The Development of Interactive Online Tender System - Case Study Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Project management Course: Institution: Business proposal and feasibility Project management has been described as is the systematic incorporation of the voice of the customer by creating a disciplined way of effort prioritization as well as resolving trade offs. It involves working concurrently on all aspects of the project in multi-functional teams above many other things. Project management is not just about completing a project in phases (Thomsett, 2002). Consequently modern day’s project management is complex and still evolving as it reacts to changes in the environment. Project management enables accomplishment of a task in the shortest time possible (Maylor, 2003). It is essential to have a pre-planning phase that will see some of the very first misunderstandings being explained. This will make up the gate process for the project management. The project is aimed at making tendering process to be quick and effective. It should enable the treasury to secure the required goods in the shortest time possible for accomplishment of its objectives. Back ground and summary of the project The project describes the development of interactive Online Tender System for companies which will be dealing with the Ministry of Environmental and Water in the United Arab Emirates. The online tender system will reflect the targets and the goals of the ministry. The project is geared towards enhancing speed decision-making. The online tender system will reduce time consumed and enhance easier payment as compared to the current manual tendering system. The features of the online tender system will include system actors like operation control, purchase control, committee control, administration control, companies, suppliers, service providers, and venders. The function of the system will consist of system user registration and company registration. The profile of the company in the domain of the ministry system will include company profile, project type, and system user profile, tender, contract, and the service legal agreement. Other parts of the system will include project details, dynamic items, attachment and submission, alerts, system views, document process, system smart reports, archive, and an online website. Macro environment analysis The project will require synergetic relationship with other government department and other organizations. The online tender system would involve stakeholders from the government and the private sector. The tender system will affect the suppliers, the being served and various departments of that are within the ministry. Inasmuch as the project has the objective of enhancing effectiveness and efficiency the various stakeholders have to be informed about the new project and they should understand how it will make life easier. The ministry also will need to have permission from the treasury to be allowed to spend a substantial amount of its budget in the development of this project. System actors identified in the initial planning of the project include companies, suppliers, service providers, and venders. All these players make up the micro environment of the project. Adequate consultation has to be dome before the project takes off officially. SWOT analysis of the project Strengths The project will enhance quick service delivery and ensure efficiency. The online tender system will enhance initiation of projects within the ministry as the procurement procedure will easy. The system will also reduce staffing needs as other procedures of procurement will definitely be automated. The work of the procurement department will be made easier because some of the functions and procedures will be integrated. The customer management system will be structured into administration control that enhance decision making. Weakness The project has financial implications that may derail the planned objective of the ministry for financial period. It will also involve recruitment of staff members to take part in the development of the project. Integration of the activities of the ministry with the development of the project may not be very ease for the some of the staff. Resistance to change may be costly for the ministry as some members would want to sabotage the process. The cost of external audit would be overwhelming for the ministry. Opportunity The management of the project will enhance training and development for workers and provide an opportunity for learning. The ministry has an opportunity to outsource the best IT services in the development of this project. An opportunity is offered for the company also to better its entire service delivery system. The skills of the workers will improve leading to increased productivity. Automation may lead to fewer workers being required for a particular task and hence reduction in operation costs. It would be easier to put in place feedback system to tend customer satisfaction and know how to improve service delivery. Threats Cyber crimes pose a threat to the project since hackers can bypass the security system and access important information from the company. The extra security concerns will be an additional burden to the ministry. There is the risk of the system administrators engaging in unscrupulous activities that may lead to the ministry’s funds being siphoned in financial scams. Unscrupulous workers can use the system to initiate illegal deals with con-companies. It will require extra surveillance. Feasibility analysis The project will require a massive fund kitty to support its development. The following are estimates of the expenditure that will be required for the online tendering system ITEM ESTIMATES (US Dollars) System developers’ salaries 400,000 Technical consultancy 150,000 Functional office holders’ salaries 600,000 Software purchase 100,000 Maintenance 200,000 Staff training 180,000 Research and development 250,000 Feasibility study 50,000 Meals and snacks 80,000 Miscellaneous 200,000 Total 2,410,000 The amount that would be saved through effective online tendering system would be about 400,000 per year. 2410000/400000 = 6.05years Tentatively, it would take close to six years to break even. This however will take less than six year to breakeven. The ministry will realize advantage of the online tendering system within about five years six its inauguration. Project organization Organization structure The organization structure to be used for this project is the matrix organizational form that allows the manager to be in control of the entire project while other players are responsible for their own part. Since there are many parts, processes, and phases to these projects, matrix organizational form allows procedures and policies to be set up independently as long as there is no contradictions (Reiss, 2007). A sample of the matrix organization structure is shown above. From the above structure has a function that it perform in trying to accomplish the objective of the entire project. Project management offices will have to be developed in order to assist mangers in staffing and controlling various projects. The destructive roles that could be present have to be dealt with in the first week to open ways for genuine engagement in the project development exercise. Other departments that will be deemed fit for development of the tendering system will be incorporated within the budget of the outlined for the project as times goes by. Every functional unit has to write down its schedule for activities for each day, each week, and each month (Cadle &Yeates, 2004). The project has to run according to schedule. The target drawn by every functional unit will be used in deciding the duration that the project is going to take. The recruitment of project managers will be the first thing to be conducted after establishment of project management office. Functional project offices are important in the management of critical resource pool. Strategic evaluation of the development of the project is needed. The project management positions that will be created will include project administrator, project coordinator, technical assist, project engineer, task manger, project manager, and program manger (Kerzner, 2009). One important task will be to define the duties and responsibilities of every office holder. The project coordinator will ensure that there is communication between different functions and offices working of the online tender system. The major office holders will have to provide a list of their requirement of staff to work in their different offices. The finance office will have to give estimates of expenditure of funds in their respective offices. The available resources will have to be distributed among the functional offices present. The weekly meetings will be coordinated by the functional office managers at the direction of the project administrator or coordinator (Stimpson, 2008). The public relation officer will deal with communication and representation of the matters of the ministry concerning the development of the online tendering system. This project will require clear instructions from the top for it to move. Project management skills are important in the delivering the targets of the online tendering system. The system coordinator has to inform the project director on the progress of each of the development phases of the project. Every activity has to have a timeline within which it has to be accomplished. References Kerzner, 2009, Project management, 10th ed, John and Sons, New Jersey. Thomsett, R 2002, Radical project management, Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Ltd, New Jersey. Cadle, J and Yeates, D 2004, Project management for information systems, Ft Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Limited, London. Maylor, H 2003, Project management, 3rd ed, FT Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Limited, London. Stimpson J 2008, Project management: A means to efficiency, Practical Accountant, 41 (6): 16. Reiss, G 2007, Project Management Demystified, Routledge, New York. ,. Read More