Project Dossier for Scottish Qualification Authority - Awards Processing Systems - Assignment Example

SQA Case Study (APS PROJECT CHARTER) i) Project Title Design of Scottish Qualifications Authority-IT Awards Processing System (APS) case study ii) Purpose The system is intended to map out an integrated awards and candidate registration system which will make the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) more effectual in using legacy systems and results delivering examination. This will allow staff, students and educational officials in Scotland to promote effectiveness and efficiency of operations. It is anticipated that the system comprises an artery of installations which the Authority has recently engaged in. Consequently, installing the Awards processing system is rooted to cost reduction, time saving and employee productivity improvement. The project is at present engaged in running an awards processing system (APS) with data entry functions from schools and colleges. It will permit transparency in sourcing and hiring of qualified applicants to SQA-IT project. iii) Description The APS project will entail drafting a business case, project origination, project aim listing and objectives, milestones, deliverables, and drafting the project plan to be executed. The project will cover all critical areas in the phasing of the APS System. iv) Objectives a) Merging of already existing data in the Scottish Examination Board (SEB) b) Designing, developing and implementing an information system to process new qualification c) To train schools on how to teach new qualification d) To deliver examinations using existing legacy systems v) Success Criteria or Expected Benefits a) Early invitation of markers and effective allocation of scripts b) Appointment of sufficient markers, recording and retrieval of marks c) Provides for real time information of student database, unit results and entries from centres d) Allows for effective governance of SQA enterprise and lifelong learning for children and education e) Data sources of SEB and SCOTVEC are integrated f) Ease of certificate issuance to candidates g) Speed up the creation of new SQA culture to surpass the predecessor body cultures h) Promote business efficiency by allowing face-to-face interaction by averting office service duplication i) Eliminating travel of officers between Dalkeith and Glasgow vi) Funding The project is funded from the sanctions of the Scottish Office Education Department led by Her Majesty. The project timing, financing, and scheduling will be crucial in funds scrutinizing and appropriation. The funds will be dispersed to functions project phases and activities: a) Computer Equipment Procurement b) Key staff and support team selection, hiring and remuneration c) Procurement of intranet and internet support accessories d) Costs relating to administration The costs will be intertwined in the budget plan and brought forth by the SQA management team. The funding level is adequate in meeting all the needed purchases and personal payments. vii) Major Deliverables a) Appraisal, Assessment and finishing of all project inventory requirements. The APS project manager will undertake and do requirements documentation right from project start up. This will entail listing the significant computers and accessories. The appraisals will establish the costs and benefits of the project and update the decision to start the project plans. b) Completed data for workload data analysis The APS project will constitute gathering all the necessary data through surveys on why, how and when the operations should begin. The project manager is set to carry out interview sessions with key heads to function to obtain information about the project expectations. c) Concluded IT artefact of APS design templates and drafts APS project implementation of the will involve IT artefact completion through systems documentation. The designers are expected to provide all the needed, programmed software to be undertaken in the pilot project. d) Completed APS system The completed APS software is expected to be ready for familiarisation and testing by the IT experts in the project. Of specific importance is the completion of logins, access and spreadsheets. e) Testing and documentation of APS system The system will be deemed as satisfactory when inspection and audit teams will have confirmed that all platforms of the system adhere to the minimum requirements for approval. Testing will be significant to Her Majesty’s inspectorate department and Scottish education team to think about program roll-out. Risk management Risks Description Impact Occurrence L,M,H Degree of Impact L,M,H Action trigger Responsibility Response plan Non cooperation between Scottish authorities Delays in development of the business case M H Involve key educational departments Jack Communicate to all stakeholders in time Extensive validation checks by APS Internal assessment registered to one number L H Avoid multiple entries of one candidate Medley Input validation system that accepts all data Delay in design of the APS prototype Leads to cost overruns causes project stall M H Proper scheduling and planning Benjamin Monitoring and evaluating progress Project planning and critical path analysis This permits timely synchronization and finishing of all scheduled tasks. The APS project is likely to take 13 months. The illustration of the above is shown in the table below (Lloyd and Carey 1999). The project utilizes PRINCE 2 procedures such as: 1. Project start up for APS 2. Initiating the APS project 3. Directing the project 4. Controlling a stage 5. Managing stage boundaries 6. APS project closure All the activities to be carried out are documented and listed. They are made known in the diagram below: Activity Definition A Developing an initiation report B presenting a business case C Choosing the vendors D Commence on project demonstrations E Extend project plans F Recruit the phases to the system G Design H Package of Work I System Prototype J Unit detail K Installation L Preparation M Documentation of User support O Training and Communications P Coordination and Management Q Verification and Testing S System Test T Testing Integration U Testing Acceptance V Tracking of tests and Defects W Sub-systems testing and Module X Training of schools a) Activity sequencing The activities that are going to be undertaken in this are project are as follow: No. Item description Sequence 1 Kick-off meeting: List stock requirements 2 Develop an initial report 3 Presenting a business case 1 4 Select vendors "2,3" 5 Commence project demonstrations 4 6 Development project plans "3,4,5" 7 Enlisting the system phases "4,6" 8 Design "6,7" 9 Work package 4 10 Prototype "3,4,7,8" 11 Detail of Units "7,8,9" 12 Installation 7 13 Planning 10 14 User support documentation 9 15 Communications and training "14,13" 16 Coordination and management 15 17 Pilot testing and verification "15,16" 18 System roll-out 17 b) Critical path analysis and Gantt chart for APS project c) Critical path The APS project results are reported in the deliverables in their immediate and final reports. The deliverables are offered in terms of work packages in the consistent order of work stages. The report focuses on the field systems that will linger on and in so doing sets the establishment for research into the cost benefits of creating the APS system. The market conditions prevailing needs for re-engineering and improving the project’s levels effectiveness in handling project employees, buyers, and suppliers by informing the deliberate plans of the board (Evans 2006). The reports situate the platform for developing a business cases. The project will develop objectives and aims of the APS project software and delivery options obtainable. The results will involve the merits that the project will enjoy during the system is functioning and yielding the required outputs. The project will also highlight the restriction and other limitations towards achieving the desired outputs. APS project quality planning The APS project will build up plans for the entire work within the first week as provided in the Gantt chart. The project manager will identify all the resourcing desires of the project and ensures that they meet the minimum criteria. In this case, the IT project will require hiring staff with IT background and experience in computer systems and programming. If the hiring process is flawed, say hiring, with respect to friendship or family relations, chances are the project will have disastrous outcomes. To prevent this will comprise resourcing needs of the project like skills, expertise and educational requirements in feasibility studies through a competitive behest processes. Financial plans should outline the source of funds and sustainability of the project without exaggerating or understating the cost of specific items like computers and accessories, cost of labour, administrative costs and other expenses. Project cost overruns will stall the project or cause delays, hence, depleting the overall value and expectation of all the stakeholders such as the Scottish Education Office and the SQA project team. The risk, budgeted, and communicational plans also comprise the need of budding the various project plans to manage sequential the project realisation (Evans 2006). The project will develop quality plans to meet the specifications of recruitment, procurement, implementation and evaluation. There will be a need to define showstoppers for project rollbacks during the first two weeks of preliminary testing by project improvement. The project will embark to meet such anticipated outcomes as processing exams with no manual entry processes, undertaking data entry listing and performing awards self-service applications. It will also create e-forms to populate from the database. In addition, the applicants are exposed to open positions to applying for registration into the program so that they can be considered by the examination chief officer (Evans 2006). Finally, has a result of the new employees possibilities of errors and fraud in the books of account can aroused in the company. The program is positioned to function when certification, auditing and inspection have been carried out, and the approvals at every stage rely on adequate assessment of the functionality of APS system. Once the system certification has been found as credible, the project can start to train employees and roll out to the whole organisation. Supplier relationship building SQA project manager (Medley) will handle procurement and purchasing of computer materials for software development from Glasgow. A competitive bidding process will involve choosing the best suppliers for the computer hardware and software as well as programmers. It will require a review to conclude that one or a number of the listed requirements present in the purchase order have been fulfilled within the first week of the project case. Consultation of procurement rates and issues with bulk purchasing and early bidding, deliveries and price bargains will be done in the second week. This will allow the APS Project Manager to resolve any issues with the computer and accessory suppliers if they delay. Besides, accepting the software materials only occurs after resolution of any issues regarding delivery. Acceptance of the materials or goods on behalf of the APS project team will facilitate payment approval to supplier in time to ensure a healthy relationship. They have to provide invoices to the project before demanding payment. The invoice payment and approval are constructed to oversee completion of contract for procured materials. The manager will to coordinate and control supplier contract based in the UK by citing key milestones such as merging datasets already existing in the SCOTVEC and SEB. The original step in management performance of suppliers depends on initiation of a formal review which evaluates the performance of suppliers. Performance assessment helps in review of performance of suppliers. Determining the possibility of items being delivered to the project satisfies the contract terms (Project Management Institute 2010). Performance issues looking into deviations from the contract are chosen, as raising of formal issue with suppliers is healthy for the project. The project manager phasing the APS project resolves many supplier relationship issues by managing performance closely. This raises the chances of attaining project success. 4. Managing stakeholders in the APS project The stakeholders of SQA are the Scottish Consultative Council on Curriculum, Scottish Further Education Unit, Secretary of State for Scotland, Scottish Office Education Department, Education authorities, schools and colleges, and Her Majesty’s inspectors. Scottish education officials may have conflicted interests in the project and it is important to determine those with a vested interest in the project. Her Majesty’s inspectors may want to succeed as anybody within the Higher Still mapping. Most of the stakeholders mentioned above are external to the project, so their identity is not to be taken for granted. They should work as a team through nomination of representatives to the board by picking key persons (Project Management Institute 2010). Obviously, careful choices allow representatives of vendors, educational officials and project staff to know their expectations in the project. PART II Project Dossier for SQA-Awards Processing Systems (APS) Description The scope projected the objectives, purposes and anticipated deliverables of the SQA Awards dispensation System. Additional it identifies the parameters in the form of timescales, budgets, authority scale and range. Besides, it declares responsibilities allocated people, and their code of conduct in working through decision-making processes and meetings concerning attributable to project decision. This defines the scope of the project objectives. It assists in benchmarking project planning, monitoring and implementation the project performance. This will be carried out through to completion by the project team manager by controlling all project activities. The team will also establish all the break points for reviewing project performances, measurement of progress and determining the project results. The SQA-IT system encloses the advanced candidate’s registration facilities that enable effective systems running off, enhances self-service applications, promoted advanced succession planning, and increase project returns. Subsequently, it eliminates the imperfection and mistakes hence increasing financial accuracy and accountability of the project facilitators. Finally, it presents sequential monthly reporting and financial responsibility to candidates. Objectives: a) Merging all sets of data already existing in the Scottish Examination Board (SEB) b) Designing, developing and implementing an information system to process new qualification c) Offering training activities in schools on teaching a new qualification d) To deliver examinations using existing legacy systems Expected Benefits a) Early invitation of markers and effective allocation of scripts b) Appointment of sufficient markers, recording and retrieval of marks c) Provides for real time information of student database, unit results and entries from centres d) Allows for effective governance of SQA enterprise and lifelong learning for children and education e) Data sources of SEB and SCOTVEC are integrated f) Ease of certificate issuance to candidates g) Speed up the creation of new SQA culture to surpass the predecessor body cultures h) Promote business efficiency by allowing face-to-face interaction by averting office service duplication i) Eliminating travel of officers between Dalkeith and Glasgow Risk management plan Non-cooperation between Scottish authorities causes delays in development of the business case. The level of occurrence is medium with a high degree of impact. It will be beneficial to involve key educational departments and all stakeholders in time. Extensive validation checks by APS have been exacerbated by internal assessment registered to one number. The level of impact is low with higher occurrence levels. Responsible persons should avoid multiple entries of one candidate by inputting validation system that accepts all data. Delay in design of the APS prototype leads to cost overruns causing project freeze. The impact is high, though the frequency of occurrence is low. It requires proper scheduling, planning, monitoring and evaluating project progress. The insinuation of inherent risks to the project cannot be attributably induced. The SQA project recognizes risks, assesses its impacts bu studying the degree of occurrence and recommences the most appropriate measures that can alleviate the project associated risks. It is substantial to tabularize the risks and evaluate their impact to the organisation by considering the apparent impacts to the project life time. The risks greatly affect the budgetary allotment, assignment of key accountable parties and project documentation for purposes of prevention and full control. The project will be documented based on subjection to the risks and measures. Project plans Project planning and administration will involve; defining of activities, scheduling of the project duration, defining communication lines, human resource and project labour requirements. They are competing limitation structuring an optimal mix of the requirement of effective management to projects. The parameters will facilitate planning, organisation project measures, management and leadership control to achieve efficient implementation of APS software. The extent of scheduling are entangled and involve identifying the project commencement and ending dates, having in mind the time and cost factors. The constraints so far are attaining the time, project scope, and allocation of budget. The project manager of the APS project has the redoubtable challenge of using the four considerations in optimizing the distribution of all the project inputs and efficiently organise them into specific ascertained objectives to be attained. Labour feasibility, job description and specification have implication on staffing the right skills. From the Gantt chart, the time assigned to the staffing process is diminutive indeed. There is a need for project heads to ensure that he retain competent expertise into the team. There will bring implications if the project staffing committee does not withhold enough experience to commute the technical issues that arises in the projects development. In case considerable portion of the project staff lack experience with the operational environment, contribution to project execution constraint are pertinent. It is anticipated that the staff allocated for this project will have the technical expertise needed to undertake this project. Critical success factors Excellent working relationships and consistent financing will have quality implications for SQA work outputs, realizing project deliverables. The project objectives, supervising the cost, scope and scheduling will not be observed. The changes in parameters will cause the other project measures to change. They will also affect the performance and quality. The time constraint relates to the duration taken to project completion and if it is augmented, could spiral project costs and lower its scope. The system and tools adopted in this project will create a self discipline to the staff have well organised and smooth running of the project objectives. There is also a desire to meet the needs and demands of sponsors and heads of SQA. The interview sessions by the project manager informs the inventory needs of the APS project. As seen in the Gantt chart and the critical paths, no time is allocated to signing or approval of the project. To resolve this issue, the project sponsor (SQA) in consultation with the Secretary of State for Scotland will be approached two weeks before listing the project requirements. Once they approve, signing and planning will immediately begin. There will also be implications if the project sponsors have not explained all the details needed for the developing of the system. It will thus infer that more duties will have to be done, hence delaying the project returns. Insinuation will be experienced if key decision makers are difficult reinstate the issues arising in the project. This gives rise to time wastage in the executing the project and attaining project objectives. It is anticipated that the decision makers are accessible any time and in all the growth phases of the project. Required Resources Software development staff, inputs from schools and colleges, computers and connectivity are required resources. The implication that needs special treatment is the time factor in which the project design to be scheduling based on optimisation of both material and human resource factors. From the SQA Gantt chart and the duration, it is clear that project task projected to commence before others and ensures that tasks finish at the predetermined time so that it does not affect the projects flow. If deliverables succumbed for approval, it will require working days for reviewing. This causes constraints because there will be delays in the execution of the whole project. It will mean that reworking will be executed hence causing further delay to the APS project. Organisation Organisation will require a client management office, project manager, and fair and equal contract division of the sponsor groups. The implication of the SQA project report is of particular importance if it impresses and serves the desires of key stakeholders such as the Scottish Educational Office project sponsor, project team and vendors of the APS program. The report gives details of project progress, scheduling, deliverables and milestones attained. The project is worthwhile to continue its phases of implementation, as they are up to date in utilising the planned resources without overruns. The report sufficiently outlines the delivery channels in which the communication, risk, and human resource activities are best managed. The report will guide the management to have a basis of implementing the APS project. Project Methods Integrated project management methods and techniques like PRINCE 2 and setting up tools are used. Project control is the key essential element to ensure that the project requirement is executed in the right time. Cost overruns arise due of lack of proper coordination of programme, inadequate duration and undersigned labour requirements. With the right people with the desired qualification, it is probable that the work will be done correctly on time and with the quality demanded. Control of the project is seen by rightly defining project activities to be undertaken, providing the suitable durations and giving the existing work force. When the three are in order, it is probable to utilize Gantt charts and networking diagrams in executing the APS project. Sponsors The Her Majesty’s inspectors and Scottish Department of Education oversees the project in development plans for the whole project. This will comprise the resourcing requirements such as expertise/skills, and educational requirements, financial plans, feasibility studies, outlining the source of funds, and project sustainability. The project peril and budget constrains communication plans also entail the need for developing diverse plans to guide completion of the project. The project will select and hire qualified staff to design and test the software. There will be a need for showstopper definition and project rollbacks in the initial testing by development. The project is set to meet predetermined outcomes as processing exam marks with no manual entry processes, undertaking reimbursements from expense reports, and carrying out applicants’ self-service applications. It will also inspire development of e-forms meant to populate the databases. In addition, open positions is seen and applicants applying for registration can be vetted by the examination officers. Lastly, it will point out warnings, mistakes and errors in double entries. The program is deemed to facilitate documentation of the project record, hence enhancing accuracy, timely auditing and inspection of the system and the approvals at every stage will rely on level of satisfactory assessment of the functionality of the system. On certification of the system as credible, the project can start to train employees and roll out to the whole organisation. Reference List Anand, G. & Tarkonda V. (2010). Precise role and tacit knowledge in sigma projects: An. Journal of Operations Management, 28(5), 303-315. Osedeme, W.A. (2002). Interim project financing in the Nigerian construction industry. Journal of Civil Engineering, 8, 44-59. Carey, R. G., & Lloyd, R. C. (1999). Measuring Quality Improvement in Healthcare: A Guide to Statistical Process Control Applications. ASQ Quality Press. Cleland, D.I. & Roland G.A, (2006). 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