Comprehensive Analysis of the JAMES Project's Project Management Plan

This document presents a critical analysis of the Project Management Plan (PMP) for the JAMES project, which aims to integrate smart card technology into the automotive industry. The analysis examines various sections of the PMP, including the introduction, organization, and managerial and technical approach, identifying both strengths and weaknesses. The report highlights the importance of a well-structured PMP for project success, comparing the JAMES project's PMP to the PMBOK guide, and pointing out omissions such as detailed cost estimates, clear project objectives, and comprehensive risk management plans. The analysis underscores the need for improvements to align the PMP with industry standards and ensure effective project execution, providing insights into creating a more robust and complete PMP for future projects. The report also critiques the lack of clarity in certain sections, such as the managerial objectives and the choice of the project development model, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, detailed planning, and adherence to established project management principles. This analysis serves as a guide for improving the design and implementation of future PMPs, ensuring they meet the required standards for successful project completion.

PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
About the document
The document explained here is a critical analysis of a Project Management Plan. The project
that has been elucidated in the PMP is the JAMES project, which describes the introduction of
the smart card technology into the automotive industry. The Project Management Plan
elaborates on the different sections that the JAMES project intends to do. The document also
serves as a guide for the resources for a complete and timely delivery of the project. By
definition, a Project management Plan is a proper, authorized document that explains how the
project has to be executed and supervised. Considering the case study of the JAMES project,
and having gone through the PMP, it has been inferred that the document misses on certain
vital sections that are mandatory on PMP documents. Some basic flaws while creating the
document has been listed out. A detailed study has been carried out on the different sections
of the given project. The various points that a PMP document has been reviewed and the main
points that the document has omitted has been recorded. An intense scrutiny has also been
made of similar PMP documents. While verifying and comparing with other PMP documents,
of the same category and classification, a number of discrepancies has been found out. The
limitations and the drawbacks of the document has been listed out by comparing it to the
PMBOK guide, which serves as an accepted and universal standard while creating similar
documents. The critical review document will give better insight to the different sections of a
Project Management Plan and how it should be designed in future according to the PMBOK
standards. This document would aid in overcoming the limitations of the existing PMP and
come out with an improved version which could meet the standards of a complete PMP.
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
Contents
About the document..............................................................................................................2
What is a Project Management Plan?....................................................................................4
Analysis of the JAMES Project.............................................................................................5
Introduction Section...........................................................................................................5
Organization Section.........................................................................................................6
Managerial and technical Approach Section.....................................................................7
Conclusion:........................................................................................................................9
References...........................................................................................................................10
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
What is a Project Management Plan?
The Project Management Plan (PMP) is a formal and agreed upon document that is
used to manage the project execution according to a stringent and established plan. A PMP
determines the different steps that are absolutely necessary to sequentially coordinate the
activities of a project, so that it meets the different standards for quality. The Pso that it
It gives a detailed analysis of the different steps that has to be carried out for the successful
completion of the project. These steps are further monitored and controlled by the project
leads, which ensures a timely delivery that meets the cost constraints too. The PMP also acts
as a guide to ensure that the project meets all the closing criterions as per the requirements.
While developing a project, the important thing that has to be adhered to is that the project
never exceeds the budget or the time schedule that has been mentioned in the PMP. If all the
steps are followed as per the PMP, then it will be guaranteed that the project would be
meeting all the requirements and would be completed successfully. An exhaustive and
organized PMP with no flaws would build the confidence of the stakeholders. There are few
sections in a PMP that would give assurance to the sponsor that the project would be
completed without interruptions or any unexpected stumbling blocks. The Risk Management
and Mitigation Plans in a PMP are a few sections that belong to this category. A standardized
PMP would also fill in the role of a communication channel between the stakeholders and the
Project Manager, as the level of understanding that a detailed document like a PMP could
give provide to either parties is extensive.
The JAMES Project, which is explained in the given PMP puts forward an idea of
using a smart card in the automotive industry. Smart cards have been widely used in different
sectors but the use of a smart card in the automotive industry is relatively contemporary and
innovative. The inclusion of a chip that is intelligent enough to enhance the security aspects
and improve the capabilities in different ways would give the company, Mercedes Benz an
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
advantage over its contemporaries. The use of the smart card in the automotive industry
would be immensely helpful as it could provide solutions to a variety of problems and
shortcomings. The PMP for the JAMES project analyzes the different aspects that have to be
taken care of, for the completion of the project. The project aims at coming out with a
simulation of the requirements which is intended to include the smart card capabilities to an
automobile. A very detailed analysis is given about the various capabilities that can be
introduced into the vehicle and the industry itself, with the help of the smart card. A few of
the capabilities mentioned in the PMP are authentication of a particular customer, having a
log about the maintenance history of the vehicle, having a map to guide through trips and
locating the vehicle on the map etc. The project is intended to be implemented on a Mercedes
Benz car simulator, which would be provided by the R & D division.
.
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
Analysis of the JAMES Project
The PMP for the JAMES project is a formal document that briefly explains how the
project has been carried out systematically, analyzed and how it has to be controlled. This is a
concise report of a bigger document that mentions the regulations and management plans used
to create an outline for the project. The Project Management Plan is supposed to provide a
very structured methodology prior to the implementation of the project. A great deal of
rational and logical thinking has to go in before any plan that provides a structured objective
(Kerzner 2002). As the stakes of the project rises, there is a necessity to achieve more
strategic results (Meredith and Mantel, 2011).
Introduction Section
The introduction section of the PMP explains the use of smart cards in the automotive
industry. The facilities provided by a smart card would be added features apart from the core
functionalities that are normally provided. It is a known fact that a smart card could provide
additional security in financial transactions and other services (Dreifus and Monk, 1998). The
JAMES project explores the ways by which a chip card’s intelligence could be integrated into
the services provided by the company, Mercedes Benz. Some of the core areas that the
JAMES project intends to address in the automotive industry are physical mobility, financial
transactions and their security, and telecommunications.
Though the aims and scope of the project are elucidated in the PMP, few things lack
clarity in the document. It is unclear why the project has been named the JAMES project.
There is a lack of a logical co relation between the name of the project and its objectives. It is
also unclear what the motivation behind the project was, or why the smart card technology
was chosen to be integrated with the automotive industry. The usage of certain terms like
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
‘physical mobility’ and ‘mental mobility’ does not seem to be very articulate within the
context.
The introduction section does not include a cost estimate of the project. Other major
details such as the name, title and contact information about the sponsor is missing. Neither
the details about a backup contact person has been mentioned. Instead of acknowledging the
Team leader and member details in the introduction section, the document lists out this
information after the Project Responsibilities section. The name of the PM is also omitted, as
well as the contact numbers of the rest of the team members.
The deliverables section lists out the different items that will be produced by the
JAMES system. But the shortcoming here is that they are not separated into different job
categories that are assigned to different PM’s. The job assignments are done towards the end
of the document and the references given are not in the APA format.
Organization Section
The Organization Chart for the JAMES Project diagrammatically represents the
structure of the Organization, and the inter relation between the different roles within the
Organization. It also denotes the hierarchical position of the different roles (Molina, 2001).
The Organization chart for the JAMES project is designed in such a way that it keeps the
record of the different processes and the roles assigned to each resources. The chart also
details about the group of associates that actively takes part in the project, and how these
members interrelate with each other during the continuation of the project.
The Responsibility Assignment Matrix, is used to denote the different levels of
responsibility for the different resources for the planning, integration and finalization of the
project. The project is divided into different responsibilities that are to be achieved by
different roles (Melnic and Puiu, 2011).
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
The reason for the assignment of the responsibilities to the roles is that there may be
instances when a single role would be filled out by multiple persons. The JAMES Project
PMP subdivides the entire system into the following teams. The logbook assistant, the
maintenance assistant, the travel assistant, the VIP assistant, the simulator team and the user
interface. In the given PMP, the project responsibilities are sub divided into two responsibility
assignment matrices. The first matrix assigns the team leaders for the different stages during
the SDLC. The second matrix assigns the roles for the different tasks. On review, it would be
better to design a Responsibility Assignment Matrix that assigns a particular role to a level of
responsibility. The details of the two Responsibility Assignment Matrices could be joined into
one which would make it less complicated and easier for the reader to understand.
Managerial and technical Approach Section
The managerial objective of the JAMES system states that the intention of the PMP is
to provide a hands on experience for the students to get the technical and managerial aspects
of the system. The document further states that the emphasis is on team work. This objective
seems to be vague and lacks in direction towards a realistic goal. There seems to be no fixed
objective that the Management intends to achieve with the help of the JAMES system. A good
managerial objective would have a firm, measurable outcome that has fixed priorities listed
out and ways to attain them. The PMP lists out the different constraints and assumptions as
mentioned by the management. These provide preconditions to be taken care of, before the
project is initialized.
The monitoring and controlling mechanism of the PMP does not list out the
monitoring strategies during the projects progress on the change control procedures. The
document just mentions about the minutes to be kept and the baseline documents to be
reviewed. The information is inadequate and misses out on vital details like monthly or
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
quarterly status reviews. The risk management section of the PMP describes the different risk
factors of the different teams and the contingency plans for each team. But the section misses
out important documents like the Risk register and the Risk Probability/ Impact matrix.
The PMP for the JAMES Project fails to provide details about the Project Staffing
required for the project. The project staffing document is absolutely mandatory which gives a
detailed account of the number and types of people required for the project (Abdel-Hamid,
1989). The roles and responsibilities should also be well articulated. Having a good project
staffing plan helps the managers to ensure the completion of the project successfully without
major hindrances (Barreto et al, 2005).
The JAMES Project follows the Sawtooth model for developmet, which is a modified
version for the Waterfall model. A justification for the choice of this particular model is not
given. A detailed evaluation for the documents and its standards are also missing.
Work to perform section
The PMP of the JAMES Project mentions the type of SDLC Model that has been followed
while it is being built. By breaking down the entire project into manageable units, it can be
ensured that the deliverables are made on time (Burke, 2013).The model used here is the
Sawtooth model, which is a modified version of the Waterfall model. The milestones to be
achieved are given and the output that has to be obtained is also given. On review, the PMP
misses a work breakdown structure. The key products produced are listed out, but a
description of the same is missing. The hardware required for the project like any additional
devices or information or specifications about the card is not mentioned.
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
Schedule
The project extends to a duration for about six months starting on the 17th of July for the
requirements elicitation till the 9th of December for the acceptance of the project by the client.
The schedule has been listed out in the Project Overview section instead of specifically being
mentioned in a separate section. The time and milestone to be met are listed out in the tabular
column given at the Project Overview section, but the Gantt chart which quantifies the work
and time is missing in the PMP. A graphical representation of the Milestone chart which lists
out the milestones and the schedule to complete the milestone is also not being represented in
an appropriate manner. The schedule also does not have a section where the dependency
between the project activities and a network diagram is given. The schedule in the given PMP
lacks clarity and misses out the information that has to be presented in an orderly manner.
Budget
The PMP does not mention anything about the budget expected to incur for the project. The budget is
one of the important criterions that has to be taken into consideration while undertaking a project.
Without the budget constraints, it would be difficult for the Project Manager to have an estimate of the
amount that would incur for each individual activity in the project. The PMP should mandatorily have
a cost management plan and a budget for the completion of the project.
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
Conclusion:
The main intention of creating a Project Management plan is to have a detailed report that
explains the sequential development of the project. It should also mention about the different
objectives that the project will complete on a time and cost schedule. Some of the particulars
that would be listed out in the Project Management Plan are information about the scope, the
products or the deliverables, the schedule and the different jobs assigned to the different
resources. From the critical review of the current PMP it has been found out that the
document misses out on few critical areas as per the guidelines mentioned in the PMBOK. A
few sections like the schedule and budget section are ignored in the PMP and have been either
completely or partially left uncompleted. The other analysis made out of the PMP is that a
few sections are not organized as per the standards. For example, it has been found that the
schedule is mentioned along with the Project Overview section. The PMP is intended to be
the document which guides the members involved in the project about the different objectives
that has to be completed and that too in a fixed time. The PMP should be an agreeing
document between the Project head and the client. It should give a detailed account of all the
points listed out above, and hence adhering to the Project Management Plan would ensure the
timely delivery of the project. The current PMP document for the JAMES Project does not
satisfy many of the criterions that could give it a complete and organized status. The scope of
improvement in the current PMP is immense and should be restructured so that it meets the
standards for important documents like these.
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PMP for the JAMES Project: A Critical Analysis
References
Jurison, J. (1999). Software project management: the manager's view. Communications of the
AIS, 2(3es), 2.
Hughes, B., & Cotterell, M. (1968). Software project management. Tata McGraw-Hill
Education.
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Collier, W. C., & Weiland, R. J. (1994). Smart cars, smart highways. IEEE spectrum, 31(4),
27-33.
Hendry, M. (2001). Smart card security and applications. Artech House.
Meredith, J. R., & Mantel Jr, S. J. (2011). Project management: a managerial approach. John
Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H. (2002). Strategic planning for project management using a project management
maturity model. John Wiley & Sons.
Dreifus, H., & Monk, J. T. (1998). Smart Cards: A Guide to building and managing smart
card applications. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Molina, J. L. (2001). The informal organizational chart in organizations: An approach from
the social network analysis. Connections, 24(1), 78-91.
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