Properties and Application in Project Planning and Management - Case Study Example

Rеflесtiоn Rероrt Introduction Hospitality organisations usually implement various projects to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. For instance, a hotel may decide to conduct an internal refurbishment to improve its sitting capacity, ease movement of customers and staff and reduce energy use in the establishment. In order for such as project to run seamlessly and be successful, the hotel management has to set dates for commencement of the project, carrying out the work as well as completing it. This can be made possible through the use of a project planning system such as Microsoft Project 2010. In this report, I reflect on the use of Microsoft Project 2010 software to plan and manage projects. The report will highlight the key elements of project planning and management, how the Microsoft Project 2010 software is used, its appropriateness, as well as its advantages and disadvantages in regard to planning and managing a project. Key elements of project planning and management Project planning involves figuring out what needs to be done before actually embarking on doing it. Project plans are bound to change because of the resources available, time limitations and other related issues. What is important is that the project plan should include why the project is being (or will be) done and how the project is going to be done (Biafore 2013, p. 24). The project needs to begin by identifying what is to be accomplished. It is only when this is done that the project’s goals can be achieved. Project managers therefore have to ask themselves a number of questions in regard to planning and managing the project. These include: Why is the project necessary? The answer to this question describes the essence of the project. That is, a project is supposed to solve a specific problem. What is going to be achieved? Any project usually has an end, and it is important to know what it is supposed to achieve so that the desired objective can be seen at the end. What approach is to be taken? The problems to be solved by a project usually have more than one solution. A critical part of project planning is to figure out which project approach is best. What is to be done? Based on the approach that is selected, the project plan offers a description of how the project will achieve its aims in other forms. When will the project start and end? The project schedule of the project plan shows a sequence of undertakings and when each of them starts and ends. Who will be involved in the project? The project plan includes a schedule on how various duties will be assigned to different people. How much will the project cost? The project plan includes a budget. What are the project results? The project plan includes a plan on how the required quality will be achieved and how it will be measured. How will completion of the project determined? For each objective and deliverable identified, there is need to determine how to measure the desired results to ascertain completion. Microsoft Project 2010: Its properties and application in project planning and management Having used Microsoft Project 2010, I found out that the software has a number of features that are critical in the process of planning and managing a project. In the process of planning and managing a project, Microsoft Project 2010 can be used to provide answers to a number of questions, including what needs to be done, how long the project will take, the sequence of various tasks, when some tasks must be conducted, who will carry out the tasks, when the project tasks will happen, and how much the project will cost. These questions and the elements used to define them are shown in the table below. Question Element(s) used to define the question 1. What needs to be done? Deliverable and undertakings 2. How long will the project take? Work estimates or duration estimates 3. What is the sequence of various tasks? Dependencies 4. When must some tasks be conducted? Constraints 5. Who will carry out the tasks? Resources and tasks 6. When will the project task(s) happen? Start and completion dates 7. How much will the project cost? Total cost of the project task or deliverable Source: Adapted from Ambriz and White (2011, p. 52) In relation to the project questions in the table above, Microsoft Project 2010 helps the user to “record, manage, maintain and even create data that answers” the aforesaid questions (Ambriz & White, 2011, p. 52). Typically, the user answers the first five questions in the table and Microsoft Project 2010 computes the last two questions (question 6 and question 7) and allows the users to adjust them, if required. Microsoft Project 2010 also stores the data, organises it and presents it in the form of a report. It is worthwhile for the user to let Microsoft Project 2010 assist them in accurately providing answers to questions 6 and question 7. For question 6, (When will the project task(s) happen?), the user can enter the start and completion timelines for auto scheduling activities using Microsoft Project 2010. However, this often results in the activity dates being constrained in some way. It is therefore recommended that the user lets Microsoft Project 2010 calculate the start and finish dates for the auto scheduled activities so that they can reap the benefits of a dynamic schedule (Ambriz & White, 2011, p. 53). For question 7 (How much will the project cost?), Microsoft Project 2010 can capture and estimate tasks in different ways. The user can enter costs that are predetermined or generated by cost resources directly into the Microsoft Project 2010 schedule. Along this line, another advantage of using project management software such as Microsoft Project 2010 is the ability of the program to quickly compute variable costs – that is costs that are related to rate, consumption or time (Ambriz & White, 2011, p. 53). For instance, by simply coming up with the standard rates for work resources and allotting them to the activities, Microsoft Project 2010 can work out costs of items involved in the project. It is also possible to track costs that are related to items that are used in the project. Advantages and disadvantages of Microsoft Project 2010 Advantages Microsoft Project 2010 has several advantages. These are highlighted below. Familiar and intuitive: The software has tools such as Ribbon among others, which help users to create and manage information about the project more easily (Biafore 2010, p. 662). Saves time and effort: The software’s functionalities such as text wrapping, filtering, scroll and zoom help the users to save time and use less effort in managing data (Microsoft 2010). It is flexible and powerful: Users are able to create their own project schedules at a level that suits their needs. Facilitates control and delivery of project outcomes: Microsoft Project 2010 allows users to compare budgets between actual and projected values (Microsoft 2010). Enables collaboration with others: Use of the software can be leveraged with SharePoint. A project manager can use Microsoft Project 2010 to create project schedules, develop staffing plans and track the progress of the project while collaborating with others (Sy 2012, p. 174). Disadvantages The disadvantages of Microsoft Project 2010 include the following: High cost: Microsoft Project 2010 is quite expensive to purchase, especially when it is to be used for planning and managing small projects. Difficult to use: As a student, I have noted that Microsoft Project 2010 is quite difficult to use since I had to undergo some training in order to grasp some concepts regarding its use and applications. In addition, according to Reyes (2011), although it is possible for many people to work in partnership using Microsoft Project 2010, it takes quite some time to train several users at the same time than it would take to train a single person. Generic focus: Microsoft Project 2010 does not focus on any specific industry, although it is commonly argued that the software is more suited for software management projects. This means that project managers end up using an instrument that is not customised to meet their needs. Conclusion Microsoft Project 2010 offers a number of functionalities that can help managers to plan and manage projects effectively. The software assists managers to find answers to questions such as what needs to be done in a project, how long the project will take, the sequence to be followed, who to conduct the tasks, when the project tasks should be conducted, the cost of the project and so forth. By answering these questions, managers in the hospitality industry can ensure that their projects are conducted effectively and according to plan. The advantages of using Microsoft Project 2010 include the point that the software is familiar and intuitive, it helps save time and effort, it facilitates control and delivery of project outcomes, it is flexible and powerful, and it enables collaboration with others. The downsides of the software however are that it is costly, it is difficult to use, and it is not customised for projects in any specific industry. References Ambriz, R & White, J 2011, Dynamic scheduling with Microsoft Project 2010, International Institute for Learning, Inc., Lauderdale, Florida. Biafore, B 2010, Microsoft Project 2013: the missing manual, O’Reilly Media, Inc, Sebastopol, CA. Biafore, B 2013, Microsoft Project 2013: The missing manual, O’Reilly Media, Inc, Sebastopol, CA. Microsoft 2010, Top 10 benefits, viewed 13 November 2013, . Reyes, F 2011, Microsoft project management, viewed 9 November 2014, Sy, DR 2012, SharePoint 2010 for project management, 2nd edn, O’Reilly Media, Inc, Sebastopol, CA. Read More