The IBNOVO Project Charter Development Case Study

Introduction

Purpose of project management plan

IBNOVO has managed to attain an optimal market position in the global IT industry. Since its inception, the firm has managed to establish its operations in more than 170 countries and it specialises in offering fully integrated and optimised stack of business software and hardware solutions. The IT solutions provided enable organisations to overcome complex situations in addition to promoting innovation. The IT solutions offered by the firm vary from business offerings such as printers and IT infrastructure to the most effective and efficient supercomputer installations. The firm’s global expansion has emanated from incorporation of mergers and acquisitions as one of its strategic management practices. In 2012, IBNOVO acquired DELICES [DS] at a cost of US $1 billion dollars. Over the years, IBNOVO has managed to develop an adaptable culture that has considerably maintained the firm as one of the top IT firms globally. The firm’s Managing Directors in various countries are challenged to support the firm’s ability to identify, deduce, and decipher signals identified in their country of operation into new behaviour responses. The firm’s employees are given the discretion to make decisions, meet their own goals and flexibility in responding to customer needs.

Despite the strong organisational culture, the acquisition of DS led to an increment in the level of anxiety amongst DS Country Managers and sales force. To alleviate the anxiety, the firm decided to hold an Asian Pacific IT training event. In the course of its operation, IBNOVO has managed to develop sufficient expertise with regard to change management. On behalf of IBNOVO, I have been tasked with the role of providing global IT training over five days in Australia and India. My role entails developing a project charter detailing the training program to be used in the two countries. Projects are a key ingredient in a firm’s efforts to achieve its strategic plan (Project Management Institute 2000). The project charter developed will focus on four main project areas, which include project integration management, project scope management, project time management, and project cost management.

Executive summary

IBNOVO will ensure that its employees receive sufficient IT training in its subsidiary firms located in Australia and China. A high quality IT training program will be incorporated in order to impart adequate expertise and skills to employees to assist the firm in executing their duties. This document provides a comprehensive description of the Project Charter for the IT training program. It outlines the vision, objectives, deliverables, project organisation, project scope, and the implementation approach.

Project vision

• To provide optimal IT training to the firm’s work force in Australia and India to minimise attrition and employee resignation

Objectives

1. To minimise the rate of employee turnover due to low task-technology fit with regard to knowledge management systems.
2. To promote a high rate of utilisation of the implemented Information Technology
3. To enhance employee performance and productivity through the utilisation of Information Technology

Project assumptions

1. The firm will be committed at sponsoring the entire training program in the two countries in order to enhance the firm’s probability of succeeding. Presumably, the Project Sponsor will aid in the development and maintenance of the project charter, project plans, undertake project reviews, and identify areas of adjustment.
2. Adequate and essential resources will be provided to assist in the entire training program.
3. The project manager will be provided with the necessary approvals to proceed with the training program.
4. The support staff selected in the IT training program will be 100 per cent dedicated to attainment of the project’s goal.

Project constraints

In spite of the firm’s commitment towards the implementation of an effective IT training program, the project manager faces two main constraints. Effective implementation of a project requires a firm to allocate a substantial amount of money in its budget. Considering the adverse effects of the 2007/2008 financial crisis, the firm will experience financial constraint (Nevitt & Fabozzi 2000). Its finance department is under close observation by the top management to ensure that it keeps the firm’s cost of operation as low as possible. IBNOVO intends to conduct concurrent IT training in all the three regions in which it operates. The regions that the firm intends to undertake IT training includes Europe, the Asia Pacific, and the US. In all the three regions, the firm finance department has only allocated US$ 3.5 million. However, a study conducted by the firm indicate that an additional amount of more than US$ 1.2 million dollars is required to undertake satisfactory IT training. The high training cost is due to high venue costs. The training event in Australia is expected to cost $ 67,967.24 while that of India is expected to be $ 99,806.35.

In the process of implementing a given project, a substantial amount of time is required. However, time is one of the major constraints that will be faced by the project manager. The project manager has only been allocated 5 days to undertake a comprehensive IT training to employees in Australia and India.

Scope management

Scope management is a critical component of project management practice whose objective is to deliver projects outcome successfully. Lau (2005) asserts that project scope should incorporate capabilities and features whose objective is to deliver a high level of satisfaction to the target party. Scope management ensures that only the required work is undertaken. In a bid to undertake scope management effectively, the project manager should ensure that the entire project is subdivided into manageable and deliverable components. This phase also entails authorisation of the entire project by the relevant authority. A comprehensive scope statement outlining the basis of the future decisions to be undertaken with respect to the project should also be outlined. The project’s sponsor, the steering committee, and the executive sponsor define the project scope. The following items will be incorporated in the project charter scope:

1. Designing, testing, and implementing an effective IT technology aimed at improving connectivity between the firm and their clients. The reliability with which the implemented technology is utilised will be enhanced by providing sufficient training on the respective IT technologies implemented.
2. Installing a Session Internet Protocol (SIP) to enhance internal communication sessions using videos and voice over the Internet Protocol
3. Training the firms’ management team on how to utilise Decision Support Systems [DSS] in the process of making non-routine decisions
4. Training the firm’s workforce on how to utilise transaction-processing systems that will be effective and efficient in gathering and updating information, and one of the transaction processing systems that the firm will train employees on includes order entry systems.
5. Providing training on how to utilise artificial intelligence using expert systems, whereby IBNOVO will ensure that managers get expert training on how to solve complex situation using conventional programming
6. Improving user satisfaction on utilising the IT technology implemented by reducing the time spends in executing a particular task.

Implementation plan

Project implementation refers to the actual process of actualising a particular plan. The project plan illustrates the road map to be followed in order to attain the desired progress. Implementation transforms the initial plan into a reality (Taylor 2008). In a bid to guarantee provision of satisfactory IT training to the firm’s employees in Australia and India, a number of issues will be taken into account. The outline below illustrates how the project will be implemented.

Initiation-After approval of the Project Charter Document, the firm will proceed with recruitment of an effective project team. The project team will be selected from within. Decision to in-source the project team hinges on the fact that the firm has developed sufficient expertise with regard to various IT components such as software and hardware solutions. The project team will be constituted by appointing the following:

1. Project Board-The project board will be charged with the responsibility of providing the project team with the necessary resources, overseeing how the projects progresses, resolving conflicts that might arise and implementing change requests.
2. Project Manager- The project manager will ensure timely execution of the project, ensuring that the project adheres to the set period and budget, managing the project staff and other stakeholders.
3. Experts in Management Information Systems which include Decision Support Systems, Expert Systems, and Transaction Processing Systems.
4. IT database developer.
5. Quality Assurance Manager.

A project office will be in place to ensure that the implementation of the IT training program is centrally controlled and administered.

Planning –Planning plays an essential role in the process of project implementation (Khosrowpour 2006). The planning process should be commensurate with the project scope. Additionally, the planning process is undertaken in the entire course of the project. The planning process will constitute a number of core activities, which include scope planning, time management, risk management, cost management, and integration management.

Upon appointing the project team and establishing the project office, a comprehensive planning process will be initiated. Effective planning documentation detailing the resources, finances, suppliers needed, and other necessary tasks will be undertaken. The planning phase will also integrate the project communications, review of the training program, the acceptable deliverables, and risk management strategies to be undertaken.

Execution- The execution phase will consume a considerable percentage of the total time allocated to this project. Within this duration, the Project Manager will be expected to undertake satisfactory training to the firm’s workforce on the various Management Information Systems [MIS]. The execution phase will entail performing the respective activities defined in the project scope. Additionally, the execution phase also entails incorporation of a comprehensive quality assurance process. The objective of quality assurance is to ensure that the project implemented attains the predetermined quality standards (Rose 2005).

The execution phase is also critical in ensuring effective team development. According to Cobb (2012), a strong team is imperative in the project implementation process. As the project manager, I will ensure that a strong project team is developed. Firstly, the team members will be selected based on their competencies and skills. These factors will be elements of consideration in order to promote high project performance. Team coherence is also very essential in the success of the team.

In a bid to achieve this objective, an effective and efficient communication between the project manager and the other team members will be incorporated. Coherence will develop by convening meetings with the team members whereby every team member will be given an opportunity to share their opinion on how to implement the project. Consequently, an efficient culture will be developed (Rad & Levin 2003). Additionally, team coherence will promote effective exchange of project information between the various project stakeholders. The flow of information between the project members will determine the effectiveness with which the project program attains its objective.

During the execution phase, the Project Manager will ensure that all the areas on how to utilise the various Knowledge Management Systems are addressed. In a bid to achieve this goal, the Project Manager will conduct a comprehensive appraisal on the perception developed by the firm’s workforce on the implemented KMS. The appraisal will entail assessing the benefits that the employees accrue by utilising the implemented IT technology such as the KMSs. The appraisal will be conducted by formulating a questionnaire on the various IT systems to identify areas of difficulty experienced by the employees.

Controlling processes

Projects are initiated with the intention of attaining a predetermined outcome (Adams, Means & Spivey 2007). Consequently, measuring and monitoring the progress of the project is essential. One of the ways through which project managers can undertake control is by regular identification of possible variances. In a bid to control the IT training program effectively, the Project Manager will identify variances that have the capability of making the project deviate from the project objectives. Upon identification, the project manager will make the necessary adjustments to the implementation plan by repeating the planning process. For example, upon the project manager perceiving difficulties in completing the training program within the set time, a sufficient overtime will be sought. Additionally, the project manager will also anticipate possible problems that might occur in the course of implementing the project. This move will promote the degree with which the project manager is proactive. The controlling process will also integrate other aspects such as cost control, quality control, schedule control, and risk monitoring and control.

Closure – The closing process constitutes two main activities, which include contract closing and administrative closure (Taylor 2008). Contract closure entails completion and conclusion of the stipulations of the project management requirement. On the other hand, administrative closure entails gathering, generating, and dissemination of information that might be required by the top management.

Upon conducting training on the various IT technologies implemented, the training project will be ready for the conclusion. Closure will be realisable by disbanding the project team, closing the project office, and handing over the IT training report to IBNOVO’s management team. Consequently, the management team will assume the responsibility of conducting a post-project review in order to establish the effectiveness of the training program, which will be attainable by reviewing whether the rate of employee turnover in IBNOVO’s global operation has been reduced. Additionally, the firm will also evaluate the lessons learned in the entire training program that can be used in improving the firm’s future performance.

Time management

Projects should be completed within the set timeframe. This aspect plays a critical role in safeguarding the project from experiencing cost increment due to changes in the macro-environment; for instance, changes in the global economic environment. Consequently, time management is a critical consideration in the implementation of a particular project. In a bid to undertake time management effectively, it is paramount for the firm to ensure that it defines the specific activity to be undertaken, estimates the duration that the respective activity is expected to take, and schedule development (Satzinger & Burd 2008). Additionally, it is imperative for the project manager to undertake schedule controlling in order to factor in the changes that occur to the schedule. The Gnatt chart below illustrates the key activities that will be undertaken in the process of implementing the IT training project and the respective time scale.

Milestones

According to Schwalbe (2010), attainment of a milestone is a critical consideration in the success of any project. Attaining a particular milestone takes a substantial amount of time and involves many activities. However, setting a milestone is very important in project managers’ effort to identify the necessary activities. Scheduling is important in project manager’s quest to evaluate the progress of the project. The outline illustrates the key milestone that the Project Manager intends to achieve.

1. A high level of satisfaction amongst the firm’s employees due to utilising the implemented technology
2. Increased utilisation of the implemented IT technology
3. Decline in the level of employee turnover through improvement in the level of employee satisfaction
4. A high level of task-technology fit in the firm’s course of operation in its global market.

Cost management

The cost management element of project management is composed of the various processes required to ensure that the project attains the need for which it was designed. The main aspects of cost management that will be considered include cost budgeting, cost control, resource planning, and cost estimation. Resource planning entails identification of the various resources such as “materials, people, and equipment required and the respective quantities to perform the identified project activities, while on the other hand, the cost estimation process will entail approximation of the cost of the capital required to execute the project activities” (Taylor 2008, p.64). According to Nevitt and Fabozzi (2000) creating a financial plan is one of the key considerations in the process of implementing a particular project. The financial plan aids in “identifying the total amount of money required for implementing each phase of the project and thus effective cost management becomes paramount, while project cost management aims at ensuring that the identified project is executed within the estimated budget” (Rad & Revin 2003, p. 116). In a bid to undertake cost management effectively, a number of elements, which include resource planning, cost estimation, cost budgeting and cost control should be taken into account.

The budget should identify the total cost of implementing the respective elements of the project. The project manager should ensure that the cost of undertaking various activities is maintained within the set budget. In a bid achieve this objective, a comprehensive cost control should be undertaken (Westland 2007). The chart below illustrates the total estimated cost of hosting the training event in India. From the chart 1, it is evident that accommodation constitutes the largest proportion of the total cost. Similarly, chart 2 illustrates the total cost of holding the training event in Australia. In the course of implementing the project, the project manager cannot avoid the occurrence of cost deviation. In a bid to prevent such occurrences, the project manager will implement a comprehensive cost control mechanism. One of the factors that will be incorporated to ensure satisfactory cost control entails auditing the various cost elements to factor in any possible deviations.

Figure 3: The estimated cost of holding the training event in AustraliaMy intention as the project manager is to ensure that IBNOVO’s top management team implements the above project charter. Its approval will contribute towards a high level of employee satisfaction, which emanates from the fact that a high level of congruency between the implemented IT technology and the respective employee tasks will be developed. The training program will enhance transformation of the employee’s perception of the IT technology. Additionally, the training program will contribute towards changing the employees’ perception regarding change such as mergers and acquisition.

Reference List

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