Final Project - Business Case
To complete the Business Case:
1. Compile your Individual Assignments from Units 1-5 into a single Word document. Your pages can contain notes if needed. These assignments include:
o Unit 1: A definition of the project scope, aims and objectives (400 Words)
o Unit 2: An analysis of stakeholder groups, stakeholder issues and stakeholder management strategies (400 Words)
o Unit 3: An analysis of project tasks and phases using key project management planning tools (800 Words)
o Unit 4: Proposed key performance indicators that could be used to monitor the project's performance (400 Words)
o Unit 5: An analysis of risks involved in the project and proposed risk mitigation strategies (400 Words)
2. Add a final 400 Words summary of what you have learned from completing your Individual Assignments entries, highlighting specific attributes that would help in securing funding for your project plan.
Scenario: Launching a New Product Line
You work for a firm that manufactures and distributes haircare products.
To this point, your sales have primarily been to retail outlets. The firm has decided to launch a new product line of bulk-packaged hair care products to be sold and distributed to organisations such as hospitals, gyms, schools and universities with residences for students, and similar customers. You are in charge of the team who must present a project plan for the production, sales, and distribution of the new product line to potential investors in order to secure funding to bring the new product to market.
Assignment Unit 1
REQUIRED
Individual Assignment: Project Scope, Aims and Objectives
The first step in managing projects is determining the scope of the project. The scope of a project is like looking at a large object from a distance. The view from a distance will help you to see the whole, rather than get caught in details. In project management, determining the scope of a project means identifying the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver the desired service, product or result. The scope of a project is often broad and subject to change. To overcome this, experts recommend including an explanation of why the project is being pursued, the desired outcome of the project, project goals and as much information as you can include about resources, budget and schedule.
The second step you should take in project management is identifying the project aims. The aims of the project answer the question, ‘What will this project accomplish?' One way to create project aims is to use the mission and values of the organisation, e.g., ‘This project aims to expand our territory in Wales while working to be the number one retailer of organic foods in the United Kingdom, as well as continuing to give back to the community in the areas where we develop our stores'. This aims statement incorporates the organisation's mission to be the number one retailer of organic foods, their value of giving back to the community and their desire to accomplish an expansion into Wales.
The third step in project management is identifying the project objectives. A project's objectives will more precisely define what it is the project is trying to achieve, including how the project will be completed. By creating objectives, you can see the major tasks that will need to be undertaken to complete the project and get an idea of what resources will be necessary. To create a project's objectives, examine the project aims and then think about what will be needed to meet the identified aims.
The scope, aims and objectives of a project will give you a strong foundation for starting a project, and are usually necessary for a project to gain approval from stakeholders and upper management. In this unit, you will complete the first element of the Business Case Presentation for your Final Project by determining the scope, aims and objectives of the project you have been assigned.
To complete this Individual Assignment:
- Review the scenario.
- Research the topics in your scenario, on the Internet and in Academic libraries, and add detail and assumptions to the scenario to further define it.
- Identify the project scope, and create aims and objectives for the scenario, and include these in a section titled, ‘Project Scope, Aims and Objectives'.
Assignment 2:
REQUIRED
Individual Assignment: Stakeholder Analysis
Project stakeholders include any individuals who have an interest in the project that is being carried out. Each stakeholder is involved in the project to a greater or lesser extent, but involvement does not always equate with influence. For example, on the one hand, a junior project manager is a highly involved stakeholder because he manages the details of the project on a day-to-day basis by creating reports, schedules and tasks. On the other hand, the CEO of the organisation is a minimally involved stakeholder because she is only interested in whether the project stays on time and budget while delivering the proper result. The junior project manager has a lot of control over details, but beyond these details, he has little power over the financing of the project and little influence on the project's direction and aims. The CEO is not interested in the details like reports, schedules and tasks, but she has overwhelming influence on the budget, direction and aims of the project. No matter the level of involvement or influence of the stakeholders, each contributes to the success or failure of a project in his or her own way. These groups need to work together in their roles to make the project successful.
The influence and involvement of personnel on a project is something a project manager must understand and, indeed, manipulate successfully. For example, if the project manager needs more money to complete a phase of the project, she should go to someone with the influence to make that happen. Project managers also have to take stakeholder influence into consideration when deciding the direction of the project. It is a project manager's responsibility to identify the stakeholders, understand their requirements and expectations, successfully manage their influence and find a balance of what is required to keep the stakeholders content while keeping the project on track. Indeed, this is a quite a complex, political task. Fortunately, a stakeholder analysis can help.
To complete this Individual Assignment, continue working with the scenario. Perform a stakeholder analysis for your scenario, including the following:
Identify:
- Primary Stakeholders: those ultimately affected, either positively or negatively, by the project.
- Secondary Stakeholders: the intermediaries, those who are indirectly affected by the project.
- Key Stakeholders: those who have significant influence upon a project, or significant importance within the organisation.
Analyse:
- Stakeholder Issues: problems that may arise with various stakeholders.
- Stakeholder Management Strategies: a plan to address stakeholder issues.
- Create a section titled, ‘Stakeholder Analysis', that includes the above information.
Individual Assignment 3
REQUIRED
Individual Assignment: Project Planning Tools
In this Individual Activity, you will continue to explore project planning tools, focusing on the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt chart.
The first tool you will use is the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A WBS is a chart that breaks a project down into smaller components. It also highlights project tasks and illustrates how those tasks relate to each other, and to the project as a whole. A WBS can help a project manager predict situations and outcomes, provide a clear hierarchy of the work that needs to be accomplished, identify milestones, simplify cost estimation and allow better decision making. To create a WBS, a project manager analyses the project objectives, and then creates the tasks required to meet each objective. Tasks can be broken down into subtasks, or even broken down further until a specific resource can be identified.
The second project planning tool you will use is the Gantt chart. The Gantt chart is a bar chart that is named after its creator, Henry Gantt. Gantt focuses on the schedule of a project. It includes start and estimated finish dates, and can follow a monthly, weekly or even daily timeline. A Gantt chart is beneficial in applying a schedule to smaller projects, but can often become cumbersome with larger projects that have numerous activities. In order to create a Gantt chart, a WBS must be created first so that activities can be clearly defined.
To prepare for this Assignment:
- Reflect on your readings for this unit and familiarise yourself with the project planning tools explored.
- Pay specific attention to the Work Breakdown Structure and Gantt chart from your Resources.
- Review your scenario. Begin to conceptualise which project planning tools you would use for your scenario.
To complete this Individual Assignment:
- Identify and briefly describe the project planning tools you would use for your scenario, explaining why you would use each one. Be specific and use examples to support your answer.
- Perform a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt analysis for the project in your scenario.
- Create two sections, one titled, ‘Work Breakdown Structure', and the other titled, ‘Gantt Analysis', and include information from the WBS and Gantt analysis you performed.
Individual Assignment 4
REQUIRED
Individual Assignment: Balanced Scorecard and Budget Template
When managing a project, you will constantly need to evaluate cost, budget and performance. This is important in order to be aware of how much the project has already cost the organisation, and how close you are to meeting or exceeding your budget. You will also need to evaluate whether the project and the project team are meeting their expectations. A budget template can help you effectively monitor your project's cost and budget. A budget template is often completed using a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel, and helps you organise the finances of your project by monitoring employee compensation, legal fees, professional fees, travel expenses, marketing expenses, office expenses and overhead costs. Using a budget template will help you keep your budget under control and provide financial information to your supervisor or other senior leaders at the organisation.
In your Resources for this unit, you will explore various ways to measure elements of a project. A technique you will explore is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The BSC helps measure organisational performance in relation to the organisation's strategic goals, incorporating financial measures as well as business processes. The BSC aims to find balance between internal and external measures; objective measures and subjective measures; and performance results and the drivers of future results. In the media for this unit, you can view a graphic of what a BSC entails. All of these tools and techniques can help a project manager effectively monitor and control projects, resulting in increased potential of project success.
To complete this Individual Assignment:
- Review your scenario.
- Develop a budget template for the project in your scenario.
- Develop a BSC which includes your suggested KPIs in the four BSC categories for the project in your scenario.
Individual Assignment 5
REQUIRED
Individual Assignment: Risk Drivers
Risk assessment and risk management are used to identify and mitigate risk drivers. A risk driver is a situation in a project from which project risks can arise. Identifying risk drivers can help a project manager evaluate the needs of the project, make changes as needed and allow the project to stay on course. For example, consider an organisation that is taking on a new project unlike any other they have done in the past. The organisation's level of inexperience with this new project can be identified as a risk driver. The risks that could arise from this risk driver include overlooking necessary tasks that were not known to be needed, underestimating time, underestimating resources and exceeding budget. It is a project manager's responsibility to evaluate risk drivers and associated risks throughout every phase of the project life cycle, propose possible solutions to risks and communicate risks to stakeholders.
To complete this Individual Assignment:
- Review your scenario.
- Review the resources from this unit related to risk assessment.
- Identify risk drivers in your project and the risks associated with each.
- Explain how the risks you identified could impact the project, and propose strategies to mitigate each risk.