Executive Summary
Transport Integration project (TRIP) is a system which required to be implemented in NSW Transport in order to improve the current service which currently running approximately 300 train stations, 30 ferries and 5000 buses within the Sydney area. Therefore, there is a need of creating a detailed project plan for the TRIP system in order to start developing an effective and efficient planning. However, this project report will have three main sections to help management consider appropriate steps in finalizing the project proposal through stating the technical, functional, and operational specifications.
The first section will give an Introduction and the document purpose following by the second section which will detail how the TRIP system will be decomposed and planned showing a number of goals to be completed in this stage. The third section of the report details the preliminary project management activities and estimation analysis for all tasks identified in the previous stages. Finally, recommendations are provided to the senior management in order to stress on some issues. These recommendations involve various aspects such project management skills and interpersonal skills.
Overview
Introduction
Transport Integration Project (TRIP) is a multipart project. Therefore, it requires a deep analysis and decomposition in order to be completed successfully. This report will address how the TRIP system will be decomposed and planned showing a number of goals to be completed. In addition, the system has been broken into a set of smaller tasks to be easily handling the project in order to ensure the outcomes are correct.
Moreover, the report will have a risk analysis highlighting a number of risks, which may rise while the project is being developed. The paper discusses the risks from various points. It categorizes the risks in terms of their likelihood, impact, and exposure to indicate their significance. In addition, the report explains how to avoid these issues by showing strategies. A critical path calculation is carried out in this document in order to determine the most sensitive tasks, which may have considerable effects on the project scheduling, which indeed may lead to negative consequences for the project. Such process plays a significant role in the decision-making process throughout the project life.
Finally, recommendations are provided in order to stress some issues. These recommendations involve various aspects such as project management skills and interpersonal skills. For example, the project management skills may include arranging regular meetings with clients to solve issues, monitoring the project progress, and solving problems which may arise unexpectedly whereas interpersonal skills may involve the effective and efficient communications between team leaders, staff and project managers.
Overview of the Project
The purpose of this report is to implement (TRIP) system into the transport system to ensure the integration of technologies and operates with buses, local trains, ferries and light-rail transport systems, hence providing a synergetic change in the commuter world. The system is beneficial in terms of reducing time wastage and uncertainty, minimizing operational costs, fuel consumption and emissions as well as congestion in traffic, increasing user safety, enhancing accessibility of the transport system, environmental quality, traffic and energy efficiency and also economic productivity (Central Institute of Road Transport 2010, p. 77).
This is will be a result of that TRIP system will consist of such central components as real time passenger information system, core control station, and vehicle tracking system. Technologies to be involved include information and communication technology, Geographical Positioning System, communication subsystem, electronic display system, incident & emergency management system, operational & maintenance system. Services comprise reporting, streaming, database, archival and GIS services as well as travel demand management.
Statement and Short Discussion of the Project’s Measurable Organizational Value (MOV)
Improved productivity
The users will improve their productivity time without time wastage at bus stops. Efficient time management can be achieved through reducing time spent by passengers who stand in queues to buy tickets. Automated system will contribute greatly to the development of an effective productivity.
Reduced congestion
The dissemination of information to all stakeholders will initiate steps that will help users avoid areas of accidents and dense traffic. Automated approach to travelling can also ensure greater control of highways and road abstract with high risk of traffic jam. Transports concerns are also connected with introduction of computerized system of controlling movement of public transport.
Reduced travel time
TRIP will enable redirection of vehicles in case of emergencies, hence helping commuters reach their destination in the pre-determined time. As soon as the problem of traffic congestion is removed, the travel time will also be reduced, which also contributes to the quality of transportation of passengers and loads.
Reduced accidents
Increased training and two-way communication between drivers and operation colleagues will minimize accidents due to the utilization of incident management criteria in the TRIP system.
Efficient and effective public transport
TRIP system will ensure an effective transport management and real-time dispatch of information to passengers, regarding bus services.
Decreased emission levels
The number of vehicles will be decreased, hence reducing the level of emissions. The regulation of transport routs can provide more perspectives for improving the efficiency and eliminating other types of transport that are less efficient.
Increased satisfaction among tourists
TRIP will improve integration and coordination that will increase the number of tourist visiting Sydney.
A definition of the project scope
Including specific requirements traceability and requirements assumptions
Identification of a Minimum of Two Systems Development Life Cycle Alternatives
Within the context of waterfall methodology, the project management should be composed of the following stages: introduction of requirements, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance. The main advantage of the waterfall methodology lies in its linear model and simplicity in application. In addition, each stage of methodology is accompanied by reporting and, therefore, the project managers can guarantee accuracy and consistency.
The main disadvantage of the methodology lies in lack of possibilities for introducing changes in case of even minor problems. (CMS, 2008). This methodology is highly appropriate when the project’s goals and objectives are clear and its requirements are stable which is suitable since all the specifications are already determined. To overcome the insufficient experience in the project management field and the complexity, the waterfall ensures avoidance of any problems, which could rise as result of lack of experience. Consequently, this helps develop software, which meet all the requirements.
The second methodology is Extreme Programming (XP), which is a software development methodology. XP helps to reduce the change cost of the software development process by having a short development cycle. In addition, as a type of Agile methodology in the testing phase, XP will ensure high quality by early defect detection and resolution and also it helps to understand the basic elements of the project.
On the other hand, XP is a good methodology only for large projects because of XP focusing on the code rather than on design development. So the best alternative for developing (TRIP) is waterfall methodology. The reason behind our selection in addition to its features is to ensure all our project requirements are met effectively.
The main advantage of EX methodology is confined to manager’s possibility to focus on coding and avoid paperwork. The main disadvantage of EX methodology consists in its orientation on coding rather than on design, which especially important for the project management.
Specific Project Management Planning and Control Strategies to Be Used
Hint: Refer to Lecture Notes and tutorial workshop activates for approach.
Stakeholder Identification, Management and Planning
One of the key factors in project success is managing stakeholder expectations and effectively managing their needs and wants. In terms of the NSW TRIP project, we have approached four processes in how to effectively manage stakeholders. The four processes of managing stakeholders are discussed below.
Identify Stakeholders
Stakeholders are individuals, groups or organisations with a stake/claim in a project’s outcome. Generally, not all stakeholders will have the same objectives and motivations for a project. The first process of managing stakeholders is to identify them. We, at PMP Consultants, identify stakeholders based on their types over the project, i.e. internal and external.
Internal stakeholders are those stakeholders that are internal to the project team. In simple words, they are the people who are committed to serving the project as board members, staff, and volunteers. On the other hand, external stakeholders are those stakeholders that either have direct and indirect involvement with the project but are not employed directly by the organisation.
Analyse Stakeholders
This process involves in developing a tabular list of relevant stakeholders with interest in the NSW TRIP project. The following five points list down the ways on how stakeholders for the NSW TRIP project are analysed:
- Stakeholder’s interest in the project.
- Stakeholder’s influence in the project.
- Role for each stakeholder.
- Stakeholder’s objective towards the project.
- Strategy for each stakeholder.
With the above checklist, a simplified Stakeholder Analysis chart has been developed to summarise the above five points (see Appendix 1 – Stakeholder Analysis).
Priorities Stakeholders
Once the stakeholder analysis has been achieved, their influence and interest must be prioritised to see how they sit in the project. In this case, we use two charts to prioritise stakeholders’ influence and interest.
Communication Needs, Management and Planning
The importance of communication in the success of a project is immense. Careful communication planning and setting the right expectations with all the project stakeholders is extremely important. We, at PMP Consultant, believe that successful project requires successful communication. Therefore, we have stressed five major questions that provide a communication baseline for the project. The following five questions are as follows:
- How will the information be stored?
- What information goes to whom, how often, and how?
- Who can access the information?
- Who will update/keep current the information?
- What method/media of communication is best?
With these questions in mind, we define a Communication Management strategy, in the form of a table, that summarises the above five questions into one single output. See Appendix 2 – Communication Analysis for detail.
Scope Management
Scope management becomes one of the key activities in project management. Good scope management ensures that all the work required, and only the work required to complete the project, is included in the project. Ensuring effective scope management is a challenging task. In this section, we divide scope management into four processes.
Define Scope
The first step is the most critical process in the success of the NSW TRIP project, as it requires the development of a detailed projectdescription to include deliverables, assumptions, and constraints and establishes the framework within which project work must be performed. In defining scope, we use the Scope Management template (see Appendix 3 – Scope) that provide a comprehensive description of the project and its deliverables which includes the following:
- In Scope items.
- Out of Scope items.
- External Dependencies.
- Assumptions.
- Constraints.
Verify Scope
This process discusses how the deliverables will be verified against the original scope and how the deliverables from the project will be formally accepted. The deliverables for the project should be formally accepted and signed off on by the stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project and not held back as a single deliverable at the end of the project. In verifying scope, we have structured this process into three steps, which will ensure that project work remains within the scope of the project on a consistent basis. The three steps are as follow:
- As this project progresses, the Project Manager will verify interim project deliverables against the original scope as defined in the Scope template and the WBS.
- The Project Manager and the NSW Transport Board members will meet for formal acceptance of the deliverable.
- The NSW Transport Board members accept the deliverable by signing a project deliverable acceptance document (see Appendix 4 – Deliverable Acceptance Document).
Control Scope
Scope control is the process of monitoring the status of the scope of the project. This section also details the change process for making changes to the scope baseline.
The Project Manager and the project team will work together to control the scope of the project. The project team will leverage the WBS by using it as a statement of work for each WBS element. The project team will ensure that they perform only the work described in the WBS and generate the defined deliverables for each WBS element.
If a change to the project scope is needed, the process of recommending changes to the scope of the project must be carried out. Any project team member or sponsor can request changes to the project scope. All change requests must be submitted to the Project Manager in the form of a Project Change Request document (see Appendix 5 – Project Change Request document). The Project Manager will then review the suggested change to the scope of the project. After this process, the Project Manager will then either reject the change request if it does not apply to the intent of the project or convince a change control meeting to review the change request further and perform an impact analysis of the change.
Risk Management Identification and Planning
Risk management is another critical project management plan to be emphasised. In regards to the NSW TRIP project, risk management establishes the framework in which the project team will identify risks and develop strategies to mitigate or avoid those risks. However, before risks can be identified and managed, there are preliminary project elements, which must be completed. These elements are outlined in the four approaches below.
Identify Risks
Risk identification involves in examining all elements of risk against the four risk categories identified. In identifying a risk, mix of knowledge, experience, and lateral thinking will be applied to determine:
- What can happen?
- How can it happen?
- What is the likelihood of it happening?
- What will be the impact if it happens?
These four questions will be presented in a Risk Register (see Appendix 6 – Risk Register).
Analyse Risks
This step in the process involves analysing the likelihood and impact of each identified risk, to determine its severity, and ensure that relevant actions can then be implemented. To assist the analysis process, the High/Medium/Low rating scale will be used, Through the use of the rating scale, a clear picture of the risk degrees associated with each risk can be identified allowing us and other stakeholders to prioritise resource usage to manage the most critical risks. The rating scales are detailed below:
Evaluate Risks
The risk evaluation step involves in deciding whether the identified risk rating is acceptable, after considering:
- The controls already in place;
- The cost impact of managing the risks or leaving them untreated;
- Benefits and opportunities presented by the risk;
- The risks borne by other stakeholders.
During this process, the risk rating identified during the analysis step, is compared against all other risks. Any risks that have been accorded a rating that is “inappropriate” are adjusted with a record of the adjustment being retained for tracking purposes.
The outcome is a list of risks, with agreed priority ratings, recorded in the Risk Register.
Monitor Risks
Regular monitoring and review of risks is an important part of the NSW TRIP project. It ensures that new risks are detected, added to the Risk Register, managed and that action plans are implemented and progressed effectively. The monitoring and review strategies include:
- Risk Management will be a standard agenda item for Board meetings. Under this item, the Risk Register will be reviewed along with any new or updated supporting Summary Risk Reports prepared by the Project Manager (see Appendix 7 – Risk Report)
- The Project Manager will monitor day-to-day progression of the risk evaluation recorded in the Risk Register with Project Teams via regular meetings.
Quality Management Strategy and Planning
Quality Planning
Quality planning involves in identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and determining how to satisfy them. It is one of the key facilitating processes during project planning and should be performed regularly and in parallel with the other project planning process.
With Quality Planning, we define a Quality Planning template (see Appendix) to determine what quality standards should be used to ensure the NSW TRIP project scope delivery fulfils stakeholders’ needs. There are three components that are assessed under Quality Planning template. These are:
- Review Area – they key project deliverables and processes subject to quality review;
- Quality Measure – the quality standards that are measured to determine a successful outcome for a deliverable;
- Evaluation Methods – includes the quality control and quality assurance activities that monitor and verify the processes used to manage the deliverables.
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is all the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality system to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant standards. It involves in providing quality audit to project processes to meet quality standards, which can improve performance of the NSW TRIP project.
We have used a Quality Assurance template (see Appendix) to produce quality project deliverables as well as preventing project defects. There are five components that are assessed under the Quality Assurance template. These are:
- Project Process – the project process(es) subject to quality assurance;
- Quality Standards/Expectations – the quality standards and stakeholder expectations for the associated project process;
- Quality Assurance Activity – activities that will be executed to monitor that project processes are properly followed e.g. quality audit and code review;
- Frequency/Interval – describes how often the quality assurance activity will be performed;
- Person Responsible – the name of the person responsible for carrying out and reporting on the quality assurance activity.
Quality Control
Quality control is a process that involves in thoroughly examining and testing the quality of products or the results of services. In simple words, quality control focuses on identifying project defects.
In terms of the TRIP integrated system, we have developed a Quality Control template which would help the project team in the future to evaluate the project results met the specified requirements and characteristics. Same as the Quality Assurance template, there are five components under the Quality Control template. These are:
- Project Process – the project process(es) subject to quality control;
- Quality Standards/Expectations – the quality standards and stakeholder expectations for the associated project process;
- Quality Assurance Activity – activities that will be executed to monitor that project processes are properly followed;
- Frequency/Interval – describes how often the quality assurance activity will be performed;
- Person Responsible – the name of the person responsible for carrying out and reporting on the quality assurance activity.
Project Monitoring and Control Strategy
Another important aspect in project management is providing continuous monitoring and controls over the project. The core purpose of project monitoring and controlling is to provide an understanding of the project’s progress so that appropriate corrective actions can be taken when the project’s performance deviates from the plan.
In terms of the NSW TRIP project, we have divided the monitoring and control strategy into five different components. These are:
- Stakeholder Management – providing continuous stakeholder monitoring and controlling is dependent on their type for the project. The Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Analysis on Appendix provide a detailed description on how they are managed.
- Communication Management – the Communication Analysis table provides comprehensive information about the communications that are being generated within this project.
- Scope Management – scope are controlled through Change Request. The Change Request can be internal or external. Controlling scope via Change Request is done through formal meeting (as described on Communication Analysis) or through a Project Change Request document (see Appendix).
- Risk Management – monitoring risks can be referred to section Monitor Risks under Risk Management.
- Quality Management – controlling Quality can be referred to section Quality Control under Quality Management.