University Project Plan and Management

This assignment presents a comprehensive plan for a university project spanning four years. It details the strategy for timely completion by ensuring resources are readily available and risks are identified and addressed proactively. The plan also includes a detailed benefits realization strategy focusing on human resource training to ensure understanding of project objectives and successful implementation through timely ICT system maintenance.

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Business Case
TITLE
Monash University ICT Center Project plan
Student Name: < Your Name >
Student Number: < Your Student Number >
Course: <Enter Course Details>
Unit Coordinator/
Lecturer: Grant Axman-Friend ([e-mail])
Institution: Queensland University of Technology
Teaching Period: Semester 2, 2017
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report discusses the scope of the project and defines the main aims and objectives of the
research. The scope of the project is very wide with very many stakeholders being involved
in the project. The project has many partners and it has many aspects such as construction of
the ICT center and installation of the telecommunication and ICT system.The service
delivery requirements for the project include.To understand the operations of institutions and
align the operations and structure of the university with the ICT strategy.Put Monash
University as a technology oriented institution and hence attract more local and international
students to the University.The key success factors for this project include cost minimization
and risk management. The constraints that are expected to be faced during the
implementation of the project include time factor and limited resources. The risk
management strategies that will be used by the project team include risk avoidance,risk
control and risk transfer. The project governance structure and the communication plan for
the project is also outlined in this report.The budget of the project and expected incomes and
expenses for the project are also highlighted in this report.
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Business Case
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................2
1 PROJECT NEED...............................................................................................................5
1.1 SERVICE DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS................................................................5
1.2 ALIGNMENT WITH PROGRAM PLAN..................................................................5
1.3 PROJECT OBJECTIVES............................................................................................5
1.4 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSF’S)...............................................................6
2 OPTIONS ANALYSIS......................................................................................................7
2.1 OPTIONS CONSIDERED..........................................................................................7
2.2 OPTIONS EVALUATION CRITERIA......................................................................7
2.3 OPTIONS EVALUATION.........................................................................................8
2.4 RECOMMENDED OPTION......................................................................................9
3 PROJECT DEFINITION...................................................................................................9
3.1 SCOPE DESCRIPTION..............................................................................................9
3.2 CONSTRAINTS AND DEPENDENCIES.................................................................9
3.3 SCOPE MANAGEMENT.........................................................................................10
3.4 PROJECT DELIVERABLES...................................................................................11
3.5 PROJECT KPI’S.......................................................................................................11
4 PROJECT APPROACH...................................................................................................13
4.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY..............................................................13
4.1.1 PROJECT STRUCTURE...................................................................................13
4.1.2 PROJECT GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK...................................................14
4.1.3 PROJECT REPORTING STRUCTURE...........................................................14
4.2 PROCUREMENT STRATEGY...............................................................................14
4.3 COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.....15
5 BUDGET, PROGRAM AND RISK................................................................................16
5.1 TIMING / PROJECT READINESS..........................................................................16
5.2 BUDGET/COST ANALYSIS AND FUNDING STRATEGY................................16
5.3 RISK ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY........................................17
5.4 PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY............................................17
5.5 PROJECT COMPLETION STRATEGY..................................................................17
5.6 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN..........................................................................18
6 REFERENCES.................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX A..........................................................................................................................20
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A.1 PROJECT SCHEDULE............................................................................................20
A.2 PROJECT COST PLAN............................................................................................20
A.3 PROJECT RISK REGISTER....................................................................................20
A.4 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN..........................................................................20
A.5 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS on OPTIONS..................................................................20
A.6 STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT MATRIX...........................................................20
A.7 **********...............................................................................................................20
A.8 **********...............................................................................................................20
A.9 **********...............................................................................................................20
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1 PROJECT NEED
Text
1.1 SERVICE DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS
The service delivery requirements are the minimum conditions that are required for the
project to be regarded as viable. This requirement provides a basis of either rejecting the
project or going ahead with project implementation. The minimum service delivery
requirements for this project on building and implementation of an ICT center for Monash
University include:
1. The project should be able to able to provide enough learning space for all student:
2. The project should be able to offer students additional knowledge and skills on ICT
3. The project needs to be able to offer both local and international students unique
experiences in the matters of technology and encourage technological innovation
1.2 ALIGNMENT WITH PROGRAM PLAN
The service requirements are in line with the project plan since the project plan is meant to
improve service provision and increase efficiency in the organization.
1.3 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to provide students with an opportunity to innovate technological
and to develop new ideas in this field of study.
 To understand the operations of institutions and align the operations and structure of the
university with the ICT strategy.
 Put Monash University as a technology oriented institution and hence attract more local
and international students to the University.
 Provide students and staff alike with opportunities to innovate and develop new
technological products and advance the existing technology
 Achieve highly integrated communication system within the university
 Connect the University with the entire world through very high speed internet
connection.
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 Provide students with the best learning environment so increase their productivity and
aid in research in different fields of study.

1.4 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSF’S)
Establishment of the right technological infrastructure in terms of computers and other
machines
 Availability of all construction materials and resources to enable the construction of the
facility to house the ICT center.
 Risk management. It is very important for risk to be well managed in this project both in
the construction of the facility and in installation of machines. This is because risk can
result to great or irreversible loss for the business.
 Cost reduction. The cost of building the facility needs to be managed to avoid costs
increasing further and hence ruining the original budget set for the project.
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2 OPTIONS ANALYSIS
2.1 OPTIONS CONSIDERED
Table template/structure below
Table1: Table demonstrating options considered
Head
1
Head 2 Head 3 Head 4
1  Construction of many IT units in the University in
different departments
 Equipping students with personal computers to aid
them in research
 Entering into partnership with major ICT companies
where students can go for their attachment and
experience the work place environment.
 Installation of high speed internet connection
throughout the university.
 Construction of mobile phone hardware assembly to
design and manufacture hardware which the university
can supply to the mobile phone companies.
 Construction of a single world class modern ICT hub
with high tech equipment and computers to aid in
research and innovation

Table 2-1 | Project options
2.2 OPTIONS EVALUATION CRITERIA
Text and a table structure/template below
The options highlighted above need to be evaluated to determine which of the options is the
most suitable. The suitability of the options depends on the alignment of the project with the
long term organizational goals and objectives. The criteria used to evaluate the suitability of
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the project include the cost of implementation of the project, the benefits expected to accrue
from the project and the alignment of the project to the vision and mission of the organization
( Heldman, 2011).
Table 2;Options evaluation criteria
Cost-Benefit analysis
Suitability of the project to
the vision of the University
Effectiveness This is the measure of project
intervention objectives and how they
will be achieved by the time the
project is completed
Impacts This are the positive, negative and
secondary long term effects
produced by the project whether
intended or unintended
Relevance This is the measure of the extent to
which the objectives of the intended
project are in line with the needs of
the intended beneficiaries who in
this case are the students and the
teaching staff of the University
Table 2-2 | Table 2 footer example – linked to contents
2.3 OPTIONS EVALUATION
Text
 Using the criteria outlined above, the four options presented by the University were
analyzed. The five evaluation methods stated above were used and they were rated an
index to help identify which of the options provided was the most suitable than all the
others. The option that was scored the highest in all the rubrics used to gauge the
suitability of the project is the one that is undertaken by the University.
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2.4 RECOMMENDED OPTION
Text
 The construction of an ultra Modern ICT center for the University with the highly
sophisticated computers and other equipment to aid the student in research and
development in the technology.
3 PROJECT DEFINITION
3.1 SCOPE DESCRIPTION
Text
The scope of the project is very wide. The products that will be required to successfully
implement this project include the construction of the building that will be housing the
facility. The building will be a huge complex that can serve at least 2000 students at any
particular time. The construction will require a huge budget and will take approximately
three years to complete. The design of the building is sophisticated and the University
will use the project as an opportunity to showcase the outstanding skills and knowledge
by the former students of the University who have been awarded the tender. The project
will involve various stakeholders to help see it to completion. The board of governors of
the University needs to approve the final details of the project including the project
budget. The other important stakeholder in this project is the partner who is sponsoring
the project. The project has attracted many investors with companies like Google and
Microsoft being highly involved in the IT installation phase and future collaboration. The
other stakeholders in the project are the companies constructed to perform the actual
construction. The project has to be completed within four years putting into consideration
risk factors that may occur during the implementation of the project.
3.2 CONSTRAINTS AND DEPENDENCIES
Text
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This project expects to face some challenges and limitations that may distract its
implementation. The challenges are the potential pitfalls that may be experienced during the
implementation of the project (Chin, 2014). The following are the potential constraints and
dependencies for the project:
 Inflation of the project cost given the changing economic and financial environment.
This may bring about a budget constraint.
 Shortage of unskilled labor since the project is labor intensive. This may lead to delay in
the project.
 Unplanned alterations in project design due to the technical challenges that may occur
during the project implementation
 Time constraint as a result of unexpected delays in procurement of materials and other
factors that may occur during the implementation of the project.
3.3 SCOPE MANAGEMENT
Scope management is concerned with understanding and managing the core aspects required
for the project to be implemented successfully. The management of the scope of this project
begins with the planning stage. The building of housing the ICT center is designed to
accommodate approximately 2000 students at any particular time. The building is also set to
accommodate offices for staff in the ICT department. The initial plan of the project is to
ensure that a very strong high tech network is created in the ICT center and throughout the
university. The building is will also have laboratories where students can carry out
experiments to help them develop new technological products. The control stage of this
project management is concerned with monitoring of the progress of the project and
approving or disapproving project changes. A committee is formed to oversee monitoring of
the project to ensure that all the objectives stated in the project plan are being fulfilled. The
committee is also in charge of approving any changes in project design or in any other
aspects of the project that the project manager may recommend changes. The final stage of
the scope management will be able to the closing stage where the committee will evaluate
and audit the project deliverable to determine whether or not the deliverable have been
achieved or not.
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3.4 PROJECT DELIVERABLES
The main deliverable of the project are the main pillars of the project which needs to be
implemented do that the project goals and objectives can be achieved. The project
deliverables have to be fulfilled for the project to be deemed successful. The following are
the deliverable of the ICT project.
 Successful completion of construction of the building that will be the ICT center of the
university. The building design and capacity of the building must be maintained and
completed on time so as to ensure that the aims and objectives of the project are
achieved.
 Hardware. The hardware components for the project are very crucial for this project. The
hardware component include computers, cables, routers, transmission machines and the
other hardware component that are necessary for the project have to be procured on
time(Kloppenborg, 2015). The suppliers of the hardware components needs to be
identified and they should have the capacity to supply high quality products on time.
 Telecommunication is another important project deliverable for this project.
Telecommunication for the project is a very key component of this project. The ICT
center is to be installed with high quality communication gadgets such as routers,
computers and telephone networks. It should be able to make communication easier
within and outside of the University.
 The database systems of the ICT center should be of high capacity due to the huge
volumes of data that will be in the system. The database should be able to handle the
huge data traffic and the sophisticated system that is in place.
3.5 PROJECT KPI’S
The key performance indicators for this project are the measures that will be used to gauge
the success of the project.. The key performance indicators for this project will help to
compare the state of the project after the project has been completed and compare the
achievements of the project with what was envisioned before the project began (Luckey&
Phillips, 2007). The key performance indicators for this project include:
 Cost performance measure. This will compare the cost of the project with the current
performance to establish whether or not the project meets the threshold.
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 Project return on investment. The performance of the project is also measured through
the return on the initial investment of the project. The aim of this project is not to
maximize revenue for the University but it is also expected to generate substantial
revenue through corporate organizations who will buy licenses of products developed by
the University.
 The project schedule designed at the beginning of the project will be used as a measure
of performance through comparison with the time that the project will be completed.
 Current resource allocation. The amount of resources used throughout the project will be
compared with what was planned initially to compare if its a success or not.
 Comparison of actual amount spent on the project with the initial budget. This helps to
determine the deviation from the project and hence track wastage of resources and
inefficiency (Lester, 2013).
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4 PROJECT APPROACH
4.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
4.1.1 PROJECT STRUCTURE
Chart 1
The structure outlined above is the hierarchy of authority in implementation of the project.
Communication will follow the structure outlined above and the changes in the project will
be implemented through the structure outlined above.
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Steering committee
Project design
team
Project
monitoring
team
Project
manager
Solution
development
team
Resource
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4.1.2 PROJECT GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
The project governance structure is the
Chart 2.
Project sponsor
The project manager in this project is the project champion and brings together all the other
stakeholders of the project. The project sponsor also approves the project charter and is
accountable throughout the project life-cycle. The University is the project sponsor of this
project. The steering committee is in charge of operations of the project. They determine the
techniques to be used to measure the goals and objectives of the project and also monitors
and controls project to ensure its aligned with the charter (Ferraro, 2012). The project
management office is responsible for risk monitoring and manages inter dependencies
between various aspects of the project (Chemuturi& Cagley, 2010). The project manager
manages the performance and progress of the governance plan and executes the
communication plan.
4.1.3 PROJECT REPORTING STRUCTURE
The reporting structure will follow the structure outlined in the project structure. The
structure will be followed both for upward and downward flow of information.
4.2 PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
Procurement of all materials and equipment required in the project will be done centrally.
The procurement will be done by the procurement officer who is under the resource manager.
The suppliers for the products will be chosen through tenders which will be evaluated to
determine the capability of the suppliers (Ferraro,2012). Suppliers will be paid after goods
have been delivered and counter checked to evaluate whether or not they meet the quality
standards required.
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Project
Sponsor
Steering
committee
Project
managem
ent
Project
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4.3 COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Communication is very important for this project due to the huge number of stakeholders
involved and due to the large scope of the project. The following is the communication plan
to be used for the ICT center project.
Table 4
Name of
stakeholder
Method of
communication
Time/frequency
Project manger Face to face
meeting and
emails
Weakly
Steering
committee
Face to face
official
meetings/progress
reports
Monthly
Project sponsor Progress reports
and emails
Monthly
Resource manager Letters Depending on
particular need
Project team
management
office
Face to face
meetings
Daily
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5 BUDGET, PROGRAM AND RISK
5.1 TIMING / PROJECT READINESS
Project readiness is the extent to which the project is ready to begin. The timing of the project
is perfect given the increasing need for the university to offer the students conditions that will
help them to innovate and develop new products and contribute to technological advancement
(Newton, 2013).All the resources required for the project are ready and hence the project is
ready to commence.
5.2 BUDGET/COST ANALYSIS AND FUNDING STRATEGY
The following is the budget for Monash University ICT center construction and equipping
project:
Table 5
Name of project: Monash University ICT center construction and equipping project
Name of client: Monash University
Item Subtotals($) Total($)
Income
Government grant 1,780,500
Fee income 780,345
Product licensing fee 3,675,290 6,236,135
Expenses
Construction material 1,903,450
Labor cost 458,345
Cost of architecture and
design
270,945
Computer purchasing cost 321,678
Equipment installation cost 158,435
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Other costs 45,781
Total expenses 3,158,634
Net income for the project 3,077,501
5.3 RISK ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
The risk in the project will be analyzed using established risk assessment procedures that
have been developed by the risk management team. All the potential risks for the project are
identified and ranked according to probability of occurrence (Young, 2013). The risk
management strategies to be used in this project include avoiding of potential risk where
possible, risk control, risk transfer, loss reduction, spreading of risk and duplication of
resources (Australia& Blanton,2015).
5.4 PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
The strategy of managing quality in this project begins with the selection of suppliers of raw
material and equipment. Suppliers with a good reputation will be selected and the equipment
will be assessed to determine if they meet the required standards before any payment is made.
The project management team office is also in charge of ensuring that quality and safety
standards are met at each stage of the project.
5.5 PROJECT COMPLETION STRATEGY
The project is to be completed within four years. The strategy to help complete this project in
time is by ensuring that all resources are in places that are required for the project to be
implemented on time. The risk that are prevalent in the project have been determined on time
to ensure that there are no unforeseen circumstances that may significantly interfere with the
completion schedule (Fox & Van,2007). Control and monitoring policies and teams are in
place to ensure that every aspect of the project is line with the aims and objectives of the
University
5.6 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN
The benefits of the project have to be achieved by putting in place a human resource team to
help the intended benefactors understand the objectives of the project and how the goals of
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the project should be achieved. Ensure timely maintenance of the ICT systems so that all the
objectives of the project can be achieved. The plan is also to complete the project on time and
within the planned budget.
APPENDIX
Table 1: Table demonstrating options considered before implementation of the project
Table 2:Options evaluation criteria
Chart 1: Project structure
Chart: Project governance framework
Table 4;communication and stakeholder management strategy
Table 5:Budget/cost analysis and funding strategy
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6 REFERENCES
Australia, C. L., & Blanton, S. (2015). Information Technology Project Management.
Chemuturi, M., & Cagley, T. M. (2010). Mastering software project management: Best
practices, tools and techniques. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Pub.
Chin, G. (2014). Agile project management: How to succeed in the face of changing project
requirements. New York: AMACOM.
Heldman, K. (2011). Project management jumpstart. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Ferraro, J. (2012). Project management for non-project managers. New York: AMACOM.
Fox, W., & Van, . W. G. (2007). A guide to project management. Cape Town: Juta
Kloppenborg, T. J. (2015). Contemporary project management: Organize, plan, perform.
Lester, A. (2013). Project Management, Planning and Control. Elsevier Science.
Lewis, J. P. (2007). Fundamentals of project management. New York: AMACOM Books.
Luckey, T., & Phillips, J. (2007). Software project management for dummies
Lock, D. (2014). The essentials of project management.
Newton, R. (2013). The project management book.
Young, T. L. (2013). Successful project management.
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APPENDIX A
A.1 PROJECT SCHEDULE
A.2 PROJECT COST PLAN
A.3 PROJECT RISK REGISTER
A.4 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN
A.5 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS on OPTIONS
A.6 STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT MATRIX
A.7 **********
A.8 **********
A.9 **********
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