Management of Mobile Technology Project - Case Study Example

Project management University Student Id Course Date Project analysis Peter’s mobile technology project Peter’s mobile technology project is aimed at coming up with new mobile technology that can assist in enhancing the safety of the citizens. The technology will be geared towards improving the crime prevention strategy where the mobile technology is one of the strategies of reducing crime related activities. The resulting mobile device is expected to ensure that there are sufficient information sharing and coordination between external and internal organizations. The mobile technology will be in a position to ensure that there is the effectiveness of the staff performing their jobs aiming at facilitating to the reduction and prevention of crime. Through the use of the mobile technology, the mobile data security will be assured where the technology provides a flexible, open, and reliable technology foundation for crime prevention in the future. The mobile technology is trying to solve the challenge that has been faced by the crime prevention agencies as they have been facing challenges in the process of tracing crime related activities and locating the criminals. It allows capture of electronic data from its source making it easy for use leading to the elimination of the redundant entry of data in the organization hindering the achievement of the objective of eliminating crime. Project objectives 1. To ensure that the end users do have some inputs in the designing process to ensuring that the crime is eliminated thus assuring the safety of the citizens. 2. To accomplish the defined goals of the project with the budget and the time provided to the achievement of the set goals. 3. To minimize the case of crime using the mobile technology to trace the criminals before they carry out their crime activities. 4. To ensure secure agreement between the selected vendors and the relevant departments aiming at ensuring the provision of the required devices that can help in achieving the set objectives. Scope The project will ensure that a new mobile technology is established for boosting the security of the citizens. The new mobile technology does entail software of digital CAD dispatch, around 35 mobiles, messaging for a car to car, access to the internet, reporting software that is automated, and GPS for an automated dispatch. Risk assessment Risks facing the project will be monitored throughout the life of the project where the risks situation of the project will be updated constantly. The continuous assessment of the risks facing the project will assist in ensuring that the possible risks are managed, and the right actions are taken to solve the possible challenges facing the project. The project manager will ensure that risks facing the projects are assessed to ensure that the objectives of the project can be achieved. The project managers have ensured that there are the necessary strategies that can be taken in the process of mitigating the project risks. The strategies r based on the impacts of the risks on the project performance where the risks that are associated with high impacts are given the priority in the management of the risks. There is a team that is trusted with the task of conducting a feasibility study that can guarantee accurate assessment of the risks that are likely to affect the progress of the project. A steering committee of the project has ensured that time, and other resources are allocated to the management of the risks that are possible in the project (Atkinson, 2009). Besides, it is the role of the steering committee to ensure that the risks are identified and discussions concerning the mitigation strategies that can be used in the process of managing the risks (Larson and Gray, 2011). The project manager has the responsibility of ensuring that the recommendations and amendments of the contingencies necessary for the steering committee depending on the conditions of the risks facing the project. It is through the commitment of the committee that the project will ensure that the possible risks facing the project are managed and the necessary strategies taken in advance to avoid the adverse effects of the risks on the project progress. Budget The mobile technology project is expected to cost around $900,000 that do include the purchase of the devices, installation, and payments to the service providers. The project is expected to take nine months to be completed. However, the progress of the project will be continuously evaluated to assess the progress of the project. The evaluation of the project will be crucial in ensuring that the set objectives can be achieved as the management will ensure that the project activities are aligned with the project objectives. Issues I would address There are various issues that am likely to address using my competencies in the areas of costs, time, management and scope of the project. First, I have competencies team building during project management. I would like to address the issues of teamwork where I will ensure the team; members can work together. The team member can be able to work together only if they can interact in the right way. As a result, it can be crucial to ensure that the team members can be able to interact freely hence creating good relations (Burke, 2013). Some of the issues that I have to address in the process of building team spirit is to ensure that I manage the diversity that might exist among the member of the team. The workforce diversity can be associated with the presence of some of the members have different cultural background hence making it necessary to manage the differences. Second, I would ensure that I address the issues of time management using my competencies that I have acquired from the course. Addressing time in the process managing the project will be crucial in the process of ensuring that the set objectives of the project are achieved with the necessary time. Besides, proper management of time can assist in ensuring that the set activities are achieved within the time budgeted for the project (Larson and Gray, 2011). Managing time can also be crucial in the process of ensuring that the requirement of the project are met as the needed time to accomplish some of the necessary tasks can be allocated the necessary time. The success of a project is highly determined by the way the time in the process of carrying out the project activities is managed. This entails allocating time for each task in the right way while considering the activities involved the allocating time that is enough to accomplish certain tasks. Proper allocation of time can ensure that the activities can be accomplished as planned hence ensuring that the project objectives can be accomplished at the right time and cost. Considering the fact that the project will be divided into different tasks it is essential to ensure that there is proper management to avoid giving one task more time than the other. Poor time allocation of the tasks can lead to delays in the process of achieving the project objectives. The third issue that I need to address using my competencies is the working schedule for the team members. Coming up with an effective work schedule can be crucial in the process of ensuring that the project activities are allocated in the right way to the team members. The areas of specialization of the team members can be considered in the process of allocating the tasks making them able to ensure quality work. Besides, scheduling ensures that all the activities of the project can be handled at the right time and resources (Burke, 2013). The activities can be allocated properly using the work schedule to ensure that the objectives of the project are achieved. It is through proper scheduling of the work that the requirements of the project can be achieved as the needed activities can easily be done to meet the project requirements. I have acquired competencies in scheduling work where I can be able to allocate the project activities properly to the team members in a way that is very effective. Work scheduling involves designing who to do the activities and the way the activities can be in the most effective way where I will be in a position to apply my competencies in scheduling work. The fourth issue is managing the team members in a way that I can ensure that they improve their productivity. This can entail creating a working environment that can ensure that thy can work towards achieving the set objectives. For instance, I can ensure that the team is aware of the progress of the project and the activities that need to be done to achieve the set objectives (Larson, and Gray, 2011). Constant updating of the team members can be crucial in making sure that they are aware of the project progress. This can entail ensuring that the team is aware of the possible changes in the activities of the project where the team member can be given the reason for the changes and the way the changes can improve the project progress towards achieving the set objectives. The fifth issue that I would address is cost controls were in need to ensure that I use my competencies to achieve the set objectives using the available resources. Managing the costs of the project can entail ensuring that the available resources are used in a way that can ensure that the budget can be met (Munns and Bjeirmi, 2006). operating within the budget of the project can be possible through ensuring that funds allocation is done in a way that can ensure that the activities of the project can be accomplished using the available resources. Solutions to the issues Building team: I would ensure that I build a team spirit among the team members to ensure that they can work towards achieving a common goal. The benefits of team building can include ensuring that there are good working conditions that can enhance the productivity of the team members. However, the team building process can be challenged by the differences that exist among the employees. Managing workforce diversity: ensuring that I manage workforce diversity can ensure that the possible differences among the team members are eliminated. The differences can be associated with the different cultural background. The benefits of workforce diversity management can include improving the productivity of the team members (Burke, 2013). However, the process of managing diversity can face some challenges that can include differences concerning the values and beliefs of the team members. Ensuring effectiveness in the process of scheduling work: the effectiveness of the scheduling process can be possible through coming up with policies for governing the allocation of the project activities to the most suitable member of the team. This can ensure quality by allocating the tasks to the team members that have competencies in the task (Larson, and Gray, 2011). The main challenge facing work scheduling is the ability of the team members to meet the timeline by completing their tasks at the right time. Team management: managing team can entail coming up with the necessary strategies that can assist in ensuring that productivity of the team is improved. This can be possible by providing the necessary support that can make the team achieve their obligation with ease. Team management can be of benefit in the process of ensuring that the set objectives are met through aligning the activities of the team members with the goals of the project. Budgeting: ensuring that I have the necessary policies of managing the costs of the project can ensure that the project operates within the budget. This can entail having cost control policies that are aimed at ensuring that the available funds are allocated in the most efficient way. The budget can be great benefits in the process of ensuring that project operates within the budget by making sure that there are enough controls to ensure efficiency in the use of the resources. The possible challenges can be associated with the commitment to the team members to ensure that they support the implementation process. Applied theory questions Q1 Change management process Stakeholders are supposed to ensure that there is simplicity in managing their projects. Through keeping simple records of their projects makes it for individuals to easily understand the project management well, and therefore contributing to an effective management of the projects. However, the stakeholders of a certain project usually measure the success of their project concerning the benefits it delivers to the people (Burke, 2013). Besides, if the stakeholder of a certain project needs to achieve their expectations, therefore they should always set unambiguous requirements for the project. There are some important steps which stakeholders of an organization should follow to realize an effective management of their project. A manager of a certain project before planning for a project he or she should, first of all, identify the number of stakeholders of the project and also the people who are going to be the beneficiaries of the project. The project manager should put into consideration about the benefits which will be useful to the stakeholders the as a result of setting up the project. By considering the expected benefits, every stakeholder will now get motivated and therefore participate in the project fully thus contributing to an effective project management. Also, the portfolio manager of an organization should make several consultations from the most senior managers as well as the customers (Baccarini, 2006). Through the consultation, the manager will be able to gather the necessary and required information which can help the organization to effectively run its organizations. Besides, the manager in charge of a project should find the appropriate skills which are required for efficient project management. By getting the necessary skills, a high level of delivering services to customers in an organization is usually maintained. However, these skills should be identified before the project planning. The last basic step in ensuring that an effective project management is realized is identifying the most appropriate way of communication, which can deliver the progress of the project and any other issues that may arise concerning the project of an organization to all the stakeholders. Additionally, if the above basic steps are keenly adhered to by any project manager, then the project will be very successful, and the stakeholders will enjoy the total benefits of the project. The failure of a project in many cases is usually brought about by unclear requirements of the project itself. Importantly, all concerned stakeholders should clearly understand the necessary requirements of their project. Also, the relevant stakeholders should know the significance of having a project scope which is unambiguous (Larson, and Gray, 2011). Commonly, project managers and also sales team are seen to work closely with clients to get assistance in articulating the requirements of clients. However, if the project manager would wish to avoid a scope creep in a project, then the manager is required to ensure that all the stakeholders of the organization become aware that their project scope is sacrosanct. If the level of project requirement is high, then a project manager can either chalk out a project charter or a project scope (Burke, 2013). Besides, inflexibility of a project plan can make a project to collapse and therefore it is more important when planning for a project to allow changes in the plan which may be seen necessary after reviewing. For a project management which is effective, its requirements of the project should be totally clear and also complete. However, during the execution of a project, it is important for any effective project management right away from the beginning to avoid any scope creep in the project. During the execution, it is significant to make use of the project management tools to ensure transparency as well as accountability for the project requirement. Planning schedule, risks, resources During the team selection, project managers and also project planners are selected when a project charter is articulated. However, there are three main parties to be considered in a project: these parties are the project manager, a project planner, and a team of members (Kerzner, 2013). These three parties usually define the work-break-down structure and also identify the right skills to apply them in the project. Besides, usually select individuals who are allocated to the project and assigned duties according to the skills required. A project scope is usually required at the phase of planning in a project schedule. However, a project schedule is worked on by a manager through the identification of significant deliverable as well as milestones. As a project manager gets to know better about a project scope, the resources available can create a project schedule which is more detailed (Larson, and Gray, 2011). However, these details usually bring about questions and the questions result into clarity which then drives into predictability. For any effective project management, a project schedule is usually necessary and equally important. The management of risks that might occur in a project is an important part of the project management that should be greatly taken care of by the project manager. However, risks are always inevitable and therefore they cannot be evaded in a project since they just occur accidentally (Burke, 2013). Also, the project risks are always unpredictable hence difficult to avoid them under whichever circumstance. Presentation of the proposed change I can present the proposed change to the stakeholders by calling for a meeting with the relevant stakeholders. It is through the meeting that I can take ha opportunity to communicate the change and the reasons for the change. I can ensure that in give the stakeholders the chance to give their opinions concerning their view concerning the change. This can give me the opportunity to come up with strategies to perfect the change (Kerzner, 2013). The engagement of the stakeholders can be important in ensuring that I eliminate the possible resistance for change hence gaining support from the stakeholders for implementing the change. Q 2 Bottom-up estimating technique In the process of providing estimates for my project, there are various techniques which I can use in the process of estimating of a project interest. One this technique used is the bottom-up estimating which is mostly used when there is an important detail concerning the activity. Also, a more detailed assessment of resources is also used in the determination of the cost estimate (Burke, 2013). However, bottom-up estimating technique is a method which is more accurate even though it is quite expensive and also time-consuming. There are several steps which I would be expected to follow when using bottom-up estimating method in to ensure that this method is successful. These steps include: an individual should identify all the tasks which are required in a project (Larson, and Gray, 2011). Moreover, in every task that involves bottom-up estimating method, it usually requires a breakdown structure. Through the breakdown of structure some of the project tasks are broken down into smaller tasks, therefore making the tasks of a project to be easily managed (Atkinson, 2009). Also through the breakdown of project work, a project manager can easily estimate the cost of work in a project. As a project manager, I should also carry out an estimate of the project tasks as well as identify their dependencies too. Also, the project managers do not necessarily need to familiarize with the technology used in working on the projects, since there are both business and technical experts in that field (Kerzner, 2013). However, all team members together with stakeholders should participate in producing estimates and also in the process of creating a solid work-breakdown structure. The last step is to determine how much resources are required for the completion of a given task. The number and type of individuals required regarding skills and experience level usually determine how resources are needed in a certain project (Burke, 2013). It is also advisable to consult other experts such as another project manager who have led through a similar project. After the completion of estimating and identifying the necessary resource requirements, the last important thing that is remaining is to calculate the totals of the estimates (Kerzner, 2013). In order to achieve an accurate project schedule, you are required, to sum up, the total work needed for lower level activities then you also estimate the work needed for higher level deliverables. Benefits of the technique The use of the bottom-up technique can assist in breaking down of work packages leading to the creation of confidence with the stakeholders of the project. Besides, the whole management team can enjoy its benefits in the long run because through the use of bottom-up technique costs of the project can best be managed hence ensuring efficiency (Kerzner, 2013). Q 3 High-level situation and earned value analysis The high situation of the project does explain the architecture of developing the new mobile technology aiming at providing the entire overview of the project. The main components and the interface of the product of the project can be identified. The high level of a project does ensure that the necessary details of the project are described and a clear map concerning the project management (Baccarini, 2006). Besides, the overview of the platform, solutions, processes, systems and solutions are provided in the high-level situation of a project. Earned value analysis The cost budgeted for the project is $900,000 and will be completed within nine months. After one month around 0% of the project will be completed at a cost o approximately $100,000. The planned completion is 15%. Therefore Planned value= 15% multiply by $900,000 = $135,000 Earned value= 10% multiply by $900,000 = $90,000 Earned value variances Cost performance index=$90,000 divide by $100,000 =0.9 This is an indication that for any $1 spent on the project only 90 cents. Schedule performance index= $90,000 divide by $135,000 =0.67 It communicates that every estimated one hour of work only 0.67 hours is used by the project team. Recommendation for steps to follow Considering the fact that schedule performance index and cost performance index are less than one, the project is behind schedule and over budget. This is an indication that the project is in crisis hence corrective steps need to be taken aiming at improving the costs and time management. For instance, the project manager can organize a meeting with the stakeholders of the project to look for the best ways of restoring the project. Self-reflection report: Target competencies My target competencies at the start of the subject can include time management, control of the costs, budgeting, work scheduling and team building. These are some of the competencies that I considered are important in the process of ensuring that the project is successful. Development approach The approach that I adopted in the process of achieving my target competencies included doing research in project management to learn how best I can improve the competencies. Besides, I ensured that I participate in the management of different project aiming at obtaining practical experience in these competencies. The participation has assisted me in the process of ensuring that I gain some in-depth knowledge in the targeted competencies. The project management experiences made me realize the areas that I need to improve aiming at achieving the targeted competencies. I have been exposed to a real situation in the process of managing projects making my project managing competencies more relevant in the market where I have been being o identify the various issues that are likely to affect project success. The outcome The outcome can include improvement in the management of the time during project management process where I can be in a position to ensure that I obtain the project objectives at the right time. I have developed team building skills where I can now be in a better position to manage the project teams in a better way aiming at achieving the set objectives. I am in a position to ensure that the team members can relate well and work in harmony aiming at achieving a common goal (Baccarini, 2006). I do ensure team building by creating an environment that improves the relationships existing among the members of the team. I have developed cost management skills where I am now able to ensure that the funds of a project are managed in a way that can ensure efficiency. My cost management skills can be associated with my ability to ensure proper allocation of the resources to the tasks of the project in the most appropriate manner. Link with learning lessons and my progress The lessons I have learned in the class have contributed allot to my project management skills. It is through the class lessons that I have gained some knowledge in the costs and project management areas. I have acquired sufficient knowledge in the process of conducting estimations of the costs of the project in a way that can help in managing the costs to achieve the objectives of the project. Also, through the lessons am now in a position to ensure that a project is managed in a way that can guarantee success by aligning the project activities with the goals to be achieved. Self-reflection I have developed my teamwork skills through the group participation in the lessons where I have learned how to ensure the effectiveness of groups through engaging each member of the group. Ensuring that each member of the group are treated in the same way can ensure that there are good relations among the team members. As a result, the team members can be in a position to ensure that they work together to achieve the set objectives (Larson, and Gray, 2011). I have also developed my skills in dealing with people from a diverse cultural background where I can ensure that I appreciate the differences that do exist among people with different cultural experiences (Atkinson, 2009). According to various literature, creating a good working environment can be crucial in ensuring that the team members are active in participating in the activities of a project. I real life situation I have been able to ensure participation of the team members during project management. Engaging the team members and treating them fairly has assisted in ensuring that I manage my team in a way that can guarantee project success. Subject relevance The subject is relevant in my future career plans as it has assisted me in ensuring that I have the necessary strategies of managing projects. It will assist me in perfecting my project management skills hence helping in developing my career as a project manager. Recommendations for future Team performance was good as the members were given equal chances of participating in the project. However, in the future, there is the need to ensure proper management of workforce diversity to eliminate the differences among the team members. Future development goals I need to work on developing my costs estimation skills to ensure that I can come up with reliable and accurate estimations. The method that I can use in the process of achieving costs estimation skills is doing intensive research on the cost estimations techniques to come up with the best technique for estimating project costs. References Atkinson, R., 2009. Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria.International journal of project management, 17(6), pp.337-342. Baccarini, D., 2006. The concept of project complexity—a review.International Journal of Project Management, 14(4), pp.201-204. Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA. Kerzner, H.R., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons. Larson, E.W. and Gray, C.F., 2011. Project management: The managerial process. Munns, A.K. and Bjeirmi, B.F., 2006. The role of project management in achieving project success. International journal of project management,14(2), pp.81-87. Read More