Project Evaluation and Performance Review

This assignment involves a self-evaluation report by a management consultant who led a research project on determining the impact of cloud technology while upgrading business operations for Continental Consulting Ltd. The report includes a detailed account of the project's success in achieving its aims, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and providing insights into areas for improvement. The consultant reflects on their performance as a management consultant leading the project and identifies key takeaways from the experience.

MANAGING SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Project Aim and Objectives...............................................................................................1
P2 Project Management Plan..................................................................................................2
P3 Work Breakdown Structure and Gantt Chart....................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P4 Small- Scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods...........6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5 Analysis of research and data using appropriate tools and techniques.............................8
P6 Recommendations...........................................................................................................17
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................18
P7 Reflection........................................................................................................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20
Appendix .......................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
Digital can be define as electronic technology that helps company in storing, generating
and processing data. Therefore, digital technology is determined as an electronic transmission i.e.
limited to analogue technology, utilised by organisation each and every day (Avram, 2014) .
Thus, it is used primarily for physical communications by many of the firms that has vast scope.
According to the case scenario, “Continental Consulting Limited” is a consultancy firm and
provide services of Re-engineering to other companies. As company is now going through a bad
phase and thinking of upgrading their business operations for which they have planned to
implement cloud technology to store and share information effectively (Carayannis, Sindakis
and Walter, 2015). Present report will include a project aim and objective on the basis of which
entire project will be developed. Other than this, project management plan will be included in
this assignment. In addition to this, work breakdown structure is mentioned in this report.
Therefore, on the basis of this, a small research will be conducted to draw a valid conclusion.
TASK 1
P1 Project Aim and Objectives
Topic: “The impact of digital technology supporting small business growth and innovation”
Digital technology was initially started in the mid-twentieth century. In recent times, it is
playing a crucial role for many companies in order to take their business in forward direction.
Thus, digital technology has transformed the way through which a person communicate with
other individual. Cloud computing is determined as an important component of digital
technology as it provide a shared pool in which several computer system are configured and
connected with one another. This makes the process of transferring information more properly.
With the help of cloud computing, company can enable themselves in many services like
software development, servers, storage and software etc. Henceforth, cloud technology has
evolved as a new paradigm in software development as it provides access to organisation that are
established in different locations but dealing in same business.
BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
Cloud technology is rich technology that can be utilised by organisation because through
this they can save, store and access data and information. For example: If Continental Consulting
Limited will implement cloud technology than through solid internet service connection, they
1

can access to personal and office files. Those who provides cloud technology are known as cloud
providers and according to current scenario, company have many options for opting this
technology like Dropbox, Box.com etc., but as Continental Consulting Ltd is a independent
enough in making their own cloud and for this, they just have to hire a technician and a software
developer who can help company in doing the same (Corsaro, 2014) .
Therefore, Continental Consulting Ltd can use cloud technology as a back-end of the
application mainly hardware and other than this, company can implement cloud technology as
pay for services. As a result, it will assist firm in upgrading their services and business
operations. Henceforth, with the help of this, research firm will get to know about how cloud
technology or any other kind of software company can implement so that they can upgrade their
business operations.
Aims: “To identify the impact of cloud technology in upgrading business operations”.
A case study on Continental Consulting Ltd.
Objectives:
1. To determine the concept of cloud technology.
2. To evaluate how cloud technology is assisting Continental Consulting Ltd in upgrading
their business.3. To determine different kinds of challenges which can be faced by Continental Consulting
Ltd while implementing cloud technology
Research Questions:
4. What are the concepts of cloud technology.
5. How is cloud technology assisting Continental Consulting Ltd in upgrading their
business.
6. What are the different kinds of challenges which can be faced by is while implementing
cloud technology
P2 Project Management Plan
Planning is determined as a process under which activities which can provide benefits
that are taken into considerations so that desired goals and objectives can be achieved in a
speculated time frame. In every business, they have proper plan which they follow in order to get
maximum benefits (Crane and Matten, 2016). Project management plan is a kind of document
that act a baseline for a company which can be further go through by respective firms if in near
2

future they faces any kind of difficulties (Project Management Plan, 2018). Therefore, a project
management plan is used as a references so as to make any kind of decision that can further help
organisation in obtaining their set targets and objectives in a limited time frame. In most of the
companies, Project Management Plan (PMP) is available to all project members so that they can
communicate the important information to its team members in order to execute their activities in
a better manner .
In addition to this, there are certain contents that are to be included in Project
Management Plan for making it more effective in nature and these are executive summary,
strategic/organisational alignment, project scope definition, feasibility assessment and
contingency plans, human resource requirements, material/equipment needed, budget, risk
management, issues related to the project, change and communication management (Hillson,
and Murray-Webster, 2017).
Cost: Basically, the cost of cloud technology is based on three components i.e. network,
storage and compute. According to the data used by an organisation, cloud providers charge their
rates. In relation with Continental Consulting Ltd, as they are making their own cloud so for the
entire process from software development to implementation will be require £18K.
Scope: Earlier for Continental Consulting Ltd, connecting with its clients and transferring
information was quite difficult as their range of area was limited but after implementation of
cloud technology firm can connect in 50 regions worldwide through their AWS providers . As a
result, resolving issues and problems of other organisation and providing them with solutions is
quite easier as compared to technologies which Continental Consulting Ltd was having.
Time: This is requisite to scheduled time duration of execution of numerous decision to
carry out effective outcome. In order to implement cloud technology properly, Continental
Consulting Ltd, will take around 8 weeks. Under this duration period, company will provide
proper training to their employees so that they can manage the task and do their activities in a
better manner (Hillson, 2017).
Quality: With the help of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) company can improve their
network, PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) will assist firm in
developing different kind of software Therefore, by implementing all these, Continental
Consulting Ltd can upgrade their business operations and improve their quality as well.
3

Communication: According to the current market scenario, through cloud technology,
company can enhance their communication system as cloud technology assist firm in sharing and
storing information in a better manner. To interact this information with stakeholders and other
public, organisation will use new media tools.
Risk: Although cloud technology provides maximum benefits but there are some risk as
well which can put company in difficult situations. Major risk of implementing cloud technology
is misuse of information as cloud technology performs a method of making multiple copies as a
backup store which can further be used by other sources. Therefore, there might be a possibility
that critical information of clients are disclosed (Larson and Chang, 2016).
Resources: In terms of cloud technology, resources mainly includes software through
which system can become dynamic. In order to develop this technology, company needs key
resources including Infrastructure-as-a-service, Platform-as-a-service, Software-as-a-service
along with financial assets etc.
P3 Work Breakdown Structure and Gantt Chart
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): It is determined as a hierarchical tree structure that
shows the activities which are to be performed are segmented into smaller segments. This is used
by most of the companies in order to manage their task so that receptive teams can execute the
plan in an effective manner. Therefore, Work Breakdown Structure is an important component
that helps company in dividing the task according to section from where it can be managed.
WBS can be classified into product, data, services or a combination of all these.
4

Gantt Chart: It is a type of chart that demonstrate a project schedule so that company can
have an idea about the task that are to be performed under a speculated time frame. Thus,
according to modern Gantt Chart it is used to show dependency and relationship between
activities and scheduled status. Moreover, it is represented in bar chart which illustrates project
schedule.
5

TASK 2
P4 Small- Scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
Qualitative: In simple terms, this comes under exploratory research and it is being used
by many researcher for having a proper understanding between different reasons, opinions
provided by various scholars. Basically, qualitative research is based on theories and includes
research concepts and methods from different academic field. Furthermore, it is used by
researcher in order to vary their conducted research from various disciplinary backgrounds (Li
and et. al., 2012).
Quantitative: It is determined as a systematic empirical investigation with the help of
statistical or mathematical database. Most of the companies use this kind of method so as to
conduct their research using sampling methods, online surveys etc.
6

Primary: This kind of data collection method is used by many researcher as information
collected from this are for the first time and no one else has used it yet. Thus, it can be said that
in order to make the research authenticate, investigator use primary method of data collection.
Therefore, for this research as well investigator has used this method as a result, it is will assist
researcher in evaluating a valid conclusion (Pekuri and et. al., 2014).
Secondary: It includes information that are already present or conducted by other
investigators. Moreover, secondary method of data collection is being used by researcher for
making their research more reliable and valid. Furthermore, such information are collected from
books, journals, magazines etc.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
Email:
Q1) Do you know about the concept of cloud technology in business?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2) Is cloud technology beneficial for business of Continental Consulting Ltd ?
a) Yes
b) No
Q3) What are the benefits that Continental Consulting Ltd will get by implementing cloud
technology in businesses?
a) Powerful server capabilities
b) Data backup and storage of data
c) Increase in productivity
d) Cost effective & time saving
Q4) What are main reasons for executing cloud technology in Continental Consulting
Ltd?
a) Ease of Use
b) Increased Storage Capacity and Automation
c) Agility, Flexibility and Scalability.
Q5) Is company getting benefits after implementing cloud technology, as per your view?
7

a) Agree
b) Disagree
Q6) What are different platforms which Continental Consulting Ltd can use for Cloud
Computing at large scale?
a) MapReduce
b) Apache Hadoop
Q7) What are the complexities that Continental Consulting Ltd can face while
implementing the cloud technology in business?
a) Service Provider Reliability
b) Data privacy
c) Downtime
Q8) Does cloud technology helpful in provide competitive benefits to Continental
Consulting Ltd ?
a) Yes
b) No
Q9) According to you, is installation and implementation of cloud technology is a simple
process?
a) Agree
b) Disagree
Q10) Any suggestions for Continental Consulting Ltd for further improvement in Cloud
Technology to manage?
TASK 3
P5 Analysis of research and data using appropriate tools and techniques
Theme 1: Aware about concept of cloud technology
Q1) Do you know about the concept of cloud technology in
business?
Frequency
a) Yes 19
b) No 11
8

Interpretation: Cloud technology is one of the essential element which company can
implement in order to upgrade their business as it assist firm in sharing and storing information
in a better manner. Therefore, with the help of above graph mentioned it can be evaluated that 19
respondents out of 30 were agreeing with the fact that they were aware of the concept of cloud
technology. Whereas other 11 respondents wasn't know what cloud technology is and for what
purpose it is being used by a company or any other individual.
Theme 2: Cloud technology beneficial for business
Q2) Is cloud technology beneficial for business of Continental
Consulting Ltd?
Frequency
a) Yes 17
b) No 13
9
a) Yes b) No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Column B

Interpretation: As Continental Consulting Ltd is a consultancy firm and they provide
suggestions to companies so that they can re-engineer their business operations. Henceforth, with
the help of this, company can easily store and share information. From the above mentioned
graph it can be evaluated that according to 17 respondents implementation of cloud technology is
beneficial for the company and they can further sustain a better position at market area. Whereas
other 13 of them were saying that even after introducing cloud technology in their firm, company
will not gain any kind of benefits.
10
a) Yes b) No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Column B

Theme 3: Benefits after implementing Cloud Technology
Q3)What are the benefits that Continental Consulting Ltd will
get by implementing cloud technology in businesses?
Frequency
a) Powerful server capabilities 5
b) Data backup and storage of data 8
c) Increase in productivity 10
d) Cost effective & Time saving 7
Interpretation: After implementing cloud technology a company can be benefited in
many terms and from the above mentioned graph it has been evaluated that as per 5 respondents,
with the help of cloud technology company can enhance their power server capabilities. Other 8
of them were saying that through cloud technology Continental Consulting Ltd can keep their
data more secured and can keep backup for the same. In addition to this, according to 10
respondents, cloud technology helps company in increasing their productivity level. Rest 7 of
them were saying that implementation of cloud technology will save cost and time of the
company can executing the task will be more easier.
11
a) Powerful server capabilities
b) Data backup and storage of data
c) Increase in productivity
d) Cost effective & Time saving
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Column B

Theme 4: Main reasons for executing cloud technology
Q4) What are main reasons for executing cloud technology in
Continental Consulting Ltd?
Frequency
a) Ease of Use 7
b) Increased Storage Capacity and Automation 13
c) Agility, Flexibility and Scalability. 10
Interpretation: Continental Consulting Ltd were going through issues and problem as
their rival firms are providing better services and facilities to its clients. Therefore, with the help
of above mentioned graph it can be evaluated that 7 respondents out of 30 stated that company's
main reason of implementing cloud technology is to ease their activities of business operations.
Other than this, 13 of them were saying that it will increase the storage capacity and ability of
automation. Lastly, 10 out of 30 respondents thinks that after implementing cloud technology
company can be more flexible and agile while performing their task in a better manner.
12
a) Ease of Use
b) Increased Storage Capacity and Automation
c) Agility, Flexibility and Scalability.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Column B

Theme 5: Will company gets benefits after cloud technology
Q5) Is company getting benefits after implementing cloud
technology, as per your view?
Frequency
a) Agree 18
b) Disagree 12
Interpretation: For most of the companies, there can be a possibility that they gain
benefits after implementing cloud technology. Henceforth, from the above mentioned graph it
can be evaluated that 18 out of 30 respondents were agreeing with the fact that 'Yes', with the
help of cloud technology company can get maximum benefits. Rest 12 of them were disagree
with the fact that cloud technology can give any kind of benefits to an organisation.
13
a) Agree b) Disagree
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Column B

Theme 6: Different platforms of cloud computing that company can use
Q6) What are different platforms which Continental
Consulting Ltd can use for Cloud Computing at large scale?
Frequency
a) MapReduce 17
b) Apache Hadoop 13
Interpretation: There are different platforms that are provided by Cloud Technology
which can be adopted by company in order to improve their efficiency or for upgrading their
business operations. Therefore, with the help of above mentioned graph it can be evaluated that
as per 17 respondents, if company will adopt MapReduce platform they can gain perform their
task in an effective manner. Whereas 13 respondents were saying that Apache Hadoop will be
beneficial for companies for attaining competitive advancement.
14
a) MapReduce b) Apache Hadoop
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Column B

Theme 7: Complexities faced by company during implementation of cloud technology
Q7) What are the complexities that Continental Consulting
Ltd can face while implementing the cloud technology in
business?
Frequency
a) Service Provider Reliability 9
b) Data privacy 7
c) Downtime 14
Interpretation: Even after getting so much benefits through cloud technology it has some
kinds of drawback as well which company can face while implementing the technology in a
better manner. Henceforth, from the above mentioned graph it can be concluded that as per 9
respondents complication which Continental Consulting Ltd can face is service provider
reliability as they can charge extra money for the services firm are providing. Other than this, 7
out of 30 respondents stated that data privacy is the biggest challenge which company can face
during their business operations. Rest 14 respondents said that downtime is the main risk which
company can face while implementing cloud technology.
15
a) Service Provider Reliability
b) Data privacy
c) Downtime
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Column B

Theme 8: Cloud technology providing benefits
Q8) Does cloud technology helpful in provide competitive
benefits to Continental Consulting Ltd ?
Frequency
a) Yes 16
b) No 14
Interpretation: Every business establish themselves in order to gain competitive
advancement and for this, they incorporate different kinds of latest tools and technologies. From
the above mentioned graph it can be evaluated that according to 16 of the respondents believe
that with the help of cloud technology Continental Consulting Ltd can attain competitive benefits
and further sustain a better position at market area. Whereas other 14 of the them were saying
that cloud technology is all waste of money and time as well because company cannot gain any
kind of benefits from the same.
16
a) Yes b) No
13
13.5
14
14.5
15
15.5
16
Column B

Theme 9: Installation and implementation of cloud technology is easy or complex
Q9) According to you, is installation and implementation of
cloud technology is a simple process?
Frequency
a) Agree 20
b) Disagree 10
Interpretation: The process of implementation and installation, both are easy as well as
complex because what essential is to have proper information and knowledge of cloud
technology. Therefore, with the above mentioned graph it can be evaluated that according to 20
respondents installation and implementation of cloud technology is an easy process. Rest 10 of
30 respondents were disagreeing and saying that it is complex, cost and time consuming as well.
P6 Recommendations
This research is being conducted in order to know the concept of cloud technology and
how this can provide benefits to an organisation. Therefore, with the help of this research it can
be recommended to the organisation that they must implement cloud technology in order to
improve and upgrade their business operations. As this technology will assist them in storing and
sharing of information with the help of networking or shared pools. Cloud technology for
company has came up as a revolution for more companies who deals in large amount of data.
17
a) Agree b) Disagree
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Column B

Continental Consulting Ltd can implement this technology as it is cost effective and within
limited time frame, one can share and store information to other system. In addition to this, if
company has different branches around the globe than cloud technology make the process of
accessing information easier. Moreover, they have to conduct training and development sessions
in order to increase the skills and knowledge of employees so that they can get to know about the
entire process of cloud technology. As a result, performing their task with the help of this, can
be more easier.
TASK 4
P7 Reflection
This has been learnt from the discussed report that cloud technology is a wide area and
most of the firms have implemented this in order to improve their capacity of storing
information. This research cleared my concept of cloud technology and I got to know that cloud
technology is not only used for sharing and storing information but it can be used for connecting
with different servers at a time. In addition to this, the research has improved my knowledge that
cloud technology is a part of digital technology and most of the companies are using the same for
gaining benefits at market area. In addition to this, with the help of this research I got to know
that cloud technology is based on three components i.e. Infrastructure-as-a-service, Platform-as-
a-service and Software-as-a-service. With the help of this research, I got to know my weakness
that are basically related to my literature reviews as I was not having appropriate information
about cloud technology but after conducting this research my concept related to cloud
technology become more appropriate. I have used numerous software and technologies including
Gantt Chart and data analysis software which has improved my analytical skills. On the other
hand, I felt pressurised while managing the entire team to perform the research project. Thus, I
need to improve my communication skills in regard to manage the conflicts and create effective
relations among members of team efficiently.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that cloud technology itself is a wide area
and most of the companies are using this for storing and sharing information. Thus, cloud
technology provides benefits to organisation and assist them in sustaining a better position at
market area. Along with benefits it has some challenges as well like privacy of data and
18

information because it hackers and easily access to the same by breaking firewalls. So, cloud
technology is an effective process which most of the companies can adopt for operating business
effectively.
19

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Carayannis, E. G., Sindakis, S. and Walter, C., 2015. Business model innovation as lever of
organizational sustainability. The Journal of Technology Transfer. 40(1). pp.85-104.
Corsaro, D., 2014. The emergent role of value representation in managing business
relationships. Industrial Marketing Management. 43(6). pp.985-995.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Hillson, D. and Murray-Webster, R., 2017. Understanding and managing risk attitude.
Routledge.
Hillson, D., 2017. Managing risk in projects. Routledge.
Larson, D. and Chang, V., 2016. A review and future direction of agile, business intelligence,
analytics and data science. International Journal of Information Management. 36(5).
pp.700-710.
Li, B. H. and et. al., 2012. Typical characteristics, technologies and applications of cloud
manufacturing. Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems. 18(7). pp.1345-1356.
Pekuri, A. and et. al., 2014. Managing value creation: the business model approach in
construction. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. 8(1). pp.36-
51.
Ramadani, V., 2015. The woman entrepreneur in Albania: an exploratory study on motivation,
problems and success factors. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. 17(2).
pp.204-221.
Reason, J., 2016. Managing the risks of organizational accidents. Routledge.
Scarborough, N. M., 2016. Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management.
Pearson.
Storey, J., Basterretxea, I. and Salaman, G., 2014. Managing and resisting ‘degeneration’in
employee-owned businesses: A comparative study of two large retailers in Spain and
the United Kingdom. Organization. 21(5). pp.626-644.
Trevino, L. K. and Nelson, K. A., 2016. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Online
Project Management Plan. 2018. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.wrike.com/project-
management-guide/faq/what-is-a-project-management-plan/>.
20

Appendix
Project log book
Project Logbook for the chosen
organisation: Continental
Consulting Ltd
Name of the learner: Name of the Supervisor:
Project Title: Managing Business
Successful
Date:
Update of weekly research/ tasks
achieved (Account for a minimum
of six weeks with dates)
7. What have you completed?
8. Did you fulfil Task
requirements?
9. Are you on track and within
deadlines set?
10. Did you need to make
any changes to your project
management plan?
Comments
The main task is to evaluate the
how digital technology company
can upgrade their business
operations.
Yes
Yes, all the task was completed
with time frame.
Yes, there were many changes
which took place while doing
this research.
Any risks and / or issues
identified?
 Did you identify risks/issues
with a lack of skills required
for undertaking research
tasks?
 Did you identify any
additional risks/issues that
Yes, while conducting this
research time and cost was the
biggest issue which was being
faced.
Respondents were majorly
customers.
21

have an impact on the
project management plan?
Problems encountered
 What barriers did you face?
 How did you overcome
them?
Shortage of time and funds was
barrier faced by me in
collection of data.
Seminar and group activities
were attended by me.
New Ideas and change of project
direction
Training and development
programmes were developed.
What Have I learnt about myself
this week? How did I feel when I had to
deal with tasks/problems?
 How well have I performed?
What did I contribute?
 What can I improve on next
week?
I didn't afraid with problems
that come while project
execution time.
I have given best to collect
information and conclusion
about research topic.
I require to enhance my
interpersonal and
communication skills.
Tasks planned for next week
 Which tasks are priority?
I require to construct and
follow time management plan.
Yes, I have few days for dealing
with changes and
22

 Have you set aside sufficient
time for completion?
contingencies.
Project plan status to date (on,
ahead, behind)
Up to date
Supervisor comments to address
Signature of the Supervisor and
date:
23

Template for Performance Review
Template to be attached with the
report by the learner:
 What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
Present report was based ion determining the impact of cloud
technology while upgrading business operations for Continental Consulting
Ltd.
 Did the project succeed in its aims/ how do you know? Specifically,
please outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, with the help of this research project aim and objectives were
achieved and further helped in making appropriate strategies.
 What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all
aspects of the project (e.g initial inception, project activities and
project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
In order to do the research proper time frame was made and things
were done accordingly.
 What problems emerged during the project and how were they
tackled? Was there timely identification of issues and resolution
during the project process?
Yes, while performing the task many problems was being faced like cost
and time barriers.
 What did you learn from undertaking the project?
With the help of this, I got to know about cloud technology and its
impact on business.
 How would you rate your performance as a management
consultant leading the project?
8.5 out of 10.
 What strengths and weakness of your performance did you
identify?
My strength was effective communication which helped me out in
interacting with respondents.
Whereas lack of research knowledge was my biggest weakness.
 How will this inform and support your continuous professional
development?
For this, I have to do proper communication with all employees
24

and subordinates.
25