Develop a project plan that addresses the issues within the following scenario. Your project plan should be broken into the various heading components listed. Each section should have an introductory paragraph and may be supported with charts or diagrams to enhance your material. The recommended length will vary based on use of charts and detail provided.
Your project plan should address the:
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The work breakdown structure (WBS) identifies all work that must be done in order to complete the project. For this component, develop your WBS in the form of a hierarchical graph or indented outline as illustrated in Figures 7-5, 7-6, and 7-7 of the Wysocki text. You may use either of these formats and the software of your choice. For example, you can build a hierarchical graph in PowerPoint? or an outline in Word?. Be sure to identify the activities and work packages. Also discuss how you approached the WBS (e.g., top-down or bottom-up) and your rationale for doing so.
The WBS should be 1 page.
Project Network Diagram (PND)
The PND is used to determine the order in which the tasks from the WBS and requirement list (or RBS) will be performed. For this component, build a PND that shows the dependencies of your project. This is a graphical representation of the sequence in which the project work will be done. Your diagram should indicate the earliest time that the work on each task can begin and the earliest expected completion date of the project. This component should also include a discussion of the dependencies and constraints that you expect as well as the critical path to completion.
The PND should be 1 page.
Project Team Management Protocol
For this component, discuss how you will manage the project team. This should be examined from two perspectives: (1) the core project team and (2) the client team. If your project requires additional team members, you will also discuss the contract team separately. This component should include the following:
How will each team be selected? What criteria will be used to select each team member?
What skills and knowledge sets are pertinent to project success? How will these be determined?
How will you resolve conflict or ensure conflict issues do not undermine project integrity? How will you ensure team balance, including conflict resolution, consensus building, and brainstorming strategies?
How will project meetings be handled? How will responsibilities be assigned to team members? How will team communications be handled? What modes of communication will be used, and how will communication records be maintained?
How will team operating rules be established and followed?
The project team management protocol should be about 1 page long.
Progress Reporting System
As a project manager, you can use various control tools (numeric, tabular, or graphic, depending on the individual project or project manager preference) to keep team members apprised of the progress of the project. Wysocki discusses several reporting tools and processes in Chapter 9.
A project reporting system should have several features in place:
Provides timely, complete, and accurate status information
Does not add too much overhead time and hence become counterproductive
Is readily acceptable to the project team and management
Warns of pending problems in time to take action
Is easily understood by those who have a need to know
For this component, prepare documentation on how you will track and report the project progress. Your plan should include the following:
Timing of information: How often the information is communicated
Content of information: What content is communicated and who receives that information
Process reporting tools: Which tools you will use
Communication channels: How you will communicate. This can include face-to-face meetings, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, email, written materials, phone calls, etc.
The progress reporting system should be 1 page long.
Project Closeout Plan
For various reasons, project closing is often overlooked. The project team might just be exhausted and relieved to finish the project and fail to go through the closing procedures. They might also be getting ready to start on another project. In addition, the client might not be interested in completing the procedures for closing the project; for instance, the post-implementation process.
As the project manager, another of your considerations is software for managing the project. This deliverable addresses both your plan for closing out the project and your software choice for project management.
For this section, write a plan for the steps and procedures you will use to close out the project, including how you will handle the following:
Getting client acceptance of deliverables
Ensuring deliverables as installed or implemented (as necessary)
Ensuring that documentation is in place
Getting the client to sign off
Conducting the post-implementation audit (as necessary)
This section is 1 page long.
