Design and Facilities Curry Leaf Restaurant Project - Assignment Example

Design & Facilities/Curry Leaf Restaurant Project Quality System The main function of the Quality System is to monitor this Project throughout it’s life cycle. To begin with, it is vital to bear in mind that Quality is a process - not an event! To be more specific, ensuring that the project is completed to the required standard within the required time means more than a policing exercise - which many managers and business pundits seem to think is the case. The fundamental principle is that Quality must be an integral part of all the activities in the Project Plan from Day 1 of the project. Despite what the pundits think, Quality is not some great mystery, but ensuring that best practice is followed in terms of both activities and work products. There is a large amount of material available in Quality - certainly too many for specifically cite! - but the consensus of such best practice is as follows. In order to keep Quality events progressing satisfactorily and resolve any problems on time, there needs to be a deadline which is enforced throughout the project. The tasks assigned in the project under consideration must follow the specified path, that is to say one work product must be delivered before the next. Using a workflow-based system enables the Project Manager to define the project team, assign tasks to the most appropriate team members, and ensure that they are working satisfactorily. Once that task is complete, the workflow moves the project along to the next person, and so forth. Workflow is the generally accepted way to automate the work products and processes and keep the work going forward. Typically, projects tend to follow a set of specific patterns, in a away that is analogous to the Design Patterns found in software development - the same project type will be encountered over the course of normal Quality operations. This will allow the creation of a series of Project Templates that will automatically load deliverables based on the type of event that has been encountered. The best project management tools take the Quality Management data and populate the deliverables with this data, so a Project Plan related to the specific event under consideration may be quickly and easily developed Assigning tasks to individuals is one way to manage a project, but more often than not, it comes down to roles. By using roles, that is to say, Quality Manager, Inventory Control, Health & Safety etc. the ability of the team may be broadened to handle the work products as the project progresses. Such cross-training means that there will be any number of individuals within the role that can help complete each task within the project removing the risk due to the unavoidable absence of a particular individual who can only perform a given role. Automated tools provide the visibility the Project Manager needs to see the big picture. Without this visibility, the project will be set in motion and one must hope that everyone is staying on track. Having a dashboard that shows the project status, what is overdue, what is on track, and any "red flags" in a single view is key to managing the project. The After-Project Effect Having created a project that had led to a new process and perhaps a new job function that needs to be created, it would be a very bad idea to let this to fall through the cracks after everyone on the team worked so hard to complete the project. Automated systems have the ability to affect change once the project is complete. The best Quality Management systems will link Project Control to Change Management, Document Control or Employee Training hence will link the project report to new document requests, change management activities or training events, thus continuing the project feedback to new innovations in the Quality System. It is this feedback process that is the key underlying factor in continuing good Quality Management, Communication Plan The Communication Plan for this Project will cover the following subjects:- Human Resource Management Financial Planning (including budgeting) Risk Management Procurement Plan (Including Monitoring & Evaluation Systems) Human Resource Management Project Planning is as much managing people as it is tasks. In fact, the people element is a critical component, as ensuring people are well informed of the work products, and making them see the big picture is a large part of project management success. Automating the Project control process will help the Project Manager to focus less on the project management portion and more on the people management portion. By having a system in place, the Project Manager will be able to focus on making sure that the team members are comfortable with their work and help them along the way to being successful. Meredith and Mantel [1995, P174] have much to say on this subject. The Human Resource Management area of the Communications Plan will need to have the following key features. Harnessing the abilities of the Project Team to manipulate the tasks within the project in order to meet the objectives of the project. In other words, persuading these individuals to follow orders (as set out in the Project Plan) intelligently, rather than exhibiting ‘dumb insolence’ or resorting to conflict. This is something of a balancing act - failing to get this right is part of the reason so many IT projects fail, even if the requirements are correct(!!) The Project Manager will be dealing with individuals of above average ability and experience, and who therefore take being told to their jobs very badly(!). The best approach here is to issue goals rather than specific procedures and let the team members work out their own ways of doing the job - subject to Quality considerations. This aspect of the Communication Plan will need to reassure the team members that they are responsible and accountable for the project’s work products. Encourage the emergence of synergistic solutions, that is to say, solutions that resulted form the combining of skills of two or more project team members. Give timely feedback to individual team members on their performance. This is also an excellent way in forestalling project problems due to human factors, notably incipient conflict. The Project Manager will be provided with a tool for evaluating the performance of the team as a whole. Financial Planning The financial planning aspect will be a key component of the Project Communication Plan This aspect much consider the emotional, financial, and physical aspects of the project, in order to guide it financially. The way in which a financial planner frames a subject can have positive or negative effects on the enterprises perception of the project under consideration. The word budget continues to be a troublesome topic to discuss with corporate management. The term ‘budget’ often holds a restrictive to both the team and the enterprise as a whole, which must be the opposite of its intended meaning. The Projects budget must be a tool be a tool - not an obstacle - of the Projects goal attainment. This means that this aspect pf the Communication Plan must that framing and word choice matter and this is often been evident in best practice throughout industry. For team members clients who are discouraged by budgeting, it will be necessary to use alternative wording such as spending plans or goal diaries. This is most definitely not just about semantics. These language adjustments have proved to be successful, with increased team member follow-through and enthusiasm for financial recommendations. The Projects financial planning communication process will be constantly trying to revamp delivery techniques and use research to make meaningful recommendations to both team members and the enterprise at large. Lessons learned through the study of psychology, for instance, have shown that coherent and memorable stories have been proven to aid in learning. These types of stories help individuals involved in financial planning communication to understand the framing of financial concepts that may be otherwise difficult to comprehend. Planners should use this method to connect with both the team members and the enterprise at large, raise concerns about financial well-being, and finally, conclude on a hopeful note to help the audience to understand the planning process. The Project Manager must be confident in financial planning delivery and know what networks that are being activated. Human behaviour is often motivated by emotion, so, if a team member doesnt feel that the planner can effectively help them, they will be less likely to follow through with any recommendations or advice. Risk Management The principles of risk management are universal, although it must be borne in mind that risk management, like quality is process, not an event, and must be taken into consideration form the beginning of any project. An illustration of the principles of risk management, that appears to be applicable to the Project under consideration, will be found within [Afenet Risk Communication and Action Guide. USAID/Global Health (no specific attribution). July 2011 (Online). Available : http://influenzatraining.org/documents/s18784en/s18784en.pdf] For Risk Management to be an effective process, the whole Project Team will have to be involved. The Afenet document [2011 Page 3 et seq] makes reference to a ‘Communication Task Force’, but the same principles would apply to the various members of the Project Team. The Project Team will need to establish the following functional areas for communicating the teams risk management policies to other stakeholders within the enterprise:- Lines of authority within the Project Team for making decisions Actions Emergency or outbreak regulations Financial obligations and commitments Policies and procedures – regulations Equipment and resources, that is to say, those enjoyed by the Project Team Communications to the other stakeholders Which individual within the Project Team who makes the final decisions for the above areas. This does necessarily mean the Project Manager, but rather that this individual will receive expert input and information from the other Project Team members, in order to make an informed and responsible decision. If that person is not available, the Project Team must agree on how and to whom that decision-making authority is delegated. The Project Team must make sure that the other stakeholders are aware that they can obtain accurate and up-to-the-minute information form the Project Team and assign an appropriate contact person. This will make it easier for them to report all risks unearthed, and will discourage them from seeking non-official sources of information. In addition, the Project Team should appoint a separate contact person who will handle all inquiries to (and appearances by) the Project Team members. The contact person will be responsible for coordinating risk inquiries, and ensuring that questions are answered by the most qualified team member. The rapporteur will serve as the official contact person. It will be good practice to appoint a second (or deputy) rapporteur. The other two key areas will be gathering information resources and preparing materials. The information necessary for effective risk management should have been gathered as part of the day-to-day project management process. the main additional task will be to prepare, form this material, a risk management portfolio for the Project (which will need to be kept up-to-date) so that all queries from within the enterprise will be able be quickly and accurately fielded, allowing the Project Team to go about its other tasks without further interruption. One must admit that this all sounds like a major diversion of Project resources, but it must be borne in mind that not communicating risks to the Project promptly and effectively is a risk in itself, as perceived uncalculated risks will cause ‘panic measures’ by corporate management. Procurement Plan Effective communication regarding the Projects procurement strategy and programme is critical, The key question is : why should the enterprise commit itself to something if it isn’t systematically and optimistically communicated? The Procurement Plan, as contained within the Projects overall Communication Plan will include the following five areas. Firstly, the enterprise as a whole must be continue to be convinced of the value of the project, both in terms of the benefit to the enterprise as a whole and that the allotted resources are being expended to the best practicable effect. The Project Team will need to provide an overview of the real changes which will occur due to the implementation of the procurement strategy. Changes may well occur in assignments, processes and systems, organizational structure, competences and abilities, cultural changes, goals and targets and communication channels. The Project Team must put words to the vision. The enterprise must be made aware of which changes are taking place, which means explaining to the stakeholders what the Project is all about. This may mean posing figurative questions such as "The Team is initiating this change process because?" "If the team dos not change the consequences will be?" "What will drive the change?" "With the change the team will obtain". It is important that the other stakeholders know exactly which changes occur and when. The other stakeholders will take being surprised by unexpected change very badly. So, the Project Team will need to draw a timeline and put the changes on to it. Making a risk evaluation. This feeds into the Risk Management strategy process outlined above. Deriving from the industrial consensus of experience from both successful and less successful change projects indicates that many either totally or partially do not obtain the benefits of change, as was intended. There are many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that risk is not identified and assessed (see above). Often it is not the project itself that is the major risk factor, but the stakeholders and the business impact of the project. It is important that the discussion about risk occurs early in the process and that risk is documented systematically throughout the implementation process. Conclusion This Report may be summarised and the recommendations made in the following form. To begin with, it cannot be stressed too strongly that the Quality Plan, and Communication Plan represent processes not events. As such, they will need to be drawn up as part of the project initiation process, and their requirements integrated into the overall Project Plan. It is also vitally important to continue to appreciate that the Project Team is not a machine, but is comprised of people. Therefore, human factors must be given priority, as any software tools that are utilised for the Project are just that - tools. If they are not properly operated by properly motivated and trained staff they will probably be worse than useless; (relatively) primitive manual procedures, as described in Meredith and Mantel [1995] will remain of use. A further implied goal that must be borne in mind throughout the project is the necessity for prompt and accurate communication with the client and other stakeholders. So many projects, of which the catalogue of IT disasters are merely the most well publicised, have gone wrong, that a communication plan on the lines of that described above is an absolute necessity, not just another ‘box ticking’ exercise. The client and the corporate management of the contractor (the enterprise that employs the Project Team) have every right to expect prompt and truthful communication as to the expenditure of resources, achievement of project work products and adherence to the timescale that should have been agreed (!!) in the original contract. The final, and perhaps most important, implicit requirement is that of conflict avoidance. To be more precise, it is absolutely vital that problems with the project are foreseen by the Project Manager and strategies brought together to deal with them. This is where the Risk Management Plan outlined above will be of most use. It must be stressed that the client for the project and other stakeholders will be reassured that remedial measures are in hand, even if the project is suffering what one hopes are temporary problems. To put it another way, untrue or delayed statements about problems will be taken very badly indeed, particularly by the client. References Project Management - A Managerial Approach Jack R. Meredith, Samuel J. Mantel Jr. Third Edition Wiley 1995 ISBN : 0-471-01626-8 Afenet Risk Communication and Action Guide USAID/Global Health (no specific attribution) July 2011 (Online) Available : http://influenzatraining.org/documents/s18784en/s18784en.pdf Read More