Project Management Report: Relocation Project for Consultancy Firm

This report analyzes a project management case study involving a consultancy firm planning to relocate its office from London to Banbury. The report begins with an introduction to project management and then details the objectives of the relocation, including cost reduction and IT system enhancement. Activity 1 focuses on appraising objectives and estimating resources, including time and costs, while Activity 2 explores the PRINCE2 methodology for project evaluation and a feasibility study. The structure of management, roles, and responsibilities are also defined. Subsequent activities cover project planning, assessing team structures, quality management, and change management procedures. The report also addresses project risks and issues, monitoring, and appraisal. The report concludes with an assessment of the tasks needed to be completed in the final stages of the project, providing a comprehensive overview of the relocation project's management and execution.

Project Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................
Activity 1..............................................................................................................................................
Initial project report of appraising objectives and estimating resource needed to complete the
project..........................................................................................................................................1
Developing the project sub-division and estimation of resources including time and costs.......3
Activity 2..............................................................................................................................................
Methodology for evaluation of project........................................................................................3
Feasibility study of the project.....................................................................................................5
Structure of management and administration of the project........................................................6
Role and responsibilities of Staff.................................................................................................6
Job description and person specification for a project manager..................................................7
Activity 3..............................................................................................................................................
Project Plan..................................................................................................................................8
Activity 4............................................................................................................................................
Assessing the alternative project team structure........................................................................11
Quality management of the project............................................................................................12
Procedure for managing the project change proposals..............................................................13
ACTIVITY 5......................................................................................................................................
4.1 The issues and risks that may impede a project...................................................................14
4.2 Issues and risk likely to be encountered in the final stage of a project................................15
Monitoring and appraising the status of a project......................................................................15
Detecting and managing issues arising in the course of projects..............................................16
ACTIVITY 6......................................................................................................................................
5.2 Assessment of the tasks needed to be completed in the final stages of a project................17
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................
References..........................................................................................................................................

INTRODUCTION
Project management refers to the process of managing different aspects or activities to
attain the most feasible and reliable outcomes. There are several aspects that need to be given
focus by the manager for execution of activities appropriately. In general terms, managing of
project consist of several prospects which are planning, organizing, directing, controlling and
making optimum utilization of available resources (Dorfman and Cather, 2012). As per the case
study, researcher investigate varied project management components in order to plan and execute
the relocation project of consultant organization from one place to another. However, the
company provides consultancy services to businesses around the world, particularly in the area
of management development. All of the consultants work remotely from home and the office
function, with a team of 10 people, is purely administrative. But looking at the present condition,
top level management of consultant firm are planning to relocate their office from London to
Banbury, Oxford shire in order to reduce costs. Currently operating with a team of 10 people,
Director wishes to maintain the same for the new office. Further, various objectives have to
announced by her regarding the relocation project (Fan, Thomas and Anantatmula, 2014). Thus,
in order to carry out this project in the best possible manner it is important for the Project
Manager to make sure that he undertakes each and every prospects into account before making
any plan or decisions. In this context, present study helps in illustrating the methodology
required for the evaluation of project, conducting feasibility study, defining the roles and
responsibility of the project team and carrying out the risk assessment for managing different
uncertainties associated with each stage of the relocation project.
ACTIVITY 1
Initial project report of appraising objectives and estimating resource needed to complete the
project
Analyzing the objectives of business:
Looking at present corporate market of UK, companies are finding tough to maintain
their position in the market and attain long term sustainability. Thus, management level people
has to undertake certain major decisions on the basis of which they can rely to achieve defined
corporate aim and objectives. Every company that operates in the market have certain goals and
objectives for which it makes valiant efforts by remotely using available resources and taking
varied risks to attain desired success (Fowler, Lindahl and Sköld, 2015). In the present given
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scenario, Consultancy firm is facing the issue of increasing costs which indeed affecting the
entire course of functioning. Considering this situation, Managing Director the consultancy firm
has announced to relocate the operations from London to Banbury for minimizing the financial
costs and enhancing the level of business operations. By the means of this, management is trying
to relocate the office from one place to another with same corporate aim and objectives. Further,
by enhancing the overall information technology system consultancy firm is wishing to grow
income of business by 10% every year as well as achieve the desired business volume within the
specific time period for generating desired results and outcomes (Rolstadås and et.al, 2014).
Along with this, Director aim at minimizing the costs of workforce by improving the
overall recruitment procedure through technical aspects as well as constantly providing training
and development sessions for the existing human resource so that they can enhance their level of
skills and competencies and provide superior quality of services to the customers or clients. In
addition to it, development of suitable and reliable MIS software system will assist in providing
appropriate communication channel between different stakeholders of the consultancy firm so
that satisfaction level of stakeholders can be achieved (Saadé, Dong and Wan, 2015).
List of project:
According to the current position of consultancy firm, Managing Director is planning to
relocate the firm from London to Banbury with the aim of reducing the overheads. Therefore,
considering the present condition and necessity of consultancy firm list of project’s essentials has
been defined which will play crucial role in appropriately and successfully carrying out the
relocation project. Following are the lists of potentials for the cited project:
Constructing the building
Setting LAN and Cabling services
Wide Area Network services
Proper telecommunication services
Enhancing and improving overall IT system
The above defined are some of the major requirement of project that has been identified
by the project manager. However, it is the aim of project team to make sure that they carry out
these activities appropriately and reliably for successfully relocation the business to Banbury and
minimize the costs of executing operations.
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Developing the project sub-division and estimation of resources including time and costs
In the present case, top level management of consultancy firm are planning to enhance
the IT system for improving the level of functioning and attaining the desired result and
outcomes. Further, the aim behind improving the overall MIS of the cited firm is that it will
assist in developing suitable platform for achieving the corporate aim and objectives as well as
assist in carrying out the entire allocation process of the office in successful manner. Looking at
the operations of consultancy firm it is vital to manage the information of clients as well as the
data of employees in effective and systematic manner (Turner, 2014). Therefore, in order to
satisfy this need, Director has planned to introduce new management information system for
enhancing the IT system during the period of relocation project. Furthermore, relocating an
office is not an easy task there are various prospects that project manager and his team has to
consider so as to shift entire office from London to Banbury in the best possible manner. In
addition to it, time and costs are the major factors that top level management has to consider.
However, the estimated costs for this project is around £2000 as well as the time required to
carry out this project is estimated is 4 months.
Resources:
Resources Costs Time (Days)
Equipment Resources 700 50
Technical resources 500 48
Human Resources 800 98
The above table depicts the estimated costs and time required to carry out the entire
project of relocation from London to Banbury. However, it is the duty of project manager to
ensure that to complete the whole project within defined costs and time period for the successful
relocation.
ACTIVITY 2
Methodology for evaluation of project
From the above study of the cited project, various aspects regarding importance,
essentials, costa and time has been evaluated. However, considering the nature of the project in
which Managing Director of consultancy firm is planning to relocate the entire office from
London to Banbury. In this regard, the best suitable methodology for the project is PRINCE 2.
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The main purpose behind choosing this methodology it will assist in improving the performance
of new system as well as develops suitable platform for attaining the desired goals and objectives
(Chiu-Chi and et.al, 2013). According to the present given case, project manager should
undertake different steps of PRINCE2 methodology so as to carry out the entire project in the
best possible manner. However, the specification of current project is based on the development
of IT software system which can be equally supported by the SDLC (Software development life
cycle) method. It is because of the fact that, SDLC will assist in creating considerable system
documentation. The main purpose of documenting the project is that it will assist project
manager to have detailed information about each and every aspects of the project from initial
stage to closure of project. Further, to analyze the effectiveness of PRINCE2 method it is
important for the project manager to undertake its process so as to evaluate the pros and cons at
each stages. Following is the process of PRINCE2 for Relocation project:
 Start-up of a project: In the first step it is the duty of project manager to frame brief
scenario about the whole project as well as accordingly define the resources required so
that varied aspects can be executed in appropriate way.
 Project initiation: Once the aim and objectives of the project are determined, manager
should allocate the available financial, technical and human resource in better way so that
maximum utilisation of these resource can be made in successful relocation of project
(Dey, Clegg and Bennett, 2010).
 Project direction: Under this stage, project consultant has to responsibility of monitoring
and analysing the activities and tasks for identifying the problems and loopholes and
accordingly indulging the potential measures to overcome the issues.
 Controlling stage: During this stage, project manager and its team has the responsibility
for supervising the work completed so as to measure the success and failure of the project
and accordingly if required potential measures can be implemented to overcome the
loopholes.
 Stage boundaries management: In this step, board of members are responsible for
making the decisions regarding conducting the project activities as well as defining the
plan and procedures to address any adverse situation or uncertainties.
 Product delivery management: Under this section, quality of entire project is being
measured on certain level or standards so that all the deliverables can be mould as per the
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requirement of client and higher level of customer satisfaction can be achieved (Dorfman
and Cather, 2012).
 Winding the project: In closure of the project, project manager assess the complete
project on the basis of defined aim and objectives and evaluate the success of
implementing the PRINCE2 methodology.
Feasibility study of the project
Considering the nature and complexity of project it is crucial for the project managers to
evaluate and analyze the each and every aspects of the project before employing or framing any
strategic moves. Therefore, according to the present study, project manager of consultancy firm
should carry out feasibility study before initiating or executing the MIS project. However, the
main purpose behind carrying out the feasibility study is that it assist the course of project
manager by assessing the viability and reliability of idea generated (Gil and Tether, 2011). Along
with this, this study will result in generating answers related to different aspects of the project
such as: does Consultant Company go ahead with the proposed project and invest high for the
relocation? While on the other hand of it, project manager through the means of feasibility study
should assist in determining various opportunities in varied areas so as to develop the MIS
system and enhance the quality of services for the clients and customers.
There are several steps which paly significant role in evaluating the feasibility of a
project. Therefore, it is the duty of project manager to make sure that he undertakes the steps and
accordingly define the suitability of MIS project for the consultant firm. Following are the steps
which are essential in terms of checking the feasibility of MIS project:
 Firstly, project manager to should understand the current prospects and IT system of cited
firm so that issues and problems can be identified on the basis of which potential
measures can be employed.
 After identifying the issues and problems next project manager should focus on the
available alternative solutions such as: cited firm is facing problems related to the
outdated IT system then project manager can update the existing system or focus on
developing new with latest technical aspects for the betterment of future contingency
(Hamilton, 2010).
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 Other than this, project manager can evaluate the feasibility of project by indulging
different prospects such as: financial position, market conditions, and technical analysis
and social and environment situations.
Through the means of above defined steps project manager can easily analyze and
evaluate feasibility and reliability of the project. In the current selected project, feasibility test
will assist the course of project manager to identify all the issues and loopholes associated with
the existing IT system so that potential measures or new system can be installed to mitigate the
costs related issues as well as enhance the level of business functioning in terms of delivering the
best possible services to the clients (Hillson and Simon, 2012). In this regard, PRINCE2 and
SDLC methods will play crucial role as both these method will ensure better planning of project
as well as reliable execution of the defined activities.
Structure of management and administration of the project
Organizational play significant role in executing and conducting the activities of Business
Corporation in suitable and reliable manner. According to the present given scenario,
organizational structure of consultancy firm is as follows:
Team members Roles and responsibilities
Office manager Project manager
Top management Resource allocator and major decision maker
Administration department Testing and system maintenance
Technical person System developer
Middle level management Risk assessment
The above defined table illustrates the information related to the team members and their
roles and responsibility regarding carrying out the relocation project.
Role and responsibilities of Staff
In an organization, human resource plays the most significant role. However, they are the
one who are responsible for carrying out each and every activity of the business as well as ensure
in achieving highest level of customer satisfaction. Thus, it is the duty of senior authority of
consultancy firm to make sure that they recruit skilled personnel who can positively contributes
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towards the achievement of goals and objectives (Kumaraswamy, 2011). In the case of carrying
out a project, project manager has to defined roles and responsibility of each individual
respectively so that they can understand their duties and mold their functioning accordingly to
generate the best possible outcomes for the firm.
Considering the relocation project people at both level administration and management
will be responsible for carrying out the project successfully. Following are certain role and
responsibilities of that are required to be carried out appropriately:
 Members associate with the projects should attain the accurate perspective of costs as
well as about the future scope of the project so that they can understand their roles and
responsibilities effectively.
 They are accountable for following all the defined steps or tasks smartly and
appropriately so as to ensure positive outcomes at the end.
 Members of project team should focus on completing their work within defined
constraints that are related to time, costs, quality etc (Lehtiranta and Junnonen, 2014).
 Project manager have the responsibility to guide all the member in right direction
similarly, team members has to responsibility of taking consult from the manager at the
time of issues and obstacles.
 Level of communication within the team members should clear and sound so as to
mitigate risks and uncertainties as well as managing the tasks and activities within
defined period and costs.
 All the individuals should develop better understanding between each other so that at the
time of executing the work they can take reliable and suitable decisions and carry out the
project inn mutual terms (Paul and et.al, 2011).
Job description and person specification for a project manager
In carrying out a project its manger plays the most significant role. However, he is
responsible for conducting each activities associated with the project in effective and efficient
manner. Thus, there are several roles and responsibilities that manager of the project have to play
in terms of given authority. Herein, top level management of Consultancy firm has asked the
project manager to carry out the relocation project of office from London to Banbury. Therefore,
considering the job specification, person specification of project manager are as follows:
Job Title: Project manager
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Scope of position:
Person is accountable for the development and implementation of IT system to manage and
monitor the performance of business activities. Along with this, encouraging innovation and
creativity within the new MIS for the generation desired aim and objectives.
Key responsibilities:
Varied key responsibilities that Project manager have to possess:
 Planning the requirement of project.
 Managing the activities of project within different constraints such as time, costs etc.
 Making the best possible use of available resources to generate positive results.
 Develop and maintain coordination between different inputs and assemble them according
to the projected plan.
 Create suitable work break down structure.
 Frame suitable tactics for future risk and uncertain situations.
 Proper communication channel must be maintained within each department.
Qualification:
 B. Tech in Master in Production and Operations.
 Experience of minimum 5 years is obligatory.
Interpersonal skills:
 Interaction
 Motivator
 Leadership
 Technical
 Smart decision maker
ACTIVITY 3
Project Plan
Tasks Days Predecessors Start Finish
Relocation project 98 days - Wed 10/14/09 Fri 2/26/10
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MIS system development 98 days - Mon 10/12/09 Wed 2/24/10
 Planning and requirement
analysis
18 days - Mon 10/12/09 Wed 11/4/09
 Revising different proposed
projects
5 days - Mon 10/12/09 Fri 10/16/09
 Significance's of requirements 3 days 4 Mon 10/19/09 Wed 10/21/09
 Allocation of available
resources
5 days 5 Thu 10/22/09 Wed 10/28/09
 Framing the team 5 days 6 Thu 10/29/09 Wed 11/4/09
 Defining requirements 9 days Thu 10/29/09 Tue 11/10/09
 Defining goals and objectives 4 days 7 Thu 11/5/09 Tue 11/10/09
 Determining brief discussion
of proposed system
5 days 6 Thu 10/29/09 Wed 11/4/09
 Designing of system
architecture
10 days - Thu 11/5/09 Wed 11/18/09
 Comprehensive description 4 days 10 Thu 11/5/09 Tue 11/10/09
 Hardware and software plan 6 days 12,9 Wed 11/11/09 Wed 11/18/09
 Developing the system 20 days Thu 11/19/09 Wed
12/16/09
 Data base design 7 days 13 Thu 11/19/09 Fri 11/27/09
 Developing system structure 7 days 15 Mon 11/30/09 Tue 12/8/09
 Coding and testing each
module
6 days 16 Wed 12/9/09 Wed 12/16/09
 Testing the system 6 days - Thu 12/17/09 Thu 12/24/09
 Testing the logic 3 days 17 Thu 12/17/09 Mon 12/21/09
 Testing the working 3 days 19 Tue 12/22/09 Thu 12/24/09
 Disposition of the system 15 days Fri 12/25/09 Thu 1/14/10
 Installation of the system 5 days 20 Fri 12/25/09 Thu 12/31/09
 Generating feedback through
managerial people
6 days 22 Fri 1/1/10 Fri 1/8/10
 Improved the system 4 days 22,23 Mon 1/11/10 Thu 1/14/10
 Evaluation and maintenance 15 days - Fri 1/15/10 Thu 2/4/10
 Determine the errors 5 days 24 Fri 1/15/10 Thu 1/21/10
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 Action for removing them 10 days 23,24 Fri 1/15/10 Thu 1/28/10
 Maintaining and monitoring 5 days 26,27 Fri 1/29/10 Thu 2/4/10
Gantt chart:
Table 1: Gantt chart
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