Executing a Project to Ensure Its Success - Case Study Example

Yida Co. Ltd. Case Study Name Institution Course Date Executive Summary Project management is the procedure which entails the use of knowledge, tools as well as techniques to projects actions in order to meet the needs of the project. Project management involves initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing and finally closing of the project. These stages of project management correlate interactively so as to ensure a smooth transition of operations producing a desirable output. This reflective report will determine the root causes that led to the failure of the AHZ Software project by Yida Co. Ltd. such as not meeting the client’s expectations as well as poor planning among others. In addition, this report will also discuss how well the project should have been executed so as to ensure success of the project. It will identify areas such as: project scoping and definition; project cost and estimation; project planning and communication; risk management and progress and performance evaluation. Furthermore, this report will also identify the various lessons learnt from the project failure for instance, proper communication, good and effective preparation as well as clear positioning and good planning are very effective tools of ensuring success of a given project. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Root Cause of Project Failure 5 Project Execution 6 Project Scoping and Definition 6 Project Cost and Estimation 8 Project Planning and Communication 9 Risk Management 10 Progress and Performance Evaluation 11 Key Learning Points 11 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Project management is the procedure which entails the use of knowledge, tools as well as techniques to projects actions in order to meet the needs of the project (Mascia, 2014). In addition, project management is considered as an interconnected set of operations that allows the team concerned with the project to attain a successful project. These operations take care of inputs and at the same time develops outputs from particular activities therefore the advancement from input to output needs incorporation as well as iteration (Mascia, 2014). Project management involves initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing and finally closing of the project. These stages of project management correlate interactively so as to ensure a smooth transition of operations producing a desirable output. On the other hand, some projects end up failing catastrophically due to the utilization of unstructured processes and at the same time ignoring the aspect of project management. Project failure is commonly attributed to causes such as schedule slippages, budget overruns as well as flaws in the quality in which they deliver (Frame, 2014). Therefore, enhancing success rates for a project has become a huge challenge to the management. Statistics have indicated that project failures all over the world have cost the world economy hundreds of billions every year which are a serious drag on the economy as well as a risk to the feasibility of the company carrying out the project and at the same time stressful for the individual involved. Therefore, this reflective report will identify three root causes of project failure in Yida Co. Ltd. Furthermore, it will assess the various mitigation techniques and thus provide various lessons regarding project management. Root Cause of Project Failure Firstly, the root cause of Yida’s project failure was the fact that Yida was not able to meet the expectations of Kaye regarding the AHZ software. It was particularly developed to take care of the fee-calculation for Internet Service Providers (ISP) by processing as well as maintaining the account information of both individuals within the firm and the company itself (Coaster, 2015). I also realized that the AHZ software was designed to handle the generation of bill as well as calculating users’ fee although they also wanted the system to perform additional operations such as generating feedback and offering support to various department. For the system to do this, it required a significant amount of changes as opposed to the minimal anticipated changes which led to failure of the project (Coaster, 2015). Secondly, I identified another root cause of the project failure was an issue with having an incorrect team (Coaster, 2015). Clearly, there was no clear roles as well as responsibilities which led to confusion, errors as well as omissions. I realized that there was a lack of duties of the members of the project. For instance, Zhou was in charge of the IT activities and was responsible in proving requirements as well as feedback to Yida and thus was a fundamental member of the entire project. Instead, he didn’t hand his duties effectively and consequently, went for vacation during the operations of the project (Coaster, 2015). Furthermore, I also realized that Masaku was a powerless leader and thus failed to assert pressure and duties on both managers and staff in relevant departments. This consequently resulted to the failure of the project. Thirdly, I identified poor planning as another major factor that led to the failure of the project (Coaster, 2015). They failed to put up clear plans by having unclear Scope of Works (SOW). There was no clear scope as well as product requirements of the contract and therefore the two firms came to agreement to sign the contract without the product decision. Furthermore, I also realized that they had unclear deliverable definition since they had no formal initial stage plan (Coaster, 2015). Project Execution Project Scoping and Definition First, regarding project scoping and definition, I would first establish the objectives necessary for the project which in this case was to develop the AHZ software. In addition, I would ensure that my team delivers results that conform to the particular functions and features (Hyväri, 2006). Furthermore, I would ensure that there is one or more deliveries addressing this project and therefore, by observing the deliverables, I would be able to measure the scope of the project. So as to figure out the kind of deliverables to be produced, the project team should have broken down the project into various constituents thereafter, develop a work breakdown arrangement which would enable every milestone as well as deliverables to be adequately defined within the project (Hyväri, 2006). Once the project objectives, goals, milestone and deliverables are taken care of, the project team should have elucidated the limitations of the project and realize the facets which have not been considered. Therefore, the scope of the project should be vivid to the stakeholders, senior management as well as the project members involved (Ponnappa, 2014). In addition, project leader should have ensured that there are tangible objective for instance, the aim might be to develop AHZ software which can be used to provide better services to both their customers as well as themselves. This is important to project scope and definition because they play a fundamental role in how the project procedures are put into use to bring it into completion. Project Cost and Estimation Project managers ought to know how perform project cost and estimation for their project. First and foremost, the project leaders should have asked the following questions about the project: how long will it take? How much will it cost? When will it finish? These three fundamental questions would have helped them in determining the cost as well as the duration with which the project would have taken (Crawford and Bryce, 2003). This comes about as a commitment which has to be followed in order to produce the desired results. Firstly, the project team should have conducted an analogous estimation which derives information from past projects which are same as the present project. They would use this information to make adjustments either up or down in terms of the cost and estimation of the current project (Crawford and Bryce, 2003). Secondly, the project team should have conducted a bottom-up estimation technique which involves meeting their clients and coming up with estimations founded upon their judgments (Crawford and Bryce, 2003). For example, the project team at Yida should have approached Kaye’s project team and evaluated every possible information they would need when developing the AHZ software. This would have helped them in making tangible estimates in terms of cost and duration of the project. Thirdly, they should have also implemented the parametric estimation technique where they would derive information from published data about the quantity of work, duration as well as the cost of a specific task (Patanakul, 2015). This would help them come up with tangible project costs and estimates. Project Planning and Communication A proper communication plan that offers guidance to the project is a very important facet of a project. The level of communication throughout the development of the project plays a role in either the success or failure of the project (Rose, 2015). Therefore, for an effective project planning and communication, the project team at Yida should have listed the following plans. First, the purpose and approach of the plan. The project team should have conducted a well-detailed plan of how they would implement the project. Secondly, they should have developed comprehensive communication goals and objectives. The project team at Yida should have defined what they were to anticipate through proper communication. This would help them heighten their knowledge with regard to the project and at the same time offer opportunities for feedback from their clients (Rose, 2015). Thirdly, Yida’s project team should have developed an effective communication tools and method through which message can be delivered in the project. These communication tools and methods includes: meeting summaries, status reports, newsletters and formal presentations among others (Rose, 2015). Fourthly, the project team should have developed a high level project communication messages where they would have created a matrix in their plans such as project kick off as well as review meetings. They should have defined fundamental objectives, topics, delivery techniques as their audience which would have assisted them in setting expectations as well as boundaries necessary for project communication (Gonzalez, 2014). Risk Management In terms of risk management, the project team should have first identified the likelihood of a risk to occur such as what could have probably gone wrong, commonly known as the risk event. In addition, the project team should have developed a plan to minimize the consequences that might be caused in the event of the risk (Anghel, 2014). Also, they should have come up with the best action to take in the anticipation of a risk. Finally, the project team should have developed contingency plans when such a risk occurs. Therefore, the team should have gone through the risk management procedure namely: risk identification, risk assessment, risk response development and risk response and control (Kabir et al., 2010). Firstly, they would have identified the risk through brainstorming and listing the possible risks that may occur in the execution of the project such as redefining the Scope of Work more specifically (Kabir et al., 2010). In addition, both Yida’s and Kaye’s project team should have evaluated the probability of occurrence of the risks and performed an effect analysis of the available risks on the objectives of the project such as cost, time, scope and quality. Thirdly, the project teams should have responded to the risks by either mitigating, avoiding, transferring or even retaining the risks (Kabir et al., 2010). Lastly, Yida’s project team should have developed a risk response control which would carry out the risk response strategy, watch any triggering events and commence contingency plans. In addition, they should have also founded a change management system which would monitor, track and also report any emerging risks in the project. Progress and Performance Evaluation Performance measurement of a project is a very vital element in optimizing its performance. Therefore, Yida’s project team should have focused on their key objectives as well as their current performance versus estimates of the projects schedule and budget (Graetz and Franks, 2013). In addition, Yida’s project team should have evaluated the level in which the project is pursuing to its schedule as well as its budget which would have offered them with an indication as to whether they are going to meet the expectations of Kaye, their client. The project team should have looked into the causes of variances such as poor estimations, underperforming resources, errors, loss of resources and too many changes to name a few (Parson, 2006). Furthermore, the project team should have planned their tasks so as to determine their particular deliverables with vivid stated requirements (Hellström et al., 2013). They would have utilized Velocity as their approach to assess the rate of progress of their team where the number of facets are matched against the numbers planned. This approach would help them in in connecting tasks with concrete useful deliverables. In addition, Yida’s project team should have accounted for effort as well as the cost of additional resources so as to observe their budget compliance and to evaluate the completion of the project on the basis of their present performance (Kai, 2011). Key Learning Points From this case study, I learnt that communication is one of the most important aspect that ensures success of a project. In order to ensure proper functioning of works within a project, both parties participating in the project should listen to each other carefully (Coaster, 2015). I learnt that if the producer of a certain product listens carefully to the customers overall and specific needs, both would benefit from the project undertaking since the producer would come up with a product that matches the expectations and needs of the customer. Furthermore, I also learnt that clear positioning as well as good planning is fundamental in ensuing success of a project (Coaster, 2015). If one identifies his target market appropriately, he can therefore create a product that fully satisfies his market. Furthermore, good planning entails knowing the competitive advantage your product has over other similar products. In addition, I also learnt that identifying whether your product has the ability of satisfying your target market is quite important for it will ensure delivery of the appropriate product consequently saving costs and time (Coaster, 2015). Additionally, I also learnt that good and effective preparations is also very important in ensuring success of a project. I learnt that it is important to know whether you are ready to launch a certain product to your customers. This is because you can be able to eliminate any flaws as well as challenges regarding the product therefore minimizing the chances of disappointing your customers (Coaster, 2015). In addition, it helps a business clearly understand its needs before launching a certain product into the market. Furthermore, good preparations enables a business to ensure whether team members participating in a certain project have a strong leadership and are dedicated in active participation of the projects before launching it. Conclusion To sum up, a project is a temporary yet unique product of a complex and progressively detailed process which brings about a solution for a particular objective. Therefore, for the project to be successful, it ought to be fulfilled on time, within the estimated budget and also the proper level needed to fully satisfy the objectives. In the case of Yida Co. Ltd., the root causes that led to the failure of the project include: failure to meet the expectations of Kaye, having an incorrect project team as well as poor project planning. Therefore, in order to ensure success within the project, Yida should have carried out a proper project scope and definition. This would have effectively taken care of their objectives, goals, milestones as well as their deliverables. Furthermore, Yida should have also estimated the cost of the project as well as the duration in which the project would have lasted. They would have done this by using the following techniques: bottom-up estimation, analogous estimation as well as parametric estimation to ensure proper project cost and estimation. Furthermore, they should have communicated effectively throughout the course of the project so as to effectively deliver the message of the project. Finally, from this case study, communication, good preparations as well as clear positioning and good planning are very important in ensuring success of a project. References Anghel, S 2014, Oltenia CCS Demo Project- Preliminary Technical Risk Assessment. Energy Procedia, vol. 63, pp. 4677-4683. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.501 Coaster, R 2015, The Dilemna of a Project Manager - Case Study. prezi.com. Retrieved 26th Sept. 2016 from https://prezi.com/opf1vk1_dg8j/the-dilemna-of-a-project-manager-case-study/ Crawford, P & Bryce, P 2003, Project monitoring and evaluation: a method for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of aid project implementation. International Journal Of Project Management, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 363-373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0263-7863(02)00060-1 Frame, D. 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