Virtual Delivery System Project: Critical Success and Failure Factors, Lessons Learnt, and Recommendations

This report analyzes the critical success and failure factors, lessons learnt, and recommendations for the virtual delivery system project. It also highlights the skills needed to become a successful project manager.

Assessment 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
.........................................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Critical success/ failure factors...................................................................................................3
Lesson learnt ..............................................................................................................................4
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................6
Reflective report..........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Project management is use of certain specific skills, knowledge and tools to deliver the
valuable thing to the people or client. Also, present report is based on the virtual delivery
systems project that will be done to deliver the best online systems within the university
especially after the pandemic to make ease for the students and the teachers. Moreover, the study
will also discuss certain lessons learnt during the planning and execution of the whole project so
that the same might be applied for the future references. Also, certain suggestions for the future
improvements in similar projects will also be provided in detail so that better outcomes might be
assured for the same. Lastly, study will also highlight certain skills that are needed to be acquired
to become successful project manager in due course of time.
MAIN BODY
Critical success/ failure factors
In this project there are certain success and failure factors that have been analysed. Some
success factors are been described in detail as follows:
Human resource management: For any project that is expected to be useful and need to
be made successful proper management of human resource is required so that task is carried out
effectively and there is proper management of the various works. Also, through this project the
major success factor was management of the activities and team members in best of manner so
that all task were carried out without any wastage of resources. Moreover, human resource
ensures that all the tasks that have been assigned are carried out in most effective manner without
the least possible mistakes (Budeli, 2021). Furthermore, the virtual delivery system project was
success because of the valuable efforts that are given by each of the human resource that have
directly or indirectly contributed towards the project. Also, success of project was because of
high level of commitments and coordination within the team members' that further does not
create conflicts at the time of execution of the project on the deadlines.
Communication: Another success factor of this project was effective communication
that helped team members to communicate various ideas and exchange thoughts with each other
that might make the project future success. Also, through communication various queries' among
the team members was solved quickly without wasting any time and also certain issues were
raised to execute the project in best of manner (Antwi-Afari and et.al., 2018.). Moreover,

interaction is best factor through which data from the market was collected to discuss and
analyse success of the project in the future. Also, communication was the way through which
various essential requirements of the project were fulfilled in timely manner.
However, apart from success some failure factors regarding this virtual delivery systems
project in the university are been described as follows:
Budget: This is very crucial element especially in times when the project is related with
installation and implementation of various digital technologies at the workplace. Furthermore,
during this project this might be failure factor that would not allow the project to achieve the
desired goals. However, with the support of the University and other team members, this factor
challenge was overcome in the best of manner (Yadav, Shankar and Singh, 2021.). Also, the
budget was divided in such as manner that each activity related to the project is accomplished on
right manner and at the right time.
Risk: For this particular project there was high risk element of wastage of resources and
the failure as the online system delivery parts are quite expensive and one single mistake made
might ruin the overall efforts that are been put in by the team for the completion of the project in
most effective manner. Also, risk was associated with improper working of the systems and lack
of availability of the resources to complete the project on the given deadline. Although such risk
factor related with the project was overcome through analysing in advance the market success
factors and conducting complete market analysis so that maximum benefits might be derived in
the end and also extra precautions might be taken to avoid failures.
Lesson learnt
The lessons that I have learnt from the project is technique to the project planning to
schedule certain activities and present all the information in well documented format. Also,
through this project I was able to clearly understand the purpose and scope in best of manner.
Moreover, through Virtual delivery system project my time management skill was enhanced to
larger extent as I was able to arrange and organize things that are essential to present the best
outcome to the students and make project the success. Also, during the project execution I have
understood that project could achieve excellence only when everyone responsibilities have been
clearly understood so that there is no confusion in the end (Wu and et.al., 2021). However, this
was quite difficult as certain things were unmanageable and hence high level of engagement was
required in the end. Furthermore, during this stage of project execution I have also learnt that it

is very important that project outcome is matching with earlier thoughts of the project so that
deviations might be found out easily. Also, I have analysed before starting of this project that due
to the covid there are very fewer students that are able to attain the college lecture because of the
fear of the virus. Also, through conducting the proper market research among the students I have
come to the conclusion that most of the students prefer virtual learning and therefore major
learning from this project was that before conducting any research it is required that proper
research is done so that there is no wastage of resources and efforts in the end.
Moreover, it is required that success of the project is measured on timely basis and hence
I have learnt that it is very essential for any kind of the project to have the performance metrics
on the basis of which success might be clearly identified and measured. Also, performance
metrics might be set either on the basis of working, success, liking of current project by majority
of people and much more (Chofreh and et.al., 2019). Thus, performance metrics build up the
confidence and helps in making the required changes within the ongoing project so that certain
key trends might further be analysed in much better manner. Also, through this virtual delivery
system project I was able to learn more about myself through identifying certain strengths and
weakness. Furthermore, I have the opportunities to meet some great people that have mad major
impact on my life and way of looking at certain things. Also, the virtual delivery system project
was one that have involved lot of funds and due to this reason I have learnt to be very careful and
observing in conducting any of project activity.
Moreover, my ability to work under diverse groups have been increased and also I have
developed active listening skills so that unity might be gained and better environment would
ensure carrying out of work more smoothly and differently. Also, I am happy that this particular
project have brought great differences in current working of the university and thus another thing
that I have learnt during this whole project is that risk is the part of every project and hence
taking systematic risks through complete analysis is essential for brining new changes within any
workplace or the university (Ma and et.al., 2018.). However, taking too much risk is also not
good as it might sometimes create negative impact on the success of the projects. Also, through
this program I have learnt that having great leadership skills helps in proper delegation of various
task and also assures that trust and commitment is maintained within the project team Moreover,
exercising the right leadership skill helps in building the positive culture and also assures that
project is running on the track. Also, virtual delivery system project have taught me that how

detailed report is prepared at the end of the project for any future references. Moreover, a good
report is one that includes the summary, findings and recommendations so that it might be
helpful in the future for undertaking similar projects.
Recommendations
 It is suggested from overall project that there need to be presence of more budget for the
implementing such type of virtual delivery systems among the students in the future as it
was analysed that during the project execution there were certain technical errors and
absence of the digital technologies that created problems in execution. Also, budget is
important because using the updated technologies make the work easier and also help the
students to stay updated with lot of information that is given by the university.
Furthermore, budget also helps in bringing technology that would help in creating great
learning environments and would easily allow the students to connect with the teacher
without many problems.
 Moreover, it is recommended that project planning might be improved to the larger extent
so that more time might be saved and utilized in carrying out other essential activities
required for the project (Obradović, Todorović and Bushuyev, 2018). For instance : Team
management from the initial stages ensures that roles among the workers are clearly
identified and also helps in minimizing the conflicts within different individuals. Further,
team management is also crucial for success of any project as it helps in generating
valuable ideas that makes the working easier and helps in overcoming certain challenges
associate with the project in positive manner. Thus, it is very significant to establish
strong team building skills before starting of any project so that more resources and time
might be saved.
 Also, it is suggested that absence of lack of communication during the project or on any
of its stages only create negative effects and create hurdles at the time of execution or in
final outcome. Also, during this project it was found out at certain point of time there was
absence of interaction within project team members due to pressure of completion of
project on the deadline. Moreover, in the project planning stage there was
miscommunication among the members and because of this reason there was the
duplication of the activities. Hence, establishment of proper lines of communication is
very necessary so that goals and objective might be achieved in well-defined manner.

 Lastly, it is recommended that accountability of the members is also required so that
there is complete knowledge on who is responsible for what (Nijhuis, Vrijhoef and
Kessels, 2018). Also, it was observed during the time of project execution that due to the
lack of accountability certain resources were not available for completion of the virtual
online delivery systems and also there were certain restrictions and changes that were
made at the last moment. Thus, it is required that team members need to be clearly known
about level of accountability so that greater outcome might be achieved and certain
activities that are planned as per the project might be executed in most effective manner.
Reflective report
From the overall project that have been executed I think that skills that needs to be
acquired to become successful project manager in the future is that there need to be critical
thinking and problem solving technique so that complex and challenging task within the project
might be identified and solved on the immediate basis. Also, through critical thinking skills
various solutions might be identified for different problems that might come across while
conducting various activities (Mavi and Standing, 2018). Further, critical thinking skills help in
analysing new ways of conducting the activities so that better results might be achieved in
limited time frame.
Also, I have analysed that to be successful project manager it is very important that task
management skill is present in right manner so that various tasks are assigned, created and
organized in proper manner. Moreover, this skill might be enhanced through use of the software
that helps in keeping the track of the record data and helps in getting any kind of future
references in the future (Bredillet, Tywoniak and Tootoonchy, 2018). Further, to become best
project manager I have analysed that high level of technical knowledge is required so that all
various technologies are handled in most efficient manner without the dependency on others.
Also, technical knowledge is not only helpful in any project but it is also useful in other fields as
business environment is continuously changing and hence nowadays every sector working is
dependent on use of different technologies.
Moreover, while choosing the career path in project management it is essential that there
is proper communication skill so that things might be carried out without any problem. Also,
communication helps in developing the engagement level and also allow in building strong
relationships for the future. Furthermore, through presence of this skill project manager

develops the ability to understand people and respect the opinions in the best possible way so
that positive outcome is derived (What Are Project Management Skills?, 2022). Moreover,
having the creative skill is also required when the career path of the project manager need to be
chosen. Creative skills are the ones that helps any individual to see things differently and
approach in unique manner. Further, in context of the project manager it can be said that
presence of such creative skills helps in better planning and scheduling of various project
activities so that the project is executed in the best possible manner without duplication of
activities and wastage of resources.
Also, project manager is one that is responsible for overseeing and monitoring all the
activities. Hence, it is required that to choose the career path in the field of the project manager
there need to be abundance of monitoring skills to ensure that project is moving in accordance
with the plans and is supporting the broader business goals. Furthermore, it helps in keeping the
check on the activities so that if any corrective action (needed) than it might be taken on time to
avoid further losses (Kozhakhmetova and et.al., 2019). Thus, it can be said that these are some
skills that are required to achieve certain short and long term goals of becoming the best project
manager in the future. Moreover, these are some basic skills and apart from this some other skills
such as risk management, budgeting, project management methodologies etc. need to be present
so that better projects might be grabbed in the future.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that virtual delivery system projects is the new
demand in most of the universities after the pandemic and hence this project was success. Also,
the report had presented certain critical success factors such as human resource management,
communication and various failure factors such as budget and risk that had been encounter
during the completion of this project on the given deadline. Furthermore, certain lessons learnt
from such project had also been discussed in detail under this report. Lastly, certain
recommendations had also been provided for future improvement along with detailed reflection
on the skills that are required to be successful project manager in the future.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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pp.100-110.
Bredillet, C., Tywoniak, S. and Tootoonchy, M., 2018. Why and how do project management
offices change? A structural analysis approach. International Journal of Project
Management. 36(5). pp.744-761.
Budeli, L., 2021. Critical success factors of project management in African power utilities:
enhancing project management performance. PM World Journal. 10(1). pp.1-27.
Chofreh, A. G. and et.al., 2019. The imperative and research directions of sustainable project
management. Journal of Cleaner Production. 238. p.117810.
Kozhakhmetova, A. and et.al., 2019. Modelling of project success factors: A cross-cultural
comparison. Economics & Sociology. 12(2). pp.219-234.
Ma, X. and et.al., 2018. Conceptual framework and roadmap approach for integrating BIM into
lifecycle project management. Journal of Management in Engineering. 34(6).
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Mavi, R. K. and Standing, C., 2018. Critical success factors of sustainable project management
in construction: A fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP approach. Journal of cleaner production.
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Nijhuis, S., Vrijhoef, R. and Kessels, J., 2018. Tackling project management competence
research. Project Management Journal. 49(3). pp.62-81.
Obradović, V., Todorović, M. and Bushuyev, S., 2018, September. Sustainability and agility in
project management: contradictory or complementary?. In Conference on Computer
Science and Information Technologies (pp. 522-532). Springer, Cham.
Wu, C. and et.al., 2021. Ontological knowledge base for concrete bridge rehabilitation project
management. Automation in construction. 121. p.103428.
Yadav, N., Shankar, R. and Singh, S. P., 2021. Hierarchy of critical success factors (CSF) for
Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in quality 4.0. International Journal of Global Business and
Competitiveness. 16(1). pp.1-14.
Online
What Are Project Management Skills?. 2022. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-are-project-
management-skills/>.