Managing the Gantt Chart - Term Paper Example

 «Managing the Gantt Chart» Introduction Being a project manager, the primary work is to evaluate the feasibility of the base to be developed and later on determine the basic stages for project initiation, development, implementation and monitoring of the system. Project Scope: The project scope is underlined as follows: 1. Develop a base station taking into consideration the established base of the company. 2. Decide on the specifications for the lab. 3. Decide on the various resources and manage the metrics 4. The communication is not restricted to various internal agencies but extends to the various external commitments for managing change. Assumptions taken into consideration: The schedule for the development of the project has been taken in a feasible manner as we don’t have much information about it. The economic reasons for setting up the project are taken as quite feasible as Johnson and Johnson already possess a thorough plan for implementing the process. The project control and implementation is taken almost feasible for fetching the right direction. The right implementation of the project is taken into consideration for better productivity and success. The primary activity would be to analyze the feasibility of the proposed activity so that all the plans fall into place and have good ROI for time, effort and money. The feasibility study is the first element which is performed and then the classification of the tasks is identified for simplified approach and better handling and productivity. 1. Define the work The project in question relates to Johnson and Johnson’s new base and enabling the right use of the project resources for managing the change in the system. The right procedure for framing the budget and schedule is the prime activity of the project management. For Johnson and Johnson, the project activity also relates to managing the resources and ensuring the right use of time and effort. 2. Build the schedule and budget Figure 1: WBS Figure 2: Resource Costs Allocation 3. Manage the schedule and budget Tools like activity network diagrams will be used thoroughly during this phase to elaborate the importance of monitoring the activities conducted for the project and that they are networked properly to achieve efficient results (Pinkerton, 2003). During this phase, the work plan should be kept open for reviews on regular basis to ensure that the schedule and the budget are followed precisely (Westerveld, 2003).. If the actual spending is transcending the budget it is important to work with the team, to determine how the remainder of the work is to be completed within the original budget, or else raise a risk that the actual budget will be exceeded (Gray, 2002). 4. Manage issues Johnson and Johnson are ready to fund completely for the base and would take care of the development activities from planning to implementation stage. It would determine project benefits in the following ways: Reduced overhead of the other bases. Increased flexibility in operation as the base is able to capture the various operations and take advantage of the experts in the process. Increased speed of activity as the tracking would be quite efficient Improvement management of the employee Better service to the citizens of the state. The analyzes of the fixed and recurring costs are also analyzed in the base construction, its development activities, its installation and the protection of laws and its compliance. 5. Manage change a. Scope change The change tracking is one of the key aspect of the Johnson and Johnson project and needs to be decided at every threshold for a change in extending the operations. b. Configuration change Change in configuration is handled through the change tracking document and all the resources required to be adjusted accordingly. c. General changes The general changes are accommodated for their dynamicity in the physical environment and diversity of communication among the various resource elements. 6. Manage communication This forms a critical portion for Johnson and Johnson in which the communication with the team members are scheduled from time to time and ensured that all the various regulations are followed and met. Any deviation can change the direction of the project resources. 1. Scheduling board meetings: The following are checked with respect to the board meetings which I decided to hold for Johnson and Johnson’s base development: The ongoing schedule is checked and reviewed. The resource requirements are reviewed. The cost factors are taken into consideration and status reports are judged. 2. Conduct reviews: Kerzner (2001) mentions that it is beneficial to conduct the Status Meeting according to a formal standard agenda. Items for discussion are: achievements this period, planned activities that are incomplete or overdue, activities for the next period, new issues identified this period, issues closed this period, summary of results of quality reviews, summary of schedule and cost status, suggested revisions to the plan, The Status Meeting is an opportunity to exchange information between all members of the Project Team. 7. Manage risks Risks are inherent in projects. It is not possible to eliminate all risks and no amount of planning can overcome all risks. Project risk events typically have a negative impact on the project objectives on the schedule, cost and specification. I am responsible to ‘predict what can go wrong before it actually does’ (Pressman, 2002). If the risks materialize it can actually delay the project. It needs to be effectively managed and identified well. Creating Exception plans: This is a major plan at the mid of the Johnson and Johnson’s project which needs to be discussed so as to remain kicking at all times. The following are the various exception plans and their remedy: O the causes and impact of the Exception Situation, O recommends recovery actions, O assesses the impact of the recovery actions, O Creates an Exception Plan which replaces the original stage and project plan. Stage end assessment: This stage is usually framed for Johnson and Johnson and enables one to take care of the following: provides a summary of the work carried out in the stage, identifies the tasks necessary to carry out the next stage of the Johnson and Johnson’s project, develops a schedule for the next stage of the Johnson and Johnson’s project, provides a comprehensive package of information from which a decision can be made, gains agreement on any revisions to the scope of Johnson and Johnson’s project, gains agreement on any revisions to the overall approach and schedule for the Johnson and Johnson’s project, gains agreement on any revisions to the Business Case for the Johnson and Johnson’s project, gains commitment to making the necessary resources available for the project, gains agreement to the approach and schedule for the next stage of the project, gains agreement to any changes to the control procedures defined for the project, provides a record of the project and stage plans for use in managing and controlling the project if it gets authorization to proceed, Confirms that the stage is complete. 8. Manage human resources The entire concept of setting up new bases needs to be nurtured in the hands of the existing small entrepreneurs in the associated business from another city or state as the entire concept is new here. The state builders are to be issued tenders to get the price and the time of completion right. It can be better said by the people involved in this business for long. 1. Briefing the team: As a project manager the selection of a team for handling the various activities are to be planned well in advance. The team comprising of various experts in the field are to be identified and hired so as to delegate the sub tasks and the macro level activities be done successfully. It must include planners and surveyors. There must be a team of reviewers so that quality is checked from time to time, a team of change control managers and auditors must also be present. An accountant must be present to handle the finances and check the budget during the execution of the project. 2. Hiring the external entities: As a project manager, the identification and right selection of the various external entities are to be made well. The various suppliers and the vendors involved in the project who are identified as stable and established are hired to get the job done. 3. Establishing objective, scope and duration: The primary stage of this activity is the establishment of Scoping diagram, Data modeling and Data flow diagrams. Also the network diagram and the project schedule needs to be decided which serves as the baseline for reverting back and checking the quality and the schedule of the ongoing tasks. The primary objective of the project should not be confused. It needs to be taken care that the existing bases needed to be studied well; in addition to that the various implications for innovating the present bases at different locations are studied and analyzed in detail and the factors affecting their goodwill in the market (Davidson, 2002). The objective of the base need to be studied and a scope of functionalities need to be provided so that it gets a competitive advantage. The crucial business decisions relating to the functionalities and the newer techniques and user desire needs to be well taken care in formulation of the plan. 4. Establishing resource requirements: As a project manager, the resource needs require to be filled in synchronization with the various economic stand of the organization. The detailed report of the requirement of the resources needs to be taken care of before beginning the project or project execution. 9. Manage quality This is one big step in Johnson and Johnson’s project. The management and control of execution plan produced as a result of last phase holds its importance (Meredith, 2001). Although the plan should be prepared with the participation and agreement of the stakeholders and the project team but the real challenge remains in achievement of actual working of the plan. It should be noted here that even if it is not probable to expect that the plan will be achievable as it was structured, but is essential that the strategies worked out are followed in a disciplined fashion. This shows the importance of control and quality systems in place at the time of execution. 10. Manage metrics Review the recommended changes to the estimating model. Assess each change and decide if it is likely to apply to future projects of this type. Change the estimating model based on these decisions. Review the recommended changes to the standard process used on the project. Assess each change and decide if it is likely to apply to future projects of this type. Change the standard process based on these decisions. The project is finally done and an overall inspection is made as to the fulfillment of the objectives of the state and also to analyze the factors that makes it competitive with regard to the neighboring states. As a project manager, the very stages from initiation to closure and review process is taken care in the assumption that there is a normal flow of funds, the plan goes as decided in accordance to time, cost and physical atmosphere of the project. Conclusion The objective is to finally close the Johnson and Johnson’s project in a way that establishes mechanisms for the continued development or improvement of the final base developed, improves the standard process for this type of project and updates the estimating model for this type of project so that the project resources can be deployed (Kimmons, 1999). 1. Introduce Maintenance process This should be a formal defined process that involves business and technical staff in the identification, approval for work, carrying out the work and quality control of work. 2. Prepare End of Project Review Determine what form the final review of the project should take. It could be: O a meeting O a facilitated workshop O a questionnaire The review should involve all parts of the Project Organization. It may also involve other staff and customers of, and suppliers to, the project. Prepare and distribute material as appropriate to the people involved in the review (Knutson, 2000). Statement of Word count The word count of Task 2 is 2350 words. The rest is occupied by the other parts of the paper like “Statement of Word count” and “References/Bibliography”. References/Bibliography Atkinson, R. (2001), "Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, it’s time to accept other success criteria", International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 17 No.6, pp.337-43 Belassi, W., Tukel, O.I. (2006), "A new framework for determining critical success/failure factors in projects", International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 14 pp.141-51 Cleland, D.I., Gareis, R. (Eds) (2004), “Global Project Management Handbook”, McGraw-Hill International Editions Davidson, Frame, (2002), “Tools for an age of rapid change, complexity and other business realities”, San Francisco, California: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US) Kerzner, Harold, (2001), “A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling”, New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US) Meredith, J.R., Mantel, S.J. (2001), “Project Management: A Managerial Approach”, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY Pinkerton, William, (2003), “Achieving project bottom-line success”, New York: Mc Graw Hill Homayoun, Khamooshi (2003), “Network-based project planning and scheduling”, Industrial Management & Data Systems; Volume: 96 Issue: 8; 1996 Research Paper Westerveld, E. (2003), "The project excellence model: linking success criteria and critical success factors”", International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 21 pp.411-8 Gray F. Clifford, Larson W. EriK (2002). Project Management: The Complete Guide for Every Manager. Grover. Graphical Project Planning Techniques: An Overview of Gantt, PERT, And CPM Charts. Hoffer, A. Jeffrey (2002), Modern systems analysis and design, Pearson Education. Kimmons, L. Robert and Loweree, H. James (1999). Project Management: A Reference for Professionals. Knutson Joan, and Bitz, Ira (2000). Project Management: How to Plan and Manage Successful Projects. Pressman, Roger (2003). Software engineering. Pearson Education. Read More