Question

To demonstrate competence in this unit you will need to show that you can design and develop a project plan. Your task is to select an idea, improvement or opportunity that could be applied in a business operation. Describe the business and the project you might initiate. You will need to describe and define the project in context. Explain why such a project would be beneficial. What procedures might you use to ensure that the project was sponsored and supported by the organisation?

Define the project, write a project narrative and develop a project plan, including the processes that would be used to manage financial, technical, human and physical resources.

In developing your project plan, consider:

Who are your project’s stakeholders?

What would your role be in planning and delivering the project?

How your project plan will meet organisational objectives and overall goals.

How could you ensure that the project aligns with the organisation’s vision and mission, and why this is necessary.

What resources would you need and how would you source them?

Why should you and how would you consult with team members in the planning stage of the project and throughout the project’s implementation?

How would you monitor the quality of outcomes?

How would you ensure that you met project timelines?

What project management tools would you use and why would they be most useful?

How and why would you delegate roles and tasks?

How would you design and develop risk management and contingency plans and cater for any health and safety issues?

What methods would you use to clarify roles, responsibilities and lines of authority?

Describe in detail how the budget would be prepared and used as a communication and monitoring tool.

Explain the data collection, recordkeeping and reporting processes that would apply to the project.

What legislation would apply to the project and how would you ensure compliance with it?

What are your project deliverables?

Why should you and how would you review project outcomes and processes?

Your response should also demonstrate that you have undertaken your own research. You are required to provide a bibliography/ reference list for this project.

Your response should be between (2,000–2,500 )

(use project plan template)

Answer 1

The project Objective :- The objective of the project to "make easy" the transaction between two parties / individuals.

Project narrative and develop a project plan: The plan is to develop a Software, that would help individuals, businesses, and others to make financials transactions by using their mobile phones that would be linked to their individual bank accounts. This would ensure safety of all transactions, easy to operate, all time money from anywhere in the world, and instant money transfer. The entire project would be based on a strong technical software to ensure safety and correctness of all transactions. This would need high initial investment to develop the software for the company. Once the software is developed, the second cost would be of advertising as we need to "educate" the customers about the benefit of the software and how it would help them to do currency-less business transactions.

The sales team would have to a composition of a technical and sales team as there would be need to ensure technical know-how of the products and services, that they need to percolate down the line to the business class.

The project’s stakeholders : the current promoter of the company would be the base for the futuristic investment plan. Since this is a high cost project, there would be a need to attract fresh investments from outside the organization. For this the suggested wayout would be to invite fresh investment from the stakeholders. This new project of the company would yield high return benefits for the investments.

Role be in planning and delivering the project:- The important role between the development of the software and ensuring that the product hits the market in the scheduled time and is communicated to the target audiences.

Project plan meets organisational objectives and overall goals: this project would ensure high returns on investments for the stakeholders. Secondly, this project would increase the turnovers of the company by many folds and the "net worth" of the company multiple folds. The reason behind is that the project is one of the turn around projects that would change the way business transactions are currently being done.

Organisation’s vision and mission: It is necessary for the project to be in line with the business objectives of the organization as this would help the company achieve new business results and secondly, this would also ensure good returns for the stakeholders.

Resources that would be needed for the projects have been defined above. We need to make a proper project roll-out plan and ensure deployment of all resources to deliver the desired results. We also need to calculate the cost-benefit analysis of each deployed resource and also the over all project cost.

Team members in the planning stage of the project would be experts in the technical department, financial, project design and implementation department, accounts department, etc... These would be the core members of the team that would help develop the project for roll-down. During a later stage, as the project would take shape more people would be required to share the responsibilities and the current members would also have different roles and responsibilities in terms of the project.

The quality of outcomes an Project outcomes need to be monitored very care fully. They need to be in-line with the initial plans and must be completed as per the time schedule. The parameters of monitoring the progress have to be defined before hand to ensure smooth development and delivery of the project. If there are any project delays, due to any reasons, they need to be addressed at the earliest, so that the project does not get delayed.

Since, this would be a high investment and high turn key project of the company, this would require the deployment of all the project management tools as the WBS technique, GANTT chart, Work flow management process, project financial investment plan, etc Each tool has its own importance in the project as they are very specific to the project progression. The technical team would have the ownership of developing the software. They would be assisted by a research tam to compile the date and requirements for the software.

Roles, responsibilities and tasks for the project would be finalized by the core project team and it would be the responsibility of the members of the team to identify the need for the additional resource. The responsibility would be of the HR team to identify the required suitable employee and bring him on-board. This must follow a strict time schedule as any delays would be "risking" the project. So, all the risk factors and contingency plans have to be worked out in advance. All the risk factors have to be identified in advance so that if any of the risk would delay the project, then the team has a second plan to fall back upon.  

All the requirements and progressions of the project must be controlled and monitored from a base control room. This would ensure the daily progression of the project,data collection, planned v/s actual progress, productivity analysis, record keeping,cost and financials of the project, The best way to monitor any progression of any project is to have a "hierarchy" of reporting. Each unit should have a supervisor and a group of supervisors would be reporting in to a project manager.

The legal team shares the responsibility of completing all the legal formalities and getting the approvals for all project requirements. Since this is a high investment project, all the formalities need to be completed before hand, so that the project does not get stuck in some legal non compliance.

The project would a system of daily review by the on-ground team, second review should be done by the project team and a weekly review should be done by the project core team about the deliverable's of the projects and the progression as well. The review of the project by the seniors management group can be done once in a fortnight to review project outcomes and processes.