Managing a Successful Business Project: A Case Study of Cook Trading Company

Managing a Successful Business Project
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................4
P1: Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario....................................................4
P2: Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources..............................................................................................5
P3: Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide timeframes and stages
for completion..............................................................................................................................7
M1: Produce a comprehensive project management plan, milestone schedule and project
schedule for monitoring and completing the aims and objectives of the project......................10
LO2................................................................................................................................................13
P4: Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives.................................................................13
M2: Evaluate the accuracy and reliability of different research methods applied.....................15
D1: Critically evaluate the project management process and appropriate research
methodologies applied...............................................................................................................16
LO3................................................................................................................................................17
P5: Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques.....................................17
P6: Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to
draw valid and meaningful conclusions....................................................................................23
M3: Evaluate the selection of appropriate tools and techniques for accuracy and authenticity to
support and justify recommendations........................................................................................24
LO4................................................................................................................................................25
P7: Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives and own
learning and performance..........................................................................................................25
M4: Evaluate the value of the project management process to meet the stated objectives and
support own learning and performance.....................................................................................26
D2: Critically evaluate and reflect on the project outcomes, the decision making process and
changes or developments of the initial project management plan to support justification of
recommendations and learning during the project.....................................................................27
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................28
References......................................................................................................................................29
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Introduction
Digital technology has changed and modified the way people carry out their business operations
and activities. Traditional business models have changed with the implementation of the digital
technology in the business. Digitalisation is important for various purposes and is used in
business for various reasons such as storing data, connecting with the public, making important
decisions, developing new and innovative products etc. In this report, the study of the digital
technology will be based on the Cook Trading Company which is the manufacturer as well as
retailer and deals in frozen ready meals. The company for gaining success in the market and
increasing its sales volume needs to implement the digital technology for communicating with
the public and customers. For this, the management needs to prepare a project consisting of the
project plan, various tools as well as techniques to handle the project, research methods to collect
relevant information and data etc for getting effective results.
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LO1
P1: Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario
Aims & objectives are the main aspects of the project as it provides direction and path to the
project manager to handle and manage the project in an appropriate manner. Aims and objectives
define the motive of the organisation and enable them to perform strategically.
Aims: Project study aims at analyzing the importance of digitalization for the development of the
organisation. It also aims at analyzing the ways and methods in which the businesses in today’s
era have experienced and recovered from the digital disruption and digital transformation.
Objectives: Project objective is to consider all the areas of the business and design effective
strategies for future. The objectives enable the project manager to effectively lead the activities
and operations of the project. The objectives of the project are as follows:
 To analyze the major challenges which are faced by the companies due to the digital
disruption and transformation and also to evaluate the methods which are adopted by the
businesses to overcome such challenges.
 To analyze the positive as well as negative aspects of the digital technology on the
overall business performance.
 To determine the techniques and tools used by the organisations for managing the change
prevailing in the rapidly changing business environment (Kahneman & Tversky, 2013).
 To make use of different methods and techniques to handle the project effectively for
getting effective results.
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P2: Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk, and resources.
Particulars Description
Cost Cost includes the expense which is borne by the company to carry out the
project which is based on analyzing the challenges of the digital disruption
and transformation on the business. The amount which is required by the
company to accomplish the project is £ 20,000.
Scope The scope of the project is wide as it enables the company to understand the
way in which the business can be carried out with the help of the digital
technology. Digitalisation has enhanced the way of conducting the business.
This project will help in understanding the challenges of digital
transformation and disruption that is taking place in the business environment
(Mir & Pinnington, 2014).
Time For understanding the entire business environment and completing each
activity of the project the time period required is about 1 month.
Quality For maintaining the quality of the project, appropriate and effective research
methods are used by the company for getting relevant information and
carrying out the project on the basis of collected information. Quality
material is collected through the appropriate research methods and quality of
the project is maintained for drawing positive outcomes.
Communication A communication plan is required for ensuring the flow of information to the
stakeholders. With this information regarding the challenges of the digital
transformation and disruption can be made available to the stakeholders and
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important can be taken for the project.
Risk Insufficient time and resources are the major risks which are associated with
the project. Collection of the right kind of information for the project also
includes certain risk factors (Neta, et. al., 2015).
Resources Sufficient time, financial resources, effective techniques and tools, human
resources etc are the resource requirement for the project accomplishment.
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P3: Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide timeframes and
stages for completion
WBS: It refers to the method in which the larger workloads of the project are divided into
smaller ones so that each activity can be effectively completed within the set timeframes.
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Action Plan
Activities Start time End time Duration
Planning 1 June 2018 2 June 2018 2 Days
Identification of
activities
3 June 2018 6 June 2018 4 Days
Appropriate allocation
of resources
7 June 2018 10 June 2018 4 Days
Estimating the
expenses and cost
11 June 2018 13 June 2018 3 Days
Conducting research 14 June 2018 19 June 2018 6 Days
Implementation 20 June 2018 24 June 2018 5 Days
Evaluating the results 25 June 2018 27 June 2018 3 Days
Taking control actions 28 June 2018 30 June 2018 3 Days
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