a discount. However, few customers also stated that they would like to have unique customer identity key. Figure 3 – Customer Preference Result of Manager Survey The managers of the company were mainly asked about the technical aspects of the software. Since, they were the client company it was important to know their expectations as well. On asking the managers about the software interface, each of the members highlighted that they would like to have a simple interface and also wants the same to be user friendly. In addition, one of the managers stated that they would like the software to remain consistent with the color of the company, i.e. blue. According to the technical head, on asking him about the resources consumed and heaviness of the website, the technical lead replied that the he would like the software to as light-weighted as possible. He further emphasizes on the fact that low-resource consuming software will be able to run on every machine. The last question asked to them was related to the fields or factors they would like have in the CRM software. In response to this question, the managers and the technical lead mentioned that factors such as the age, sex, contact address, as well as purchase history of the customer will be kept. In addition, the technical lead also mentioned that birth date will be also considered and special offer to the customers will be provided during their birthday. This is an approach to boost up the sales. Presentation of the Outcome The study has shown that consumers have lot of expectations from the company. However this expectation differs according to the age group. A handout of the same will be given to you so that you can go through it deeply and understand the pattern. Going by the expectation of consumers, it can be said that implementation of customer relationship management software is justified and is the means of achieving competitive edge. Chapter 05 - Data Analysis The data collected and presented above clearly points out to the fact that customers expects a lot from the company. In the similar way, the company also wants to offer something to the customers for managing the relationship and boost the overall sales. From the perspective of the consumers, it has been observed that customers above 30 would want special discounts on their marriage anniversaries. On the other hand, 14-30 years candidates would want to avail special discounts during their birthdays. The company wants the software to be light-weighted and user friendly so that everyone can access it and each machine can run the software. Although, it has been already mentioned that implementation of CRM in XXX3 is justified but still four decisions will be made to ensure the viability of the hypothesis. The hypothesis chosen for this study is as follows: - H0 – XXX3 should not implement CRM solutions. H1 – XXX3 should implement CRM solutions. The above hypothesis points out to the fact that the company either implements or do not implement CRM solution into the system. However, the viability of the hypothesis will be chosen on the basis of the following decision criteria. Decision1: - To take help of technology for the purpose of managing relationship with the customers. Decision 2: - To implement software where data about consumers can be stored and retrieved when necessary. Decision 3: - To make the software user friendly so that it becomes easier for the employees to use it and the company does not require additional people with technical knowledge. Decision 4: - Implementation of the CRM software in the system and offer various benefits to consumers for strengthening the relationship and making them loyal towards the company. Chapter 06 – Conclusion The study was meant for managing a project of CRM implementation in the client company, XXX3 Ltd. In order to know the requirement properly, the study has considered focus group interview and questionnaire survey among the customers and managers of the firm. Literature survey has clearly shown that companies around the world get tremendously benefitted by the implementation of CRM solutions into their system of operations. Furthermore, the study has also shown that the implementation of CRM will not only ensure better communication with customers, but at the same time will aid in the process of customer satisfaction. One of the key findings of the study was that that customer would like to have regular communication from the part of the company and like to get special discounts on important days. This makes it evident that companies should implement CRM or take any assistance of technology for efficient customer servicing. Hence, it can be concluded that implementation of CRM in the company would be a great idea to maintain a cordial relationship with the customers and boost sales. Reference List Alterspark, 2013. Project lifecycle stages. [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Anderson, E. S., Grude, K. V., and Haug, T., 2009. Goal Directed Project Management: Effective Techniques and Strategies. 4th ed. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Saks, R. and Liston, K., 2008. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons. Edum-Fotwe, F. T., Egbu, C. and Gibb, A. G. F., 2003. Designing facilities management needs into infrastructure projects: case from a major hospital. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 17 (1), pp. 43-50. Eve, A., 2007. Development of project management systems. industrial and commercial training. 39 (2), pp. 85-90. Faiz, R. B. and Edirisinghe, E. A., 2009. Decision making for predictive maintenance in asset information management. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 4, pp. 23-36. Larson, E. W., and Gray, C. F., 2006. Project Management: The Managerial Process. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Love, P. and Bullen, A., 2009. Toward the sustainable adaptation of existing facilities. Facilities, 27 (9/10), pp. 357-67. Mindtools, 2013. Contingency Planning: Developing a Good 'Plan B'. [online] Available at: < http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_51.htm> [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Project-management-skills, 2013. Project Management Principles. [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Singh, H. and Dunn, H. W., 2008. Integrating facilities stovepipes for total asset management (TAM). Journal of Building Information Modeling, Spring, pp 30-32. Ugwu, O. O., Kumaraswamy, M. M., Kung, F. and NG, S. T., 2005. Object-oriented framework for durability assessment and life cycle costing of highway bridges. Journal of Automation in Construction, 14 (5), pp. 611-32. Appendix Questionnaire for Customers 1. Name: - 2. Age: - a) Less than 14 b) 14-30 c) More than 30 3. Sex: - a) Male b) Female 4. Comment on your expectation from the company? 5. Importance of communication from company on a scale of 1-5. (1 signifies highly important, 5 signifies not important) 6. What can be your ID as a loyal customer? A) Pay back card b) Unique Number c) Any Other Please Specify Focus Group Interview Question for Managers 1. Kindly comment on the interface you would like to have of the software? 2. What are the fields that you would like to have in the software? Read More