Improvement Strategy for Project Management at Mawson Zoo

The Mawson Zoo is implementing new project management technologies to overcome project delays and cost overruns. This paper discusses the improvement strategy, covering alignment with corporate strategy, accountability and responsibility, project organization structure, standardization of methodologies, project performance measurement, and continuous improvement.

Project Management

Project Management
Executive summary
The Mawson Zoo is the organization which is looking forward to implement new project
management technologies for the successful completion of the project. The focus should be
given on the current working strategy of the enterprise so that the systematic arrangement of
the project activities can be planned to achieve strategic goal of the firm. The division of
roles and responsibilities among the stakeholders helps in measuring the performance of the
stakeholder with their accountability associated with the given task. The planning and control
policies helps in increasing the reliability of the proposed project by increasing the efficiency
of the distribution of work among the member participants. It can be concluded that the
deployment of the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) helps in improving the
business management plan of the Mansow zoo
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Project Management
Contents
Executive summary....................................................................................................................0
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................3
2. Discussion...........................................................................................................................3
Alignment of project with corporate strategy.........................................................................3
Accountability and responsibility in project management.....................................................4
Project supporting organization structure...............................................................................5
Standardization of project methodologies across the organization........................................5
Integration of recognised project processes across the project life cycle...............................6
Project performance and success measurement.....................................................................6
Continuous improvement of project practice.........................................................................8
3. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................9
4. Staged implementation schedule......................................................................................10
5. References.........................................................................................................................11
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Project Management
1. Introduction
The Mawson Zoo is the organization which is looking forward to implement new project
management technologies for the successful completion of the project. The organization is
facing problems in accomplishing their project within time and cost so the CEO of the
company decided to implement newer project management methodologies to overcome the
problem of project delay and overrunning of the cost. The purpose of this paper is to design
an improvement strategy for the proposed projects.
2. Discussion
Alignment of project with corporate strategy
The alignment of the project with corporate strategy is the important step for achieving the
project success. The focus should be given on the current working strategy of the enterprise
so that the systematic arrangement of the project activities can be planned to achieve strategic
goal of the firm. The business strategy should be reviewed for managing the priority of the
proposed project. The framework which should be followed for aligning the business
processes with the corporate strategy are comprised of following:
Processes Description
Governance The rules and regulations should be
developed according to the requirement of
the project plan. The ethical code of conduct
should be followed for achieving the project
success
Strategy management The development of the strategic plan helps
the manager to take effective decision. It
helps in improving the decision making
capability of the manager in complex
situation
Portfolio management The development of the portfolio
management helps in analysing the division
of role and responsibilities among the
member participants of the project
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Project Management
Program management The sequencing of project activities with the
allocation of cost and duration of time helps
in overcoming the problem of complexity
(Markovic, 2017)
Structure The development of the organization
structure helps in managing the hierarchy of
the stakeholders for managing the flow of
information between them. The business
strategy should be reviewed for managing the
priority of the proposed project.
Information technology The use of ICT technology helps in
increasing the efficiency and effective of the
information flow among the member
participants (Monnappa, 2017)
People The division of role and responsibilities helps
the people to carry over their given task
within the given time and budget (Patanakul,
2010)
Culture The anti-discrimination policies should be
developed for managing the cultural
differences of the enterprise
Accountability and responsibility in project management
Accountability and responsibility are similar to the two side of the coin. Responsibility is the
authorisation control provided to the stakeholders for completing the task effectively whereas
accountability is measured with the fulfilment of the committed task within the given
timeline and budgeted cost. The division of roles and responsibilities among the stakeholders
helps in measuring the performance of the stakeholder with their accountability associated
with the given task. The RACI matrix is prepared for managing the balance in the delivery of
the project services and productivity. The initialization of the responsibilities with the
associated controls and authority result in completing the project within the specified time.
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Project Management
Project supporting organization structure
The organization structure is developed for managing the authority and the control policies
for accomplishing the task within the approved cost and time. The flow of information is
systemized into three manners which are categorised as functional organization structure,
matrix structure, and project synchronisation activities structure. The development of the
organization structure helps in managing the distribution of the resources, cost and
information among the members participants effectively. The skills and expertise of the
employees should be given privilege for managing the coordination by evaluating the work
breakdown structure.
Standardization of project methodologies across the organization
The initialization and the implementation of the PMBOK project management methodologies
helps in managing the systematic flow of information between the participating stakeholders
to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the work. The following table shows the
benefit of using the standardization of the project methodologies across the organization.
Benefits Description
Reliability The planning and control policies helps in increasing the
reliability of the proposed project by increasing the
efficiency of the distribution of work among the member
participants
Efficiency The working ability of the stakeholders can be improved
by focusing on the division of roles and responsibilities
according to the expertise of the members
Consistency The processes and operational plan can be effectively
implemented for managing the resources among the
stakeholders for completing their work.
Predictability The working ability of the project can be improved by
managing the supply and demand of the resources
Continuous improvement plan The continuous improvement plan helps in achieving the
long term goal of the enterprise
Customer Satisfaction The on-time delivery of the project with good quality
standards helps in increasing the level of satisfaction of
the customers which in turn increases the profitability of
the enterprise
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Project Management
Integration of recognised project processes across the project life cycle
The integration of the project activities with the project management methodologies helps in
improving the articulation of the business plan. The result of the sub-processes and processes
are accumulated for achieving the strategic goal of the enterprise (Halls, 2012). The
implementation of the project management methodologies helps in identifying the
requirement and need of the project, achieves the objective of the project, development of the
in-scope and out-of-scope project activities, sharing of the cost control information,
managing project schedule and activities, analysis of risks identification and management
plan, drawing of the success criteria and quality standard of the project, and managing
monitoring and control policies (Jyothi, and Parkavi, 2016). The change management plan
should be involved to indulge new technique and trends in the existing policies of the project
to enhance the project and operational capabilities of the project. The processes which are
integrated with the project management methodologies are development of the project
charter, scheduling of the project activities with the management of duration of time and cost,
execution and direction of the project work, monitoring and control policies for the effective
utilization of the resources, and last closing of the project.
Project performance and success measurement
The performance of the project can be measured by analysing the success indicators of the
project. The success and the failure of the project depends upon the accumulation of
knowledge, protocols, rules, and regulations (Mansfield community, 2013). The development
of the budget and time schedule helps in setting the date of project completion according to
the timeline and cost provided by the customers during the project specification plan. The use
of ICT technology helps in increasing the efficiency and effective of the information flow
among the member participants. The communication tools and technologies are used for
deploying the informal and formal communication between the stakeholders (Crawford,
2013). The on-time delivery of the information to the project stakeholders results in
increasing the work performance to achieve the goal effectively. The quality of the project
should be evaluated from the requirement specification plan to prepare the checklist for the
proposed system. The success of the project depends upon the following factors:
Success Factors Description
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Project Management
Development of the in-
scope activities
The efficiency of the project depends upon determining the in-
scope activities and out-of-scope activities
Division of role and
responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders should be
divided according to their capabilities. The training and
development program should be arranged for increasing their
expertise
Project sponsorship The approval of the funds for the management and completion
of business activities enhances with the increase in the
investment of the investor
Project cost estimation plan The estimation of the cost should be designed by analysing the
market price of the resources so as to reduce and minimize the
change and variation which exert on the cost schedule
Project timeline schedule The duration of the activities should be allocated for
completing the project within the given timeline
Project quality standards
and checklist
The checklist of the quality standard should be developed so
that the level of customer satisfaction can be judged
(Browning, 2014)
Performance of the
organization
The performance and the reputation of the organization among
the customers helps in analysing the successful completion of
the project
Level of customer
satisfaction
The satisfaction of the customers majorly depends on three
factors cost, time, and quality. The success and failure of the
project can be measured by analysing the delivery of the
project on time, overrunning of the cost, and quality standards.
Sequencing and systematic
arrangement of activities
The development of the project schedule helps in managing
the sequence and flow of project activities systematically (By,
2015). The development of the organization structure helps in
managing the hierarchy of the stakeholders for managing the
flow of information between them.
Continuous improvement of project practice
The continuous improvement plan helps in achieving the long term sustainability of the
proposed project. The continuous improvement plan helps in determining the problems and
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Project Management
issues of the project, establishing management of the organization structure and control,
enhancing creative and critical thinking of the manager, helps in resolving the complexities of
the project, facilitating training and development program for the project, managing
consistency of the information flow, measuring performance by analysing the success
criteria, and determining the systematic review of the project methodologies. The operational
excellence of the proposed project can be achieved by managing the systematic
synchronization of the project plan. The initialization of the continuous improvement plan
helps in managing the changes and issues in the project management methodologies. The
factors which are responsible for the continuous improvement of project practice are as
follows:
Factors for continuous improvement plan Description
Leadership The democratic style of leadership should be
implemented for achieving the project
successfully because it involves the active
participation of the members participants
(Alawneh, and Aouf, 2016)
Employee accountability The employees are responsible for
completing the given task within the given
period of time. The training and development
program should be arranged for enhancing
skills and expertise of them
Risks identification and management plan The project can be successfully completed by
identifying the risks proactively. The risks
severity and risks likelihood should be
calculated to analyse the risks ranking for
setting out the priorities
Risk control policies The risks control policies should be
developed according to the risks impact i.e.
high, medium, and low.
Sharing of knowledge and information The productivity of the organization can be
improved by managing the effective
deployment of the communication tools and
technologies to enhance sharing of
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Project Management
knowledge and information among the
member participants (Otieno, 2014)
Change management plan The change management plan should be
involved to indulge new technique and trends
in the existing policies of the project to
enhance the project and operational
capabilities of the project (Raz, Shenhar, and
Dvir, 2011)
3. Conclusion
It can be concluded that the deployment of the project management body of knowledge
(PMBOK) helps in improving the business management plan of the Mansow zoo which helps
in completing the project within approved cost and time so that the project can be
successfully accepted by the customers which results in increasing the reputation of the
company. The integration of the project activities with the project management
methodologies helps in improving the articulation of the business plan. The quality of the
project should be evaluated from the requirement specification plan to prepare the checklist
for the proposed system. The result of the sub-processes and processes are accumulated for
achieving the strategic goal of the enterprise. The organization structure is developed for
managing the authority and the control policies for accomplishing the task within the
approved cost and time. The processes and operational plan can be effectively implemented
for managing the resources among the stakeholders for completing their work. The
development of the organization structure helps in managing the distribution of the resources,
cost and information among the members participants effectively.
4. Staged implementation schedule
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Project Management
5. References
Alawneh, A., and Aouf, R. (2016). A proposed knowledge management framework for
boosting the success of information system projects. International conference on engineering
and MIS. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7745381/ [Accessed 01 Sep.
2018].
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Planning
and
feasibilit
y
analysis
Risks
Identific
ation
Project
Controls
Resourc
e
Planning
Project
execution
approach
Design
plan
Procure
ment
and
construc
tion plan
Commis
sioning
and
quality
plan
Mission
Scope
Analysis
of the site
Developm
ent of the
problem
domain
Risks
Identifica
tion
Risk
Severity
Risks
Likelihood
Risks
Ranking
Risk
Impact
Risk
mitigation
strategy
Analysis
of the
stakehold
ers
Developm
ent of the
stakehold
er
engageme
nt plan
Developm
ent of the
roles and
responsibi
lities
Availabilit
y of the
skilled
and
unskilled
labour
Recruitme
nt and
selection
procedure
s
Requirem
ent of the
technical
experts
Training
and
developm
ent
program
Site
identifica
tion
Selection
procedure
s
Developin
g layout
of the
design
System
upgrading
Commissi
oning and
execution
Operation
and
maintena
nce
Technical
plan
Cost
estimatio
n plan
System
design,
Constructi
on
planning
Selection
of the
contracto
r and sub-
contracto
rs
Analysis
of the
resources
required
Developm
ent of the
constructi
on plan
Commissi
on plan
Testing
plan
Validation
plan
Quality
Plan

Project Management
Browning, T. (2014). A quantitative framework for managing project values, risk, and
opportunity. International journal of IEEE transaction on engineering management, 61(4).
Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6840973/ [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018].
By, R. (2015). Organization change management: A Critical review. International journal of
change management. Ebook [Online]. Available at:
http://www.canberra.edu.au/researchrepository/file/81c02a90-6a15-91ae-c7a2-
ff44c96d60b2/1/full_text.pdf [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018].
Crawford, J. (2013). Strategy for change management. Available at:
https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/white-papers/strategy-for-change-management.pdf [Accessed
01 Sep. 2018].
Halls, N. (2012). Project Management recent development and research opportunities.
International journal of system science and system engineering, 21(2), pp.129-143. 1st ed.
[ebook]. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11518-012-5190-5
[Accessed 01 Sep. 2018].
Jyothi, N., and Parkavi, A. (2016). A study on task management system. International
conference on Research advanced in integrated navigation system. Available at:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7764421/ [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018].
Mansfield Community. (2013). Introduction to project management. Ebook [Online].
Available at:
http://www.mansfield.vic.gov.au/Libraries/Community_Development/Intro_to_Project_Mana
gement_Manual.sflb.ashx [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018]
Markovic, M. (2017). Effective Organization change management. Serbian Journal of
Management, 3(1), pp. 119-125. Available at: http://www.sjm06.com/SJM%20ISSN1452-
4864/3_1_2008_May_1-125/3_1_119-125.pdf [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018].
Monnappa. (2017). Project scope management: What it is and why it is important. Ebook
[Online]. Available at: https://www.simplilearn.com/project-scope-management-importance-
rar89-article [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018]
Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects. Ebook [Online].
Available at: https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8942.pdf [Accessed 01 Sep. 2018]
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Patanakul, P. (2010). An Empirical study on the use of project management tools and
techniques across project life cycle and their impact on project success. Ebook [Online].
Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260059419_An_Empirical_Study_on_the_use_of_
Project_Management_Tools_and_Techniques_across_Project_Life-
Cycle_and_their_Impact_on_Project_Success[Accessed 01 Sep. 2018]
Raz, T., Shenhar, A., and Dvir, D. (2011). Risk Management, project success, and
technological uncertainty. 1st ebook. Available at:
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