The Automation of the Order Taking Process at Cafe Qualiteria - Case Study Example

University of South Australia School of ITMS INFS 5057: IT Project Management M (ITPM M) DECLARATION OF CONTRIBUTION Team No/Name: ________________________ The following is a declaration of your individual contributions towards this group assessment. If any contribution does not meet the assessment requirements, the course coordinator may adjust individual marks up or down, depending on the level of contribution made. Team Member 1 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ I contributed _____________ words towards this assessment. I worked on the following sections/questions (select whichever is appropriate). _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Team Member 2 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ I contributed _____________ words towards this assessment. I worked on the following sections/questions (select whichever is appropriate). _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Team Member 3 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ I contributed _____________ words towards this assessment. I worked on the following sections/questions (select whichever is appropriate). _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Team Member 4 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ I contributed _____________ words towards this assessment. I worked on the following sections/questions (select whichever is appropriate). _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Team Member 5 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ I contributed _____________ words towards this assessment. I worked on the following sections/questions (select whichever is appropriate). _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ A Report on the Automation of the Order Taking Process at Café Qualiteria Prepared by Table of Contents 1. Project Definition 2 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Project Objectives 3 1.3 Desired Outcomes 3 1.4 Project Scope and Exclusions 4 1.5 Constraints and Assumptions 4 1.6 User(s) and any other known interested parties 5 1.7 Interfaces 5 2. Project Approach 5 3. Business Case 6 4. Project Management Team Structure 6 5. Role Descriptions 7 6. Quality Management Strategy 7 7. Configuration Management Strategy 8 8. Risk Management Strategy 8 9. Communication Management Strategy 9 10. Project Plan 9 11. Project Controls 10 Reference List 11 1. Project Definition 1.1 Background Following the renovations taking place around Café Qualiteria, the increasingly available parking space, as well as the improvement of the streetscape, the Café has recorded an increase in the number of its customers. However, the increase in the customer population has increased the demand for the cafe’s products and services thereby overwhelming the current capability of the café. Of late, the café has recorded performance inefficiencies emanating from the inability of the existing order processing approach to meet the additional demand. Some of the issues noted in the system include increased waiting times for customers, customers receiving incorrect orders, increasing order preparation times, and the inability of the waiting staff to deliver orders meant for a table at the same time. The other inefficiencies include serving entrees at the same time as main meals, incorrect levels of stock and inadequate control of the stock. In the quest to deal with the performance lapses witnessed in the café, the management has resorted to the implementation of a system that automates the process of taking orders. 1.2 Project Objectives The objectives of the project include To reduce waiting times for customers after taking orders To ensure that customers receive correct orders To reduce the time taken to prepare orders To ensure that customers receive orders for a table at the same time To ensure that customers receive entrees prior to main meals To maintain the correct levels of stock in anticipation of the demand 1.3 Desired Outcomes The outcomes of the project include Waiters deliver correct orders to customers within five minutes following the placement of the order The immediate and seamless flow of order information between the waiting staff, serving staff and kitchen staffs to reduce the time taken in preparing orders The availing of orders for a table at the same time by waiters Proper order reception and processing that enables customers to receive entrees before main meals Maintenance of the correct levels of stock that meets the demand of customers 1.4 Project Scope and Exclusions This project will consist of a system that automates the reception, processing, and delivery of orders in the café to deal with the initial challenges noted in the order processing approach. The project will run for six months from the beginning to the implementation stage and will cost a budget of $ 100,000 with an allowance of 10%. The system will enable the waiting staff to take orders and relay them electronically to the kitchen staffs using handheld devices. The kitchen staff would then inform servers when the orders are ready to initiate the serving process. The system will also be capable of monitoring and reporting the levels of stock for the orders received from customers to determine whether it would be possible to avail the orders within the shortest time possible. However, the system will monitor and inform the levels of stock for reordering purposes as an optional feature. The system also provides room for other inclusions aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the operations in the café. 1.5 Constraints and Assumptions The effective use of the system by the waiting, serving, and kitchen staff requires additional training on the part of the project implementers. This impedes the immediate roll out of the project since all staffs have to understand the information relayed by the system and respond according to the information in order to realise its intended objectives. The project assumes that the handheld devices will deliver accurate and reliable information to enable the execution of correct orders. The project also assumes that the devices will relay order information immediately to reduce the waiting time of customers and the lag time between the reception of the orders and the onset of the order preparation phase. 1.6 User(s) and any other known interested parties The staffs of the café will be the primary users of the devices. Upon receiving orders from customers, serving staff will feed the orders in the devices that will relay the information instantly to the kitchen staff. The kitchen staff will then relay information to the serving staff following the completion of the order preparation process to enable the serving staff to avail the orders to customers in the order of their placement. The management of the café suffices to be an interested party in the functioning of the system. From the system, the management can understand the performance of the system and communicate with suppliers in the event that the necessity of replenishing stock arises. 1.7 Interfaces System interfaces comprise of the building blocks of a project or a system (Morris 1983). The system will serve as a bridge that connects the waiting staffs, to the kitchen staffs, and the kitchen staffs to the serving staffs within the shortest time possible without disrupting the operations of one of the three groups of staffs. As opposed to the traditional system where a waiter could literally deliver an order to the kitchen staff, the system will ensure the immediate relay of information between the groups of staff while ensuring that each group remains focused on carrying out its roles associated with receiving, preparing, and serving orders. The system will also eliminate the need for the management to be on the ground constantly since the manager can receive information concerning the flow of operations on his or her device. 2. Project Approach 2 The project will take place through four phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure (Barron 2009). In the initiation phase, the project manager and project team will communicate the need of the new system having identified the problems associated with the current order processing system. In this stage, the project team will conduct a feasibility study aimed at investigating whether the system meets the objectives of the study. In the planning phase, the project team will identify the work required to implement the project, the need to complete the project within the six-month stated period with an allowance of two months, and the need for the total budget not to exceed $100,000. In the execution phase, the project team will roll out the devices to the staffs of the café after having trained users on the use of the handheld devices. This will include monitoring the performance of the devices in relaying accurate order and stock level information to determine if there is need for adjustments. The final stage is the closure phase where the project team transfers the management of the system to the café’s management after having made the necessary adjustments to the system to ensure that it meets all the objectives. 3. Business Case 3 Recently, Café Qualiteria has encountered problems in its order reception, preparation, and delivery activities. The ongoing renovations in the locality and the increased availability of parking space has increased the number of customers that visit the café in demand of its foods. Apparently, the traditional system where waiters receive orders from customers and deliver them to the kitchen staff by word of mouth has caused chaos in the attempt to deal with the rising number of customers. Customers have complained about increased waiting times before the delivery of orders, the reception of incorrect orders, and the inability of the serving staffs to deliver orders meant for a table at the same time. The café has also noted that customers serve entrees at the same time as main meals and the inability of the café to maintain adequate levels of stock. Consequently, there is need for an automated system that uses handheld devices to relay order information from customers to the kitchen staffs, then finally to the serving staffs in the correct order to improve the efficiency of the order handling process. 4. Project Management Team Structure 4 Figure 1: The Project Management Team Structure 5. Role Descriptions 5 The Café Owner is the executive member of the café that will be responsible for acknowledging the need for the project and funding the entire project. The Café Manager will be the senior user of the system that will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the project to ensure that it meets the desired objectives. The contract IT firm is the senior supplier that will deliver the handheld devices and the network infrastructure required to enable the effective functioning of the devices. The project manager will be responsible for managing the operations of the Project Support, Project Assurance, and Change Authority teams throughout the phases of the project. 6. Quality Management Strategy Paraschivescu and Caprioara equated the quality of a product to its “fitness for use” (Paraschivescu & Capriora 2014). Using the definition and considering the quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement, the quality management strategy associated with the system will revolve around ensuring that the system is fit for use and meets the objectives at all times. In order to ensure that the system maintains its design specifications in order to attain high quality, the project team will train the management of the café as well as the other users of the system about the effective ways of maintaining its performance. Ensuring that the devices have sufficient power and preventing unnecessary shutdowns in the midst of an operation are some of the strategies of ensuring that the devices perform according to the design specifications. 7. Configuration Management Strategy 6 Configuration management refers to the strategy of managing the resources of the automation system to ensure their effective functioning. The configuration management strategy for the system will consider the following aspects: identification, control, status accounting, and audit and review (Dart 1991). In the identification phase, the project team will specific system resources used to run the project such as the network infrastructure, handheld devices, power supply, and the users of the devices. In the control phase, the project team will control the use of the system while taking account all the stakeholders. In status accounting, the project team will record and report change requests and the status of the components of the system. Finally, the project team will validate the completeness of the system and maintain its consistency by ensuring that the each component of the systems works according to the design specifications. 8. Risk Management Strategy 7 According to Newton (2015), the risk management strategy includes the identification of risks, the evaluation of the risks, and mitigation of the risks (Newton 2015). The project team will identify potential risks to the project by seeking the contribution of all stakeholders about the potential risks that the project could encounter in its course of full-time roll out. Potential risks could include improper use of the devices by new staffs, limited power-holding capacity that could cause the shutdown of devices in the midst of relaying order information, and other risks such as power loss and network failures. In the evaluation phase, the team will analyse the individual risks to determine whether their occurrence could have a devastating impact on the operations of the café. In the mitigation phase, the project team will identify ways of responding to such risks in the event of their occurrence and preventing the occurrence of the risks. Potential mitigation measures include replacing the batteries of the devices after a specified period of active use, training new staff about the functioning of the devices, and installing backup power supply systems such as generators. 9. Communication Management Strategy 8 Alatalo identified internal communication, target communication, and public communication as the three categories of communication that are necessary in relaying the project and its aspects to the stakeholders of the project (Alatalo 2012). In the communication management strategy, the project team will start by creating a positive atmosphere for the implementation of the project before defining the cultural norms and behaviours that necessitate the use of the new system. The team will also communicate the reasons for change, and targets before giving other stakeholders the chance to express their feedback and opinion. Most importantly and critical to the success of the project, the communication strategy should focus on building commitment and trust among the users. 10. Project Plan 9 The project will take six months from the initiation phase to its closure starting June 1, 2017. The project team in conjunction with the café owner and manager will ensure the availability of all system requirements as well as the initiation of the idea to the other staff members. During the period, the project team will also communicate the problems of the current system and emphasise on the need for the automated system to deal with the increasing customer demand. The project team will then roll out the project in the second month, and embark on the monitoring and evaluation phase thereafter until the fifth month. In the three months of monitoring and evaluation, the project team will identify the adjustments that are necessary to enhance the performance of the project. Finally, the project will close down towards the end of the sixth month. During the closure phase, the project team will hand over the management of the project to the café’s management. 11. Project Controls 10 Project controls will entail comparing the baseline metrics in the design phase to the actual performance of the system in the execution phase with the objective of determining the variances (Baars et al. 2006). In the event that the variances are significant, the project team will use the variances to make the necessary adjustments aimed at ensuring that the project meets the desired objectives. Reference List Alatalo, U., 2012. Communication Strategy in Projects: High Technology Sector Viewpoint. Baars, W., Harmsen, H., Kramer, R., Sesink, L. and van Zundert, J., 2006. Project management handbook. Version 1.1-July 2006. Barron, M, 2009. The Project Life Cycle. Dart, S., 1991, May. Concepts in configuration management systems. In Proceedings of the 3rd international workshop on Software configuration management (pp. 1-18). ACM. Morris, P.W., 1983. Managing project interfaces: key points for project success. Project management handbook, 2, pp.16-55. Newton, P., 2015. Managing Project Risk. Project Skills [available on http://www. free-management-ebooks. com/dldebk-pdf/fme-project-risk. pdf]. Paraschivescu, A.O. and Caprioara, F.M., 2014. Strategic Quality Management. Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, 17(1), p.19. Read More