Critical Evaluation of the Project - Essay Example

Critical Evaluation of the Project Every project has certain limitations and constraints which hinder the project owner to achieve his desired results the way he wants. The common project constraints are time, resources, cost and quality (Maylor, 110). There is always a trade off between time, cost and quality, and any one factor cannot be manipulated in isolation. The success of the project owner is to arrange these constraints in a way that neither of them gets out of limits and the core objective of the project is achieved as well. Keeping in view the prevalence of the mentioned factor in all the projects done anywhere in the world, whatever their type and duration may be, it is accepted that there will always be some portion of the goals which is not completely fulfilled. It is valid for the project promotion of the image of Green Airline of Cathy Pacific as well. There were three options available to the team members of the project. They had to select one of them to handle the issue of food scrap. The method they adopted to evaluate the three options was of weighted score. They ranked the options in the light of four criteria factors. The reputation of the airline is the biggest asset and competitive advantage as well. Cathay Pacific enjoying the loyal customers since long was suddenly threatened by the report of WW. There was a need to address the issue of food scrap and the management gave the project team three options. The point to ponder is the selection of these three options. Why management focused on these three options only? What was the rationale behind them? Is there any supporting industry data showing that these are the only three methods practised in the industry for the issue of food scrap? Evaluating the three options the right away restricted the quality level of the project. The team should have been given the option of finding out more alternatives to evaluate. If we ignore this point, and accept that these options were backed by some findings, the next point of consideration is the information collection upon the factors which enabled the management to select these three options. There must be a background of these three options. It is quite possible that there would be certain other options out of which these three are selected on the basis of some characteristics. Hence the further analysis should be made on those points which are not available in the project report. The team evaluated the options on the basis of four factors which were lacking any empirical data. There is no supporting data upon which the priorities are assigned to the four factors. The assigning of weights is also highly subjective. The factors selected as criterion are not strong enough to convince the management about the selection of right option. There was no option of cost consideration by the organization though in investment projects, expected cost is the major factor. What to Do Differently If Project Is Restarted The choice of weighted scoring method for the selection of option is not a strong analysis. There could be better options like cost benefit analysis of the all the three options. If given the liberty, I would dig out the reasons for selection of these three options and evaluate them again for priority setting. I would also like to explore the industry for other possible options as environmental protection is the hot subject nowadays and many other airlines are facing similar issues. Project’s Level of Success In terms of time spent on the five phases of project, the maximum time was allocated to project planning while the second longest phase was of project control. The project execution took less time than control. It is a surprising schedule. Control phase is related with the corrective actions to minimise the deviation between actual and expected performance. The control phase being longer than the execution phase gives an insight as if the execution phase was not handled properly. The project succeeded in finalising the option for reducing pollution and promoting the image of green airline but the duration of control phase highlighted that success level was not as it was expected. Extra Tools or Techniques for Similar Future Projects For the similar projects to be conducted in the future, I would have an additional option of improving the existing system in place. It is because the systems are running since long and environmental protection is the hot topic for the last few years. In aviation industry, the simple improvement steps can lead to huge betterment. For example, the life of engine can be improved only through its washing. I would explore simple options like this to improve the food scrap systems. Learning in PM Knowledge Areas Below are the three areas in which I have learnt a lot. 1) Scope Management This concept taught me to have clear scope and boundaries defined before starting the project. It is mandatory to have them explicitly defined so that the parameters like cost, resource and time can be adjusted accordingly. It is also vital in regard of improvements suggested and controls made. It helps correctly gauge the outcomes related to the project. 2) Time Management This is a critical point for the success of any project. If the project runs behind schedule, all the other resources are disturbed. It increases cost tremendously with no guaranteed increment in quality. The major factor of project running behind schedule is unrealistic deadlines assigned to activities or the poor follow-up which created lag. For instance, delay in procurement activity, which can be assigned to the members outside the project, can result in inefficiency of the project team members. 3) Quality Management Quality is the basic criteria determining the success of the project. If quality is poor, no matter how time and cost efficient the project is, it is bound to fail. To ensure quality, evaluation of the project with respect to all possible aspects is mandatory. If any area is ignored, it can have multiplier effect in terms of quality deterioration over other areas. In this particular project, if the objective is to reduce carbon emission, the consideration for quality calls for the evaluation of all possible alternatives rather than sticking to the three pre-selected options. It is valid for scope management as well. The perspective of time management is mentioned under the heading of Project’s level of success. Set of quality criteria and methods for quality assurance of the project The quality criteria are the measurement of reduction in carbon emission after installing the new systems. Since the project is based on restoring the company’s reputation, which is measured by the customer loyalty, these two factors can also be included as the secondary metrics of quality. The methods of quality assurance will be based on the set of defined criteria. The first step is to design and implement a quality system that is based on measurement of carbon emission. In the same perspective, the relationship with corporate image and customer loyalty is to be analysed. Upon periodic reviews, the control charts will help gauge the performance of the newly installed quality system. Two Positive risks of food scrap project Since the food scrap project is based on new technology, it is expected that it can develop the organisational procedures to cope up with the challenges of environmental protection. It is a positive risk that can have positive impact over the profitability and image of the airline. The second positive risk related to the food scrap project is about usage of scrap generator with the perspective of serving the entities that will use the composition as a soil. It will positively affect their business and serve as an act of consideration towards other stakeholders. In other words, it would improve the image of Cathay Pacific in the circles discussing CSR related activities. These two positive risks can be enhanced by focusing on the related advantages. Cathay Pacific can join hands with local roof-top farmers to share its cost of installing generators. It is because they would also be able to save cost of importing the soil from Germany. My learning with the project The project has added much to my knowledge bank and experience. Being part of all the phases of the project, the time, cost and resources of all activities were clear to me. It also helped me get an idea how to start the project and go by its various steps. It also helped me give insight into the areas that are of concern for the project managers. The planning phase was of utmost interest and resources were to be assigned to the activities. The area of allocating manpower to the defined tasks was particularly important as people with required knowledge and skills were identified. Teams were built and team leaders were chosen. Keeping in view the possibility of conflict among the teammates, the required background of interpersonal relations and communication skills were specifically sought in the team leaders. Works Cited Maylor, Harvey. Project Management, 4th Edition. USA: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Read More