Software Project Management and Implementation at Marks & Spencer

This report details a software development project undertaken by Marks and Spencer to enhance efficiency and address challenges arising from remote working conditions post-COVID-19. The project aims to create a proprietary software application for internal communications, training, performance tracking, and essential employee information management. Key aspects covered include stakeholder analysis, identifying the roles and interests of higher management, the technical team, customers, investors, and media. The report also outlines a work breakdown structure (WBS) to systematically organize project activities, optimize resource allocation, and mitigate potential risks. Resource considerations, including knowledge, human resources, financial resources, tools, and time, are discussed, emphasizing the importance of efficient resource utilization and budget management. The ultimate goal is to improve internal processes, ensure data privacy, and provide better services to customers through effective project management and technological innovation.

Managing Projects in
the Organization

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
About Software development project-.....................................................................................3
Objective of the project-............................................................................................................4
Stakeholder's Analysis-.............................................................................................................4
Work Break Down structure-...................................................................................................5
Resources used in this project-.................................................................................................7
Consideration of resources-......................................................................................................7
Gantt Chart-...............................................................................................................................7
Risk Assessment-........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
Covid has occur various changes in day to day life of humans. On the other hand, it has also
affected the working structure of the business institution and one of the main change which a
business has experienced is remote working. Marks and Spencer is one of the most famous
company which is operating in the retail industry. Company is commonly dealing in clothing,
home, beauty and food products (Hair, and Sarstedt, 2021). Likewise, any other company Marks
and Spencer has confronted various issues during corona pandemic. Management of the
company is trying to develop certain programs or project. Through this company is trying to
build some efficiency of the organisation which will help in resolving all those problems which
have been developed within the operational activity of the company. This report is about the
construction of the project in Marks and Spencer which is about creation of software for their
employees. This will be helpful in identifying the performance of the employees.
Main Body
About Software development project-
Due to the excess of remote working after the outburst of COVID virus, Marks and Spencer
has seen various changes in the functioning of their management. Company's workforce has
enormously affected by the working policies which is being followed inside the administration.
But, gradually company is coming to the normal life, and to achieve the more efficiency
company is going to develop a software application of the company. This project will cover all
the elements which have been discussed below-
 Company wants to have its own personal application, by which all official meetings can
occur. It will support in maintaining the privacy for all the necessary information of the
business management (Pan, and Zhang, 2021).
 Employees and other staff members will get the opportunities to ask any queries
regarding the work which has been assigned to them or else.
 This application will also have designed in such a manner through which company is able
to update their relevant training programs or other activities.
 Along with this, app will able to tell the performance graph of the employees.
 It will also inform about some of the basic information like attendance of the employees,
salary, leaves, etc.

Objective of the project-
The main aim of this software development project is to build the efficiency of the
management to handle the such situation like COVID, where employees of Marks and Spencer
were conducting all its activity from their home. As this application will be the personal
application of the company, so it will eliminate all the technical errors or glitches which
company may have face while using some other applications. Overall, objective of this project is
to ensure the privacy and safety of the company's information, by using their own application for
the business activity.
Stakeholder's Analysis-
 Higher Management- For this project, it is important to have a complete discussion and
inclusion of higher authority as they are the on who will going to arrange all the teams
and departments for this project. With proper contribution of upper management of the
company, it will become quite difficult to implement this project within the infrastructure
of the company (Qais Hashil Salim, 2021). In Marks and Spencer, employees who will
get duty to perform any task in this software development project must follow all the
guidelines and protocols which are essential for the proper functioning of this plan.
 Technical Team- It is the most important factor of this project, as the optimum execution
and success of the software will depend on the efficient working of the technical team. It
is necessary for Marks and Spencer to hire such skilled professional for this task who will
support in presenting the well-structured application for the company. The main focus of
the team should be on examining the ways through which management does not have to
face any kind of issue with the operation of this software. A complete evaluation should
be performed on the removal of glitches and other problems, so the members will not
face any obstruction while working with this application.
 Customers- Marks and Spencer is a retail organisation, so all the activities which are
conducting within the organisation is completely belong to the fulfilment of the general
interest of the customers. Although, there is very low interest of the consumers in the
development of this application but still company have to consider the presence of them
while taking any decision for the betterment of the business. The reason behind
considering customers as one of stakeholder for this project development is this that all

the meetings and activities which will be organised on this platform is any how connected
to provide good quality experience to the consumers.
 Investors- Finance is a major element for the company while taking any action or
developing plan in respect to the project. It is necessary for the team who are involved in
this programme to explore the best source through which they can raise enough amount
of fund. This help in carrying out all the activities effectively and ensures the success of
this project. To attract the more investors for this project, company should focus on
presenting this software in such a way which will make sure that they will get the better
return for the fund which is being invested in this project (Zarghami, and Dumrak, 2020).
 Media- To inform the people about the new development and offering of Marks and
Spencer, social media or other advertising instrument are necessary as they increase the
reach of the actions which are taken by the company and helps in informing the people
about the innovative ideas which are developed by the team.
Work Break Down structure-
It refers to the division of work into small segments, so that Marks and Spencer can easily
allocate the activities among the department according to their suitability. There are numerous
benefits of this framework in the project management of the company.
 Helps in arranging the work in systematic order- Company is able to prioritise the
work according to its importance in the completion of the task. Moreover, it will also
help in avoiding the situation of confusion among the employees regarding the proper
working all the duties which are assigned to them.
 Development of to do list for the task- When work is being divided among the
individuals then it will become very easy to decide about the activities which are to be
done or not. This helps in building a list of the task which could be extremely important
for the effective working of the software development project of Marks and Spencer.
 Supports in identification risk- It is also helpful in exploring the relevant risk which
could be associated to the activities which are involved in this project. By this company is
able to construct desired plan of action which may support in handling such situation.
 Optimum utilisation of resources- Distribution of work among the employees will also
help in reducing the possibilities of wastage of the resources or funds which are procured
by the management for the establishment of the software in the company.

 Improved communication among the team- WBS also allow a smooth conversation
among the people who are involved in the working of this project (Pellerin, and Perrier,
2019). With this company is able to attain a good relation and team spirit among their
employees, which automatically supports the possibility to active the set goal of the
company. Individuals are able to express them more while discussing about the
functioning of the project and will present more creative ideas to assist the better working
of the project.
 Cost-effective- An efficient management of the budget is only possible when company
follow the WBS in the functioning of their project. Marks and Spencer can allocate the
funds which is being raised by the team for this project. In this company will check out
the requirement of money for each of the phase and start spending according to that.
Marks and Spencer should conduct a meeting where all the members will discuss on the
activities which should be taken into consideration for the proper implementation of the idea
of the software development program (Ma, and Wong, 2018). In this meeting, company will
decide the activities which are necessary for this project and then distribute the work
according to the preferences. It will also help in identifying the correct individual for the
performance of the functions in the systematic way. Work break down structure of Marks
and Spencer for this task is stated below-

By considering all the activities which are mentioned in the work breakdown chart, it has
been noticed that how systematically activities have been divided according to the requirement
and preferences of the project. Now, Marks and Spencer should look out on their employees,
about their skills and qualities (Perkins, Mathur, and Jugdev, 2020). This will help in identifying
the right candidate to perform the activities, in order to enhance the chances of success for this
project. By the utilisation of WBS in the management of the project company will get the
opportunities to run the functions which are included in the completion of the task efficiently and
effectively. Marks and Spencer must have to add this framework of the project management
while working on the procedure software development.
Resources used in this project-
 Knowledge- People who are involved in this project must have enough knowledge of
computer and other technical attributes. As it will simplify the working and stimulates the
contribution of the management.
 Human resource- This is the main component for any business either they are planning
to develop project or not. A good workforce of the company is responsible for the success
Software
Development
Project
Initiation Planning Execution Monitor
Market research Budget Employee
feedback
Closure
Beta Testing Official launch
Analytical
studies
Operational
planning
Error
rectification
Human resource
evaluation
Company server
maintenance
Feasibility
studies
UI/UX
Development
Hiring of
Professionals

and helps in discovering the more ways through which company can attain the
competitive advantage in the market (Chakrabortty, Abbasi, and Ryan, 2019).
 Financial Resource- To run a business activity more efficiently, it is necessary for the
company to have enough amount of funds. There various resources through which Marks
and Spencer can raise fund for their software development project. And to acquire
finance from these resources, company must come up with a strong planning which will
guarantee better result of the project in the long run of the business.
 Tools- Marks and Spencer needs to consider various instruments such coding and other
online training program for their employees, so as to achieve the good understanding of
the project among them.
 Time- Company must consider the required time to accomplish the target of the
company. Management will focus on taking least amount of time for this task, because if
the project gets extended from the decided timeline then it may also affect the budget and
this will add to the cost of the company.
Consideration of resources-
Company should know that the availability of resources is very necessary for the
completion of the task on time. Marks and Spencer should guide their employees about the
optimum used of the present resources. Company must work on the complete allocation of the
materials which are used in this project (Henriksson, Walker, and Thakrar, 2021). For instance, if
company has decided a budget of 20000 pounds for the accomplishment of this task. Then it is
the responsibility of the finance team to assign the funds to each of the activity in the best
possible that all of them get completed in the given sum of money.
Gantt Chart-
Construction of this chart in the process of project management will help in determining
the work which is to be performed and how much time will be taken by the management for the
accomplishment of the task.

Risk Assessment-
Different types of risk are there which could be experienced by Marks and Spencer in while
working on the development of the software. So risk which are associated to this project are
mentioned below-

 Code Issue- It is important for the company to have such employees or professionals
inside the business organisation who are expert in handling codes as these are very much
needed for the development of any software. If Marks and Spencer will face any
problems related to the code development of the project, then it might affect the overall
planning which is involved in this process (Robles, 2018). So, it is mandatory for the
company to hire such technical team for this project who is skilled in this field.
 Problem of budget- Company must focus on using efficient method to handle their
budget. Moreover, a complete evaluation is necessary on the activities which are included
in this project and required funds for the smooth functioning.
 Poor coordination among team- It happens so many times that project deadline gets
missed due to the lack of team sprit among the members. If Marks and Spencer does not
want to face this situation in their project, then company should focus on developing
better communication methods among the employees.
 Unsure stakeholders- Company should focus on assuring maximum amount of profit to
the stakeholders form this project. In any case if these stakeholders lose their interest in
this project, then it will be difficult for the Marks and Spencer to arrange fund for all the
activities which are involved in this project.
Conclusion
The above given report went into the detailed discussion which is related to the creation of the
software development for the company Marks and Spencer. It has explained the complete
guideline of the project and the reason due to which company has decided to take such step in the
functioning of the management. A brief description on the objective of the project and benefits of
which marks and spencer will attain after the completion of this project has been stated in this
report. Along with this, it has also elaborated the various stakeholders who are directly and
indirectly involved in the making of this project and impact of the project on them. Utilization of
work breakdown structure which will has made it more simple for the Marks and Spencer to take
necessary action on this given project. And in last risk which is associated to this project along
with Gantt chart to check the required timeline for the completion of this project.

References
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Pellerin, R. and Perrier, N., 2019. A review of methods, techniques and tools for project planning and
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321.
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