YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE OF GRAND WINES LTD AND PROJECT LEADER

Task

 

Various tasks as outlined below after the case background.

 

Case Background

 

As the project manager you are required to present an initial project report to the project sponsor that shows how you propose to implement this project. As the project manager you may make any assumptions you think are necessary.

 

Case study – Grand Wines

 

You are an employee of Grand Wines Ltd and project leader of a proposed project to equip each of the company’s 20 sales representatives with a wireless data entry device by which they could instantly communicate customer orders to the company’s central sales database in Sydney. The sales representatives operate over all areas of NSW and service around 400 independent wine and liquor stores in the state.

 

Currently, the sales representatives complete customer orders manually and after leaving a copy with the customer, they forward the customer orders by mail or fax to the sales department in Sydney, where the orders are entered into the sales database and processed through the inventory system for shipment to the customer.

 

The problems with the current process are:

• At least one-day is lost in supplying customers with products because of the delays in getting orders into the system.
• Sales representatives do not know the latest inventory position of their products when they accept orders from the customer. Delays in delivery can result when orders are placed on “back-order” because of a lack of stock.
• Orders are often “lost” or entered into the sales database incorrectly through human error.
• The sales representatives and many customers are dissatisfied with the current situation. 

Competitive wine companies have improved their order systems and are outperforming Grand Wines Ltd in terms of delivery speed, order accuracy, availability of ordered stock and overall customer satisfaction.

 

Your CEO has stressed the importance of the project to the company and asked you to use your skills as a project manager to make sure the project is successful by following the relevant project management processes.

 

You have been assigned a project leader of this project. Your manager has given you guidance that the project needs to be completed within 6 months and that costs should be minimised wherever possible with given budget of AUD 60000.00.

 

Task 1: SWOT ANALSIS – 10 marks

 

Conduct SWOT analysis giving 5 points each for S, W,O,T as per descriptions below to help project managers.

 

Task 2: Prepare Project Charter as per below template – 5 marks per topic – 30 marks

 Template for Project Charter

 

Basic details Including: Title of the project, Name and email of the Project Manager(yourself), Duration of the project, and High level budget

 

Project Objectives

• Clear, concise reasoning for why the project is being performed
• Clear, concise definition of what the project’s activities will entail
• Brief description of primary deliverable(s)
• Clear description of the project’s benefits to the organisation
• Recognition and description of any limits that the project will not cover and address

Acceptance Criteria

• Identification of specific factors against which the project can be compared to determine success/failure
• Identification of specific deliverables not only for class, but for the project as a whole
• Agency-specific deliverables
• Inclusion of due dates for the deliverables
• Clear identification of milestone and milestone exit points
• Factors should include a specific metrical comparison

Assumptions and Constraints

• Any assumptions made during the course of the project
• List of constraints that entail the limitations that are required to be addressed

 

Stakeholder List

• Complete list of stakeholders including the sponsor, PM, executive members and few important members that are required to contribute to high level decisions

Lessons Learned

• Identification of pitfalls to be avoided, based on the student’s past experience
• Evidence of thought as to what can and cannot affect the project in terms of how the project will run

Charter Sign off

 

 

Task 3: Prepare Communications Plan as per the template given- 20 marks

 

 Communication Plan Template

• Plan purpose – A brief description of why and how the plan was developed, and an overview of the overall team communication philosophy. Also states types of communications planned, for lateral, downward, and upward communication.
• Identification of stakeholders – The “who” in the project that requires information, (i.e. team members, project sponsor, class professor, etc.) and also the responsible parties to receive and/or communicate information.
• Information to be shared – The “what” in terms of project information communication. Describes types of information that the team uses to communicate amongst its own team members, and also to the agency sponsor and the class professor.
• Frequency of information exchange – The “when” describes how often communications will be held (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, as needed, etc.)
• Location of information exchange – The “where” states the location of the meeting or other interactions
• Purpose of communication – The “why” description assures that communications are held effectively.
• Mechanism for communication – The “how” describes the media for communication (i.e. physical meeting, email, phone, message group, etc.)
• Change management – Description on how the team will handle changes in the project, whether it is in terms of project scope, schedule, or resources. This includes how the team plans to communicate changes as well as how the team plans to make decisions about changes.
• Meeting agenda – Gives a brief overview of what the team plans to accomplish in each of its meetings, how it documents goals and objectives for meetings, and defines and assigns actions for the team to accomplish project objectives.

Rationale

This assessment task covers first five topics and has been designed to ensure that you are engaging with the subject content on a regular basis. More specifically it seeks to assess your ability to:

• Identify the responsibilities of a Project manager when participating in a real world project;
• Define the role of management in projects, particularly from the view point of the practitioner as a member of the project team;
• Apply project management skills, methods, techniques and tools to a real world problem typical of a project manager;
• Explain areas of knowledge relevant to project management; and
• Discuss the many problems facing the project manager and to note the "best practices" being utilised in order to produce effective, efficient and quality projects on time and within budget

Marking Criteria

 

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths – what the organization currently has the capability to do well.
• Weaknesses – areas in which the organization is not competitive.
• Opportunities – possible things a project team can do for additional success.
• Threats – areas where outside competition may limit effectiveness.
• Each of these provides insight into the possible choices of projects as well as how to structure each to capitalize on strengths and opportunities and to avoid or overcome weaknesses and threats.

 

Project Charter

 

The criteria on the following page pertain to the charter. The PMPs judge each component on a five-point scale.

 

			STANDARDS
Criteria	FL	PS	CR	DI	HD
Task1 SWOT-Strength(5 marks)	Weak attempt at strengths of the chosen organisation, 1-2 points given	Some attempt at strengths of the chosen organisation, 2-3 points given	Average attempt at strengths of the chosen organisation, 3-4 points given	Good attempt at strengths of the chosen organisation, all 4-5 points given	Excellent attempt at strengths of the chosen organisation, all 5 points relevant to the case study given
Task 1 SWOT- weakness(5 marks)	Weak attempt at weaknesses of the chosen organisation, 1-2 points given	Some attempt at weaknesses of the chosen organisation, 2-3 points given	Average attempt at weaknesses of the chosen organisation, 3-4 points given	Good attempt at weaknesses of the chosen organisation, all 4-5 points given	Excellent attempt at weaknesses of the chosen organisation, all 5 points relevant to the case study given
Task1 SWOT-Opportunity(5 marks)	Weak attempt at opportunity of the chosen organisation, 1-2 points given	Some attempt at opportunity of the chosen organisation, 2-3 points given	Average attempt at opportunity of the chosen organisation, 3-4 points given	Good attempt at opportunity of the chosen organisation, all 4-5 points given	Excellent attempt at opportunity of the chosen organisation, all 5 points relevant to the case study given
Task1 SWOT-Threats(5 marks)	Weak attempt at threats of the chosen organisation, 1-2 points given	Some attempt at threats of the chosen organisation, 2-3 points given	Average attempt at threats of the chosen organisation, 3-4 points given	Good attempt at threats of the chosen organisation, all 4-5 points given	Excellent attempt at threats of the chosen organisation, all 5 points relevant to the case study given
Task 2 Project Charter :Project Objectives(5 marks)	Not Considered	Objectives are defined but unclear.	Objectives are defined but do not cover business need.	Objectives are defined and limited to business need.	Objectives are defined including need, ROI, benefits to stakeholders and success factors.
Task 2 Project Charter Acceptance Criteria(5 marks)	Not Considered	Check-list is defined but unclear	Check-list criteria are defined but do not cover signoff process	Check-list criteria are defined with signoff process	Check-list criteria are defined with signoff process including template/ forms/approvals.
Task 2 Project Charter Constraints / Assumptions(5 marks)	Not Considered	Defined but unclear.	Only Assumptions or only Constraints are defined.	Few Assumptions and Constraints are defined, but not detailed enough.	Most Assumptions and Constraints are defined with required details.
Task 2 Project Charter -Stakeholder list(5 marks)	Not Considered	Only Student team is covered.	Student team and Customer are covered.	Student team, Customer and Sponsoring agency are covered.	Student team, Customer, Sponsoring agency and other stakeholders (e.g. Vendors) for the project are covered.
Task 2 Project Charter -Charter Signoff(5 marks)	Not Considered		Defined Charter signoff process but unclear.		Defined Charter signoff process with forma/templates / approvals
Task 2 Project Charter- Lessons learned(5 marks)	Not Considered	Only considered personal experiences.	Considered lessons learned from past projects / best practices.	In addition to past projects, on-going learnings from current project have been considered.	Considered lessons learnt / best practices and applied to project appropriately & developed contingency plan.
Task 3- Communication Plan: Purpose $ Team Meetings Agenda ( 5 marks+)	Not Considered	Defined but unclear.	Internal team meetings are planned and conducted as per a schedule.	Meetings are planned, conducted followed by Minute of the Meetings	Meetings are planned, conducted followed by Minute of the Meetings and Action items.
Task 3- Communication Plan 5 marks (Who, What and When,)	Not Considered	Defined but unclear.	Defined Who and What communication will take place.	Defined Who (most stakeholders), What and When (Frequency) communication will take place.	Defined Who (all stakeholders- to receive and to communicate, When, What (all types of information) communication will take place. Forms / Templates are covered.
Task 3- Communication Plan 5 marks Where, Why and How)	Not Considered	Defined but unclear.	Defined Where and How communication will take place.	Defined Where (location of the meeting or other interactions), Why and How (method) communication will take place.	Defined Where (clearly and appropriately states the location of the meeting or other interactions), Why(description), How (i.e. physical meeting, email, phone, message group, etc.) communication will take place. Forms / Templates are covered.
Task 3- Communication Plan Change Management (5 marks)	Not Considered	Escalation method is defined but unclear	Escalation method is defined, but without process documentation	Escalation method is defined including process documentation.	Escalation method is defined including process documentation & Issue log template

 

Requirements

Students are required to submit the range of documents describing their proposed project solution for the above tasks.