Managing Successful Business Projects | Desklib

This document provides insights into managing successful business projects, including devising project aims and objectives, producing a project management plan, and carrying out small-scale research. It also includes a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart for time frames and stages of completion. The research methods discussed include qualitative and quantitative research. The findings and data are presented using appropriate tools and techniques.

Managing
successful business
projects

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario................................................3
P2 Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources........................................................................................4
P3 Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages
for completion........................................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
P4 Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives..............................................................8
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P5 Present findings and data using appropriate tools and techniques..................................11
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to
draw valid and meaningful conclusions...............................................................................19
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................19
P7 Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives and own learning
and performance...................................................................................................................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................20
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................21
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................22
Log Book..............................................................................................................................22
Performance Review............................................................................................................25

INTRODUCTION
Digital technology is defines as electronic tools, device, system or resources which are
used by a company in order to produce, store and process the data, informations and statistics. In
today's time digital technology are used by almost each and every sectors such as agriculture,
business, education, medical and many more (Awais and Manzoor, 2011). Some of the major
sources which are consider as method of digital technology are social media, online sites, mobile
phone and many others. Organisation which is taken for this research is Continental Consulting
Limited which is headed by its CEO i.e. Mario Bindas. Its main objective is to re engineering
business process for the small and medium manufacturing companies which are located at
London as well as Greater London. This report or research will include several topics which are
aim and objective of research, project management plan which help researcher and organisation
in planning and it will also include Gantt chart and Work breakdown structure in order to
evaluate time duration. Along with this it will also include the number of data collection methods
and their evaluation as well as interpretation. This will also include reflection as well as
recommendation in the perspective of researcher.
TASK 1
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario.
Aim:
“To identify impact of digital technology supporting to small business their growth and
innovation.” A study on Continental Consulting Ltd.
Objectives:
 To identify the concept of digitalization.
 To ascertain advantages and disadvantages of implementing digital technology in a firm.
 To analyse how digital technology supporting to small business their growth and
innovation.
Questions:
 What is the concept of digitalization?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing digital technology in a firm?
 How digital technology supporting to small business their growth and innovation?

P2 Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources.
Project management plan is a formal written document that helps to define the various
phases of the project which helps in execution, monitoring and controlling the activities. It helps
in assigning the order to different activities (Bakker and et. al., 2011). Also it determines how
outcomes can be achieved who will be involved, how the performance will be measured and
communicated. While preparing the plan various aspects are considered such as cost, scope,
quality, communication, resources and risk. These aspects are discussed for organisation and the
researcher both, which are mentioned below:-
Basis For Organisation For Researcher
Cost The estimated cost that will be
required by Continental Consulting
Limited to implement the strategies
recommended by the researcher will
be £ 520. This cost is associated with
the adaptation of digital technology at
the workplace.
The cost that will be borne by the
researcher while undertaking the
researcher is £ 7120. This cost is
associated with the data collection,
stipend to the student who were taken
in the team for conducting research.
Scope The scope for this project is large for
the organisation as it will help the
respective organisation to improve
their technology of conducting work
by adopting digital technology. Also
it will help the Continental
Consulting Limited to improve the
efficiency of the employees as well as
it will also enhance their quality of
work.
Researcher who will undertake the
research has to develop a greater
understanding of various digital
technology which will help them in
conducting research in more effective
manner (Basu, 2014).
Time The time that will be consumed by
the HR managers of Continental
Consulting Limited for implementing
The time duration which was required
by researcher for gathering more
effective as well as essential data and

digital technology at the workplace
are approx 45 days.
information is approx 3 months. This
is so because they gather data by
developing questionnaire which will
take huge time.
Quality It is define as method according to
which company need to maintain
quality of the project (Geraldi and
Lechter, 2012). In respect of this
Continental Consulting Limited may
conduct evaluation on each and every
stage so that they can adopt proper
digital technology techniques.
In order to maintain quality of
information and data which are
collected by researcher, they may
adopt proper research techniques as
well as they must also conduct
evaluation at each phase of gathering
data.
Communication In order to communicate information
about the research at Continental
Consulting Limited their management
may conduct meeting or conference
with all staffs. Through this they able
to communicate about digital
technology in more effective manner.
In respect of researcher for
communicate about the research they
may use different method like post on
social media, web page, mail to
members and many others. Through
this they able to communicate about
the research aim and objective in
effective manner.
Risk The risk which are associated with
research or implementation of digital
technology are employees are
inexperienced, unskilled and many
others. Along with this they may also
faced risk related to investors,
stakeholders and so on.
In respect of researcher, risk which
are associated are budget issues, time
duration, inappropriate respondents
and so on.
Resources Resources which are required to for
implementing digital technology at
workplace are funds, time duration,
Resources which are required by
researcher for conducting research are
skilled and experienced team

skilled labour and many more. members, funds, time, proper
respondents and so on (Hall, 2011).
P3 Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide time frames and stages for
completion.
Work breakdown structure
Work breakdown structure is a method that helps in getting complex project done on time
by dividing the project into small manageable tasks or activities. Breaking the project into
smaller portions will help to get work done by different teams simultaneously which will
improve the team, productivity. All the task or activities which are to be done is presented in a
flowchart in hierarchy so that those activities can be done simultaneously can be identified. It
also make activities assignable to different people as per their capabilities. The researcher will
prepare WBS to break his work into manageable tasks so that it can be completed on time
(Harish and Kumar, 2014).
Gantt Chart
Gantt Chart is a type of bar chart that help to schedule the activities so that they can be
completed on time. It allot a time period within which the particular activity should be
completed. Gantt chart helps in tracking the activities and performances thus it helps the
manager to completed the task without delays. On the vertical scale the activities are taken while

at the horizontal scale time scale is taken (Viaene and Van, 2011). The researcher will prepare
Gantt chart so that he can track the activities of his team members.

TASK 2
P4 Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives.
Various research methods are used by the researchers that helps them to collect the data.
They are classified as quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is the methods of research with the help of which the statistical and
numerical data is been collected related to the topic by the researcher. There are various methods
that can be used by them to gather relevant information such as observations, questionnaires,
screening of the documents etc. Along with that various computerised software can be used by
them which will even help them in analysis (Verzuh, 2015).
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research are the methods where data and information is directly collected
from the samples which are part of the research. Various qualitative methods are one-to-one
interviews, case study research methodology etc. which helps them to gather detailed
information as while interrogating the questions can be modified as per the response of the
respondent (Thomas, 2011).
For this report, the quantitative research method will be adopted as the researcher will
collect the data with the help of questionnaire. With the help of which they can collected
authentic information as responses will be provided by the person himself.
The data can be collected from two sources which can be either be primary ans
secondary.
 Primary Sources are those where fresh data is directly collected from the population as
per the theme of the research. The analysis made on the basis of data and information so
collected from this source is authentic and specific as they are collected by the researcher
themselves (Stoshikj, Kryvinska and Strauss, 2014). They can collect such data from the
questionnaires, by observing the behaviour of the respondent etc. while

 Secondary Sources are the data that has already been collected by the someone for any
use but it can be reused by modifying the information available. Such data can be
collected from the websites of various organisation or the government portals, books and
journals etc. This method of gathering data is least time consuming and comparatively
cheaper source. The analysis so made on the basis of this data may not be that authentic
and appropriate as they are modified for the use by the researcher (Hwang and Ng, 2013).
For this report, the researcher will be using primary source to collect the data through
questionnaire as they need more accurate information to make reliable analysis.
Sampling and Sample Size
Sampling is the process which the help of which the researchers determine the
respondents from the population that fall under their research. Out of the entire population few
samples are selected by the researchers on the basis of some common characteristics and which
represents the population. For this research, out of the entire population 40 respondents are
selected.
Questionnaire
Questionnaire is a instrument that is been used by the researcher to collect the data. It
contain a list of questions which can be descriptive or objective or a combination of both. This
helps the researcher to enlist the questions as per their need and theme of the research. With the
helps of this instrument the information and data so collected is authentic and reliable as
respondent themselves provides such information (Kowalkowski, Kindström and Brehmer,
2011). For this report also questionnaire is prepared to gather data which is given below :
Questionnaire
Name:
Gender:
E- mail:
Q1. Do you know about concept digital technology?
 Yes
 No
Q2. What are the importance of digital technology at workplace?
 Improve work quality
 Save time duration

 Reduce wastage
 All of the above
Q3. What are the issues faced by Continental Consulting Limited while implementing
digital technology?
 Budget issue
 Unskilled and Under experienced staffs
 Allotted time duration
 All of the above
Q4. What are the measures that can adopted by Continental Consulting Limited in order
to implement digital technology at workplace?
 Proper management of funds
 Conduct proper training and development session
 Both
Q5. Do you think digital technology supporting to small business their growth and
innovation.
 Yes
 No
Q6. What type of digital technologies could be applied by Continental Consulting Limited
in their workstation?
 Cloud technology
 Artificial Intelligence
 The internet of Things
 Mobile technology
 Social media
 All of the above
Q7. Do you think implementation of digital technology can be a challenging task for
Continental Consulting Limited?
 Yes
 No
 May Be
Q8. What are the major factors which are requires to be consider by small business while

implementing digital technology at workplace?
 Budget
 Skill Staff
 Proper utilisation of resources
 All of the above
Q9. How digital technology supporting to small business their growth and innovation?
…......................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................... .
Q10. Any suggestion would you like to give for the further
improvement...................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................... .
TASK 3
P5 Present findings and data using appropriate tools and techniques.
Theme 1 : Concept of digital technology
Q1. Do you know about concept digital technology? Frequency
 Yes 35
 No 5
Interpretation : Out of the total 40 respondents 35 of them knows the concept of digital
technology whereas 5 employees does not have detailed knowledge of the concept of digital

technology as they work in the factory where their job is monotonous. This implied that the
Continental consulting limited can easy implement updated technology as their employees have
knowledge of it (Leach, 2014).
Theme 2 : Importance of digital technology
Q2. What are the importance of digital technology at workplace? Frequency
 Improve work quality 8
 Save time duration 6
 Reduce wastage 4
 All of the above 22
Interpretation : On the basis of this theme it is identified that most of the employees feels that
the digital technology is important in the organisation as it reduces the wastage, saves time as
well as improves quality of the work done by the people in the organisation. While of the people
believes that they contributes to these factors individually. But it will be easier for the
Continental Consulting to convince their employees to adopt the digitalisation.
Theme 3 : Issues faced while implementing digital technology
Q3. What are the issues faced by Continental Consulting Limited while Frequency

implementing digital technology?
 Budget issue 11
 Unskilled and Under experienced staffs 4
 Allotted time duration 9
 All of the above 16
Interpretation : This theme helps to determine the opinion of the people regarding issues that
are faced while implementing the digital technology. On the basis of the responses it is identified
that the major issue that they can face is of budget which can be a reason to various other issues
such as delays, lack of training to the untrained people. But some people in the organisation
believed that the time that has been allotted to them may not sufficient (Marston and et. al.,
2011).
Theme 4 : Measures that can be implemented
Q4. What are the measures that can adopted by Continental Consulting
Limited in order to implement digital technology at workplace?
Frequency
 Proper management of funds 9
 Conduct proper training and development session 10
 Both 21

Interpretation : As per the responses of the employees it is identified that they may need proper
trainings as well as funds so that they can easily bring the digital technology in the organisation.
Most of the employees believes that only management of funds or training cannot make effective
implementation. This will be beneficial for Continental Consulting to focus on both the measures
as it will help them to keep employees motivated and optimum utilisation of the resources.
Theme 5 : Role of digital technology in growth and innovation
Q5. Do you think digital technology supporting to small business their
growth and innovation.
Frequency
 Yes 27
 No 13

Interpretation : From the above graph it is clearly identified that digital technology drives small
businesses to achieve growth and success in their overall performance level. Among 40
respondents, 27 said the same whereas the remaining 13 respondents opposed to such statement.
Theme 6 : Types of digital technology
Q6. What type of digital technologies could be applied by Continental
Consulting Limited in their workstation?
Frequency
 Cloud technology 5
 Artificial Intelligence 6
 The internet of Things 8
 Mobile technology 9
 Social media
 All of the above 12

Interpretation : The above graph clearly depicts that there are different kind of digital
technologies which can be adopted by Continental Consulting Limited in order to achieve
growth in customer base and revenue. Out of 40 respondents, 12 respondents are in favour of
using social media platform whereas the other 5 and 6 respondents respectively direct an
organisation to adopt cloud technology and artificial intelligence (Porwal and Hewage, 2013).
The remaining 8 and 9 respondents respectively said that using of internet platform and mobile
technology will be the most profitable for Continental Consulting Limited.
Theme 7 : Implementation of digital technology
Q7. Do you think implementation of digital technology can be a
challenging task for Continental Consulting Limited?
Frequency
 Yes 18
 No 12
 May Be 10

Interpretation : It can be clearly seen from the figures that adoption of digital technology at
workplace will be the more challenging task for Continental consulting limited. Among 40
respondents, 18 said the same whereas the other 12 are disagree with them. The remaining 10
thinks it may be challenging for company to implement digital technology.
Theme 8 : Major factors to be considered by small businesses
Q8. What are the major factors which are requires to be consider by
small business while implementing digital technology at workplace?
Frequency
 Budget 15
 Skill Staff 12
 Proper utilisation of resources 10
 All of the above 3

Interpretation : It is clearly identified from the above graph that there are several factors which
need to be consider by Continental consulting limited while adopting digital technology at
workplace. Out of 40 respondents, 15 thinks budget will be the main factor that need to be
consider by the management of an organisation as implementation of digital technology requires
lots of funds to invest (Ryan and Campbell, 2012). The remaining 12 and 10 respectively thinks
that management need to take two main factors on priority which includes skills of staff and
proper utilisation of staff.
Theme 9 : Support of digital technology
Q9. How digital technology supporting to small business their growth and innovation?
Interpretation : On the basis of responses it is identified that digitalisation of the activities helps
the organisation to speed up their business operations and to reduce the chances of the human
error. Also it will helps the small businesses to improve their quality which will increase their
profitability and thus the market share.
Theme 10 : Suggestions
Q10. Any suggestion would you like to give for the further improvement
Interpretation : It is suggested that they need to arrange sufficient funds before planning to
implement and also need to conduct training programs for the employees which will help

Continental Consulting Limited to implement easily as their people will be efficient enough to
adopt the digital technology.
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to draw
valid and meaningful conclusions
Recommendation
By conducting evaluation of above discussed topics it can be determine that there are
various factors which must be consider by Continental Consulting Limited while conducting
their work. This is so because through it they able to conduct their work or task in more effective
manner as well as it will also help in other activities too such as management of employees,
planning and many more. Some of the major recommendation which are given by researcher to
Continental Consulting Limited for adopting digital technology more effectively as well as
successfully are given below:-
 According to the researcher Continental Consulting Limited management must consider
several issues which may faced while the adopting digital technology. For example they
must develop budget accordingly, conduct work according to time, conduct training and
development and so on. Through these practices they able to minimise or avoid issues
which they may faced while implementing digital technology at workplace.
 Along with this Continental Consulting Limited may also consider several factors while
developing decision related to implementation of digital technology are budget, staffs
capabilities, utilisation of resources and so on.
These are some of the main recommendations which are provided by researcher to
Continental Consulting Limited for implementing digital technology in successful as well as
effective manner (Smith, Gonin and Besharov, 2013).
TASK 4
P7 Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives and own learning
and performance
Reflection
I am very happy that I got the chance to conduct by initial research on such as wide topic
that is “To identify impact of digital technology supporting to small business their growth and
innovation.” For this me and my team members are selecting Continental Consulting Limited

who want to implement digital technology at their workplace so that they can conduct work or
activities more effectively. While conducting the research I go through number of ups and downs
which help me in leaning so many things as well as it will also help me in enhancing my number
of skills. Along with this I also able to evaluate my strengths as well as weakness, so that I can
develop strategies accordingly to polish or improve it respectively. Skills through which I
enhance are communication, problem solving, understanding, team management and many more
(Sharon and Dori, 2015). In addition to this there are several issues which me and my team
members go through while conducting the research such as conflict in team due to diverse
opinion, inappropriate respond of audiences, less time allotted, budget issues and many more.
CONCLUSION
By conducting evaluation of above topics it can be determine or summarise that digital
technology is one of the effective technology that help companies in gaining number of
advantages. Along with this they also help in other several ways such as it enhance employees
work efficiency, reduce wastage, increase profitability ratio, attract customers and many more.
There are also several tools of digital technology that can be adopted by a company in order to
enhance their work quality such as cloud technology, artificial intelligence, the internet of things,
mobile technology, social media and many more. In addition to this there are several factors
which are consider by a firm while implementing digital technology at their workplace like their
allotted budget, time duration, employees requirements and capabilities, resource usage and so
on. Moreover digital technology will also help small business in growing as well as being
innovative and for which they need to conduct several practices such as proper management of
funds as well as conduct proper training and development session for employees. This is so
because through it they able to conduct it more effectively and successfully.

REFRENCES
Books and journals
Awais Ahmad Tipu, S. and Manzoor Arain, F., 2011. Managing success factors in
entrepreneurial ventures: a behavioral approach. International Journal of
Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 17(5). pp.534-560.
Bakker, R.M. and et. al., 2011. Managing the project learning paradox: A set-theoretic approach
toward project knowledge transfer. International journal of project management. 29(5).
pp.494-503.
Basu, R., 2014. Managing quality in projects: An empirical study. International journal of
project management. 32(1). pp.178-187.
Geraldi, J. and Lechter, T., 2012. Gantt charts revisited: A critical analysis of its roots and
implications to the management of projects today. International Journal of Managing
Projects in Business. 5(4). pp.578-594.
Hall, T.J., 2011. The triple bottom line: what is it and how does it work?. Indiana business
review. 86(1). p.4.
Harish, V.S.K.V. and Kumar, A., 2014. Demand side management in India: action plan, policies
and regulations. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 33. pp.613-624.
Hwang, B.G. and Ng, W.J., 2013. Project management knowledge and skills for green
construction: Overcoming challenges. International Journal of Project Management.
31(2). pp.272-284.
Kowalkowski, C., Kindström, D. and Brehmer, P.O., 2011. Managing industrial service offerings
in global business markets. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 26(3). pp.181-
192.
Leach, L.P., 2014. Critical chain project management. Artech House.
Marston, S. and et. al., 2011. Cloud computing—The business perspective. Decision support
systems. 51(1). pp.176-189.
Porwal, A. and Hewage, K.N., 2013. Building Information Modeling (BIM) partnering
framework for public construction projects. Automation in Construction. 31. pp.204-
214.
Ryan, L. and Campbell, N., 2012. Spreading the net: the multiple benefits of energy efficiency
improvements.
Sharon, A. and Dori, D., 2015. A Project–product model–based approach to planning work
breakdown structures of complex system projects. IEEE Systems Journal. 9(2). pp.366-
376.
Smith, W.K., Gonin, M. and Besharov, M.L., 2013. Managing social-business tensions: A
review and research agenda for social enterprise. Business Ethics Quarterly. 23(3).
pp.407-442.
Stoshikj, M., Kryvinska, N. and Strauss, C., 2014. Efficient managing of complex programs with
project management services. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management. 15(1).
pp.25-38.
Thomas, M. ed., 2011. Deconstructing digital natives: Young people, technology, and the new
literacies. Taylor & Francis.
Verzuh, E., 2015. The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley & Sons.
Viaene, S. and Van den Bunder, A., 2011. The secrets to managing business analytics projects.
MIT Sloan Management Review. 53(1). p.65.

APPENDIX
Log Book
Project Logbook for the chosen organisation: Continental Consulting Limited
Name of the learner: Name of the Supervisor:
Project Title:“To identify impact of digital
technology supporting to small business their
growth and innovation.”
Date:
Update of weekly research/ tasks achieved
(Account for a minimum of six weeks with
dates) What have you completed?
 Did you fulfil Task requirements?
 Are you on track and within deadlines
set?
 Did you need to make any changes to
your project management plan?
Comments
I completed this research which is based on
the topic of impact of digital technology on
small business units for their growth and
innovation.
Yes
Yes, according to me I was on the right
track.
No
Any risks and / or issues identified? Did you identify risks/issues with a
lack of skills required for undertaking
research tasks?
Yes, there are some issues which are faced
by me while conducting research such as

 Did you identify any additional
risks/issues that have an impact on the
project management plan?
time, communication and so on.
No
Problems encountered
 What barriers did you face?
 How did you overcome them?
Issues or barriers which are faced by me
while conducting research are budget, time
duration, conflict among the team members,
inappropriate responses of respondents and
so on.
For overcoming this I can conduct several
activities such as use resources properly,
develop proper time frameworks, tell
respondents about the project and many
others.
New Ideas and change of project direction No because according to me I done it in best
way.
What Have I learnt about myself this week? How did I feel when I had to deal with
tasks/problems?
 Did I find it useful to complete the
tasks? How well have I performed? What did
I contribute? What can I improve on next week?
 How might this learning apply in the
Through this I am feeling confident because
have various skills like iteration skills,
problem solving and so on.
Yes.
According to me I done my work in most
proper manner as well as per guidelines.
I can improve myself by focussing on my

future? weakness.
I will do my best in the future if I conduct
research in same title.
Tasks planned for next week Which tasks are priority?
 Have you set aside sufficient time for
completion?
Collection of data is priority task for me
because it will help in conducting research
in most proper ways but attaining goal
successfully.
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
Supervisor comments to address
Signature of the Supervisor and date:

Performance Review
1. What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
This project is prepared to identify the issues that can be faced by the
Continental Consulting Limited and to determine how the effectiveness of
Digital technology can be implemented in the organisation.
2. Did the project succeed in its objectives/ how do you know?
Specifically, please outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
The objective of company is to implement the digital technology in
the organisation which can be achieved by ascertaining their advantages
and disadvantages.
3. 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.
While undertaking the research the use of various statistical tools and
technology facilitated me in gathering the authentic information. On the
basis of which effective conclusions are drawn and various
recommendations are made to the organisation.
4. What problems emerged during the project and how were they
tackled? Was there timely identification of issues and resolution during
the project process?
Yes, I faced various issues while interpreting the responses from the
people working in the organisation.
5. What did you learn from undertaking the project?
While undertaking the project I learnt that digital technology can
improves the functioning of the organisation by reducing the wastages,
enhancing the employees capabilities. This provides them the competitive
advantage.
6. How would you rate your performance as a management consultant
leading the project?
I rate my performance 7.5 out of 10.
7. What strengths and weakness of your performance did you identify?
The strengths that I identified while undertaking the research is of
managerial skills and the major weakness was the required level of

communication skills.
8. How will this inform and support your continuous professional
development?
While I was working on this project I get to know about about
various technological changes and their impact on the organisational
operations. This will help them in undertaking research in future.