IT Methodologies & Retail Industry Applications

This doctoral dissertation examines various methodologies applicable in Information Technology (IT) environments and their implementation within the retail industry. The research analyzes existing literature, including bibliometric studies and case studies, to understand the effectiveness of different project management approaches in both sectors. The assignment delves into factors influencing method selection, challenges faced during implementation, and the impact of chosen methodologies on project success.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Objectives...................................................................................................................................3
Adopted Strategies.....................................................................................................................3
Continuous Improvement Plan...................................................................................................4
Textual overview – Lean Six Sigma..........................................................................................5
Change management - Five Stages............................................................................................6
Procedural documentation..........................................................................................................7
Implementation plan for Latino Engineering.............................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 1...............................................................................................................................11
Appendix 2...............................................................................................................................12
Appendix 3...............................................................................................................................13
Appendix 4...............................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The continuous improvement plan can be defined as the ongoing improvement process
relating to commodities or products and services through consistent or breakthrough
improvement. The ultimate objective of this process is o strengthen the quality and features
of processes or output. For any business undertaking, to have a sustainable existence in the
competitive market, the effective functioning of the continuous improvement plan is a must.
In the current environment, this aspect of the project is a necessity since it can give the
concern a competitive edge in the uncertain business setting Akmeemana & Wickramasinghe,
2016).
Latino Engineering is a company situated in New South Wales, Australia which offers
designing, development and manufacturing services relating to specialist engineering
equipment. As per Anantatmula & Webb, it had a steady and consistent reputation in the
market for the past 30 years. But after it was acquired by an investment group, a number of
complaints were raised by its clients which highlighted the poor quality of delivery
(Anantatmula & Webb, 2016). This scenario is not an uncommon occurrence in an
organizational front. There is a need for businesses to continuously enhance their offerings,
services, and processes to keep the clients and customers content. A continuous development
model has been presented here to identify the root causes of the issue and eliminate the same
so that the business can regain its previous reputation in the market (Anthopoulos, Ipsilantis
& Kazantzi, 2016).
Objectives
The main objective of the essay is to understand the reasons for the various complains about
the defective engineering equipment, poor design, and development follow-up with the
business clients, long turnaround time for problem resolution, ineffective customer service
function, etc. It is necessary to identify the reasons for such problems so that necessary
resources can be used to remove these obstacles from the process. The continuous
improvement plan has been developed to ensure that such issues and problems do not arise in
the future again (Baptista, et al., 2016).
Adopted Strategies
In the Latino Engineering case study, the adoption of right strategies and tools is necessary to
solve the issues that arise in the path of the business activities. In order to enhance the

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performance of the service, plant, and equipment, the lean six sigma model has been used
since it basically focuses on the defects from variations. Since the ultimate objective is to
overcome the issues and complaints that have been raised by the customers, this strategic tool
would help the project management consultant to uncover the invisible root causes of the
potential problems and attack them in order to eradicate the defects. Appendix 1 presents the
six sigma model that focuses on the process, customer needs, and analyses data to remove the
roadblock from the path of the business (Bialaszewski, 2016). The objective of the
continuous improvement plan is to help the business generate higher profits, and reduce the
variation.
The system-driven approach has been adopted to address the issues of Latino Engineering so
that the main issues relating to the manufacturing of the engineering equipment can be
identified and the business processes can be strengthened. It would also help the management
to base its key decisions on knowledge and data. The project-driven model would focus on
the customer needs and requirements so that their needs would be met by the business
concern.
Continuous Improvement Plan
Appendix 2 highlights the six sigma continuous improvement plan for Latino Engineering
that would allow the business concern to locate the loopholes in the overall work process.
The various functional aspects that would be covered in the model are defining, measuring
analyzing, improving, and controlling. The diagrammatic representation highlights the sub-
areas of the business that would be evaluated and analyzed to develop an effective
improvement model (Douglas, 2016).
Since Latino Engineering business is involved in designing, developing and manufacturing of
specialist engineering equipment for different industries, the current problems arising in the
business scenario could adversely affect its business position in the market. In the
competitive times, the issues that the clients have raised could dampen its business reputation
and drive it out of the industry. Thus the lean six sigma model has been selected to enhance
the overall quality of the business offering. This tool improves the work process and
minimizes the wastes arising from the operational activities. Galvan-Cruz, et al said that it
primarily identifies the customer value, maps the value stream, creates flow, seeks perfection
and strengthens the production process based on market demand (Galvan-Cruz, et al., 2017).
Thus this root cause analytical model has been selected as the appropriate tool, to help the

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concern drastically improve its profitability by upgrading its designing and monitoring
activities and minimizing wastes and resources.
Textual overview – Lean Six Sigma
The lean six sigma model has been adopted to bring about the continuous improvement plan
in Latino Engineering enterprise. The primary reason for selecting this technique is that it
encompasses all the areas of business engineering processes including the inventory or
resources, movement, work in progress (WIP), over-production, and defects. The holistic
approach allows any business entity to effectively evaluate its latent processes so that the
defective areas can be located (Gibbins, 2017). The lean six sigma model is fundamentally
the combination of two immensely powerful processes namely “Lean” and “Six Sigma”. The
disciplined approach allows businesses to have a thorough control over the designs and
processes.
The diagrammatic representation of the continuous improvement process shows various
aspects that would be covered in the improvement plan namely the defining of the process,
issue, quantifying the problem, identifying the cause of the problem, implementing and
verifying the solution and maintaining the ultimate solution. In the very initial improvement
stage, the customer complaints would be checked in order to understand the areas that cause
dissatisfaction in them like poor design features, the ineffective approach of employees
towards clients, etc. Then the key process measures would be developed. This is a critical
process where the team would be able to identify the few main factors that have a significant
impact on the manufacturing process (Guerra, et al., 2016). A cause and effect model would
be created to determine the variance components. Then in order to bring about the
improvements, a risk assessment process would be conducted. It would allow bringing about
uniformity in the work process. Then ultimately the control step would be to implement for
having a better process control over the key variables and resources.
Thus as per Joosten, Basten & Mellis, the lean six sigma approach could be used to introduce
an overall improvement in the business operations and processes of Latino Engineering. It
would be a smart attempt to identify the main reasons that cause dissatisfaction among the
customers (Joosten, Basten & Mellis, 2016). The complaints that have come to the surface do
not just relate to the engineering equipment defects but also are connected to the approach
adopted by business personnel, inaccurate packaging, and delivery, etc. So this improvement

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model would allow the management to locate all the root causes of the complaints and find a
remedy for the same.
Change management - Five Stages
The continuous improvement plan using the lean six sigma model would allow the business
concern to focus on the consistent improvement throughout the various aspects of the process
life. This approach would bring about significant change in the process front and thus the
business would have to adopt an effective change management process. The success of
change management process is a necessity for all businesses. Latino Engineering is no
different so it would also have to adapt to the changing environment so that it could have a
sustainable existence in the industry (Joslin & Müller, 2016). The change management
process mainly incorporates five key processes namely understanding the need for change,
communicating this need throughout all the levels of the organization and involving people in
the change process, designing the change plans, implementing the new change plans and
evaluating the entire progress. These latent processes are crucial since they help concerns to
model themselves as per the changing environment and needs of the customers (Kasemsap,
2016).
In case of Latino Engineering, the following change management process would have to be
followed so that it could improve its business performance and address the complaints of the
customers and clients. The basic necessity of chain arises due to the rise in complaints from
the customers. The issues that have been highlighted by them are related to the defects in the
engineering equipment, bad design and development follow-up with customers, poor
resolution approach, bad customer service and wrong packaging and delivery service. The
wide variety of issues signals that the concern needs to bring about an urgent and positive
change in its overall work operation (Kerzner, 2017). This need has to be effectively
communicated throughout the firm so that all employees can welcome the change process
and make specific contributions from their end. The changes in the processes have to be
modeled to reduce defects in the engineering equipment and reduce wastes in the process.
The employees will have to be trained to adjust to the changing process. Then the new model
has to be set-up in place so that the transition phase can be as smooth as possible (Lehmann,
2016).

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Procedural documentation
In order to make the continuous improvement plan effective in nature, a procedural
documentation needs to be done so that all the areas where change would take place can be
highlighted. The continuous improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of Latino
Engineering process can be introduced by following a disciplined process (Morozov &
Timinsky, 2016).
The analysis of the current process is a must since it would allow the project management
team to understand the business model. The technical audits and process audit would provide
a mechanism to study the operations from the technical and managerial perspective. This
result could be used to identify the key areas for improvement. In addition to such audits, the
inspection process could also include the suggestions of the employees of Latino Engineering
(Nonino, 2017). Their involvement in the process would allow the concern to improve the
quality and efficiency of the process from their specific perspective.
Then the issues would have to be ascertained. The issues could arise due to the fault or
ineffectiveness from various factors such as human resource, inadequate technology, poor
inventory quality, etc. The identification of the main issues that lead to the numerous
complaints of the customers is crucial. The effective recognition of the problem would allow
the firm to develop key strategies to solve the same. Then the solutions would have to be
designed based on the issues that are bothering the business concern and its performance in
the market (Pajares, et al., 2017). Appendix 3 highlights these areas. The proper development
of solution is necessary to address the issue in the best possible manner. Since the issues vary
in nature, the business would have to look into its internal processes, staff performance,
inventory productivity, etc.
In order to have best possible control over the continuous improvement plan, the business
would have to maintain a procedural documentation process so that all the areas where
changes would take place could be highlighted. This would surely help the business, in the
long run, to strengthen its efficiency, productivity and reduce the wastage.
Implementation plan for Latino Engineering
The implementation process is the key process since this is the phase when the real transition
would take place in the process front. Any minute deviation from the plan could have a
severe consequence on the business and its operations (Saltz & Crowston, 2017). Thus in

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case of Latino Engineering, for the continuous improvement plan to be effective, the
management would have to introduce changes at various levels so that the ultimate defects in
the process could be eliminated.
Appendix 4 highlights the specifications of the continuous improvement plan of Latino
Engineering that would help the concern to remove the defects from its process and
strengthen its production and delivery model. The mission of the concern is to enhance its
process and strengthen the features of its produced equipment. At the production stage, the
business would have to thoroughly assess the inventory and resource performance. The
thorough review of the current process would form the foundation of the new implementation
model. It would help to identify the areas that need to be changed in order to strengthen the
business performance (Saltz, Heckman & Shamshurin, 2017). Then the gaps would have to
be checked so that the reasons for their existence could be determined. Once this step is
carried out, Latino Engineering would have to list and prioritize the causes of the issues so
that the remedial measures can be determined by the expert team. Then the real improvement
could be brought into the process by introducing revised and better processes and educating
the workforce. Ultimately the change would have to be monitored by the team so that the
improvements in the process could be seen. The effectiveness of the control plan is vital in
this continuous improvement plan because it helps to check the improvements and ensure that
it is uniform in nature (Sultana, 2016).
Thus Latino Engineering’s implementation plan would have a crucial bearing on the business
and its specialist engineering equipment. The effectiveness of its plan could be seen if there
would be the decline in the complaints from the clients. Since the customers are the main
reasons for the existence of any business undertaking, it would have to model its products as
per their needs and specifications (Saltz, Heckman & Shamshurin, 2017). This aspect along
with the improvement plan would help the concern to have a sustainable and profitable
business in the market.
Conclusion
The continuous improvement plan for any business concern has a direct impact on the
business and its performance. The Latino Engineering concern initially had a strong
reputation in the market but it got deteriorated once it was acquired by an investment group.
The regular complaints from the customers highlight the fact that the business failed to
continue to deliver high-quality performance in the market due to which defects were found

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in the equipment and the satisfaction level of the customers dropped. The continuous
improvement plan that has been designed in this essay is based on the lean six sigma model.
The reason for selecting this model is that it analyses the entire work process to identify the
bottlenecks that exist inside it.
This approach would surely help Latino Engineering to understand the main causes of the
defects in its products and it could also identify the areas that its employees need to work on
in order to enrich the satisfaction level of the customers. The thorough step by step process
would allow the concern to adapt to the necessary change which could be beneficial for the
business undertaking in the long run. The diagrammatical representations that have been
shown would help the engineering equipment manufacturer to enhance its internal process
and resource management model to produce superior quality equipment for various
industries. Since quality management is necessary for all the business concerns irrespective
of the industry that they operate in, the firm would have to strengthen its quality of delivery
so that it could regain its goodwill in the market and the customers could trust its offerings.
The case highlights the fact that all businesses must adopt proper continuous improvement
plan to strengthen their offerings, processes, and functions. This model would help Latino
Engineering to strengthen its position in the industry.
References
Akmeemana, A.P. and Wickramasinghe, C.N., 2016. Impact of Modern Project Management
Methodologies and Software Development Life Cycle Models on Software Quality
Assurance Success.
Anantatmula, V.S. and Webb, J.B., 2016. Critical chain method in traditional project and
portfolio management situations. In Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools,
and Applications(pp. 1005-1022). IGI Global.
Anthopoulos, L.G., Ipsilantis, P. and Kazantzi, V., 2016. The project management
perspective for a digital city. In Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and
Applications(pp. 793-811). IGI Global.
Baptista, A., Santos, F., Páscoa, J. and Sändig, N., 2016. Project Management Methodologies
as Main Tool for Current Challenges in Global Economy Driving Historical
Changes. Journal of Advanced Management science, 4(2).

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Bialaszewski, D., 2016. Best-Practice of Reducing Risk through a Culture of Total Quality
Management. In Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and
Applications (pp. 1894-1904). IGI Global.
Douglas, D., 2016. Applying Agile Project Management Methodologies to Digital Media
Projects (Doctoral dissertation, University of Houston-Clear Lake).
Galvan-Cruz, S., Mora, M., O'Connor, R., Acosta-Escalante, F. and Alvarez, F., 2017. An
objective compliance analysis of project management process in main agile methodologies
with the ISO/IEC 29110 entry profile. International Journal of Information Technologies and
Systems Approach, 10(1), pp.75-106.
Gibbins, S., 2017. An evaluation of different project management methodologies that can be
applied in IT environments and sectors of retail industry (Doctoral dissertation, Cardiff
Metropolitan University).
Guerra, S.D.R., Sommer Bilessimo, S.M., Freire, P.D.S., Gruber, V. and da Silva, S.M.,
2016. Methodologies Innovation Project Management: A Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific
Production Related. Revista Administracao Em Dialogo, 18(3), pp.119-138.
Joosten, D., Basten, D. and Mellis, W., 2016. Measurement of information system project
success in German organizations. In Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools,
and Applications (pp. 1175-1196). IGI Global.
Joslin, R. and Müller, R., 2016. The impact of project methodologies on project success in
different project environments. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 9(2),
pp.364-388.
Kasemsap, K., 2016. The roles of information technology and knowledge management in
project management metrics. Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and
Applications: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, p.229.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project Management Methodologies. Project Management Case Studies,
pp.1-27.
Lehmann, O.F., 2016. A Situational Approach to Project Management: Methodologies and
Behaviours Based on a Project Typology. The Case in Germany. LAP LAMBERT Academic
Publishing.

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Morozov, V.V. and Timinsky, A.G., 2016, August. Strategic gaps in the capabilities of
internal and external adaptation of methodologies and information systems of project
management. In Data Stream Mining & Processing (DSMP), IEEE First International
Conference on (pp. 405-409). IEEE.
Nonino, F., 2017. Project Selection Frameworks and Methodologies for Reducing Risks in
Project Portfolio Management. In Project Portfolio Management Strategies for Effective
Organizational Operations (pp. 245-263). IGI Global.
Pajares, J., Poza, D., Villafañez, F. and López-Paredes, A., 2017. Project Management
Methodologies in the Fourth Technological Revolution. In Advances in Management
Engineering (pp. 121-144). Springer International Publishing.
Saltz, J. and Crowston, K., 2017, January. Comparing data science project management
methodologies via a controlled experiment. In Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International
Conference on System Sciences.
Saltz, J., Heckman, R. and Shamshurin, I., 2017. Exploring How Different Project
Management Methodologies Impact Data Science Students.
Sultana, N., 2016. Project management in SMEs: perspectives on methodologies, challenges,
implementation and implications(Master's thesis, University of Malta).
Appendix 1

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(Joosten, Basten & Mellis, 2016)
Appendix 2
(Joosten, Basten & Mellis, 2016)

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Appendix 3
(Joosten, Basten & Mellis, 2016)
Appendix 4

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(Joosten, Basten & Mellis, 2016)