Direct Communications Management of a Project Program - Assignment Example

Project Communication Names Institution Affiliation You are required to do research and type answers for following questions in a word document: Short answer： 1. By ensuring that they have a communication plan, defining who is supposed to do what and how information is to be shared. 2. This is to reduce gap that between what users expect from a system and what the system is able to do. It will also help in capturing new changes that may be needed. 3. It is centralised software that helps a project manager in organizing, planning and project control. They also make it easy for decision making. 4. The main sources of information are from all stakeholders and users of the system and company employees. The information is mostly collected from the employees and the existing system. 5. Internal and External Internal communication usually takes place between the team members. On the other hand, external communication is between team members and stakeholders. An example is information sharing with internal and external customers. Vertical and Horizontal These types of communications occur in an organization. Vertical communication is communication that takes place either upward or downward in different levels in an organization. An example is manager sharing goals of a project to team members. Horizontal communication is communication between people in the same level in an organizational. For example project teams discussing some topics in a project. Formal and Informal Formal communication is normally planned, time is required to prepare it. Examples of formal communication are reports, presentations among others. Informal communication is not planned. Examples are email and social media. Formal written is a document that is aimed for information sharing. An example is project plans, charters among others. Formal verbal is communication using sound for example presentations; informal written is a communication that does not have a standard layout an example is an Email. Informal verbal is communication that involves talking for example conversations. 6. They will help the project manager to delegate tasks based on skills of team member, it will help to work on schedule. One is able to know which part of a project is assigned to who and which ones are complete or due. 7. By involving a customer, the project team is able to know what exactly is required of them by the customer. This will minimize the chances of having a gap, between what a customer is expecting and what the system delivers. 8. The best way to ensure that project closure is followed is by ensuring that there is a formal completion. This will involve having a meeting with customer and sponsor to review final acceptance document. One should also document the “lessons learned”. A final report should be written and handed over to sponsors and customer. 9. In order to determine whether the objectives of a project were accomplished. Secondly, if there are any chances of future development. Lastly, to review lessons learnt that can be applicable in future projects. 10. Some of the lessons that can be lean from delays in project delivery are poor user requirement capture, poor communication plan, stakeholder’s involvement in a project and poor planning. Multiple choice question： 11. Answer: C 12. Answer D; sometimes conflict can aid in arriving at better solutions 13. Answer C: a project manager spends 90% of the time in communication 14. Answer: B 15. Answer: D 16. Answer: B 17. Answer: C 18. Answer: D 19. Answer: B 20. Answer: C 21. Answer: D 22. Answer A: pull communication will allow the audience to access project information at their own time 23. Answer: 24. Answer: D 25. Answer C: The manager is trying to avoid the issue 26. Report Introduction National BroadBand Network (NBN) creation is an ongoing project in Australia. Its most important aim was to convey high-speed internet and telephony service to Australians. The idea of upgrading Australia telecommunications infrastructure started in November 2005. The initial proposal was to install FTTN (Fibre To The Node) in metropolitan areas. After the Australian Labor party won taking over from National party coalition, the creation of NBN was one of their election platforms. The main aim of the project was to provide fast internet that covers the whole country. On 7th, April 2008 plans for new NBN Co project were announced. NBN Co is a Government Owned Project (GBE). The main objectives of NBN are; 1. To deliver considerable improvement in the broadband quality services provided to Australian citizens 2. To address low-speed broadband especially outside urban areas 3. Restructure Australian telecommunication sector. The following are the main features of NBN: 1. Fibre To The Premise (FTTP) to up to 90% of homes(those in urban and regional towns) with a speed of up to 100mbps 2. Use of next generation Satellite and wireless services to 10% of homes in remote areas with a speed of 12mbps. 3. A wholesale open access network 4. To provide a link between rural towns, cities and regional centers using Fibre Optic Transmission. Schedule NBN project experienced a delay of 9months on its initial schedule. Long negotiation with Telstra on the use of their infrastructure and asbestos finding in Telstra ducts (strategic report- NBN, 2013). As at 30th September 2013, FTTP network roll out was behind by 40%. There was a delay in fixed wireless and Greenfields roll out based on a corporate plan. Due to these delays it is expected that the implementation of NBN project will take three years long than initially indicated. Myki ticketing system is another example of a project that had delays. Myki experienced delays on the roll out. The system was expected to be complete within two years. It took up to nine years the project started back in the year 2005. The main aim of the project was to enable a single smart card to use for public transport throughout Victoria, Australia. The project just like other mega Information Technology faced challenges. Costs Due to the above delays the cost of implementation of NBN project is expected to change. The initial budget for the project was 43 billion Australian dollars; it was later reduced to 37 billion dollars (strategic report- NBN, 2013). A report shows that by the time the project completes a total of 72.9 billion will have be used. This amount is higher than the initial estimate cost. NBN project is being funded by both public and private sectors. On the other hand Myki transportation system was also delivered over budget by 55% this means that the budget increased up to 550 million dollars. In 2005, the State assigned 1billion dollars to develop and implement Myki ticketing system. The deficiency in initial contract and governance plans has caused delays and increased the cost of this project implementation. Stakeholder management A stakeholder is any person who has an effect on a project. For effective implementation of a project, it is essential to guarantee that stakeholders are really involved actively. The main stakeholders of NBN project are: 1. NBN Co LTD 2. Government 3. Telstra- 4. Optus entities 5. Hybrid Fibre Coaxial 6. Retail service providers NBN Co has a plan for its stakeholder’s commitment. By engaging stakeholders, the project might be delivered successful but not within the initial budget and schedule scope. Stakeholders in this project are more involved. NBN is responsible for being transparent and more open. NBN Co will manage its stakeholders by ensuring that; 1. Stakeholders are proactively involved- this will be achieved by engaging stakeholders from the beginning. By doing this, issues and opportunities will be identified and addressed in time. 2. Stakeholders’ responsiveness- NBN Co will ensure that stakeholders’ issues and concerns will be addressed and handled in a timely and more efficient way. 3. Commitments delivery and honoring- honoring commitments and delivering them will enable NBN Co to build trust of all stakeholders 4. NBN will ensure that all information provided is clear and on time. This will enable stakeholders to understand the information provided and benefits of the project. 5. Stakeholder’s diversity- NBN acknowledges that stakeholders are different and are entitled to a different opinion. Myki ticketing project had poor stakeholder involvement. Engagement between Myki and public transport shows that stakeholders were not actively involved. Communication Communication is an important aspect of every project. For a project to be successful there must be communication plan in place. There is regular communication between all the stakeholders. This can be seen because there is renegotiation with stakeholders on terms of a contract. During these negotiations, NBN Co is supposed to engage with the department of communication, finance, ACCC, among others. We also find that after a phase is complete, a report is written. There is also a weekly roll out report. All stakeholders in this project are aware of what is happening. In Myki system, poor communication led to its delay. There was poor coordination of cross-agency and oversight of the project. There was a gap between what the system was expected out of it and what was achieved. Poor initial planning led to Myki project to be more complex and vaguely. Finally, Poor capturing of functional requirements shows that there was minimal communication. Summary Most mega projects done by any government tends to fail for some reason. Some of the reasons are that of political. These projects should not be politicised. A project manager has to ensure that a project is completed within the budget scope and on time. They can achieve it by ensuring that there is communication between all stakeholders. In every project, communication should be an important aspect. Conclusion In conclusion, poor requirement capture has caused the delay in Myki and NBN project. Project managers should ensure that they have a communication plan in place before they start any project. Users are involved and their requirements well captured. Recommendation The rate of mega projects failing is very high. Project managers should document lesson learned during implementation of a project. Such lessons should help a project manager not to repeat the same mistakes that led to a project failure. Reference list Operational effectivenesof the Myki ticketing system (2015) Available at: http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20150610-myki/20150610-myki.pdf (Accessed: 18 August 2015). Wright, C. (2011) 8 Tips to Capture Better Requirements For Your Software Project. Available at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/8-tips-to-capture-better-requirements-for-your-software-project-012470.php (Accessed: 19 August 2015). (no date) Available at: ://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/nbn-co-strategic-review-report.pdf (Accessed: 19 August 2015). (no date) Available at: (http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/20150610-myki_bn23fyLd.pdf) (Accessed: 20 August 2015). strategic report- NBN (2013) Available at: http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco/documents/NBN-Co-Strategic-Review-Report.pdf (Accessed: 19 August 2015). (2007) Available at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/projmgmt/documents/pchb/project_communication_handbook_2nd_ed.pdf (Accessed: 19 August 2015). Read More