How to Improve the Services Offered by the Specialist Training Partners - Case Study Example

PROJECT CHARTER Report of initial scoping of the project Name: Tutor: Subject: Date: Tables of Content Document Purpose 3 Background 3 The project’s Measureable Organization Value 4 The project stakeholders 5 I.Advantages of managing stakeholders 5 The project’s scope 6 I.The main concept for the project scope 6 A three level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 7 Reasons for adopting Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 8 Pitfalls of work breakdown structures 8 I.Level of work package detail 9 II.Deliverables are not activities or task 9 III.WBS is not a schedule or a plan 9 IV.It is procedural to make updates on the WBS 9 V.WBS cannot be used as a hierarchy of STP 10 The project’s success criteria 10 Key performance indicators 10 The opinion of the manager concerning the project 11 Designing services to the expectation of the customers. 11 Summary and Recommendations 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Document Purpose The purpose of this report is to identify the main factors that need to be considered when strategizing on how to improve the services offered by the Specialist Training Partners Company. In order to achieve the desired goals it is essential to analyze what the clients expect from the company. The mission statement for the Specialized Training Partners is to provide training and consultancy to: Provide training that will equip the workforce with the necessary skills, relevant knowledge and the confidence when delivering the services and products to their clients. Train managers so that they can develop a good relationship with the junior staff members. Build and develop a positive culture in employees towards the organization Improve the goals and objectives of the company by suggesting working plans. Develop a spirit of teamwork within the organization. Background Specialized Training Partners are an organization committed to providing quality services, managerial skills and specialized consultancy to all clients. The company has qualified trainers with experience of several years in delivering executive training solutions to young workforce facing problems. The company is dedicated to delivering high quality training that meets the required standard. The services and training that are provided are targeted to meet the personal and career objectives of the clients. The project’s Measureable Organization Value This is an essential element because it measures the value of an organization after delivering services to clients. The concept is closely related with that of return on investment. However, the main difference is that the return on investment focuses on the difference between the expenditure and the value gained (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). As a project manager of technology components, I expect a high MOV because of the personalized service that we will offer. The company will focuses on satisfying its clients and meeting the client’s expectation. I consider this as an essential factor because it motivates clients to provide referrals to other clients. Research shows that when the client receive quality services, they will offer referrals to two to four people. According to Abraham (2013) word of mouth and the recommendation are the key drivers for success. When the customers receive poor service, they will discourage about 12 potential customers. It is, therefore, vital for this technological component to contain the “Measurable Organization Values” that are: Possible to be verified Possible to be measured Agreeable by parties involved Able to provide value to the organization It is also essential to consider and implement “Measurable Organizational Value” in an effective way by developing the six basic steps. These steps are as follows: The implementing parties must identify the desired area of impact They must know the desired value of IT project Design an effective metric Fixed the time of measuring the performance i.e. after 12 months Seek the cooperation from stakeholders of STP Conclude the Measurable Organizational Value in a concise statement The project stakeholders Stakeholders are the major determinant for the success of STP Company. It is vital for top managers understand what makes stakeholders and their expectation. Gido (2012), defines stakeholders as the persons or organizations who are in a position to influence the end results of a project. Some ‘stakes’ for stakeholders that need to be emphasized and be given the attention comprise of the interests, their rights etc. I. Advantages of managing stakeholders There are benefits that are likely to be achieved through managing stakeholders of STP effectively. Some of the advantages include the smooth flow of information from the new STP and its subcomponents. It is also possible to streamline the approval process because everyone is well informed of the goals and objectives of the new STP. Furthermore, stakeholders and other relevant parties, when treated well, will ensure that the resources required by the technological component, a sub project of the new STP, are always available. It is, therefore, essential to manage stakeholders in a professional way through exerting influence and promoting collaboration. Kerzner (2013), a scientist, believed that there is no stakeholder who has more influence than the other. For the STP project to be a success, it requires a cooperation from all the parties involved. There are third parties who have a high influence on the projects. Some of them comprised of investor who have invested their money on the project. Customers also can fit in the category of stakeholders because they benefit from the projects when the project is complete. In my position as a project manager, I consider the need of grouping these stakeholders in various categories basing on their participation. I know there are stakeholders who are actively involved in the project and working on it while others are actively following but are not working on it. Besides, there are group of stakeholders who are not active and are not involved in the project proceedings but they must be updated concerning the progress of the project. The project’s scope To ensure successful implementation of the technological components, it is necessary to purchase the relevant software such as Matchwares MindView. This software will help in managing technological components so as to achieve efficient delivery of quality services. I. The main concept for the project scope The scope planning for this project of technological components is likely to take some time because of various parameters that are involved. But because of the commitments of the team, it is likely to complete it within the time frame given by the CEO of the STP. It is also essentials to consider other factors such as scope baseline that includes WBS, project scope statement and the scope planning. A three level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) With the help of this model, managers will be able to keep an overview of the specialized training partners through the utilization of the work breakdown structure. Some of the issues to be accomplished through the application of this model is the estimation of time required to complete the project (12 months), the cost that is involved, and the amount of work required. Besides, the model can make it possible to form the basis for the organization and coordination in the project of technological components. The managers should emphasize the use of work breakdown structure for effective planning of the project. This is essential because the model will facilitate accuracy in estimating the cost required to complete the project. In addition, the model is useful for controlling the project in terms of responsibilities for different departments (Marchewka, 2009) Reasons for adopting Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) It is necessary for all the parties, CEO of the Specialized Training Partners (SPT) being one of them, to know the necessity of adopting the model. Some of these reasons are as follows: Through the model, it is possible to obtain an accurate and readable number of clients to be trained at a time It will be easy in delegating work to different trainers for different courses and objectives The model makes it possible to determine the time required for single training section, the amount for training one person or group and a way of dealing with emerging problems It will be possible for the stakeholders to analyze the scope of the project and get to have a better understanding. CEO’s and managers can use the model to set the project milestones and the controlling points. Pitfalls of work breakdown structures There are common problems that are associated with work breakdown structures and these problems are mostly experienced when creating it. It is advisable for the CEO of Specialized Trainer Partners to keep these problems in his mind so that he can he can think of the possible solutions (Reiss, 2013). Some of these pitfalls comprised of the following: I. Level of work package detail It is essential to decide carefully your work package so that it can prevent the situation of being too detailed. When the project is packaged without considering the required size, then the manager might find it impossible to manage especially if the project details are too broad. II. Deliverables are not activities or task It is useful to have a clear list of deliverables that have been broken down. This will represent what the customer or stakeholders will get ones the project has been completed. This should not be confused with the specified task or activities that are necessary to complete the task. Remember that activities and task varies depending on the project done, but deliverables are always constants, this is the reason why it is not advisable to list the activities and task in the WBS. III. WBS is not a schedule or a plan The WBS should never be used instead of a plan because the model does not require to be created in any sequence. IV. It is procedural to make updates on the WBS To make any changes on the WBS, it will require a change control process. Any small change on the WBS affects the variables and can alter the scope of the project. V. WBS cannot be used as a hierarchy of STP According to Hans (2013), he believes that an organizational hierarchy chart is a completely different from WBS. The appearance is the same but their meaning and what it represents differs. For example, the STP’s hierarchy is used to identify the mode of communication and the chain of command while the WBS shows the scope of the project and the deliverables. In summary, WBS is an essential tool to be used because it facilitates effective implementation of the project. The tool help in various issues such as planning, estimation of the resources, the risk involved and the procurement. The project’s success criteria Project manager plays a key role in the success of the project. The major objective of the project manager is to ensure that the implementation process is done in time and within the budget that was set aside. Furthermore, the project manager needs to work closely with his customers and also make sure that the deliverables meet the customer's expectations (Heagney, 2011). There are various parameters that determine the success of the project. These parameters include: Key performance indicators It will be successful if the managers consider key performance investors because it will be possible to measure the outcome of the project. Some of the indicators are deciding whether the method is quantitative and whether it is possible to be measured. In addition, the services need to be of high quality so that it can satisfy the need of the customers. The opinion of the manager concerning the project The success of the project will entirely depend on the opinion and the initiative that the project manager will take concerning that project. Any manager who expects to deliver the best in his project will definitely look for feedbacks from customers. This will help to identify mistakes made and can be corrected in time. Designing services to the expectation of the customers. Project managers can decide to exceed customer expectation by producing and designing quality services and completing them within the stated time, budget and even quality. In some cases, this might be risky. Before a manager decides to implement something new and drop the old one, it is better to seek customer approval, otherwise a service or products can be introduced only to loose market. Summary and Recommendations In summary, the success of the project will depend on the commitment of all the parties that involved. The project manager must ensure that the project team is committed to see the success of the project. It is vital to employ spirit of team work so that everyone one will feel part of it. They should ensure that the variables will meet the expectation of the customer as and the stakeholders. The success of every project depends on the employee attitude towards the project and the managers’ commitment. Conclusion In conclusion, successful projects require planning in terms of resources, time of implementation and the completion date. It is crucial to follow up the project so that the outcome can be measured against the expected outcomes. Customers’ feedback is essential so since the project is a position to determine whether the project is satisfying the needs of the customers References Abraham, A. (2013). Project Planning & Management-Aspects of Development. GRIN Verlag. Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2012). Successful project management. CengageBrain. com. Hans, R. T. (2013). Work Breakdown Structure: A Tool for Software Project Scope Verification Heagney, J. (2011). Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. Wiley. Marchewka, J. T. (2009). Information technology project management. Wiley. Meredith, J. R., & Mantel Jr, S. J. (2011). Project management: a managerial approach. Wiley. com. Reiss, G. (2013). Project management demystified: Today's tools and techniques. Routledge. Read More