Project Management: Development of a QAHE Recreation Mobile Application

This report discusses the development of a new QAHE recreation mobile application to help students receive updates and information about various events and contact details. It includes a sample project initiation document and a work breakdown structure.

Project Management
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Table of Contents
INTROUCTION..............................................................................................................................3
Part 1................................................................................................................................................3
A. Sample Project Initiation Document..................................................................................3
B. Work Breakdown Structure...............................................................................................6
Part 2 ...............................................................................................................................................9
A. Risk Register......................................................................................................................9
B. Role of a risk management plan......................................................................................10
Part 3..............................................................................................................................................11
i.) Need for effective, structured communication and recommendations using appropriate
theory and examples.............................................................................................................11
ii.) Waterfall and PRINCE2 methodologies.........................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
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INTROUCTION
Project management can be referred to as a practice that involves planning, initiating,
planning, executing, controlling and managing the work of a team in order to achieve goals and
objectives in the specified time (Badewi and Shehab, 2016). The main objective of the concept
of project management is to achieve all the goals of the project within given limitations. In order
to do so, a project manager has to manage a lot of activities including scheduling, monitoring and
controlling etc. This report is based on QAHE wherein its students find it difficult to contact the
representatives from various societies as well as clubs. Thus, in order to help them out, a new
QAHE recreation mobile application is planned to be developed which will provide latest
information and details to the students regarding various events that are held and contact details
of the concerned person.
Part 1
A. Sample Project Initiation Document
Title of the Project : Development of a new QAHE recreation mobile application and make it
easier for students to receive updates.
Mission - A mission statement can be defined as a statement that describes the reason of
an organisation's existence, its goals, the kind of products and services it provides etc. An
organisation should keep revising its mission statement as the goals and objectives keep
changing. The mission of the project is to develop a recreation mobile application for the
students.
Aims - All the project activities as well as tasks are aimed at making the process of
receiving updates and being informed of the daily details of various events of the clubs and
societies for the students and provide them with the freedom of publicising their individual
events (Görög, 2016).
Budget - A budget can be defined as financial plan that is set for a specific period of
time, mostly a year and include planned revenues, sales, expenses, liabilities and assets. The
budget that is provided for developing the mobile application to the project manager is £ 200k.
The budget will cover all the expenses including programming, hiring qualified individuals who
will develop the application etc. (Harrison and Lock, 2017). The Project Manager will decide
how will the budget be divided into portions so that it is utilised to its complete efficiency. For
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example - 20% of it will be spent on conducting research, approximately 30-35% will be spent
on hiring developers, 40% on purchasing the application software and nearly 10% on
promotions.
Timescales - Timescale can be defined as the time duration that is required to conduct
research and complete the whole project well within time in an effective manner. The project
manager of the concerned project will need to develop a team of qualified an skilled
professionals who will help him in identifying innovative and unique ways of completing the
tasks. Thus, for all of this, he will require a time period of at least a month to be able to conduct
all the required tasks efficiently on time. And from this, he will require at least 15 days to
conduct promotions and approximately 20 days of developing, testing the application.
Objectives - The primary objective of the respective event is to solve the students'
problem of receiving updates and remaining informed of day to day events of the university's
clubs and societies. This will also enable them to remain in contact with the representatives of
the clubs.
Approach - Approach can be defined as a factor or a component that helps making an
event more effective as well as efficient. The Project Manager of the respective organisation is
primarily focussed on hiring skilled application developers who will develop an application that
meets the required standards and is easy for students to use (Heagney, 2016). For this, he will
need to put forward the requirement of application developers through various platforms like
emails, job portals etc. so that people notice the same and apply for the open positions.
Key staff - The key people who will be needed as staff members in order to complete this
project include the project manager who will control, monitor and manage all the activities,
application developers who will develop the application, testers – who will test if the application
that is developed by the developers work correctly or not and people for conducting research
regarding how many students use smartphones that have internet (Sunder M, 2016).
Stakeholder analysis - There are several stakeholders within an organisation like
directors, board members, students, staff, faculty, administrators, creditors, government, owners
and suppliers etc. The QAHE has divided its stakeholders into 4 groups that are explained below
-  High Power, High Interest : People in this category, i.e., the directors have high power
and high interest in the organisation because they are the ones who invest in the various
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operations of the same. They should always be kept well informed of the various events
and projects that are undertaken. High Power, Low Interest : The students fall in this group as they have high power over
the organisation but have a low interest (Kerzner, 2017). And they can influence the
overall functions of the university as well.
 Low Power, High Interest : The head of the university will fall under this category as he
has more interest than power over the university as the major power is with the directors.
 Low Power, Low Interest : The vendors and suppliers will fall in this category as they
are only involved in providing the related soft wares for developing the application for
the students and have no power and interest in the same.
Importance of stakeholders -
Stakeholders provides the business and project the practical and financial support as they
are interested in the project ranging from the employees to loyal consumers. It is broad group of
individuals that take care about organisational goals and objectives by giving one of their best
efforts with help of skills and capabilities positively. A business and project with engaged
community of stakeholders can be able to reap important benefits from healthy relationship with
them. So it can be said that stakeholders plays very much important role financial and non
financially in a project success.
Ways in which stakeholders can contribute or block the project -
It is very much important for an organisation to pay majorly attention on their
stakeholders interest because it can be costly if stakeholders ignored and their expectation level
as it impact project negatively such as delay in deliveries. So it is very much important to take
care needs of stakeholder by using effective kind of communication by delivering important
knowledge and information to viewing progress report, work status. So progress and hindrances
of project depends directly on stakeholders.
Strategy for managing stakeholders -
To Manage the stakeholders it is very much important to build strategies and tactics in
order to remain competitive in marketplace. The first and foremost strategy is to use stakeholder
mapping that helps early in the project to analyse important stakeholders. It can be possible by
identification of factors such as proximity of project, demographics, interest in project and needs,
expectations, previous public statements in order to gain desirable outcomes from the specified
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project. So identification of respective factors helps to choose one of best stakeholders and their
management bring potential outcomes in an organisation.
B. Work Breakdown Structure
Work Breakdown structure can be defined as the process in which a major task is divided
into small activities that are easy to complete which leads to a successful completion of the
project within the specified time efficiently (Kerzner, 2018). The 20 activities that are divided by
the project manager of QAHE are listed below -
1. Establishment of Objectives
2. Market research
3. Selection of relevant ideas
4. Development of a plan
5. Designing promotional activities
6. Developing the Application
7. Test and Conduct analysis
8. Evaluation
9. Feasibility of the market
10. Forecasting Demand
11. Purchase of software
12. Evaluate the software
13. Developing a Budget
14. Arrange activities accordingly
15. Monitor activities
16. Conduct promotional activities
17. Launch the application
18. Examine the audience's response
19. Hire more representatives
20. Analyse overall effectiveness
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Part 2
A. Risk Register
A risk register can be defined as a tool that is used by an organisation to identify risks and
thus develop effective plans according to the same (Kivilä, Martinsuo and Vuorinen, 2017). In
context to QAHE, a risk register is explained below -
Risk Mitigation
Action
Contingency
Action
Pre action score
(Out of 10, where
10 is high risk and
1 is low)
Post action score
(Out of 10, where
10 is high risk
and 1 is low)
A delay in the
delivery of the
developed
application that
is required for
the next
academic year.
To avoid this, an
agreement can
be signed
between the
management of
university and
the developers
that if the
complete
product is not
delivered within
the specified
time, a legal
action can be
taken (Martens
and Carvalho,
2017).
The Project
Manager should
also have a
backup plan
which can be
used in case of a
sudden situation.
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Student
demands don't
match the final
product
There are
chances that the
demands and
preferences of
In such a
situation, the
project manager
should revise his
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the students can
change and they
ask for
additional
facilities (Meng
and Boyd, 2017).
strategies as well
as update the
application
according to the
demand and
feedback of the
students.
Fluctuation in
the overall
budget of the
project in case
of an increased
need of
resources.
The project
manager will
have to
formulate
strategies
according to the
project and its
needs.
If such a situation
arises, the project
manager will
have to apply for
a bank loan or
any other means
to manage all the
tasks and get the
project complete
well within time.
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B. Role of a risk management plan
A risk management plan can be defined as a document that is prepared by a project
manager to forecast risks, estimate their impacts and develop responses for the same. The plan
consists of various components including definitions, assumptions, a risk register and so on.
Adopting this approach helps in cutting down and avoiding risks and their impact on the overall
functioning of the organisation from the available resources. A risk register forms a crucial part
of a risk management plan as it gathers and records various risks that are associated with a
project and the actions that can be taken to mitigate the same (Meredith and et. al., 2017). A risk
can be anything that can impact the budget, performance and timeline of the project in a
significant manner.
If risk is not managed efficient in a project, it can lead to a delay in the overall project
schedule, the budget might get overspent leading to a wastage and loss of finances
(Understanding The Impacts Of Poor Risk Management On Project Performance, 2019). Also,
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there can be chances that the project might fail due to non-cooperation of the team members and
poor management skills of the leader which will in turn lead to client not being happy with the
final product and may not want to work with the organisation in the future.
Part 3
i.) Need for effective, structured communication and recommendations using appropriate theory
and examples
Communication is a necessity for individuals as it helps in exchanging ideas, expressions
and knowledge from each other. Effective communication among the employees of an
organisation is extremely important as it helps in generating effective output. A project manager
should maintain healthy and appropriate communication with his team members as then only
they 'll be able to perform in a much more efficient way and work towards getting the tasks done.
Also, having a policy of open and clear communication helps in creating a sense of transparency
which in turn helps in building trust among the workforce and thus reduces confusion. Effective,
structured communication is important because it helps in building healthy relationships between
the team members and the project manager on a both social as well as professional level. If the
communication is not structured, it creates confusion and ambiguity in the organisation which
gives rise to negative feelings among the employees. Thus, there must be clarity among them
regarding the goals and objectives which helps in preventing and reducing problems as well as
conflicts. The employees in Marks and Spencer communicate with each other in an effective
manner due to which new and innovative ideas are put forward which indicates that they are
interested, engaged and commmitted to their work. There is a strong sense of teamwork and goal
achievement that they work enthusiastically in getting tasks completed.
Theory of Communication
The Communication Theory was put forward by S. F. Scudder in 1980 and states that all
living beings including plants, animals, human beings that exist on the planet communicate,
although their ways of communicating with each other differ. The theory framework consists of
various viewpoints that are explained below - Mechanistic : This viewpoint states that communication is the transmission of
information from one person to another and nothing else. The first person is called the
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sender whereas the latter is known as the receiver of the message (Rasnacis and Berzisa,
2017). Psychological : As per the psychological viewpoint, communication is not the transfer of
information from the sender to the receiver but his feelings and thoughts that he tries to
share. Reactions and feelings of the receiver are also counted in this viewpoint. Social : It states that communication is the result of interaction between the sender as
well as the receiver and that it depends directly on the matter of the speech that is being
spoken. Systematic : According to this viewpoint, communication is a different and new
messaged that is created when different people interpret the same in their own unique
ways and thus draw conclusion.
 Critical : This viewpoint states that communication is way through which a person
expresses his authority and power over other people.
Thus, the communication process in this particular project of developing a recreation app
should be thoroughly structured so that the resources available are utilised in the most effective
and efficient manner to get the project completed on time. There should be formal
communication between the team members and project manager. This helps in coordinating all
the small tasks and activities of the large task. The team members will be able to understand the
message that s being conveyed by the manager in a more refined way and will have a clarity of
how tasks are to be completed.
ii.) Waterfall and PRINCE2 methodologies
Waterfall Model
The model is basically a design process presented in a sequence wherein the progress of a
project is seen flowing downwards like a waterfall through various phases like design, analysis,
conception, testing etc. The various sequences of the model for the project of creating the mobile
application are explained below - Requirement gathering and analysis : In this step, all requirements of the system that are
to be developed are captured and documented carefully by the project manager. System Design : The various specifications of the requirement from the first stage are
studied and a design of the system is created which helps in specifying the requirements
and in defining the overall architecture of the system.
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 Implementation : The system is initially developed in small units of programs that are
further integrated in the next stage wherein each unit is individually tested for its
functionality by application testers (Sanchez and Terlizzi, 2017). Integration and Testing : All the units that are developed in the previous stage are now
integrated in the system and then the complete system is tested again for any errors or
faults.
 Deployment of system and Maintenance : Once the complete testing of the system is
done, the product will then be deployed and launched among the students. But there are
chances that some issues might come up, thus to cover this patches will be released and
the app will be enhanced with better versions.
PRINCE 2 Methodology
This particular theory is used by an organisation when it is working on a project or
conducts one. The theory primarily focuses on three aspects namely- event organisation, its
control and ending the project in an effective manner. It also helps the organisation in controlling
the complete project. By implementing this methodology, the project manager of QAHE will
analyse the strengths and weaknesses which are explained below -
Strengths Time and Cost Effective : The respective organisation will be able to complete the project
on time and by using the cost it has been assigned effectively. This will make the end
result more efficient. Standardisation : There will be reduced chances of the team members getting misdirected
or miscommunicated which will thus help in achieving the goals in an effective manner.
 Predictable : By adopting various effective methods, the project manager of QAHE will
be able to predict risks which will help in formulating effective strategies.
Weaknesses
 Unrealistic : Some stages in the process might prove to be unrealistic as they did not help
in identifying the risks accurately which gave rise to some errors and faults (Silvius,
2017).
 Complex : PRINCE 2 method overall is a difficult and complex approach due to which
very limited managers or leaders adopt it. Therefore, for the project manager to adopt this
approach, the university will have to invest a lot of money.
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Thus, it is recommended that the university should make use of the Waterfall model as it
is simple as well as easy to understand and use. Also, each stage of the project has its specific
outcomes which a process of review. Each stage is completed one at a time and is thus more
effective for small projects wherein the requirements of the project are completely understood by
both the members of the team as well as the leader or manager.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that in order to complete a project, various
activities are involved such as market research, identifying the potential customers and so on.
Besides this, various strategies, budgets and plans are also developed to complete the overall
project in time. For this, organisations can make use of various models and theories in order to
sync and coordinate all the activities with each other so that there is no ambiguity or confusion
among the team members.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Badewi, A. and Shehab, E., 2016. The impact of organizational project benefits management
governance on ERP project success: Neo-institutional theory perspective. International
Journal of Project Management. 34(3). pp.412-428.
Görög, M., 2016. A broader approach to organisational project management maturity assessment.
International Journal of Project Management. 34(8). pp.1658-1669.
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2018. Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John Wiley
& Sons.
Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M. and Vuorinen, L., 2017. Sustainable project management through
project control in infrastructure projects. International Journal of Project Management.
35(6). pp.1167-1183.
Martens, M. L. and Carvalho, M. M., 2017. Key factors of sustainability in project management
context: A survey exploring the project managers' perspective. International Journal of
Project Management. 35(6). pp.1084-1102.
Meng, X. and Boyd, P., 2017. The role of the project manager in relationship management.
International Journal of Project Management. 35(5). pp.717-728.
Meredith, J. R. and et. al., 2017. Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley &
Sons.
Rasnacis, A. and Berzisa, S., 2017. Method for adaptation and implementation of agile project
management methodology. Procedia Computer Science. 104. pp.43-50.
Sanchez, O. P. and Terlizzi, M. A., 2017. Cost and time project management success factors for
information systems development projects. International Journal of Project Management.
35(8). pp.1608-1626.
Silvius, G., 2017. Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Journal of
Cleaner Production. 166. pp.1479-1493.
Sunder M, V., 2016. Lean six sigma project management–a stakeholder management
perspective. The TQM Journal. 28(1). pp.132-150.
Online
Understanding The Impacts Of Poor Risk Management On Project Performance. 2019. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.opuskinetic.com/2018/09/understanding-the-impacts-of-
poor-risk-management-on-project-performance/>.
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