The Methodolody of Hrad Technika - Research Paper Example

13th November Tegan/Hrad Part Outsourcing the Accounts payable project was the right move for Tegan given the other possible alternatives. Smith indicated that the reason for outsourcing was because it was needed urgently. However, there were other issues. The cost of installing the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system appeared high at £5 million and would probably need some tailoring to Tegan’s needs. In addition to that there were no internal resources available at the time to rewrite the system internally and the time and cost of doing it internally could mean that other crucial IT projects would probably have to be outsourced. These factors have not changed since ascertaining that the project will be delayed. It is not clear whether there are other persons on other projects are knowledgeable on accounts payable and this is an indication that it may be a difficult task getting it done using internal resources. The same problems in turnaround time that Hrad encountered would have been encountered if it were to be done internally. Miss Jones would still not be able to do what is required of her in the time specified. This project is crucial as it has implications for the Tegan’s profitability and although there are problems with it it needs to be worked out amicably. Hrad seems willing to do so but Tegan seem to be stuck on the fact that they do not have the resources. Although there are obvious problems with this project it does not indicate in anyway that outsourcing is a poor alternative as the timeframe given to complete the LLDs should have been based on a more realistic estimate of the time Tegan would be able to complete their side of the bargain. Part 2 The tradeoffs of having the requirements analysis for a project performed by one of the firms that would ultimately bid on the project are that the time taken to complete the project would normally be less because the same team is used throughout. There would also be no duplication of activities. If another team was chosen other than Hrad, the team would need to obtain additional information and explanation thus duplicating what the other team had done. This would be factored into the price charged. Therefore, Haul and Maredudd (qtd in Upton and Staats p.3) indicates that writing the project requirements gave Hrad the head start and therefore allowed them to be cost effective. Therefore they would be more knowledgeable about the problem than any of the other bidders. The prices of the other bidders were therefore inflated to cover this uncertainty. However, the other team would have approached the job more cautiously since the system requirements were not produced by them. They would therefore employ a higher level of probity. Therefore the information that just came to the attention of Hrad might have been discovered earlier. This would save the company some money which they would obviously be losing because of their inability to obtain the system earlier from Hrad. It is clear that the other bidders had factored uncertainties into their pricing while Hrad. The result is that they have since requested an increase which places them closer to the price of the highest bidder. Part 3 The choice of development methodology employed by Hrad Technika which involves coding before the detailed design was complete is not the right thing to do. This could lead to further problems resulting in re-coding later. It is best to wait until the design stage is complete before start the coding process. Duplicating tasks will cost Hrad as the coding will need to be changed after the design is completed. In managing projects there are some things that cannot be done simultaneously and therefore has to be done sequentially. This is one of them. Coding should not start until the design has been completed. Part 4 Hrad Technika had scope and requirements problems because they were unable to adequately determine the requirements of the project based on the fact that certain information was not forthcoming from Tegan. This relates to the details of the various customizations that they had done on the original system purchased from Dunnock. This information is required in order to determine the scope of the work to be performed. Therefore, the first steps have not been completed because all the information required has not yet been ascertained. Until that information is received the completion of the project will be affected. It is clear that Hrad have on understanding of what they need to do since they have brought Dunnock as partners on the project. They developed the original system and so they would have been aware of how it works. They will therefore be able to answer some of the questions that Hrad requires urgent answers to in getting the project completed. However, Tegan still has an important role to play. Part 5 The case writers’ state: “Sadly, Smith knew that “Leadership” and “Commitment”, the paucity of which was blamed for untold IT failures were not the problem here.” I do not agree as I see this as the real cause of the problem. There appears to be no proper leadership on the project. By the time the project got started there were several changes in management on Tegan’s side. Therefore, Hrad was dealing with too many different persons who lacked the knowledge and skills required to manage the project. Additionally, Tegan did not commit the necessary resources as they seem to be carping on the fact that they had already indicated to Hrad that only one person was knowledgeable about accounts payable within the organization. Furthermore, the project was virtually left to Hrad. There was no one monitoring the progress of the LLDs even though it was stated in the contract that they should have been returned within four (4) days. All projects inclusive of this one require proper management. Although a final date was set for the project completion no time was given in terms of when certain milestones would have been accomplished. It should have been clear to the project manager from August 2008 that the project would not have been completed on time. The reason is that, of the £900,000 only £300,000 was paid for work completed. This indicates that only one-third of the project was completed. It is also clear that the system requirements were not properly completed since Hrad had just realized that the initial scoping did not uncover system features such as computational forecasting algorithms for selecting and ordering payments. This may have been not solely their fault that this problem was not discovered late. However, time should have been factored in for omissions and errors in the system specifications. It is clear that there are significant internal problems because only one person at Tegan (Julia Jones) is knowledgeable about the project and therefore Hrad Technika appears to have insufficient information on the internally customized aspect of the current system. A project manager needs to have knowledge about the project in order to be able to lead it. With the exception of the turnaround time for the return of the LLDs, there seem to be no other timeframe given for any other activity. No time was slated in which specific activities should have been completed. However, the problem is that Tegan is losing money because the current system is creating havoc for the business right now. There is an explosion in volume that the current system cannot deal with (Upton and Staats p. 2). Tegan has not devoted enough time and resources to deal with the project. Hrad staff members involved with the project cannot do it on their own. Their questions need to be answered. Simply indicating to Hrad that no resources are available internally just will not do. It is obvious that the project will cost more than the amount that Hrad has indicated. It is obvious that they know what they are about as they have solicited the assistance of Dunnock from whom the original system was purchased by partnering with them. As indicated by (Upton and Staats 2008b) the most important part of the project is working with personnel from Tegan to obtain information on the various customizations carried out over the years and the business rules built into the system. The problem on Hrad Technika’s side is the timing in terms of communicating the problems encountered. They knew they had a tight deadline and so they should have communicated earlier. However, according to Sokol (qtd in Upton and Staats 2008a, p 4) Hrad is aware of the problems at Tegan in terms of the limited resources and so they made adjustments to their plan and it was left for Tegan to make some changes at their end. The most important IT management problem here is communication, human resources, leadership and commitment. Had Hrad communicated the problem in writing things might have been a little different. Tegan does not have the required human resources to manage or work on the project. The skills required to manage the project in terms of leadership is non-existent. Tegan does not appear to be committed to the project since the project was not being properly monitored. No note taking appeared to have been done at the meeting and so previous concerns raised by Zelenka of Hrad were not taken seriously. No urgency was placed on Julia Jones to complete the work on time in order to facilitate the timely completion of the project. Hrad on the other hand could not complete it without receiving the necessary information from Tegan. Part 6 I would recommend that Tegan stick with Hrad since they appear to be on their way and only now require the cooperation of Tegan to complete their work on reviewing the functionality of the LLDs. If they end the contract they would lose the amount already spent as they were well aware they would not be able to complete their activities so that Hrad staff would obtain the information to facilitate the timely completion of the project. This project is not a one sided activity. All aspects of the project need to be completed and done in the appropriate sequence in order for it to be completed. Tegan’s project manager (Ifan) needs to practice proper project management techniques in order to facilitate the timely completion of the project. Works Cited Upton, David. M and Staats, Bradley, R. Hrad Technika. 2008a. Harvard Business School Upton, David. M and Staats, Bradley, R . Tegan c.c.c. 2008b. Harvard Business School Read More