I-Crop Project Management

This article discusses the project management for I-Crop project, including team details, project description, team charter, communication plan, and more. The project aims to develop an internet-based application that connects growers with buyers, eases management of operations, and sells warehoused grains. The team consists of four members with different skills and responsibilities. The communication plan includes regular meetings with stakeholders to understand their requirements and ensure that the application is developed in accordance with the specification. The article also discusses the code of ethics and rules and expectations for the team members.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
I-Crop Project Management
University/Affiliation
Student ID
Student Name
Lecturer Name

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Part 1
1.1 Project name: I-Crop Project Management
1.2 Team details:
Team Name: SmartTech IT Group
First Name Last Name Mobile Email
1.3 Background to the Project Overview
There is a rapid change in business activities, for instance, most companies have
upgraded their systems from standalone to internet based, therefore; enhancing
communication between management and their customers (Paterno, 2012). Internet-based
applications are vital, for instance, a company can automate its activities, therefore;
enhancing easy management of operations (Ra et al., 2011). Besides, it can also enable a
company management to communicate effectively to its customers through recent
technologies such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), therefore, maintaining its
customers and increasing sales (Ernst, Hoyer, Krafft & Krieger, 2011). However, there are
some factors that should be considered prior to incorporating IT solutions, for instance,
choosing best vendors is one of the factors that need to be considered as there are several
vendors such as IBM (Watson, 2014). A company can evaluate different vendors depending

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
on its previous experience more so focusing on how its solutions were implemented and
whether a given company can develop a quality application. Regarding Globex company,
which is found in Riverina Region of NSW, has contracted most of its application
development projects to Virtucon. Currently, Virtucon has been contracted to develop an
internet-based application referred to as I-Crop. My team, which has four members, has been
assigned to develop proposed application. Hence, this paper has described entire processes
that we followed while developing proposed application.
1.4 Project Description
Project description is vital as it forms a basis for developing specification. It consists
of detailed description on how proposed system should work, including transactions that can
be supported. Therefore, any company must come up with preliminary description in respect
to proposed application. The first step of writing project description is defining problems
encountered and consequently, explaining explicitly how proposed application can solve
situation at hand. Regarding Globex Corporation, there are some reasons for developing
proposed system, for instance, there is a need of connecting growers with buyers through
proposed application, easing management of operations and selling warehoused grains.
Apart from selling warehoused grains, Globex also buys grains.
Other than describing problems that need to be solved, Globex has also defined
transactions regarding proposed application and ways on which it can solve problems as it is
a new application rather than replacing existing application. I-crop application consists of
several features such as offer and bid transactions. Concerning offers, I-crop will allow
sellers to set their cash price, and afterwards, potential customers can accept offers that have
been placed. Similarly, buyers can list their preferred cash prize, and afterwards, growers or

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sellers can view and sell their grains. Listing of cash price is called as bids. Therefore, offers
and bids cannot be separated, thus working hand in hand.
Apart from offers, I-crop will also enable sellers and growers to list their preferred
buyers, therefore; selling grains to trusted buyers. Besides, I-crop will not support both bids
and offers that were placed for previous seasons, thus supporting seasonal sales.
Furthermore, it will enhance availability of information such as contact details about grain
silo sites though only limited for those ones that are registered. Moreover, I-crop will be
implemented as both a mobile application and website, therefore; supporting a range of
users. Although clients are not supposed to pay any subscription fee to download the
application, but normal network charges will apply. In addition, a client will be informed
incase high internet connectivity may be required for updating information on a certain page
because businesses are dynamic, thus offers and bids are likely to change from time to time.
Regarding miscellaneous features, user’s interphase will enable a client to download
summaries of a given page using ‘printing option’ button. Besides, any client can be a seller
or a buyer concurrently, which will be made possible using one login system.
1.4 Team charter:
Skills & knowledge
inventory
Member 1 <leadership skills such as communication skills,
motivation, trustworthiness, responsibility, respect,
commitment and flexibility, project management
skills such as risk management, negotiation and
planning, programming skills such as structured
thinking, knowledge of software used in designing
such as AutoCAD and photoshop, knowledge of

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system development processes such as
requirements and testing (Claro et al., 2012)>
Member 2 <Writing skills such as excellent grammar and
familiarity of technical terms used in IT,
designing skills such as creativity and design
strategies, knowledge in data analysis methods
such as graphical analysis, knowledge of
interpreting collected data, knowledge of Unified
Modelling Language (UML), Knowledge of
UML software such as starUML and ArgoUML
(Claro et al., 2012)>
Member3 <Listening skills such as demonstrating concern,
writing skills such as excellent spelling to avoid
issues related to ambiguity and clear
understanding of information, knowledge of
software that are used in design, for example,
AutoCAD, knowledge of programming languages
such as C# (Claro et al., 2012)>
Member4 <technical skills such as improvement,
observation and priorities, evaluation skills such
as critical thinking and research, knowledge of
recent technologies such as ERP, CRM and cloud
computing, knowledge of software that are used
in database development such as MySQL and

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oracle (Claro et al., 2012)>
Roles and Responsibilities Member 1 <Delegating duties and responsibilities to other
team members, determining team goals, keeping
track of all processes, thus ensuring that quality
application has been developed, taking charge in
case there are problems encountered such as
financial constraints and schedule overruns
(Whatley, 2012)>
Member 2 <Involved in entire process of collecting
requirements from relevant stakeholders of
Globex company, and afterwards, developing
specification, analyzing collected data, and,
afterwards, determining if it will be implemented
successfully using i-Crop application, involved in
drawing UML diagrams using software such as
starUML and ArgoUML, involved in planning
and identifying tasks that should to be performed
such as software design (Devolder, Vanderlinde,
Braak & Tondeur, 2010)>
Member 3 <Developing solutions in case there are issues or
problems related to functionality of developed
application, informing ICT project manager
regarding work progress, keeping track of all
designing processes (Whatley, 2012)>

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Member 4 <Assisting in measuring performance of
developed system, ensuring that recent
technologies such as CRM and ERP systems have
been integrated properly, ensuring that database
and servers are functioning correctly, assessing
overall functionality of developed system,
involved in user and release testing (Devolder et
al., 2010)>
Team communications Week-5 9am-6pm. Motel 24.
Week-6 3pm-10pm. Globe Apartments.
Week-7 8am-4pm. Albury Manor House.
Communication and sharing methods; google
hangouts and skype (Tang, Wei & Kawal, 2012).
Team rules &
expectations (team values,
code of ethics, rules &
expectations)
Team values <Commitment, dependability, reliability, respect,
positivity, teamwork (Warren & Lucas, 2016)>
Code of ethics <Developing achievable goals, understand
requirements of proposed application, use of
appropriate methodology, ensure that application
is tested properly, apply standard charges, inform
Globex management concerning any dangers
associated with developed application, maintain
confidentiality (Carsten, 2011)>
Rules and
expectations
<All team members are required to respect others
including stakeholders, team members are

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required to be transparent, team members should
deliver assigned tasks within a specified time
frame, team members should be genuine while
sharing ideas, Team members are free to ask any
clarifications, Team members should correct
others in a better way that can enhance mutual
discussion (McDermid, 2015)>
previous experience as
team
Member1 I’ve identified some positive and negative impacts
of working as a team member such as enhancing
collaboration and resulting in conflicts
respectively. Teamwork aims at development of
new ideas as well as sharing of information, thus
increasing productivity.
membe
r
Member 2 I’ve worked previously as a team member, and
afterwards, identified some of its positive and
negative impacts such as enhancing collective
ownership and encouraging laziness respectively.
Member 3 From my experience, I’ve identified some of the
positive and negative impacts associated with
working as a team member such as development of
a quality application and time consuming
respectively.
Member 4 I’ve worked previously as a team member, and
afterwards, identified some of its positive and
negative impacts such as enhancing innovation

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and communication breakdowns respectively.
Signatures Member1 <>
Member2 <>
Member3 <>
Member4 <>
Part 2
Week-5 Organiser Scribe
What should be done?
Determining total costs that
will be incurred for
developing i-Crop
application, identify and
analyze requirements
collected through
Requirement Engineering.
(RE) (Abrahamsson, Salo,
Ronkainen & Warsta, 2017).
What was done?
We estimated costs that will
be incurred by Globex
company for development of
i-Crop application to 2000
U.S dollars. However, an
addition of 1000 U.S. will be
required to purchase
necessary infrastructure.
Thus, we approximated total
costs for development and
implementation of i–Crop to
3000 U.S. dollars. Also, we
interacted with relevant
stakeholders and afterwards,
developed specification.

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Diagrammatic representation
of requirements collected by
UML diagrams using
software such as ArgoUML.
Week-6 Organiser Scribe
What should be done?
Designing application using
project management
methodologies such as agile
and waterfall. Choosing best
programming language that
can be used to develop a
quality software.
(Abrahamsson et al., 2017).
What was done?
We developed i-Crop using
both agile and waterfall
methodologies. Besides, we
written codes using C# and
android programming
language
alongside other languages.
Moreover, we executed codes
using android studio
alongside other software.
Week-7 Organiser Scribe
What should be done?
Configuration of all
individual components,
selecting best platform for
creating database, testing
application that was
What was done?
We integrated individual
components to form i-Crop
application, developed
MySQL database, and
afterwards, connected with i-

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developed; both users and
release testing (Bhuvaneswari
& Prabaharan, 2013).
Crop application. We tested
i-Crop properly through
generation of test cases from
data that was entered by
customers.
Part 3
3.1 Communication Plan
Stakeholder
name
Information
to be shared
Frequency of
information
exchange
Location of
information
exchange
Purpose of
communication
Mechanism
(hard copy,
PDF, PPT,
DOC)
Who what when Where Why How
Business
analyst (Eva,
Hindle, Paul,
Rollaston &
Tudor, 2014).
Software
requirements
Held
meetings
weekly.
Motel 24 To understand
real needs of
Globex; including
ways on which it
carries on its day-
to-day business
operations,
learning much on
business models
that are
DOC

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currently used in
Globex company
and
understanding
how proposed
application can
improve ways on
which operations
are carried out.
System
designers
(Abelein,
Sharp &
Paech, 2013).
System
designs
Held
meetings
after every
two weeks
The
Houston
Wagga
Understanding
information
related to a plan
that shows
guidelines, which
should be
followed while
developing i-
Crop, ensuring
that application
has been
developed in
accordance with
specification and
understanding
recent
PPT

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technologies that
should be
incorporated.
Security
administrators
(Thomas,
Gorman, Beal
& Wilson,
2011).
Security of i-
Crop
Held
meetings
monthly
Globe
Apartments
Understanding
security
mechanisms that
should be
incorporated into
developed
application,
ensuring that
database and
servers are
working
correctly,
ensuring that i-
Crop is secured
against attacks
and ensuring that
proper measures
have been
undertaken
aiming at
preventing
anticipated risks
PDF

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from occurring.
Operational
team
(Wallach &
Scholz,
2012).
Configuration
of individual
components
and overall
functionality
details
Held a
meeting after
two months
Victoria
hotel
Ensuring that
developed
application is
functioning
properly,
ascertaining that
different
information
systems have
been integrated
correctly such as
ERP and CRM
systems,
evaluating
performance of i-
Crop by
measuring its
response time as
well as time taken
before server has
replied to
different requests
and loading
PPT

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pages.
Part 4
4.1 Reflection
Leadership Qualities to Successfully Lead a Project
I’ve lead some teams and realized that a project manager should be equipped with
some leadership skills to make the entire development process a success (Keil, Lee & Deng,
2013). For instance, communication skill is very important as it can enable a project
manager to describe explicitly project objectives. Therefore, a project manager is required to
master different communication forms, for example, full-staff and phone calls respectively.
Also, a project manager should also be equipped with motivation skills, which can enable
him/her to inspire other team members (Sunindijo, 2015). There exist several methods that
can be used to motivate team members such as providing rewards and mentoring. Besides,
leaders should also have delegating skills, for instance, most leaders fear to assign duties to
their employers and keeps on working on them. Delegating tasks can enable a project
manager to identify strengths and weaknesses of other members. Furthermore, positivity is
an important leadership skill that can enable a project manager to have hopes that everything
will go on well despite some challenges encountered. Moreover, accountability skills can
enhance trustworthiness, therefore; encouraging team members to ask for clarification when
the need arises (Sunindijo, 2015).
Techniques, Skills, Methods Required for a Project Manager in IT
Other than leadership skills, I’ve also identified different techniques, methods and
skills, which can be used in leading ICT projects, therefore, knowledge of methods cannot

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be an option to a project manager rather a necessity. For instance, agile methodology can
assist project manage to plan activities properly (Balaji & Murugaiyan, 2012). It enhances
involvement of stakeholders in the entire process involved for development of a system.
Therefore, incorporation of ideas of stakeholders results in development of a high-quality
system. It’s used widely because of sprint principle, which facilitates accommodation of
necessary changes at any stages of system development life cycle. Also, waterfall
methodology can be used to lead a project (Balaji & Murugaiyan, 2012). It’s convenient for
leading larger and complex projects rather than small projects. Activities are carried out
sequentially. All tasks required for developing an application are listed ranging from
requirements collection to maintenance. The main disadvantage of waterfall methodology is
that changes cannot be made at any stage till completion. Apart from waterfall and agile
methodologies, there are other methodologies though rarely used, for example, scrum, which
is made up of different values such as respect and lean methodology, which minimizes waste
(Balaji & Murugaiyan, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, SDLC consists of four main stages; specification, development,
validation and evolution, therefore; understanding all processes involved is much important
as it provides guidance while developing any application. Regarding development of i-Crop
application, I ensured that all processes were followed strictly. For instance, we collected
requirements from relevant stakeholders such as business analyst and system administrator
of Globex Corporation. Apart from requirements collection, we developed i-Crop
application in accordance with specification using programming languages such as C# and
android programming for website and mobile application respectively, and afterwards,

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several stakeholders participated in testing i-Crop, for example, operational team and
security administrator of Globex Corp.
The entire process was completed successfully as we specified some code of ethics,
rules and values that each member was to adhere strictly. For instance, the following are
some of the values that we specified; commitment, dependability and reliability, while code
of ethics included the following; understanding requirements of proposed application, use of
appropriate methodology, ensure that application is tested properly and informing Globex
management concerning any dangers associated with developed application. On the other
hand, all team members were required to respect others including stakeholders and being
transparent were some of the specified rules. However, few problems encountered include;
time consuming and communication breakages.
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