The Business Benefits of Your Project - Assignment Example

1) Construct a report to your Project Director summarising the business benefits of your project. Justify your conclusions with reference to the strategic analyses conducted. There are several benefits that will be of great importance to business wise from this project. These benefits include: This project will help people to know about safety measures they are to take incase of fires in the community. There will be training on how to control and to handle fire outbreaks incase of any in the area. Therefore, there will be a reduction of human impact on all the existing environments. In the process, safety and healthy measures will be achieved. This is estimated at 22% reduction of human impact, to be achieved in one year (page 11). Due to constant fires in the community, a lot of property and business and businesses are lost. This has hindered much of the progress that is to be in the community. The reduction of the fires in the community will help in improving the economic status. A stronger, more sustainable and significantly healthier community will be build, and the impact of this is estimated to be felt eight months after the implementation of the project. The project will also assist in delivering significantly reasonable value for the finances spent in the process of impacting on the immediate communities. The amount spent on this project will rise by 2%, to about 61 million in the first year of project operation (page 11). 2) Critically examine the wider project management structures in a typical organization. In particular, you should refer to roles and responsibilities of senior staff in relation to the management of projects. Project Management is a system of structures, processes and roles designed to authorize, control and deliver project outcomes within an organization. There has to be a good arrangement of staff and workers in order to achieve the targets set for the project. Typically, there will be four levels of responsibility in the organization. -Senior user, -Project director, -Project manager -Project staff The senior user, in the form of a Board, will authorize and coordinate projects in the organization. Each project requires a Project Director who is responsible for the overall direction and management of the project within constraints set out by the Board. On the other hand, the Project Manager is responsible for day to day management of the project within constraints set out by the Board (page 14). It is paramount that the roles ands responsibilities of workers are well defined. Failure to a good plan of the responsibilities will lead to complete disappointment. Short and effective lines of reporting support quick decision making which leads to effective project management (page 8-9). The fourth level is that of project workers under the leadership of the project manager. The workers will follow the plan as per the instruction of the managers. 3) Critically examine and describe the purpose of leadership and communication in the implementation of projects generally. You should specifically consider the role of project manager and the identification of other roles in the project team. Communication plays a very important role in the implementation of a project. The project manager has to give instructions to junior team members while team members have to respond back to the orders given by the project director. It is of great importance that good communication is maintained between team members in any project. This is to enhance exchange of ideas that will enhance improvement of the project that will give a good outcome (page 8-9). It is the duty of the project manager to make sure that he sets up policies and procedures to be followed during execution of the project. The manager then communicates these to the team members. The leaders are to make sure that members of their team are working well towards the goals set by the management. The manager has to check progress of the project at each stage. He or she is to make sure that all team members are working hard and making towards the set targets. A duty management system will be installed for the purpose of ensuring that everything identified is affectively put into consideration. To achieve the supposed impact of the project several measures have been identified. This will assist in assessing the process and evaluating progress of the project. In this case, the feedback achieved during the evaluation of the project will assist the management team in coming up with possible changes to be implemented within the project. 4) Describe the purpose of the Project Initiation Document on the implementation and control of your project. Critically assess its use at each stage of the project life cycle. The initiation of this project is carried to be carried out after the consultation process has already been accomplished. In this case, the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service management team starts to put some strategies in place bearing in mind the goal they have for the project. The management team will set up a work plan that will be used during the working of the project. This plan includes the role of each of the workers in the team. During the initiation phase risks can be identified and worked to enhance good outcome (page 7). In addition, the project managers will indentify the resources required during the implementation of the project. The initiation plan is the presented before the committee who will then verify the details. After this process then the implementation process begins. The initiation process marks the beginning of the project. This period when the project managers have to put in line the strategies and policies that will direct the team members during the implementation of the project. The initiation process will also involve the selection of team members and delegation of duties to each member. During this time, the managers will also set short time goals that are essential in the evaluation of the project once the implementation of the project has begun. 5) Critically examine PRINCE2 as a method of Project Management by comparing it to another method. You should explain the advantages and limitations of each. Prince2 is a project management system which centers on the managerial aspects of projects. It provides guidance on the planning, delegation, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project. Prince2 focuses on achievement goals within the expected time, cost, benefits and risk. This is attained by specifying processes and structures, roles and responsibilities at both the organizational level and within the project team. Other tools that are used in prince2 management method is the enhancement of good communication. This leads to a quick decision making and the implementation of the project. The system has ensured high participation of all parties in the project. As a result, prince2 has lead to successful project outcome. However, prionce2 does not highlight the technical responsibilities of the project team members. This is one of the limitation that has pulled down the performance of a team as a whole. Another management method is Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK). It links inputs to outputs via tools and techniques that have been shown to be successful. These methods have been taken as standardization of project management practice. PMBoK does not specify a single method, whereas Prince2 does. Prince2 method of management has a specific section, and each has its own goal and target. On the other hand, PMBoK has a general work plan fpr the whole projerct without divisions. Prince2 has been known to be successful in delivering projects on time. The method is also recommended in reducing cost and giving quality unlike PMBoK. 6) Describe how you would identify, assess and manage the risks to the success of your project. Critically assess the suitability of this method in the context of your own project. Identification of risks in this project will be done during the implementation process. The team members will be required to give out feedback at any given time of any strategy that may not favor success of the project. During this phase assessment will also fall into place. In the assessment of the project, the failures that will be noticed will go a long way to give the way forward on how to manage those risks. All the risks identified in the Initiation phase of my project were subjected to assessment. All four risks turned out to be medium or high risks, and detailed plans for their improvement were set. These were then incorporated into the work plan. The identification of risks was instrumental in completing the project on time, to cost and to quality. There are four main challenges that were identified in the fire fighting project. Each failure brought about a certain risk. Their will be constant training given to the workers that will improve their working. New equipment will be brought in often to replace old ones. The installation of modern equipments will also go a long way in delivery of good services. This will bring about more security and safety of property in the community. Continuous evaluation of the working of staff will lead to more efficient service delivery to the customer (page 15). 7) Describe the contents and purpose of the Project Initiation Document in the implementation of a project. Critically assess its effectiveness in meeting this purpose After consultation, follows initiation of the project. This is still at the beginning of the project. During the initiation process, the project summary is then turned into a business case. The consultation process is believed to take about two months, of which it is categorized into two phases. The first phase will constitutes of pure consultation, where no alterations are done within the project. The second phase, which will last for three weeks, constitutes of implementation of identified changes. This is put in place once the alterations have been approved by the committee in the process of implementation (page 8). The initiation process is also done by the project managers and the project director. During initiation managers will identify the resources and people they need for the project to run. At this phase, equipments and materials are listed down for the project. The leaders of the project also have a task to identify the roles and responsibilities of team players. The initiation document is then handed to the team members for implementation. The purpose of the initiation phase is to make a layout and plan of how the work will be carried out as the project will be running. This plan is required to be precise in order to save time and resources. A good work plan in the initiation period will enhance good working environment as the project is running. Incase of any alterations to be done, they can be done during the implementation process (page 8). 8) Critically examine PRINCE2 as a method of Project Management Prince2 management technique is a style that has a defined structure of how to manage a project. It follows that defined steps that are set to organize work and that working team. The approach clearly defines the project and outs a layout of what is required by the end of the project. According to prince2 management if a project does not have goals set before it starts, then it is likely to have many pitfalls along the way. These may hinder that successful outcome that is to be achieved. According to priince2 a project must have a project manager, customer and supplier, and project board. The project manager has that duty of controlling and co-coordinating the whole project. He or she monitors progress of work throughout the process. The customer is the one providing the project while that supplier comes in to bring the services and expertise required. The project board is responsible for all that decision making that is to be done which concerns the project. The challenges that are encountered during the project are directed to the board for evaluation. The project board receives that suggestions from that team and recommends improvements where necessary. They are to ensure that all requirements are supplied to that team and communication is efficient. Despite its successes, prince cannot be well utilized in small projects. However, it can be changed to fit any project that it has been applied to. Because of the flexibility of the method many projects have been done using this system and have come out successfully. 9) Describe a method for the assessment of risks to the success of a project. Critically assess the suitability of this method in the context of your project. Every project must have an assessment of each identified risk. Risks must be assessed for their severity and the likelihood of their occurring. This assessment is done at every stage of the project. The assessment will ensure a successful outcome of the project. These two dimensions of risk may be plotted on a 2x2 chart with High and Low assessments for each dimension (axis) so as to provide a simple visual assessment of risk. Action may be planned accordingly. It is possible to make this system more sophisticated by graduating the axes with three or more segments, but this will only be required in exceptional cases and will require careful determination of the meaning of each sector. All risks known and emerging will be assessed in the same way to provide a dynamic assessment and planning of appropriate action. This system has helped in the identification of several risks in the project. The risks that are picked out have their management aspects suggested for improvement of the project (page 14). 10) Construct a report to your senior management team summarising the business benefits of project management. Justify your conclusions with reference to the strategic and operational benefits of using Prince2. When using prince2 management style there is the project assurance. Project assurance will give the client the surety that he or she will have that best results by the end of the project. This aspect of management ensures that all interests are met throughout the activity. The client or customer has a chance to evaluate and see the progress of the project while it’s still running. This way the client is satisfied of the product that will come out in the end of the whole mission. There is a project support team that is recommended in prince2 management style. This team will ensure that all records are well kept. Information and report that are to be submitted is done in good time. Reports of all finished projects are filed and well kept for future reference. The project support therefore comes in to assist that manager and director to keep all paper work safe (page 15). Prince2 also helps in the management of risks, quality, and challenge control. These three aspects go a long way in ensuring that the project comes out successfully. Quality management will check on work that has already been done at different stages. Challenge management will give insight on how the team and the director will manage risks that will be encountered in the project. With these aspects of challenge control, the project will be improved (page 15). 11) Critically examine the accountability structures designed into your project plan. In particular, you should refer to roles and responsibilities of the Project Manager and Project Director. The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service management team are responsible for the management of the whole project. The directors chosen will make a layout of the plan that is to be used during the project. The director will be responsible in choosing the requirements. He or she will prepare the working schedule to be used. While the project is running, the manager will oversee the entire working staff on the ground. This is to ensure that they are working hand in hand for security and safety in the community. They are also responsible in identifying risks (page 6). The manager will be responsible for enhancing good communication between team members and the management team. In this case, the management will be in a better position, to foresee any further changes to be implemented within the project. All the data that will be collected during the working of the project will be used in the evaluation and improvement on the project. The manager will compile all the documents that pertains the project and hand them to the management committee (page 15). To achieve the supposed impact of the project, several measures have been identified to foresee the process of monitoring and evaluating the progress of the project. In this case, the feedback achieved during the evaluation of the project will assist the management team in coming up with possible changes to be implemented within the project (page 16). 12) Critically examine and describe the nature of leadership and communication in project management. You should consider the roles in the project team. Leadership in a project is paramount, and it has to be well organized to enhance good relation s in the team. The leaders of the projects should follow a certain hierarchy, i.e. from the least to the head f of the team. There are three main leaders in a project. They include the project director, project manager, and the project board. This top team will facilitate that whole mission. The project director is the one that will be leading the whole team. He or she sets out the core goals and targets. These are submitted to the board for approval. The board will assess the submitted document for improvement where necessary before giving the go ahead for the project to start. Once the document has gone through the board, the director can then hand it to the project manager. The project manager is the person that will supervise the work on the ground. This whole process requires efficient communication between these parties. There is a lot of exchange of ideas and evaluation of that project. The team players on the ground also can give feed back to project managers who in turn pass the information to the director for improvement. The staff and team members working will also lay a major role suggesting improvement in the project. These efforts will hence lead to good progress in the project as a whole (page 16). Read More