Orlas Coffees Company - Essay Example

Case Study 2 Document Control 1 Version Control Version Number Change Version 0 First Draft 2 Distribution List The following people should receive copies of this Project Plan: Distribute to… Contact details 1.3 Document Sign-off This Project Plan has been signed off by: 2. Executive Summary The proposed GIS solution using location analytic mechanism for Orla’s Coffees has covered a detailed analysis of different project management activities. The project management process proposed in this study would certainly help the organisation to identify different project related phases and activities that can substantially improve to maintain its GIS and location analytic practices. Based on the overall observation of the project, it can be apparently recognised that the adequate accomplishment of the project objectives and goals would substantially help the organisation to make fruitful decisions regarding the conduct of operations efficiently for its two coffee shops in Dublin. Table of Contents 1. Document Control 2 1.1 Version Control 2 1.2 Distribution List 2 1.3 Document Sign-off 3 2. Executive Summary 3 3. Introduction and Background 6 4. Project Scope and Objectives 8 4.1 Justification of the Project 8 4.2 Project Deliverables 8 4.4 Project Objectives 9 5. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 10 6. Organisational Breakdown Structure 12 7. Assumptions 12 8. Constraints 15 8.1 Timing Issues 16 8.2 Resourcing Issues 16 8.3 Other Issues 17 9. Success Criteria 17 10. Project Organisation 19 11. Responsibilities 19 12. Risk Management 21 14. Timescales & High Level Schedule 26 15. Budget and Cost 27 15.1 Budgeted hours 27 15.2 Rates Agreed on 27 15.3 Additional Charges 27 16. Project Control 28 16.1 Project Information 28 16.2 Communication 28 16.3 Meeting and Conference Call 28 17. References 30 17. Appendices 31 Appendix 1. Change Control Template 31 Appendix 2. Project Quality Review Worksheet 32 3. Introduction and Background Founded in the year 2008, Orla’s Coffees has been experiencing continuous growth with its eight coffee shops across different locations in Dublin. The organisation is basically renowned for its thematic interior, which offers quality based coffee to each consumer or group. The coffee shops of the organisation offer a thematic library experience to its valuable customer groups, who are also provided an opportunity of borrowing and donating books as per their interests. Throughout the years, Orla’s Coffees shops have drawn the attention of varied group of consumers across the whole area of Dublin city in the form of providing greater product and/or service values to them. Therefore, offering product and/or service value towards each repeated consumer is one of the imperative factors for the success of the coffee shops of the company. However, despite the challenges derived from the major economic transitions, Orla’s coffees shops have also been recognised to undergo major constraints due to its ineffective data information system infrastructure. Due to the impact of economic recession, the company has had experience of reducing its numbers of coffee shops from eight to five throughout the previous three years. The situation thus called for making a major decision towards rejuvenating potentials of the company. In order to effectively deal with the problems, it is quite necessary for Orla’s Coffees to obtain valuable responses of its customer groups by combining their location and demographic data. This can substantially enable the organisation to make strong decisions in the sphere of raising maximum profitability. Therefore, the primary objective of this report is to critically assess the current business performance of Orla’s Coffees and develop an effective management decision-making tool on its behalf. The proposed decision making tool for management will be based on the exploitation of the data in CRM, demographic and location information in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The estimated time for developing the decision-making tool is duly considered as three months from the starting of the project. The strategic alignment developed especially for this solution plan has been considered seamlessly with the existing CRM database of the organisation. In order to obtain the predetermined objectives of the project, the discussion primarily focuses on preparing a controlled Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) through allocating different tasks to be performed in different project stages. Additionally, the other aspects of the discussion for developing the decision-making tool of the company i.e. Orla’s Coffees are also associated with project team makeup, scheduling and budgeting of funds. Additionally, adequate consideration of making project assumptions and preparing appropriate risk along with quality management processes for protecting the organisation from different potential hurdles and complexities in managing information has also been made. The client description of Orla’s Coffees represents a group of consumers belonging to multitude demographic backgrounds within the city of Dublin. Based on the observation of the case, it can be found that the individuals and groups in the coffee shops are repeated consumers who are from varied age groups, genders and income levels. Relationship between project team and client is an utmost practice while assessing the valuable responses of the coffee consumers. It is projected that the process will certainly help the project team to understand the level of reliability regarding the products and services of Orla’s coffees and help the organisation to make decisions for addressing along with mitigating any sort of problem. According to the past scenarios, Orla’s Coffees has been experienced with previously conducted IT projects. According to the observation revealed from the case, the IT projects had resulted increasing massive costs due to the deployment of hardware and software paraphernalia. In relation to the past IT projects of customising software development, the management took several initiatives in managing operational costs, which could barely impact on the financial exposure of Orla’s Coffees. The outcomes of this particular project were estimated to have short or medium term consequences that would not be a feasible decision for the organisation. Nevertheless, an estimation of long-term investments specifically in IT operations without revealing any positive outcome is also witnessed as a major factor, which disapproved by the management of Orla’s Coffees. 4. Project Scope and Objectives 4.1 Justification of the Project With due regards to the underlying problems, it is critical for Orla’s Coffees to make decisions of formulating competitive strategies. A competitive framework of strategies and practices can substantially develop a long-term sustainability in Dublin or any further business location wherein the company intends to operate. The problem of making appropriate decision within two to three months regarding the two non-profitable coffee shops can be considered as a major concern for the organisation. In order to avoid potential loss that might be incurred due to the closing of shops, a review of reenergising value of the customers would be an effective strategy for the organisation. The aim of offering an exceptional experience would provide a major competitive advantage to Orla’s Coffees by a certain extent. In addition, the deployment of appropriate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) through assessing records of each customer will certainly help the project team to critically understand the value of each consumer of the organisation. Hence, it will certainly improve the decision-making process of Orla’s Coffees for refurbishing its overall business performance. 4.2 Project Deliverables Based on the proposal of formulating effective IT solutions for Orla’s Coffees, the project team would focus on identifying the key stages of the project and evaluate them in accordance with the chief organisational goals and objectives. In this similar context, deliverables of the project might involve wide range of tangible along with intangible entities that are likely to impose significant impacts on the project team to accomplish each project objective (T&B Consult, 2003). 4.3 Specific Project Deliverables The specific project deliverables will mainly constitute the activities associated with the planning stage of the project. Moreover, evaluation along with monitoring of each project stage in line with the desired objectives is also duly considered to be a major set of deliverables associated with the project. Nevertheless, the fundamental deliverables specified for this project include specific set of aspects that have major impact on the overall project to attain its desired objectives (Morris & Pinto, 2010). The fundamental deliverables associated with the project of developing system solutions generally include: Planning of project activities Scheduling each project activity Cost management Quality management Communication plan Risk management pan and Prompt invoicing 4.4 Project Objectives In relation to the above analysis, it can be determined that the process of accumulating view of the customers will substantially help Orla’s Coffees to make effective decisions regarding its two coffee shops in Dublin. Moreover, the process of developing a management decision making tool is also a major practice for the organisation to effectively deal with the current problem. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed project have been framed in the following: Development of management decision making tool by exploiting the existing CRM information, demographic data along with location of the customers within the city Completing each project activity within the stipulated time frame i.e. two to three months The overall financial budget required to accomplish the project goals and objectives has been estimated as €100,000 Ensuring that the customers do not feel any personal disturbance when information regarding different aspects are gathered Developing prior consent of the customers relating to the use of location mapping process by the project team 5. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The concept of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is one of the widely accepted analytical approaches, which is generally implemented for critically defining the set of activities associated with any particular project (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, n.d.). WBS is often regarded as a cornerstone of a successful project planning, as the framework tends to represent deliverables and/or work elements through a clear graphical representation. The graphical demonstration of WBS tends to organise and subdivide the overall work scope of a specific project (US Department of Energy, 2003). In relation to the proposed project of developing management decision-making tool for Orla’s Coffees, the WBS is designed by covering activities associated with each project stage. An illustration of the WBS designed for the project of Orla’s Coffees has been provided hereunder. Fig. 1: Work Breakdown Structure of the Project Tender: The initiation stage of the project would focus on generating tender of the IT project in terms of developing a competent GIS solution for Orla’s Coffees. The tender agreement process will be generated encompassing specification of required hardware equipment along with their installation and testing functions. In relation to the proposed IT project, the hardware specification will include detailing GET 3xGoutes in order to design an effective GIS solution for the organisation (Morris & Pinto, 2010). Design: The designing phase of the project includes a wide range of activities to formulate an effective implementation process of GIS solution for the coffee shop. In this context, draft design of the project including detail explanation of the dataflow, data source and test plan. Sharing design with client and meeting expectations regarding additional integration of components will also be a major part of the designing phase. The final activity in the designing phase includes sign-off process with ensuring adequate consent of the organisation or authoritative body of the coffee shop. Implementation: The implementation phase in the WBS is developed by categorising activities to be performed for enabling competitive GIS system in the organisation. In this context, the stage includes three major operations such as configuring location analysis module; import data and testing activities. The configuration process will be ensured that the hardware components and application programs are eligible to gain a detail information about the locations of the clients and the coffee shops as well. Report: Corresponding to the designing phase, the activities associated with reporting stage also remain with similar activities such as drafting, finalising, sharing with client and representing report to the organisation. However, the presentation of the report will include developing draft and verifying additional requirement with a dry run process. Close: The closing phase of the project would involve three major steps such as lessons learned along with development of case study and invoice relating to the activities performed in the overall GIS solution process. The stag will help to gain a critical understanding about the scope and opportunities of the proposed GIS solution project. 6. Organisational Breakdown Structure The organizational breakdown structure in relation to the given project can be segregated into different heads including accountant, lead technician, client and data suppliers. Based on the above diagrammatical illustration, it can be perceived that these heads also constitute certain sub-heads that lead towards completing the project within stipulated tile period. 7. Assumptions In relation to the project of developing an effective decision-making tool for Orla’s Coffees, certain assumptions can be made while planning of making a quality GIS solution through location analytic process. The occurrence of the assumptions that were drawn would significantly provide a major support to the overall project activities especially in terms of minimising risks that might take place in different stages of the project. According to an in-depth understanding of the assumptions that have occurred during the project, the project management study will be characterised into seven broader segments. The major characteristics regarding the assumptions that are covered have been discussed hereunder. Hardware Specification Hardware requirements are determined and defined clearly prior to the initiation stage of the project Required hardware equipment are available in accordance with the associated goals and objectives of each project activity Each resource will be provided with adequate appropriate instructions and usage procedures in respond to the project goals Software The software and other relevant application programs are listed and procured in accordance with their priority in diverse project activities Developing user accounts and passwords where necessary for system administrators and users PID keys associated with respective software and application program must be provided to the authoritative administrators/users Clients are responsible for licensing issues Technical Issues The system administrator and/or project team is accountable of managing different technical aspects along with preserving their efficiency in conducting distinct project management activities The administrator/team is responsible for any type of resolving technical issue, including the determination of connectivity problems or manual setting and installation of location identification process The CRM tools provide technical support across various technical areas and determine to store detail records of the clients Communication In relation to the proposed system solution development project, the primary method of making contact with the stakeholders will be accessing their valid e-mail ids and organisational sites All issues relating to the system and communication are escalated in a timely manner Frequent conference calls or meeting among the project team members and stakeholders are held in case of any change required to deploy Training The individuals involved in the project activities are to be trained before conducting their assigned roles Training is provided by a wide range of technological tools and demonstrations for making each individual understand about all technological aspects involved in the project In case of changes in resources, the knowledge relating to technological and decisional aspects is transferred by the assigned project manager with prior consent of system administrator and Board Of Directors of the organisation Resource Requirements In case of any change required in technical, finance and human resources, the schedule will be communicated immediately to each member assigned with their respective project activities Project team will consist of 8 members with a team lead. Additional resources will be added as per the requirement of the diverse project activities Sufficient notice would be given to the management of the organisation in case of any additional time for work in activities required The project management team will be designed appropriately by considering possible attendance and absence of the team members The suppliers schedule is more concerned towards effectively managing possible impacts on resource requirements in each project activity Quality The suppliers in terms of delivering required resources are verified with Quality Audits during the project activities The Quality Audits are likely to conform the consent standards that have agreed by the parties Quality Audits criteria are to be clearly provided prior to the initiation stage of the project The audit quality information are provided by the assigned project managers with the prior consent of the system administrators/users along with clients General The scope of the project will be maintained and it will be not liable to bring any change except the standards in formal change control procedure (Refer to Appendix 1). 8. Constraints Constraints in the field of project management are often termed as such factors that impose restrictions on the activities performed in a particular project. Constraints in the sphere of project management are frequently known as project limitations that radically hinder a project team to attain the predetermined goals of a specific project (Kerzner, 2014). In relation to the proposed GIS solution development project for Orla’s Coffees, project constraints might involve varied sorts of deficiencies associated with required resources or external limitations. In order to determine the possible constraints relating to the project, the restrictions may occur in the form of timing, resourcing and other relevant issues. These have been elaborated in detail in the following discussion: 8.1 Timing Issues The constraints associated with time can be regarded as one of the major issues that might erupt in different project stages. In relation to the proposed project, the timing issue can be mainly determined at the time when much time is consumed during defining and understanding activities that are performed in each project stage. In addition, change of notice in terms of requirements in each project stage also needs to be developed with prior consent and strategic measures of the project team. In this regard, identifying possible activities and determining required resources have been determined to avert any type of timing related issue. In the context of methods or processes that might not be familiar with available resources, the project management strategy has also designed effective training and developmental process for the team members. Moreover, the strategy will also help the project management team to avoid the risks that might be derived from practicing additional tasks, which are not included in the actual project scope. Furthermore, the team members will also be allocated in their assigned job roles by considering any conventional or public holiday. The process of allocating team members with the consideration of holidays will reduce possible constraints that might lower the project management efficiency (European Union, 2011). 8.2 Resourcing Issues Constraints derived from resources can be regarded as the most common issues in project management. In relation to the proposed project, a strategy of allocating additional time in each project stage would help the management to avert the risks that might be derived from any change on short notice. The strategy would further help the project management team to avoid the issue of unavailability of resources on stipulated time (Schwalbe, 2008). In the context of emerging any sort of uncertainty that include duration of activities or methods of delivering training programs, the project management activities would be prioritised accordingly. The team members will be provided with appropriate training about new technological aspects that are required for conducting any specific activity. In order to avert the risk of absence of team members due to their sickness or planned holidays, the strategy of scheduling and allocating the project activities will certainly facilitate the project team to circumvent delays. Correspondingly, the resource management strategy of the project will also focus on making effective movement of resources from one project to another (Schwalbe, 2008). In relation to the above context, nonappearance of team lead in terms of providing support is also a major constraint, which can delay the project activities to be accomplished within the stipulated time. In this regard, the strategy of assigning assistants or developing supportive team with few skilled and experienced team members will certainly enable the project team to avert the risk of inappropriate support or absence of team lead in the process. Adequate availability of required technological infrastructure is also a major constraint for the project management team to achieve goals within predetermined time. 8.3 Other Issues Apart from the above discussed issues, the agreement procedure can be duly considered as a major constraint for the project team. In relation to the proposed project plan, the overall process along with activities associated with each stage of the project will be conformed to a legal agreement with appropriate consent of the organisation. The process would help the project management team along with the organisation to avert the possible policy related risks in the project management activities. Language barriers of the team members are also a major constraint to be considered. In order to deal with the issues associated with linguistic differences, a common and widely accepted language will be a major attribute for the project management team. In addition, the project activities will also focus on gathering appropriate information from the clients for determining whether or not the project activities will meet their respective needs or expectations. The strategy would help in mitigating issues that might be generated due to the changes in customers’ demands or needs. In order to mitigate the negative impact from the future technical requirements, the project management plan will focus on identifying each technological aspect in response to GIS solution and location analytic activities (European Union, 2011; Schwalbe, 2008). 9. Success Criteria Measuring success of each project activity along with their contents is one of the most effective practices of a project team for determining overall project objectives. In order to determine success of each project activity in developing GIS solution using location analytics, the project activities will certainly ensure setting their appropriate criteria prior to the initiation stage of the project. In this context, the success criteria will be developed by considering few major areas such as time, budget and quality in each stage of the project activities. Project Completed On Time Appropriate scheduling and prioritising activities in line with their nature and significance of other project activities The activities in each stage of the project will be monitored continuously as per their completion time Possible delays beyond the ESBI’s control will be considered in each project stage Project Completed Within Budget The strategy of appropriate allocation of finance in each activity will be made in response to the project activities Effective allocation and control in financing procurement of resources including technical and non-technical will be prioritised for lessening the risk of budget failure Project Completed In Line With the Defined Quality Standards Each activity irrespective of different project stages will be administered and monitored in accordance with the defined quality standards Continuous monitoring of activities along with their quality criteria will help to reduce any type of quality related issue 10. Project Organisation In order to critically assess each project activity goal towards the attainment of the overall project aims, an organised process would provide a major insight to the project management team. The organising process of activities along with effective allocation of competent members will be one of the major parts of the project (Munns & Bjeirmi, 1996). In relation to the proposed GIS solution with the location analytic procedure, the organising procedure will substantially focus on two major aspects including allocation of project team and division of members in diverse project activities. Project Team The project team will be developed and allocated in accordance with the type and nature of activities to be performed Proper allocation of required members with adequate skills and competencies in each stage of project activity Division of Labour The team members of the selected groups will be allocated in different roles in accordance with their skills and experience in diverse project related activities Division of labour will also be conducted in accordance with the prioritised activities 11. Responsibilities The responsibility section of the proposed project of developing GIS solution using location analytics represents the list of individual or designated members in different stages of the project. The responsibilities and involved designated members of the project have been demonstrated in the form of the following tabular representation: Legend: X - responsible S - review & sign-off I - inform 12. Risk Management RISK Probability Impact Ranking 1 Delay starting Due diligence L M M 2 Due diligence proses data is unable L H M 3 Delay in Design sign off M M M 4 Delay in H/W Delivery L M M 5 Clint not happy with initial draft report L L L 6 Delay in paying invoice M H H 7 No formal contract in place potential consequences L H M 8 Financial stability of the coffee shop H H H 9 One director fully supportive of project and lould impact sing off on report L M M 10 Lost money before on a similar project L M M 11 Absence of technical subordinates L M L 12 Changes in activities L M M 13 Changes in individuals regarding their roles M L M Containment action Continuent Schedule start with SMT in the coffee shop Change contact client Do a credit check Make sure that payment schedule keep prospect cash positive Sustainability Check Ensure that the project activities are met in accordance with the scheduled goals and expectations of the coffee shop Monitoring Performance and Future Actions Ensure that the performance of the proposed GIS solution meets the expectations of the client and define future strategic measures to gain competitive advantage 13. Risk # Description Risk Probability Risk Probability Mitigation Action(s) Contingency Action(s) Owner Resource Management Procurement and availability of technical and non-technical resources required in each stage of the project M H Scheduling of required resources and managing suppliers at the early phase of the project initiation stage NIL Time Management Completion time required in each activity H M Estimating appropriate time with priority of project activities Appropriate scheduling and allocation of required valuable resources Managing activities in accordance with their priority Effectively allocating successor and predecessors Budgeting Financing project activities in order to successfully attain project goals and objectives H M Appropriate allocation of cost required in each activities of the project Monitoring costs management process Continuous administering of the activity costs Quality Management Standardising process of performing project activities H M Maintaining adequate compliance with the quality standards Providing training to the members Monitoring of quality standards in each project activity Developing standards in accordance with time, cost and availability of resources 14. Timescales & High Level Schedule Areas to be considered Description Activities in Each Action 1. Proposed start date 15th January 2015 Activities designed for project initiation stage Project planning activities Project execution activities 2. Milestones of the project 20th January 2015 Setting relevant goals in each project activity Aligning activities in line with their priorities Ensuring adequate availability of technical and non-technical resources 3. Proposed delivery date 16th March 2015 4. Dates that impact delivery date 1st January Weekly day-offs Planned Leaves 5. Reference to detailed schedule location 15. Budget and Cost According to the planned project activities, the total working hours including all stages of the project have been estimated to 3400hrs excluding weekly-off days of the members. A detailed budgeting plan of the project has been provided hereunder through encompassing different project activities. 15.1 Budgeted hours 15.2 Rates Agreed on The estimation rates of labour, material and equipment can be agreed in accordance with the current market trend. 15.3 Additional Charges The additional charges associated with the project activities can be recorded as travel along with maintenance and communication costs among others. In relation to the overall budgeting pro-forma, the costs associated with additional activities have been estimated as €10,000 encompassing all the additional charges. 16. Project Control The controlling stage of the project will be characterised into few key categories that can enable in gaining adequate control of performing each project activity. The major subsections that have been developed in the project control stage are discussed hereunder: 16.1 Project Information Maintaining a clear and easily understandable format of the tasks to be performed in each project phase Location cited for project information The changes in project activities will be controlled by Change Control Template 16.2 Communication Keeping and maintaining clear record of the physical locations of key individuals and groups i.e. project team and suppliers among others Establishing clear communication process amid the project team with key stakeholder groups (client and suppliers among others) Developing contingency plan in each project stage to escalate constraints Daily reporting of project activities with suitable and agreed format 16.3 Meeting and Conference Call Weekly meeting to gather status report of each project activity Emergency meeting will also be arranged in case of any uncertain event or complexity emerge in project tasks The key attendees in the meetings and conferences include project members such as project manager, test lead, technical experts, team lead, and testers among others Ensuring that the objectives are met across different stages of the project Progress statement of each activities Review of activities whether or not they have met their desired objectives Reporting issues that have encountered in different stages of the project Maintaining adequate record of the actions that have been undertaken to address the issues Scheduling next project activities in accordance with the potential constraints and required supports 17. References Esri UK, 2014. Delivering Innovative GIS Solutions. About [Online] Available at: http://www.esriuk.com/about [Accessed December 06, 2014]. European Union, 2011. Project Management in Public Health in Europe, EU Health Programme. [Online] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eahc/documents/health/leaflet/project_management2.pdf [Accessed December 06, 2014]. Kerzner, H. R., 2014. Project Management - Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence. John Wiley & Sons. Morris, P. & Pinto, J. K., 2010. The Wiley Guide to Project, Program, and Portfolio Management. John Willey & Sons. Munns, A. K. & Bjeirmi, B. F., 1996. The Role of Project Management in Achieving Project Success. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 81-87. Schwalbe, K., 2008. Introduction to Project Management, Second Edition. Cengage Learning. Tache, F., 2011. Developing an Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Flow for Sustainable Investment Projects. Economia Seria Management, Vol. 13, pp. 380-391. T&B Consult, 2003. Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines Private Sector Projects Funded By AfDB. Guidelines For Monitoring And Self-Evaluation. [Online] Available at: http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Evaluation-Reports/00157955-EN-ME-GUIDELINES-PRIVATE-SECTOR.PDF [Accessed December 06, 2014]. 17. Appendices Appendix 1. Change Control Template Project Name: Prepared by: Date: Update(s) are being made to the following:  Project Charter  Project Management Approach  Scope Statement  Work Breakdown Structure  Performance Measurement Baselines  Major Milestones and Target Dates  Key Staff  Risk Management Plan  Scope Management Plan  Schedule Management Plan  Cost Management Plan  Quality Management Plan  Staffing Management Plan  Communications Management Plan  Risk Response Plan  Procurement Management Plan Details of modifications: 1. Corrective Action: 2. Corrective Action: 3. Corrective Action: Stakeholders authorization : Name: Signature: Date: Appendix 2. Project Quality Review Worksheet Project management process Applied (Y/N) If No, Justify Improvement Process Project plan development Project plan execution Integrated change control Project initiation Scope planning Scope verification Scope change control Activity definition Activity sequencing Estimating activity duration Developing schedule Scheduling control process Resource planning Cost estimating Cost budgeting Cost control Quality planning Quality control Staff acquisition Team development Read More