Project Management Building on your work in previous Modules of the Portfolio Project Milestones and with a specific focus on your product project at the company you selected, develop the following

Project Management Building on your work in previous Modules of the Portfolio Project Milestones and with a specific focus on your product project at the company you selected, develop the following
International Component Project Type December 5, 2021 International Component Project Type The Sub-Planet Company (SPC) seeks to improve its product via market research and present it to international markets, a project which relies on multiple stages for success. The specific project is to conduct market research on what factors influence British consumers to purchase sports shoes. Unlike the local market, the international market is dynamic and presents different challenges. Consequently, SPC requires detailed market analysis before carting out business activities. Particular interest to SPC is also interactions with other parties, including suppliers and customers, and the regulatory environment in which the company will operate. The project management will involve a step-by-step process in market research. It’ll enable product improvement through a robust understanding and project control that facilitates international expansion. International Component for the Project The international component for the SPC project is market research in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is among the most suitable countries for international business expansion in Europe, primarily due to its fast-growing economy and labor market (Spear, 2018). For this reason, this market research project carries a global component following its execution in a foreign country and not domestically. Therefore, the SPC project focuses on market research that can help improve products meant to be provided internationally. Project Initiation Project Statement of Work SPC’s vision is to expand into global markets, beginning with the U.K. The main product offering that the company has for the U.K. market is sports shoes. However, market research is required to assess U. K’s sportswear industry before conducting any business activity. The research project aligns perfectly with SPC’s long-term expansion objective. SPC’s market research project in the United Kingdom presents the specific details that the company expects from the project team. First, the market research project will provide aspects and processes that will enable the company to collect information on what type of sports shoes customers in the U.K. prefer. Secondly, the market research project also intends to explore the factors that affect business operation in the U.K. environment. These factors include the regulatory environment, the prevailing culture, and competitors. Project Charter The research project is officially authorized to commence in the U.K and conduct its operations in alignment with SPC’s vision, mission, and prevailing objectives. It is expected that all personnel will adhere to its rules, operational guidelines, and prevailing industry standards. The project must select specific locations within the U.K for analysis to offer the maximum benefit in completing objectives. The project is also authorized to utilize company resources in the form of personnel, time, and finance for maximum efficiency and on-time delivery of project outcomes. Business Case The business case is another crucial aspect that determines and influences project success and completion. First, SPC’s business case presents the specific locations the project team must focus on for a successful market research project in the United Kingdom. The market research will focus on key cities like London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool. Secondly, selling sports shoes to customers requires concentrating on different aspects, such as quality, design, and satisfying their values and beliefs. For this reason, market research must explore these preferences when conducting evaluations in the mentioned cities. Stakeholder Analysis and Register Sub-Planet Company’s stakeholders include shareholders, employees, customers, and the community. Since the company has not moved operations to the international market yet, this stakeholder evaluation offers the requirements for the domestic stakeholders. One essential requirement and goal of shareholders involves improving profits by 50%. The U.K. market is significant, and successful market research can help improve sports shoes before presenting them to the market. Secondly, employees desire a new working environment with a new culture and potential for growth. Power Low High UK Government Shareholders/ Board Members Potential Customers Employees Low Interest High Figure 1. Power/Interest Grid The criteria used to identify stakeholders will be based on interest, legal rights, ownership, knowledge, and contribution. Individuals who offer the project expert knowledge will be considered stakeholders because they are essential to achieving objectives. The ownership criteria apply to shareholders and legal right stakeholders mainly in the U.K government. On the other hand, the interest criteria apply to customers while the contribution criteria are for employees. Project Documents The contract information indicates a one-year project timeline for the team involved in the project and the stakeholders. Delay in project completion will lead to fines to compensate for potential budget overruns. Contractual details also align with legal specifications of the foreign market and conflict resolution mechanisms. Project Planning Project Management Plan The project scope includes conducting market research to determine elements that determine consumer purchasing sports shoewear. The market research project in the U.K. is expected to take an estimated $2 million (USD) across the five selected cities in Scotland, Wales, and England. The schedule for the project presents a maximum of twelve months for project completion, which is indicated in the project documents with the contract information. Additionally, other key elements, including communications, human resources, process improvement, requirements, procurement, and risk management, will be handled by the stakeholders and the project team during the project. Traceability Matrix The market research project in the United Kingdom requires a traceability matrix to indicate possible test scenarios and monitor project requirements. In addition, SPC proposes specific aspects that the project must align with, including successful delivery of information regarding the U.K. market composition, competitors, the culture, customer preferences, and regulatory agencies. The matrix will help track these requirements and ensure the project team delivers the information the company needs (Hamilton, 2021). Project Scope Statement, Work Breakdown Structure, and Cost Estimates The SPC’s project scope statement includes “team project members must ensure they follow due process when executing the project for optimal completion and delivery.” The project scope is to conduct market research in the U.K on a specific product that is sports shoewear. The work breakdown structure is constructed to reflect the three main categories where information will be collected. The categories are date on customers, competitors, and the regulatory environment. In addition, each category contains a deliverable about the shoe sportswear industry. Budget $2 million Market Research Competitors Regulatory Environment Potential Customers Business Strategy Relevant legislation Quality Component Figure 2. Work Breakdown Structure Cost estimates for the market research project require exploring the specific cities and dividing them by size. For instance, London and Cardiff are likely to take the most significant cost figures, closely followed by Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow. SPC omitted Northern Ireland because it does not have a considerable market for international expansion. Budgets, Communications and Risk Management While the international market research project in the United Kingdom costs around $2 million (USD), the budget will be set at $2.5 million to cater to additional costs that may come up during the project. The additional funding is essential to cover the risk of potential budget overruns. In addition, creating a business WhatsApp group will be vital in receiving project updates and include shareholders, SPC management, and the project team. Another communication medium that will be deployed is email. Finally, risk management will involve identifying and responding to unforeseen circumstances, such as cost underestimation, project completion delay, and other adverse factors that impact project completion. Project management is a complex process that impacts how an organization adapts to the ever-changing business environment. SPC seeks to execute an international project that involves market research on improving a product and presenting it to the researched global market. SPC chose the U.K. because it is a fast-growing economy and has vast customer bases that can help boost business profits. The project’s success relies on aligning with different project steps and procedures that influence project activity. In this sense, this Sub-Planet Company market research project seeks to gather information on how the product (sports shoes) can be improved before presenting them to the U.K. market. References Hamilton, T. (2021). What is Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)? Retrieved from https://www.guru99.com/traceability-matrix.html Spear, R. (2018). United Kingdom: labor market integration and employment creation. In Tackling Social Exclusion in Europe (pp. 259-280). Routledge.
Project Management Building on your work in previous Modules of the Portfolio Project Milestones and with a specific focus on your product project at the company you selected, develop the following
8 November 28, 2021 The Sub-Planet Company (SPC) has initiated a project to conduct market research before introducing its product into the U.K sports shoe industry. After defining a project plan and data points required for the project, the next step involves issuing relevant change requests on aspects of the project. Procurement information regarding contract details is also necessary, along with relevant supplier selection criteria. Finally, the project management process requires adherence to industry-standard ethics of practice. Change Requests The initial market research phase for SPC in the U.K revealed significant issues with the original project plan. Consequently, a change request is necessary to alter the project baseline. The first measure is a corrective action to expand the scope of market research to include data collection on online preferences. After the initial information collection, potential customers revealed that they prefer shoe brands that offer online retail options. As a result, online preferences are another data point included in the scope of the market research. Adding another data point in the scope of market research means that the project runs the risk of overrunning the allocated schedule for the project, which is 12 months. Expanding the project scope requires a revision of timelines because there is an addition to the amount of work to be completed. Preventive action is needed because there is a high probability that the project will be delayed and out of sync with the initial schedule. The best preventative action is to hire extra analysts specializing in market research regarding customers’ online preferences. The additional analysts will reduce the workload and prevent unnecessary delays. The corrective and preventive measures taken reveal that the project has some flaws. The undesirable potential situation is that the market research will end without the project offering actionable data or missing key data points (Butt & Jamal, 2017). Thus, a defect repair is necessary to modify the data points the market research will collect information. The repair involves using statistical software and industry expert consultation to discover potential gaps that the market research is not addressing. Procurement Documents Before selecting any supplier or key stakeholder, SPC must agree on a contract. The contract type that is selected for the project is a fixed-price contract. The contract type is applicable because the service required is clear, and there is an established timeline for delivering services. After completing the project, SPC will only be required to pay the agreed-on fee. The contract type is advantageous because the project scope is clear and not likely to change, and the cost of the market research is predictable. The potential risk associated with the fixed-price contract is if the project scope changes mid-market research, adjusting for new charges would be difficult. A fixed-price contract also puts the responsibility of ensuring project objectives are met on contractors. Consequently, SPC will primarily be focused on ensuring data collected during the market research is of high quality. Ensuring the project needs are met will require at least two suppliers. The suppliers will be selected based on their performance history and relevant qualifications. Procurement information will be utilized to initiate the bidding process with potential suppliers. Afterward, a request for information (RFI) and a request for quotation (RFQ) will be used to attract responses from bidders (PMI, 2017). Responses that will be considered after an RFI are those that reveal the potential for a strong partnership. In that case, an RFQ will be sent to get a detailed response on how the vendors will facilitate the market research and the cost of their services and products. Reference List Horning, T. M. (2018). Successful Project Management. Walden University Scholar Works. https://core.ac.uk/reader/217227636 The main point of the resource is that project failure can affect any type of project, whether large or small. The study indicates that the essentials to successful project management include relationship management, best practices, and essential strategies. The resource will be used to assess successful project management strategies and applied in the project planning section. Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., & Ferreira, M. (2018). Project Management Practices in Private Organizations. Project Management Journal, 50(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972818810966 The study’s main point is private institutions often utilize that project management practices. The study emphasizes the importance of meetings and activity lists in practice. As a result, the study can be applied in the project implementation section of the paper to integrate industry standards in the project. Ma, X., Xiong, F., Olawumi, T. O., Dong, N., & Chan, A. P. C. (2018). Conceptual Framework and Roadmap Approach for Integrating BIM into Lifecycle Project Management. Journal of Management in Engineering, 34(6), 05018011. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)me.1943-5479.0000647 The resource asserts that building information modeling (BIM) facilitates project management through a modeled cooperative approach. BIM implementation in the project life cycle promotes project efficiency. The resource can be applied in the project life cycle section to integrate IT in project management. Puška, A., Stojanović, I., Maksimović, A., & Osmanović, N. (2020). Evaluation software of project management used measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS) method. Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, 3(1), 89–102. Retrieved from https://oresta.rabek.org/index.php/oresta/article/view/47/38 Project management software effectively manages multiple projects and is an investment that applies project management techniques. There are many project management software in the market; however, the study reveals that the highest rated by users is Smartsheet. Therefore, the study can be applied to the project planning section to implement software in the proposed project management. Lima, P. F. de A., & Verbano, C. (2019). Project Risk Management Implementation in SMEs: A Case Study from Italy. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 14(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-27242019000100003 There is a lack of effective project risk management in small enterprises; consequently, this study analyzes the best way to adopt risk management in projects. There exist tools, procedures, and instruments that increase the effectiveness of project risk management. The resource can be applied in the project risk management section to develop effective strategies for guiding risk management in the proposed project. Project Management Ethics The PMI expectation for project managers regarding ethics revolves around four primary principles. The first principle is to take responsibility for work and team members. The following two principles are fairness and respect; the project manager must be impartial and respect the profession’s values. The final principle is honesty and is vital to the practice of project management. The project manager must maintain the confidentiality of client information or proprietary materials. Finally, the project manager must provide accurate information to the client even if it goes against their direct interests. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, ethics in project management is crucial to uphold trust and facilitate project success. The procurement process for SPC requires an analysis of the potential suppliers and contract decisions with relevant stakeholders. Regarding change requests, the recommendation is for SPC to add online preference as a data point in the market research while adding analysts to ensure deadlines are met. In addition, management software can be utilized to assess potential gaps in achieving objectives. References Butt, S. A., & Jamal, T. (2017). Frequent change request from user to handle cost on project in agile model. Proc. of Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2), 26-42. PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute.
Project Management Building on your work in previous Modules of the Portfolio Project Milestones and with a specific focus on your product project at the company you selected, develop the following
10 Portfolio Milestone Subsections December 12, 2021 The Sub-Planet Company (SPC) project involves conducting market research in the U.K before launching a product in the sports shoe market. The project aims to determine customer preferences, the prominent business strategy in the industry, and identify legislation that will impact the company’s operations. The application of project management principles will help attain the project’s expected outcomes. Work Breakdown Structure The SPC market research project requires a work breakdown structure (WBS) to analyze the outcomes and scope of the project effectively. Planning project aspects such as scheduling and budgeting also require a breakdown of project elements (Al-Kasasbeh et al., 2020). Additionally, it offers a road map for implementing any changes in the project’s duration. Decomposition is applied in creating the WBS to divide the project into smaller tasks (PMI, 2017). The main tasks required for market research are assessing customer preferences, collecting information on competitors, relevant industry information, and identifying legislation that will impact operations. The project can be broken down into four main components based on the market research deliverables. The first is customer preferences which will acquire information from potential customers on factors influencing purchase decisions. The tools and techniques used for this activity include conducting interviews and distributing questionnaires among potential customers. The second component is competitors and analyses the prevalent market strategy in the industry. Finally, the activity can be completed through consulting market experts and performing a SWOT analysis on competitors in the industry. The third category in the WBS is relevant industry information and is straightforward. The activity can be completed through analyzing databases for any relevant research applicable to the sports shoe industry in the U.K. The final component in the WBS is the regulatory environment and requires identifying relevant legislation that can impact the company’s operations in the U.K. The activity can be accomplished by consulting industry regulators, primarily the government. Activity List, Attributes, And Milestone List. The market research’s project scope decomposition and expert judgment can be applied to develop an activity list, activity attributes, and milestone list. There are specific activities that need to be conducted to complete the market research. The activity list will help SPC create a schedule for the project. The market research project consists of six primary activities. The first two activities include interviewing potential customers and offering questionnaires for responses. The next activities include consulting market experts and performing SWOT analysis on established industry players. Finally, the last two activities are analyzing information databases to acquire relevant information and consulting industry regulators. The activities of the market research project have attributes that can be used to describe them further. Conducting interviews with potential customers cannot proceed without creating and revising a list of relevant questions. Designing and administrative tasks such as printing are required to distribute questionnaires. Assessing competitors requires hiring or training individuals who can assess market information through software or technique to produce relevant outcomes. On the other hand, analyzing information databases also requires personnel to use search engines. Finally, consultation with industry regulators requires retaining the services of a legal counsel for advice and interpretation of legislation. The milestone list for the project consists of mandatory events that signify an event in the project. The milestones for the market research project are associated with collecting information on the major categories of the WBS. They include collecting customer preferences, acquiring information relevant to competitors, and identifying relevant market regulations. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) The precedence diagramming method (PDM) can be utilized for the market research project to graphically illustrate the logical relationships between project activities (PMI, 2017). By applying the PDM, an activity can either be a predecessor activity or a successor activity. The logical relationship that features prominently in the SPC market research is the finish-to-start (FS) logical relationship. For instance, the distribution of questionnaires cannot begin until a questionnaire is designed and printed. Therefore, the distribution of questionnaires is the successor activity, while designing a questionnaire is the predecessor activity. The logical relationships are represented below. Dependency determination in the market research project reveals dependencies in the project’s activities. Mandatory dependency is present as with the logical relationships that exist among project activities (PMI, 2017). These activities provide a physical limitation; for instance, it is impossible to distribute questionnaires without first creating, designing, and printing them in bulk. An external dependency may also exist in the project in the form of the regulatory environment. New legislation may be proposed during the course of the market research requiring research on regulation to halt and resume after legislation passes or is discarded. The project will utilize leads to schedule tasks for leads and lags because the most logical relationships between activities are finish-to-start (FS). Project Schedule Network Diagram The market research project activities can be represented using a project network schedule diagram. The primary activities of the market research are independent; consequently, the primary tasks can run concurrently. Therefore, the completion of each activity will directly contribute to the completion of the project. Regarding slack, an incomplete task would mean that the project cannot conclude based on the expected outcomes. Conclusion and Recommendation Creating a work breakdown structure will enable the project to focus on the primary components that reflect the project scope. A WBS is essential in scheduling, planning, and budgeting for the project. An activity list can be developed to emphasize the primary tasks with activity attributes to expand on processes involved in each task. Applying the precedence diagramming method to the project reveals that the prominent logical relationship between project activities is finish-to-start. Each predecessor activity has to finish for successor activities to begin. The project network schedule diagram illustrates that the project activities can run concurrently. References Al-Kasasbeh, M., Abudayyeh, O., & Liu, H. (2020). An integrated decision support system for building asset management based on WBS. Journal of Building Engineering, 101959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.101959. PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute. APPENDIX WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE Market Research Relevant industry information Regulatory Environment Competitors Potential Customers Relevant legislation Business Strategy Quality Component Analyzing information databases Consult Industry Regulators Conduct Interviews Distribute Questionnaires Consult market Experts Perform SWOT Analysis ACTIVITY LIST Market Research Project ACTIVITY LIST ACTIVITY ID ACTIVITY TITLE ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION WBS1.1.0 Construct interview questions Creating interview questions for customers WBS1.1.1 Design Questionnaire Constructing the questionnaire that will be distributed WBS1.1.2 Interviewing potential customers Conducting the actual interview with potential customers WBS1.1.3 Consulting market experts Seeking relevant information from industry professionals WBS1.1.4 Performing SWOT analysis Identify the strengths and weaknesses of market players WBS1.1.5 Analyzing information databases Seeking relevant information through search engines from databases WBS1.1.6 Consulting industry regulators Approaching government officials to acquire information about the legal framework. PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING METHOD ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS Finish to Start (FS) Distributing Questionnaires Designing Questionnaire Finish to Start (FS) Conducting Interviews Creating Interviews Questions PROJECT NETWORK SCHEDULE DIAGRAM Perform SWOT Analysis Begin Consult market Experts End Consult Industry Regulators Analyzing information databases Distribute Questionnaires Conduct Interviews
Project Management Building on your work in previous Modules of the Portfolio Project Milestones and with a specific focus on your product project at the company you selected, develop the following
Project Milestone Subsections December 19, 2021 The Sub-Planet Company project needs to launch a sports shoe product in the UK. Thus there is a need to conduct research that looks into the market. More specifically, there is a need to look at performance management, earned value management, cost estimates, budget, procurement, and schedule forecasts. Rules for Cost and Performance Management The work breakdown structure (WBS) is an excellent place to commence our Sub-Planet Company (SPC) planning. We will ensure that many operations are clustered into one work package and that various job packages are clustered into a chief controlling account. Each of them will be allotted an account executive who will monitor its advancement in actual life; the same individual could manage numerous accounts. We describe the “when” component at this juncture, trying to define both high- and low-level developments and assign appropriate deadlines to each action taken by our company (Lebas, 2018). Then we proceed to time-phased budgetary allocations, which involve allocating the overall expenditure at every activity level within a work item. This would include labor, material, and subcontractor’s expenses. We will also allocate advancement measurement techniques to each work item, determining how EV will be evaluated afterward for a task-in-progress. Earned Value Management EVM is a strategy used by project leaders to monitor the project’s performance against project benchmarks (Lebas, 2018). A project’s advancement is frequently considered in terms of being in front or behind timeline or over or under spending plan. Calculation of the Schedule Performance Metric (SPI): SPI = EV/PV. SPI of Sub-Planet Company (SPC) compares actual advancement to planned performance. An SPI value implies that a minor Sub-Planet Company (SPC) project was done than anticipated. An SPI of our company greater than 1.0 will indicate that more projects were done than scheduled. Calculation of the Cost Performance Metric (CPI): EV/AC = CPI. CPI of Sub-Planet Company (SPC) compares the worth of work completed to the accurate price (Lebas, 2018). A CPI value of 1.0 will indicate that costs were higher than anticipated. CPI greater than 1.0 will imply that expenses have been less than compensated. For SPI and CPI, a value greater than one will be considered positive, while a value less than one will be considered harmful. If we were in a rush, we could deduct instead of the divide to get the variance for both cost and schedule. Schedule variance equals EV–PV, and variance analysis equals EV–AC. Subtraction can be done very quickly in the head, but in these instances, >0 is good, and 0 is terrible. However, in contrast to SPI and CPI, variance cannot be successful, especially across initiatives or over time. Schedule Forecasts They deal with projections of situations and occurrences depending on the info and understanding present when the timeline is estimated. Projections are revised and reprinted in managing projects regarding work achievement information given as the plan is completed. The data is determined by the project management’s previous results and future expectations achievement, and it involves product profitability performance measures that may affect the project in the long term. The timeline projections of the Sub-Planet Company (SPC) are deduced from the advancement against the baseline plan, and the mode is helpful in approximation to finish. Generally, this is in the form of timeline variability (SV) and schedule performance index (SPI). Variances between scheduled and forecasting future completion dates are supplied for initiatives that do not use earned value engineering. Our project management will forecast to decide if the scheme is still within demarcated tolerance ranges and ascertain any necessary modifications. Cost Estimates This workout is finished in most Sub-Planet Company (SPC) instances in the project planning phase. The given approval for expenditure (AFE) finances are acquired, and all of the data is immediately decided to file away out of sight. Different methods are used to establish approximations predicated on available data in our early phases. This access to sensitive information taking account, device taking that into account, and parameterized predicting. The Sub-Planet Company (SPC) then begins to move on to its execution stage, where the best route forward would be selected, ignoring the discrepancies between that route of implementation and the path envisaged while generating the budget the average (Babar et al., 2017). If the company’s cost management program, including a software package, is utilized, it is not acceptable to ignore implementation adjustments after the spending plan is based on approximate data. Budget The Cost Baseline is the authorized edition of Sub-Planet Company (SPC). The time-phased budgeted cost excludes any managerial reserve funds and can only change through the structured change control system (Babar et al., 2017).  Project Funding Prerequisites: Sub-Planet Company (SPC) financing will occur in stages, based on specific milestones. As a result, they are not constant. This section discusses when the funds will be issued and how to handle the building and maintenance. Procurement Since the procurement facets of each specific task of the Sub-Planet Company (SPC) will be distinctive, this procedure may require repeated once or numerous times if multiple agreements are involved. Of course, if the decision has been made to establish all our deliverables “in-house,” there seems to be no necessity to prepare or utilize the acquisition process (Cropley, 2017). Conclusion and Recommendations EVM enables leaders to monitor the project’s performance against project benchmarks. The WBS allows clustering operations and job packages in a central controlling account. Schedule forecasts allow projections to be revised and reprinted in managing projects regarding work achievement information given as the plan is completed. The cost estimates generate the budget, and procurement establishes all deliverables. It is recommendable for the procurement phase to be thorough such that nothing is left out. Also, the budget needs to be adequate to cater to all the requirements of SPC. References Babar, S., Thaheem, M. J., & Ayub, B. (2017). Estimated cost at completion: Integrating risk into earned value management. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 143(3), 04016104 Cropley, C. H. (2017). The case for truly integrated cost and schedule risk analysis. In Handbook of Research on Leveraging Risk and Uncertainties for Effective Project Management (pp. 76-108). IGI Global. Lebas, M. J. (2018). Performance measurement and performance management. International journal of production economics, 41(1-3), 23-35.