Project management knowledge areas
Projects refer to temporary endeavors that are undertaken with the objective of attaining unique purpose. To develop long term competitiveness, organizations in different economic sectors are increasingly integrating projects in their strategic management practices.
To attain their desired goals, project managers must ensure that projects are effectively managed. In view of this, project managers should possess and incorporate relevant skills, techniques, knowledge and tools.
Consequently, it is important for project managers to be conversant with a number of project management knowledge areas.
The main project management knowledge areas that project managers should take into account include project integration management, time management, project scope management, project cost management, human resource management, quality management, communication management, procurement management and risk management.
Project description
To improve the effectiveness with which it manages its workforce, GenRays’ management team has identified the need to boost its payroll capabilities. Thus, the firm intends to overhaul the old payroll system and institute emerging HR management technologies.
In the initial phase, the firm intends to implement a new Human Resource Information System [HRIS]. GenRays projects that the new HRIS will positively impact its operational efficiency in a number of ways.
The new HRIS system will be more advanced hence allowing GenRays’ employees to track their career progress. Therefore, the new HRIS system will form the basis upon which GenRays will engage in career planning.
As a result, it will be possible for employees to determine whether their career goals are aligned with organizational goals. The President and Chief Executive Officer of GenRays assert that he has experienced professional growth by being one of the firm’s employees.
Consequently, the new HRIS system will enable employees determine whether their current work place will enhance attainment of their career goals. On the other hand, HRIS will enable GenRays to be more transparent in its recruitment process.
One of the ways through which the new HRIS system will improve the recruitment process is by analyzing the applicant’s credentials in order to determine the most qualified candidate.
Moreover, recruiting employees using the new HRIS system, GenRays will culminate in development of a strong human resource base that will promote its competitive advantage with respect to human capital.
The new HRIS system will provide employees with an opportunity to access the system frequently hence increasing the likelihood with which employees identify and apply for vacant position.
This means that the new HRIS system will promote attainment of a high level employee satisfaction and organizational identification.
In summary, investing in the new HRIS system is aimed at improving the effectiveness with which GenRays manages its workforce information. In the recent past, GenRays implemented a financial integration system. The system has successfully improved the firm’s saving thrift.
According to Schwalbe (2010),“the people time saved with calculation speed in the system was near to six months less time required for reaching the return on investment point” (p.29). By implementing the new HRIS system, GenRays intends to increase the volume of its savings.
The savings are expected to be derived from elimination of the tedious management of employee information using manual systems. The paperwork and time involved in the management of employee information using the old system will be eliminated.
Customer requirements and characteristics
The new HRIS system is focused at improving the firm’s performance with regard to management of personnel. In the course of their employment, employees are not only motivated by financial goals but also by career goals.
In the process of implementing the new HRIS system, the project manager will take into account a number of customers. Some of the key customer groups include the employees, the management and the vendors.
The employees will require the new HRIS system to increase the effectiveness with which they track their career progress. As a result, the stakeholders require the new HRIS system to have optimal reporting capabilities. By assessing their performance, employees will be able to clearly define their career path.
The employees require the new HRIS system to assist GenRays in its quest to develop a strong human capital through employee development. On the other hand, the firm’s management requires the new HRIS system to be effective in undertaking performance review.
Statement of Work
Every project should have a clearly defined statement of work which describes the various activities that have to be undertaken in order to achieve the intended project deliverables. The process of implementing a new HRIS system in GenRays will be guided by a clearly outlined statement of work.
Considering the fact that the new HRIS system is intended at improving GenRays’ effectiveness in human resource management, a high level of functionality will be required.
To achieve this, the project manager is required to ensure that the necessary hardware and software technologies are procured. This will increase the rate at which the employees will utilize the new HRIS system upon its launch.
Despite the GenRays’ intention to have the new system being utilized in all its stations, the Project Manager appreciates the importance of the system being rolled out in phases. The first phase will entail implementing the new HRIS system in the firm’s headquarters.
This will aid in assessing its effectiveness before launching the system in other stations. In addition to the above, implementation of the entire project is expected to be completed by the end of the firm’s fiscal year.
Therefore, the Project Manager intends to commence the implementation process immediately after gaining approval from the relevant authorities. Additionally, the Project Manager is optimistic that there will be no major challenges that will lead to the project deviating from the expected completion time.
Project deliverables
To ensure optimal implementation of the new HRIS system, a number of deliverables have to be met. Some of the key deliverables are outlined below.
- Developing a need analysis document outlining what the HRIS system intends to achieve.
- Developing a training program that will be used in ensuring that GenRays’ staff is fully trained. The training program will take into account all the needs of the employees in order to increase system utilization.
- Configuring the new HRIS system- The system will be configured to ensure that it meets the employees’ information needs.
- Completing data migration- The Project Manager will ensure that all the employee data from various locations is transferred to the new HRIS system.
- Launching the new HRIS system.
Project acceptance criteria
GenRays’ management team is committed at ensuring that the new HRIS system is successful upon its implementation. Consequently, the Project Manager will ensure that a comprehensive acceptance criterion is incorporated. The criterion will entail assessing the system’s functionality.
The project will be considered a success if it increases the effectiveness with which the GenRays manages its personnel information. One of the aspects that will be considered in accepting the system is determining the likelihood of the employees utilizing the system in their career development path.
Currently, GenRays utilizes a traditional human resource management system to assess their performance. Additionally, the old system entails reviewing employee performance on the basis of their salary grade and job title. Such a system is relatively ineffective.
This limits the effectiveness with which they assess their performance. However, implementation of the new HRIS system is expected to improve the effectiveness with which employees are managed. One of the ways through which the firm will attain this is by improving its recruitment capabilities.
Therefore, the new HRIS system will be assessed on the effectiveness with which the new system will contribute towards improvement in its competitiveness with regard to human capital. An analysis determining the short-term and long-term benefits of the system to the firm’s operation will be taken into account.
Project acceptance criteria will also be undertaken by auditing the projects’ budget. This will aid in assessing whether the firm has sufficient funds to undertake the project. Currently, the firm has allocated a budget of $ 103,000 for implementation of the new HRIS system.
Work Breakdown Structure
Project boundaries
This project is intended at implementing a new HRIS system. Consequently, clear project boundaries will be defined. Consequently, some of the project boundaries relate to ensuring improvement of employees’ relations in GenRays.
Additionally, the new HRIS system is also aimed at ensuring that GenRays’ maximizes its operational efficiency.
Thus, the new HRIS system will contribute towards improvement in the effectiveness with which GenRays manages its human capital. This will determine the extent to which the firm will improve its ability to attain its growth objectives in the future.
Project assumptions
A number of assumptions will be taken into account in the process of implementing the new HRIS system. Some of these assumptions are outlined below.
- Firstly, GenRays assumes that there are adequate HRIS system suppliers in the market. This will ensure that the new HRIS system is effectively implemented.
- The Project Manager assumes that the selected vendors will adequately supply the required materials for implementation of the HRIS system.
- Despite developing a contingency plan, it is also assumed that there are no events that will distort implementation of the new HRIS system.
- One of the factors that the Project Manager will take into account in implementing the project relates to cost. The Project Manager assumes that in the event of an increment in the cost the project, some of the project features will be reviewed to minimize cost. However, the review process will not affect the performance and efficiency of the new HRIS system.
- The project manager assumes that the new HRIS system will be fully implemented by the end of the firm’s fiscal year. Accordingly, the Project Manager assumes that implementation of the system will not experience any configuration problem.
Initial defined risks
The Project Manager is cognizant of the fact that implementation of the new HRIS system may be hindered by a number of risks. Accordingly, relevant mitigation strategies have been put in place. Some of the risks that have been identified are discussed herein.
The Project Manager is cognizant of the fact that implementation of the new HRIS system may experience a challenge arising from the allocated budget not being sufficient. Budget loss may adversely affect attainment of project goal.
To mitigate this risk, the Project Manager will request the relevant authority from GenRays to allocate a contingency budget.
Secondly, the Project Manager will ensure that the relevant components and materials such as the software package are purchased in time. This will aid in reducing risks associated with an increment in software cost.
The Project Manager recognizes the fact that the project may experience a challenge with regard to resource conflict which might result in the project being derailed.
To mitigate this risk, the Project Manager will guarantee appropriate resource allocation technologies are utilized. One of the technologies that will be used to reduce possibility of resource conflict occurring is Microsoft Project.
Projects take a substantial amount of time to be completed regardless of their size. Consequently, the amount of time allocated to implementation of the new HRIS system might be insufficient.
Such an occurrence will result in the project failing to attain the set deliverables within the set timeframe. To mitigate this risk, a number of measures will be taken into account.
First, the Project Manager will employ the concept of benchmarking in order to ensure that the set goals are attained within the set timeline. Secondly, Microsoft Project technology will be taken into account in the process of managing time.
The Project Manager is also cognizant of the project experiencing poor project coordination. To deal with this challenge, the project manager will institute an effective communication plan.
The communication plan will be aimed at eliminating possible conflict amongst project team members. Additionally, an internal HR communication plan will be instituted to ensure that effective communication to project team members is undertaken.
In addition to the above risks, the Project Manager recognizes the likelihood of the new HRIS system experiencing a challenge with regard to system configuration. One source of risk relate to poor system configuration which might adversely affect the system’s performance.
The risk of poor system configuration might originate from lack of sufficient knowledge and skills. To eliminate this risk, the Project Manager will ensure that the best system practices are incorporated in the process of implementing the new system.
Effective system documentation will be developed to improve the project implementing team’s knowledge on how to undertake effective system configuration.
A continuous review on the project’s implementation progress will be undertaken. This will aid in tracking and determining the success with which the new HRIS system will be implemented.
Failure of the new HRIS system to achieve the intended objective is another major risk that the project manager appreciates. Occurrence of this risk may cause GenRays not to launch the system. This may negatively impact the employees’ morale.
Consequently, the likelihood of employees supporting the firm’s quest to implement new technologies in the future will be adversely affected. The chart below illustrates a summary of the initial defined risks and constraints in the project.
The risks are assessed on the degree of magnitude. The risk is either categorized as being Low (L), Medium (M) or High (H).
Project approval
The Project Manager will seek approval of the project from the relevant authority in GenRays prior to its implementation.
Some of the parties from whom the Project Manager will seek approval from include the President and Chief Executive Officer, Vice Presidents of various departments which include finance, marketing, and manufacturing.
Moreover, approval will also be sought from the Information Technology Director, the Plant Manager, and the Human Resource Director.
In addition to seeking project approval from internal stakeholders, the Project Manager will also seek the opinion of external stakeholders such as the selected vendors. This will aid in assessing the practicability of the new HRIS system.
Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary
Project scheduling
The Project Manager appreciates the fact that one of the major challenges that might be experienced in the course of implementing the new HRIS system relates to resource scarcity. Consequently, it will be ensured that the various activities to be undertaken in implementing the new HRIS system adhere to the set time frame.
Failure to adhere to the set time may result in deviation with regard to attainment of the intended goal. One of the factors that might cause project deviations relate to changes in macro-environment such as the recent global economic recession.
To achieve this, effective project scheduling will be undertaken. The objective of scheduling will be to ensure that the various tasks are completed within the set time or at the earliest time possible.
Project scheduling will improve the effectiveness with which the project manager allocates resources in addition to tracking the project’s progress.
In the process of implementing the new HRIS system, the Project Manager will ensure that all the activities to be undertaken are clearly defined.
Moreover, the expected implementation duration for every activity identified will be clearly defined. The Gantt chart below illustrates the various activities that will be taken into account in the process of implementing the new HRIS system.
Critical path
According to Schwalbe (2010), critical path is an essential element that Project Managers should consider in their resource allocation and scheduling processes. By using the critical path method, Project Managers are able to predict the total duration that the project will take to be completed.
With regard to projects, the critical path entails the various project activities that should be undertaken in order to complete the project within the earliest time possible. In the network diagram, the critical path is depicted by the longest path.
The chart below illustrates a network diagram detailing the various activities to be undertaken in the process of implementing the new HRIS system. The duration within which every activity is expected to be completed is clearly illustrated. The critical path for the project is 155 days as shown below.
Critical path = 16 days + 5 days+ 16 days + 35 days + 46 days + 21 days + 16 days
= 155 days.
Implications of project scheduling
In process of implementing the new HRIS system, the Project Manager is cognizant of the fact that the project might not attain the intended objective in the event of poor scheduling. Project scheduling will ensure that all the necessary activities are undertaken within the set timeframe.
This emanates from the fact that the Project Manager ensures that the various project activities are clearly defined. This increases the effectiveness of designing a project implementation plan.
Additionally, the effectiveness with which the Project Manager monitors the effectiveness with which the various activities are undertaken is increased.
Project scheduling is also important in that it aids the project manager in assessing the volume of workload involved in ensuring that the project is successfully implemented. By designing the Gantt chart, the project manager is able to track the progress of the various work activities.
On the other hand, integrating an effective project schedule and identifying the various activities to be undertaken aids in creating a strong teamwork environment. This emanates from the fact that project team members are able to identify the various activities to be undertaken.
Additionally, the project team members appreciate the fact that implementation of the new HRIS system will be interdependent on the success of respective team members in undertaking the tasks assigned.
The systems’ evaluation and selection process will improve the effectiveness with which the Project Manager ensures that the best technology is procured.
Scheduling is also an important component of the project implementation process. This arises from the fact that it aids in the process of allocating resources such as time. For example, some activities in the implementation process are scheduled to be undertaken concurrently.
This plays a critical role in saving time hence increasing the probability of the new HRIS system being implemented within the set timeframe. Consequently, the prospects of the new HRIS system attaining the desired objective will be increased.
Project scheduling is also an important component in the process of implementing the new HRIS system. This arises from the fact that it improves the effectiveness with which the Project Manager undertakes cost management.
Change in cost is one of the major challenges that Project Managers experience in the process of implementing projects irrespective of their size and complexity. However, effective project scheduling can aid in reducing cost challenges by abiding within the set timeframe.
Project scheduling enhances cost management in projects by ensuring a clear definition of the various activities to be undertaken.
By sequencing the various activities to be undertaken, the probability of the new HRIS system being effective upon its implementation is increased. This emanates from the fact that the various activities to be undertaken to ensure successful project implementation and their interdependence are clearly outlined.
In addition to the above issues, it is important for the Project Manager to be cognizant of the fact that the success with the new HRIS is implemented will be dependent on the quality of human capital.
Consequently, integration of highly qualified and experienced human capital in the process of implementing the new HRIS system is vital.
An effective selection criterion will be integrated in the process of developing the project team.
Moreover, incorporation of an effective employee training program in the implementation process will aid in addressing possible knowledge and skills limitations that project team members might experience with regard to implementation of the new HRIS system.
In summary one can assert that developing a clear definition of work items, work-item sequencing, definition of labor resources and duration are critical in improving the project’s success.
Reference List
Schwalbe, K. (2010). Information technology project management. Boston: Cengage Learning.