Work Breakdown Structure - Coursework Example

Interim project report Name Institution Date Scope statement The project was based on a leading internet service provider firm in the country where the learning experience was conducted. The firm though posting huge profits was experiencing problems in the human resource department around the areas of responsibility allocation. The problem was split down into several minor issues such as overlapping of tasks while other duties were duplicated between several departments hence increasing on the expenses of the firm. These issues brought about more finances being spent to pay employees whose tasks were replicated such that fewer individuals could have accomplished such tasks without major disruptions on the entire workforce. The firm in question had been accumulating a large number of employees whose distinct job responsibilities were not clear hence causing plenty of mayhem when employees in different departments discovered that they were undertaking similar duties with those in the other departments (Cleland & Gareis, 2006). The conflict arose because employees who had specific employment qualifications engaged in tasks which less qualified or more qualified employees engaged in simultaneously. This led to more employees questioning their specific job titles and responsibilities that were specific to each group. Therefore, a team had to be formed to carry out all the details that pertained to the data collection on employee grievances, solutions and relevance of solution in permanent solution for the indicated conflict. As a project management student, this was a critical case where project management skills were relevant in application hence the findings of this report are based on a-hands-on experience in solving the conflict (Sheffrin and Sullivan, 2003). Consequently, this project is justified mainly because among the very many goals in the firm include maximizing on the profits while at the same time reducing the cost of production drastically. The other objective in the firm is applying advanced technology in all areas especially in critical departments such as human resources where daily updates are necessary. Stakeholders need to see each and every part of the entire business environment succeeding such that profits and minimal internal conflicts are mandatory for the public to conclude that a firm is successful. This firm has always maintained an organizational culture where everyone is given equal chances of significantly contributing towards attainment of company goals. Therefore, this was a critical point where adequate measures had to be put in place to sustain this culture (Mejia, Luis, Balkin and Cardy, 2008). This project was therefore justified in that to attain the mission and maintain the values of firm, sufficient strategies had to be formulated to streamline all activities being undertaken. Similarly, it would be against the goals of a firm to spend so much yet gain so little hence the need to undertake the project aimed at identifying the responsibilities that are accorded to different job positions hence reduce redundancy in the firm. The key deliverables whose attainment will mark the end of the project include assigning specific responsibilities to each employee while at the same time avoiding any instance where employees in different departments will undertake the same duties unless they are very tasking or involving (Sheffrin, 2003). The other deliverable is ensuring that the human resource department establishes clear instructions to new employees on the nature of responsibilities that they will be assigned. Similarly, ensuring that all employees know their supervisors and that they can get to him/her whenever they are faced by problems is yet another deliverable that should be attained in the course of this project (Sheffrin, 2003). Work breakdown structure The work breakdown structure for this project entailed a major element which was reducing overlapping or duplication of responsibilities in various departments. This was later broken down to include the human resource department outlining clear responsibilities of each employee during their orientation on the workplace. Similarly, it was equally vital for the project managers to include a comprehensive list of all supervisors in each department such that all employees should know to whom they were answerable. This was equivocal as supervisors were bound to exchange notes hence making it easy to point out duplicated tasks in the firm (Nokes, 2007). These tasks had to be broken down as a way of attaining the 100% rule of the work breakdown structure which dictates that all tasks that are present during project management should add up to 100 parts. Therefore despite the fact that the entire task is one with several other minor tasks making up the whole, it is crucial to note that it is only after identifying the minor tasks that a distinct picture is obtained on the entire task. This also makes it easier to identify the individual activities that must be accomplished in the pursuit of the overall task. The other scenario presented is that of the work breakdown being outcome oriented rather than being action oriented such that the results obtained at the end of the project do not put much effort in the pathway used to attain them (Covello, & Allen, (1988). Therefore, attainment of results is more significant than the nature of activities involved in the attainment of such results hence more emphasis is laid on the objectives. Similarly, based on the rules and principles surrounding the work breakdown structure each project should have a single reporting based on frequency of the reports. This is relevant in this project as progress reports were made fortnightly hence after every two weeks; a consistent progress report of the project had to be presented to management. This was a sure way of maintaining consistency as well as ensuring that mid-project goals were attained before the project was completed (Hubbard, 2009). The essence of establishing a work breakdown structure made it easier for the project management members to engage in adequate preparations as each members task was clearly outlined alongside the system. This provided a miniature resemble of the firm in question such that the strategies applied in assigning tasks in the team were the same strategies proposed to be used in the entire firm to ease the conflicts (Mejia, 2008). The tree representation of the work breakdown structure can be described as follows; 1. reduce overlapping or duplication of duties clear list of duties issued to employees list of supervisors 1.2.1. Supervisors point out anomalies The above work breakdown tree was used to summarize the project into a single element made up of two sub-elements and eventually another equally relevant sub-element which made it easier to execute the said task. Project controls A structure of the participants in the project was introduced on the first day of the project planning so as to illustrate the members of the project management team as well as their responsibilities. This project control system resembled the usual organizational chart only that this time the team leader was the manager of the project while all other participants played junior roles in the venture. Similarly, the duties for each member were outlined in addition to expectations of the firm from the undertaking. This acted as a reminder for the team members to always remember the goals of the project and the impact of the project on the future of the firm. This system was very helpful as the focus of members of the team was maintained as well as their efforts dedicated towards attaining the preset goals (Kerzner, 2006). Among the various project controls that were employed during this project execution include incorporation of an internal auditor who played a key role towards ensuring that all resources that had been allocated for the project were utilized as expected. This was in line with keeping the project management team on its toes against misuse or embezzlement of company funds as each resource used was accounted for at the end of each fortnight. The auditor as a project control system ensured that members of the project management team never swayed away from the set budget as that would have made everything to go awry. Luckily there was a control point that kept everything under guard as per the conditions that had been set earlier. Similarly, there was also another auditor who had been hired to assist the internal auditor in assessing the degree of success that would be attained after utilizing resources to the project. This is because any firm expects positive results after spending resources towards changing prevailing conditions at the firm (Stevens, 2002). A time line had also been set up by management to cater for the aspect of time control. This project control system is effective as at each stage of the project, the activities being carried out are dictated by the timing. This way each task has its won allocated period during which it should be accomplished failure to which the undone activities may never be achieved. A timeline is compulsory in any project as it guides team leaders and members on their progress in addition to pointing out prevailing activities such that at no given time should the project managers be stranded. This is attributed to the fact that each member will be informed in advance of their responsibilities and the specific time that they should carry out the activity. Therefore, the progress of the project will be sustained at all times as unnecessary delays will be a thing of the past (Kerzner, 2006). Risk management Risk management entails looking at different types of possible uncertainties and working towards reducing their occurrence or the fatality of occurrence. In this project, the team was working towards reducing any risks that may result in failure of the entire project as this would have had a negative impact on the future responsibilities assigned to team members of the project. Project failure though considered a high risk can occur especially if members of the team are uncooperative hence burdening the team leader with a load of task. Similarly, natural causes may impose great risks in a project especially as team leaders and members may never see the natural risk approaching as most of them are emergencies (Hubbard, 2009). Risk management entails paying much attention to risks which may pose devastating effects on the firm. Prioritization is key to any activities that may present risks to a firm hence the project management team has to foresee some of the possible risks while at the same time putting in place certain strategies that will cut down on the extent of loss that could be seen when the uncertain becomes certain. Risks which were eminent in this project included challenges posed by affected employees who would otherwise have proved difficult to deal with especially where personal details were being sought. It was evident that not all individuals in the firm were comfortable about being asked questions touching on their qualifications. Others who were asked to submit recently updated resumes found it being intriguing while others ignored it all together (Covello, 1988). This posed a great risk on the entire project as the response and nature of information provided by the employees was vital towards establishing the strategies that would be used to accomplish the project. Data collection is an important task in any project as it creates room for the subsequent steps in the process such planning for the project. Inability to gain access to any form of information that is mandatory in the execution of the project strategies may hamper progression of the project as subsequent stages are dependent on the very first activity of the project in question (Alexander and Sheedy, 2005). Prioritizing the data collection procedure is bound to reduce any risks that could emanate from failure in the foundations of the project. This risk was eliminated by including it in the decision making process when the project planning was being taking place. This ensured that at very point of the project execution. Measures that were sustained throughout involved ensuring that every team member was aware of the possible impact of problems during data collection hence each individual had a responsibility in considering the strategies laid. Human factors often cause problems which fall in the category of avoidable risks as human beings can always be cautioned against engaging in activities that may hinder attainment of the project goals. However, it is difficult to strategize against natural calamities or risks but adequate measures have to be put in place to mitigate the impact of the risk (Nokes, 2007). Risk management is a process that is composed of a number of stages each with a unique set of activities aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the risk incase it occurred. The process is initiated when the risk is identified and later on incorporated in the decision making process towards planning for the project. This is followed by sufficient identification of the stakeholders who are involved in the entire risk management procedure. The stakeholders play a key role in determining the nature of counter activities that could otherwise be used to cut down on the impacts of the risk on the project. A critical analysis of the risk is appropriate after taking into consideration the effect of the risk on stakeholders while at the same time possible solutions are discussed as part of the mitigation process (Stevens, 2002). However, the most eminent way of minimizing or preventing risks from occurring includes terminating the project. Consequently, failure to engage in an activity to reduce instances of risks may cost the firm huge losses as there will be continuous wrangles that make it difficult for employees to apply their maximum productivity which is equivocal for any firm to achieve its goals. Summary schedule Milestone report Project activity Time started Time completed Status List of duties May 4th 2011 May 18th 2011 Completed List of supervisors May 19th 2011 June 2nd 2011 Completed Supervisors jurisdiction June 3rd 2011 June 17th 2011 completed (Cleland & Gareis, 2006) This milestone report illustrates all the activities that were meant to be carried out in the course of project. These activities were subdivided so as to make clear indications on the degree of execution that was required to achieve the goals. Each activity was allocated two weeks so as to create sufficient time for reviewing the progress of each activity. Gantt chart 4-18/5/2011 19-2/6/2011 3-17/6/2011 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x (Cleland & Gareis, 2006) Day 4-18th May 2011 was spent listing duties for all employees in the firm. Day 19-2nd June was spent listing all the supervisors and their roles at the firm Day 3-17th June 2011 was spent assigning the employees their specific supervisors and preparing new responsibilities for each individual. Summary budget Stationery (writing materials) $40 Printing services $100 Communication (memos, emails and phone calls) $62 Miscellaneous $100 Total $302 References Alexander, C. and Sheedy, E. (2005). The Professional Risk Managers' Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Current Theory and Best Practices. PRMIA Publications Cleland, D. I. & Gareis R., (2006), Global project management handbook, McGraw-Hill Professional Covello, V. T.& Allen., F. H. (1988). Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Hamilton A., (2004), Handbook of Project Management Procedures, TTL Publishing Hubbard, D. (2009). The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It. John Wiley & Sons Ltd Kerzner, H., (2006), Project management – A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling (9th ed.), Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Mejia K. Luis R., Balkin D.B. and Cardy R.L., (2008), Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition, New York, New York USA: McGraw- Hill Nokes, S., (2007), the Definitive Guide to Project Management, 2nd Ed., London (Financial Times / Prentice Hall Sheffrin, S.M. and Sullivan, A. (2003). economics; principles of planning. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458: Pearson Prentice Hall Stevens, M. (2002). Project Management Pathways. Association for Project Management. APM Publishing Limited. Read More