Continue working on your individual project started in week one and two to accomplish the assignment below:
Continue working on your individual project started in week one and two to accomplish the assignment below: Write a paper of no more than 2,100 words, include the following components: Project Risk Management Plan Examine at least five risks applicable to your project. Create a table in Microsoft® Word for your risk assessment matrix. For each risk, analyze its likelihood and probability, its effect, an overall risk assessment score, when it could occur, and your response. Project HR Plan Analyze HR needs, how they are acquired, and when they will occur. Examine your training approach and how you plan to recognize and reward the team’s efforts. Project Communication Plan Examine key stakeholder groups and their project information needs. Create a table in Microsoft® Word, evaluating the following information that is produced during the project’s lifecycle: status and issue reports; the target audience for each information type, including senior management and customers; when each information type is available (weekly or biweekly); how information is communicated (e-mail or hardcopy); and who is responsible for producing information. Project Procurement Plan Examine the methods that will be used to manage procurements in the project. Examine at least one contract vehicle that might be used.
Introduction
Spinners and Spinners group is a group of related companies that operate mainly in the textile industry. The group comprises of the parent company and two subsidiaries. Each company is independent and uses a different accounting system to collect process and store its information. Over recent times, this has proved problematic with intercompany transactions reflecting differently. This has caught the management’s attention as a highly risky area that requires urgent attention. Our project will focus on identifying key areas of weakness in the group’s information systems and proposing a viable solution.
Problem and Solution Statement
The biggest problem we have is the duplicity created by multiple accounting systems within the group. This is a great cost to the group in terms of labor costs with period end reconciliations and consolidation procedures taking about a third of the accounting department labor hours which translates to $300,000 in staff costs. Audit fee is based on hours spent on the job by the public accountant (Collins, 2011). For spinners on average an annual statutory audit takes almost 800 hours of the audit team which is charged at $300 an hour amounting to $240,000 annually in audit fee. This is a huge cost for the group that requires urgent attention. This is in addition to the risk of non-compliance due to system limitations
In undertaking this project, we aim to come up with recommendations on a uniform information system for the group that meets the needs of each subsidiary, the parent and the group as a whole. The focus will be on reducing operational costs for the group by eliminating all unnecessary costs due to inefficiency in the information system. The aim is to cut costs by at least 20% of total operating costs and hence increase the net profit.
Mission Justification on
This project is the key to the group’s future success. A good information system is a source of competitive advantage as it enables faster and more accurate decision making (Collins, 2011). If this project is ignored the company will continue losing about $500,000 annually cost reduction. Lack of proper records as per legal requirements may lead to legal battles which will cost the group both financially and in reputation. In some instances this may lead to withdrawal of operating licenses and closure of some of the company (Lock, 2013). This project will help cut costs, avoid the risk of non-compliance while at the same time improving the group’s competitiveness in the market. All these will mean greater bottom line profits for the companies.
Scope
The scope of our project will be to investigate the information system requirements of the group and identify a viable solution that meets all these demands. This will include doing a stakeholder mapping to identify key users and their requirements. It would also entail an assessment of the legal requirements on information systems. An assessment of the feasibility of the identified solution is within the scope of this project but the implementation of the solution is beyond the scope of the project (Cook, 2004). Our scope is limited to investigating and proposing a potential solution.
Work Breakdown Structure WBS
| Scope | Deliverables |
| Investigate I.S requirement | To create weakness report on current information systemList of potential solution |
| Share holder mapping | Stakeholder mapping reportA user impact-responsibility map |
| Assessment of legal requirements in I.S | Best practice report across the industry |
| Assessment of feasibility study | Feasibility analysis of the recommended choice. |
| Investigation and proposing a potential solution | Recommendation of best choice |
| Estimated Cost and Duration | ||
| Task | Duration | Cost |
| investigating IS requirements | 70 | 21000 |
| stakeholders mapping | 60 | 18000 |
| assessments of legal requirement in IS | 50 | 15000 |
| assessment of Feasibility study | 50 | 15000 |
| investigation and proposing a potential solution | 50 | 15000 |
| Direct and indirect labor. | 52 | 15600 |
| machinery | 150 | 45000 |
| equipment | 156 | 46800 |
| supplies | 162 | 48600 |
| Total Cost | $ 240,000.00 |
Major Deliverables
In accomplishing our mission, we aim to recommend an information management system that is both users friendly as well as effective. This will follow a step process and at each step certain deliverables are expected as a measure of progress. These are;
- A weakness report on current information system
- Stakeholder mapping report
- A user impact-responsibility map
- Best practice report across the industry
- List of potential solution
- Recommendation of best choice
- Feasibility analysis of the recommended choice.
The key deliverables will act as a guide to the steps we need to take at each stage as well as an indicator of when it is time to take the next step.
Milestones
Our project will be assessed on several milestones based on tasks accomplished at each stage and the successful completion of a major deliverable. The first milestone will be the completion of the investigation stage. This will be confirmed by the completion of a weakness report and getting the management’s assent on the same after a month’s time (CIBB, 2010).
The second milestone will be needs and responsibilities mapping of the group which will help us form an idealistic solution with which all propositions will be measured against. This will be indicated by two deliverables, stakeholder mapping report and a user impact-responsibility map (Cook, 2004). This shall be about a fortnight from the previous milestone.
Our third and final milestone will be solution recommendation which will be the final step in the project. This will be indicated by the final deliverable of a best fit solution recommendation.
Technical Requirements
For the successful completion of this project, we will require some technical expertise on several fields. First requirement will be a qualified information system person who can identify weaknesses inherent in the current system due to the technology employed which we suspect is a key part of the problem. This skill will also be required in the solutions evaluation stage. We would also require a legal expert in an advisory capacity to ensure the solution recommended meets the legal threshold on information requirements. A human resource expert may also be required in identifying people related problems in the current information system as well as ensure the recommended solution will be easy integrate with the companies’ staff.
Assumptions and Constraints
In undertaking this project several underlying assumptions are made including:
- The employees of the company will cooperate with us in undertaking the project
- There exists a suitable solution to the information management problems
- The weaknesses in the current system can be broken down into human related weaknesses and technology related weaknesses
- Management support for the project is absolute.
We also foresee some constraints in undertaking the project which may include:
- Limited technical expertise
- Budgetary constraints as the project will rely on a fixed budget allocation
- Information access constraints especially in coming up with industry best practice
Conclusion
The project is an ambitious and difficult one but very necessary for the group both as a competitive edge and a risk management tool. Therefore in my opinion all resources necessary should be given to the project team to ensure successful completion to the project as in the end the cost savings that will follow as a result of the success will outweigh the costs by far.
References
Chartered Institute of Building (Great Britain). (2010). Code of practice for project management for construction and development. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell
Lock, D. (2013). Project management.
Collins, R. J. (2011). Project management. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Cook, V. (2004). The English writing system. London: Arnold.
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