Assignment brief project management

Task Contents

1 Analyze the factors that contribute to the process of project
selection
Develop outline project specifications for the implementation of
a new product, service or process
Produce a specification for an agreed project to implement a new
product, service or process
2 Produce a project plan for an agreed project
Match appropriate resources to a project
Cost all resources required for implementing a project
Agree timescales for the management and implementation of a
project
Plan an appropriate strategy for the implementation of a project
3 Implement a project in accordance with an agreed specification
Develop appropriate measures to monitor and evaluate progress
and outcomes
Monitor the implementation of a project
4 Analyze the outcomes of a project in terms of the original project
specification
Evaluate the outcomes of a project
Make justified recommendations for improvements to the project
5 Produce a report of all project procedures used
Present the outcomes of the project to an audience using an greed
format and appropriate media

Introduction
„Project Management‟ is an important topic because all organisations, large and small, are
involved in implementing new undertakings as diverse as the development of a new product or
service, or a public relations campaign. To keep ahead of their competitors, every organisation is
faced with development of complex services and processes. These need cross-functional
expertise in a given organisation.

The justification for undertaking project management in any organisation lies at two levels,
namely, the macro and the micro levels. On the macro or broader level, an organisation is
motivated to implement project management techniques to ensure that what is undertaken, small
or major, is delivered on time, within budget and to specified standards. On the micro level,
project management has the objectives of

Making the project workplace conducive to teamwork
Ensuring that deadlines are met
Reducing cost; operating within real-time basis; and
Ensuring that important documents and information is shared among members of the team.

Task 1: Be able to develop a project specification

Task 1.1: Analyse the factors that contribute to the process of project selection

(1) Mission Factor – Projects proposed for inclusion and support within the 4 C‟s Initiative
should include or engage actions and activities consistent with the mission, goal and objectives
of the initiative and the leading purpose of advancing full community stewardship of public
lands; specifically:

• Qualifying projects should be based on shared stewardship partnerships between BLM,
citizens and communities that provide for broad and substantive public participation in the
planning, management, conservation, restoration and sustainable use of public lands, consistent
with federal statutes and regulations;

• Qualifying projects should embrace or promote integrated, landscape-level approaches
to public land management that are consistent with conservation, sustainable land use, and
healthy communities;

• Qualifying projects should advance, enable or engage innovations in natural resource
management and land governance, including the use of one or more 4 C‟s tools or the
contribution of new tools to the 4 C‟s inventory;

(2) Process Factor – Projects otherwise qualifying for support within the 4 C‟s Initiative must
exhibit the following process characteristics:

 Qualifying projects can originate from the initiative of BLM, citizen groups, Resource
Advisory Councils (RACS) or any combination of the three; projects eligible for
initiative support must, however, be
the shared product of a working partnership of equals between federal and public
members
place-based unless programmatic; and
locally driven by partnered BLM field staff, citizens and communities of place
and interest.
 Qualifying projects must
include or, at a minimum, be open to the relevant universe of interested parties
demonstrate substantial community support
engage a process of project planning and NEPA compliance that is fully
collaborative at the outset; and
establish, where appropriate to the NEPA process and project in question, the
community- or consensus-based plan – the 4 C‟s partnership proposal – as the
preferred alternative.

(3) Implementation Factor – Projects supported by the 4 C‟s Initiative should share, to some
measure, the following operational characteristics:

Scope and purpose
Contribution to the diversity of the 4 C’s

(4) Outcome Factor – Projects supported within the 4 C‟s Initiative should contribute to the
following programmatic outcomes:

Qualifying projects should advance or contribute to the extension of 4 C‟s innovation and
the purpose of community stewardship of public lands.
Qualifying projects should advance or contribute to landscape-level management.
Qualifying projects should advance or contribute to sustaining working landscapes.
Qualifying projects should contribute to the institutionalization of the 4 C‟s among BLM
staff and the permanent inclusion of the 4 C‟s in the ways in which BLM does business.

Task 1.2: Develop outline for project specifications for the implementation of
a new product, service or process

New products and services are the lifeblood of all businesses. Investing in their development isn't
an optional extra - it is crucial to business growth and profitability. But embarking on the
development process is risky. It needs considerable planning and organisation.

Following points need to be kept in mind:

1. The lifecycle of products and services
2. Developing your ideas
3. Match products and services to market needs
4. Pricing your proposed service or product
5. The project development process
6. Creating a project team
7. Investment and cost control
8. Manage a development project

Pricing your proposed service or product

Establishing a pricing strategy for a new product or service is an important part of the
development process. You should consider pricing the moment you decide to take an idea
forward as it will determine how much you can afford to invest in the project.

You will need to take the following factors into account:

The benefits - or value - to the customer of your product or service compared with what
the competition has to offer. Will the price be one that customers are prepared to pay?

Whether or not you're first to market. Is your product or service revolutionary or are you
following a market trend?

The selling channels you want to use, which will affect your promotional spending and
distribution costs.

The speed with which you want to establish your product or service.

The expected lifecycle of your product or service.

Whether you are covering your costs.

Strategic pricing can be used to drive sales and regulate demand.

Task 1.3: Produce a specification for an agreed project to implement a new
product, service or process

On larger projects the specification process is likely to be complex, and requires positive and
timely management. Each of the design disciplines will wish to retain technical control of their
respective specification sections, but this should not be confused with management control.
A Specification Coordinator for the project as a whole should be appointed at an early date, by
agreement between the various disciplines.

The specification and drawings will be produced in parallel and are likely to involve the same
personnel, so the Specification Coordinator and the Design Team Leader will need to collaborate
closely, and may well be one and the same person. The Specification Coordinator should be
given the power and responsibility to manage all stages of the specification process, including:

Deciding who is to do what, and when;

Monitoring progress and ensuring that target dates are met;

Ensuring that technical and editorial checking of drafts is carried out;

Ensuring that the whole specification document is consistent with the design aims and the
drawings, and is appropriate to the nature of the project.

Task 2: Be able to plan for the launch of a project to implement a new product, service or
process

Task 2.1: Produce a project plan for an agreed project

For producing a project plan for an agreed project, following points needs to be followed:

1. View and print "How to Scope a Project"

2. Scope and Plan your project in five steps:

3. Create a Project Plan from the results of the project scoping

4. Use the Plan to Communicate

Task 2.2: Match appropriate resources to a project

Project MATCH (Making Appropriate and Timely connections for Children) is aimed at finding
permanency for children in Kentucky‟s foster care system. The Kentucky Department for
Community Based Services is targeting the service regions of Eastern Mountain, Southern
Bluegrass, The Lakes and Two Rivers by partnering with the University of Louisville, University
of Kentucky and Murray State University.

Project MATCH has four overarching goals:

Increase the pool of resource parents to more accurately reflect each region‟s out-of-
home care population

Increase the effectiveness in locating and using appropriate kinship care

Fully integrate concurrent planning into permanency planning

Increase inter- and intra-agency communication between public, private and community
stakeholders.

These goals are being achieved through:

Targeted- and child-specific approach to recruitment

Implementation of a customer service model of resource parent recruitment, selection,
training and retention

Quarterly regional peer consultation groups

Use of respite between completion of pre-service training, approval and placement

Collaboratively review permanency data with the courts

Fully integrate concurrent planning into permanency planning

Task 2.3: Cost all resources required for implementing a project

Costs are an important aspect of project scheduling and control. Project 2007 provides for
several types of costs. By using Project 2007, you can enter and track the following types of
costs:

Rate-based cost, a cost that is calculated based on the pay rates that are specified for
a resource and the amount of work that is performed by that resource.

Per-use, a cost that is incurred either once each time that a resource is used, or once for
each complete task that the resource is assigned to.

Fixed, a cost that is set for a task and not for a resource. A fixed cost does not change,
regardless of task duration or the work performed on the task by a resource.

Cost resource, a resource that allows you to accumulate one-time or periodic costs that
belong to a task. Cost resources might include airfare and lodging. This is typically a one-
time cost per task, but the cost resource assignment can be contoured across the duration
of the task if you have installed the

Budget resource, a resource that is applied toward the project as a whole. Budget
resources represent the maximum capacity for a project to consume money, work, or
material units. However, this doesn't mean that a project can't exceed its budget. Rather, a
budget resource gives you a way to compare your planned numbers with your ongoing
costs, to help you keep track of the fiscal health of your project.

Task 2.4: Agree timescales for the management and implementation of a
project

Planning is a critical part of your implementation project and devising a baseline plan that is both
realistic and achievable is an essential part of managing expectations. If you are working with a

software supplier and/or implementation partner they will develop their own project plan to
manage its tasks and resources, it will not include all of the additional tasks that the institution
will have to incorporate relating to business changes. Therefore, the overall project plan should
identify all of the tasks that need to be completed together with timings, dependencies and
resources and the project team should comprise both internal and external personnel and be
charged with the responsibility of fully implementing the system.

Setting a timescale for a system implementation project is a very difficult exercise and extreme
caution should be used. The Risk Management infoKit includes a section on Planning in the Real
World and some key issues are noted there. Even at the start of a project, mistakes can be made:
"Just because a project has been approved, it does not mean that work can begin the next day.
Institutions need time to adjust while priorities are changed and prior commitments discharged.
One of the most common problems is that these activities are simply left out of the plan.
Assumptions are made such as "in Week 2 the supplier will be on-site to install a test system",
ignoring the reality that no internal staff are available to work with the consultants. Even more
extreme are cases where complicated contracts must be negotiated or staff or consultants
recruited, each of which can take weeks. Ignoring these activities can lead to projects that are
weeks behind before they even begin.

The path to a successful implementation is littered with conflicting demands from many quarters.
Several compromises must be made along the way and not everyone will be happy with the
decisions made. For example, testing, training and performance tuning are obvious areas where,
with additional time, more can always be achieved to make going-live more acceptable.
However, no matter how much testing is performed, some software 'bugs' will remain in a large
system when it goes-live. The only true test comes when hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of
users begin using the system in production mode. The same holds true for training and tuning
and there is no such thing as too much of either. However, it must be recognised when enough
has been accomplished to make the decision to go-live.

Task 2.5: Plan an appropriate strategy for the implementation of a project

Eight steps for the implementation of a project are there:

1. Prepare the infrastructure. Many solutions are implemented into a production
environment that is separate and distinct from where the solution was developed and
tested. It is important that the characteristics of the production environment be accounted
for. This strategy includes a review of hardware, software, communications, etc. In our
example above, the potential desktop capacity problem would have been revealed if we

had done an evaluation of the production (or real-world) environment. When you are
ready for implementation, the production infrastructure needs to be in place.

2. Coordinate with the organizations involved in implementation. This may be as simple
as communicating to your client community. However, few solutions today can be
implemented without involving a number of organizations. For IT solutions, there are
usually one or more operations and infrastructure groups that need to be communicated to
ahead of time. Many of these groups might actually have a role in getting the solution
successfully deployed. Part of the implementation work is to coordinate the work of any
other groups that have a role to play. In some cases, developers simply failed to plan
ahead and make sure the infrastructure groups were prepared to support the
implementation. As a result, the infrastructure groups were forced to drop everything to
make the implementation a success.

3. Implement training. Many solutions require users to attend training or more informal
coaching sessions. This type of training could be completed in advance, but the further
out the training is held, the less information will be retained when implementation rolls
around. Training that takes place close to the time of implementation should be made part
of the actual implementation plan.

4. Install the production solution. This is the piece everyone remembers. Your solution
needs to be moved from development to test. If the solution is brand new, this might be
finished in a leisurely and thoughtful manner over a period of time. If this project
involves a major change to a current solution, you may have a lot less flexibility in terms
of when the new solution moves to production, since the solution might need to be
brought down for a period of time. You have to make sure all of your production
components are implemented successfully, including new hardware, databases, and
program code.

5. Convert the data. Data conversion, changing data from one format to another, needs to
take place once the infrastructure and the solution are implemented.

6. Perform final verification in production. You should have prepared to test the
production solution to ensure everything is working as you expect. This may involve a
combination of development and client personnel. The first check is just to make sure
everything is up and appears okay. The second check is to actually push data around in
the solution, to make sure that the solution is operating as it should. Depending on the
type of solution being implemented, this verification step could be extensive.

7. Implement new processes and procedures. Many IT solutions require changes to be
made to business processes as well. These changes should be implemented at the same
time that the actual solution is deployed.

8. Monitor the solution. Usually the project team will spend some period of time
monitoring the implemented solution. If there are problems that come up immediately
after implementation, the project team should address and fix them.

Task 3: Be able to implement a project

Task 3.1 Implement a project in accordance with an agreed specification

Successful project implementation requires that managers assume the following responsibilities:

• Manage all the resources.

• Produce outputs (the expected results) of the project.

• Perform technical as well as financial monitoring.

• Alert top management when

- The achievement of expected results is uncertain.

- Problems within the project appear to threaten achievement of the project
purpose.

- Changes in the project environment have a negative impact on the project.

• Recommend adjustments and corrective action.

The project manager should familiarize him/herself with that agreement in order to ensure
compliance with all its specifications, which have been approved and signed by PAHO‟s
Director or his designate. Project agreements have specific clauses regarding transfers of funds,
structures for project implementation, project personnel, procurement issues, relations with
national counterparts, involvement of the donor at different stages, reporting requirements, etc.
These are all crucial elements to be considered by the project manager when defining plans of
action and when monitoring execution.

Task 3.2: Develop appropriate measures to monitor and evaluate progress
and outcomes

Monitoring

Monitoring and evaluation are critical for taking stock of progress and for helping to 'learn as we
go'. Monitoring and evaluation can help groups to identify issues, measure success and learn
from any mistakes. This notion is closely linked to the 'learning' principle of successful
community conservation projects.

You can use this worksheet for step-by-step guidance on how to plan your evaluation. Work
through the questions, fill in the worksheet as you go and refer back to these sections for ideas.

Monitoring is the systematic gathering and analysing of information that will help measure
progress on an aspect of your project. Ongoing checks against progress over time may include
monitoring water quality in a catchment or monetary expenditure against the project budget.
Monitoring is not evaluation as such but is usually a critical part of your evaluation process and
should therefore be included at your project planning stage.

Evaluation

Evaluation provides an opportunity to reflect and learn from what you've done, assess the
outcomes and effectiveness of a project and think about new ways of doing things. In other
words, it informs your future actions.

Evaluation should ideally be factored into your initial project planning (see setting your
direction). When you are setting your vision, goals and actions, you need to be considering how
and when you'll check your progress against them. You may decide that you will:

Refine your project as you go, so that evaluation is part of your regular project activities.

Evaluate the project at agreed milestones e.g. on a yearly basis or after major activities.

Carry out an initial baseline exercise against which you compare progress at the end of
the project.

Task 3.3: Monitor the implementation of a project

Monitoring is an integral part of every project, from start to finish. Monitoring should be
executed by all individuals and institutions which have an interest (stake holders) in the project.
To efficiently implement a project, the people planning and implementing it should plan for all
the interrelated stages from the beginning.

In the "Handbook for Mobilizers," we said the key questions of planning and management was:

What do we want?
What do we have?
How do we use what we have to get what we want? And
What will happen when we do?

Task 4: Be able to evaluate the outcomes of a project

Task 4.1: Analyse the outcomes of a project in terms of the original project
specification

Any task that requires some preparation to achieve a successful outcome, will probably be done
better by using a few project management methods somewhere in the process. Project
management methods can help in the planning and managing of all sorts of tasks, especially
complex activities.

Project management is chiefly associated with planning and managing change in an organization,
but a project can also be something unrelated to business - even a domestic situation, such as
moving house, or planning a wedding.

Project management techniques and project planning tools are useful for any tasks in which
different outcomes are possible - where risks of problems and failures exist - and so require
planning and assessing options, and organizing activities and resources to deliver a successful
result.

Task 4.2: Evaluate the outcomes of a project

The evaluation of the outcome of construction projects has been the subject of unresolved debate
for many years. This paper argues that previous views have tried to find a simple solution to a
complex problem. The complexities of the issues which underlie the evaluation of project
outcomes are derived from project goals, participants' behaviour and the performance of project
organizations. Earlier studies did not recognize the manner by which individuals' perceptions of
project outcomes were influenced by the range of factors in each person's perception. A model is
constructed with two levels of outcome developed from the fundamental behaviour-to-
performance-to-outcome (B-P-O) cycle in industrial/organizational psychology. It is postulated
that the valence of the first-level outcome (project success) is dependent on the instrumentality
relating to the second-level outcome (participant satisfaction). The identification of factors of
influence, such as self-efficacy, project complexity, commitment, expectancy, rewards, goals and
environmental variables, are shown to be fundamental in understanding an individual's
perception of the merit of the outcome of a project.

Task 4.3: Make justified recommendations for improvements to the project

Following table shows some recommendations for improvement to the project:

Task 5: Be able to present the outcomes of a project

Task 5.1: Produce a report of all project procedures used

1. Create a title or cover page, followed by a table of contents and an abstract (see Step 9). The
project report's title should convey the area and scope of the project.
2. Consider your reader, his or her knowledge of your project and its subject. If your project
was, for example, scientific but your reader is not a scientist, consider using less technical
language than if he were.
3. Describe the project's scope, its objective and the main result(s) in the Introduction. You
may include what you personally contributed to the project as well.
4. Tell the reader about the research behind the project in a Background section, if too
expensive to include in the Introduction.
5. Describe the methods you used during the project to accomplish the stated objectives in a
Methods/Procedures section.
6. Present the results of the project, which may not be the intended results.
7. Conclude by summarizing, once again, the project report's content and by suggesting the
implications of the project's results.
8. Propose, under a Recommendations heading, suggestions based on the conclusions outlined
earlier.

Task 5.2: Present the outcomes of the project to an audience using an agreed
format and appropriate media

Outcomes are the changes that happen as a direct result of your project. These changes could
make a difference to the environment, to the community or to the peoplewho benefit from the
project. For example your project may be to create a community garden. From this your
outcomes might include increased gardening skills, community cohesion and improvement of the
local environment as a result of people putting their skills into practice.

We may find it useful to answer the following questions when identifying your outcomes:

• Who will benefit from the project?

• How will the project benefit your target group?

• What is the change your project will make?

It may be presented as given below in the diagram:

References

1. http://www.ces-vol.org.uk

2. Andersen, E.S., Grude, K.V., and Hang, T. 1995. Goal Directed Project Management:
Effective techniques and strategies (trans. From Norwegian by Roberta Wiig), 2nd edn.
London: Kogan Page.

3. Appelo, J. 2009. What is the Mission of Your Project? Retrieved May 12, 2009, from
www.projectsmart.co.uk

4. Azzopardi, S. 2009. The Evolution of Project Management. Retrieved May 26, 2009,
from www.projectsmart.co.uk
5. Mathis, M. 2009. Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls. Retrieved
June 18, 2009 from www.projectsmart.co.uk
6. Heneman, R., Waldeck, N. & Cushnie, M. (1996). Diversity considerations in staffing
decisionmaking. In E. Kossek & S. Lobel (eds) Managing Diversity: Human Resource
Strategies for Transforming the Workplace. Oxford: Blackwell.
7. Johnson, L. & Johnstone, S. (2000). The legislative framework. In G. Kirton & A. Greene
(eds) The Dynamics of Managing Diversity. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
8. Rees, T. (1998). Mainstreaming Equality in the European Union. London: Routledge.
Richards, W. (2000). Evaluating equal opportunities initiatives: the case for a
„transformative‟ agenda. In M. Noon&E. Ogbonna (eds) Equality, Diversity and
Disadvantage in Employment. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
9. Matsuno, K., & Mentzer, J. T. (2000), “The effects of strategy type on the market
orientation– performance relationship”, Journal of Marketing, Vol.64, pp.1 –16.
10. Gonzalez- Benito Oscar & Gonzalez- Benito Javier (2005), “Cultural vs. operational
market orientation and objective vs. subjective performance: perspective of production
and operation”, Journal of Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 34, No. 8, pp.797-829.
11. http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/software/productivity/0,39024195,39158410,00.htm
12. http://www.ces-vol.org.uk

Assignment brief project management

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Assignment brief project management

More from Bhavi Bhatia

Recently uploaded

Assignment brief project management