Project Development and Implementation for Strategic Managers - CRM

This project report outlines the development and implementation of a CRM system for McDonald's, undertaken by Nexus Ltd. It begins with an analysis of factors influencing project selection, highlighting the need for CRM in managing data and improving business performance. The report details the development of project specifications, including cost, time scales, and resource allocation, with breakdowns of human and technological resources. A project plan for the CRM system launch is presented, along with resource matching and costing. The report also covers the implementation process, monitoring and evaluation of the CRM system's progress, and reporting on project procedures and outcomes. Key aspects include market research, SWOT analysis, data collection, financial considerations, marketing factors, technical requirements, personnel allocation, legal and social factors, and adherence to the system development life cycle (SDLC). The project emphasizes data security, performance enhancement, and the use of tools like TQM and Six Sigma to ensure quality and achieve business goals. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the project's stages, from initial planning to final evaluation, offering valuable insights into the CRM system development process. It is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib, a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION FOR STRATEGIC
MANAGERS
UNIT 17

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Analysis of factors that contributes to process of project selection.......................................4
1.2 Development of outline project specifications......................................................................6
1.3 Producing appropriate specification for CRM system ..........................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
2.1 Project plan for launch of CRM system.................................................................................9
2.2 Matching resources to project and identification of their availability.................................13
2.3 Costing of all resources required for implementation of CRM system...............................15
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................23
3.1 Implementation of CRM system as the agreed specification...............................................23
3.2 Appropriate measures for monitoring and evaluating the progress of CRM and its
outcomes....................................................................................................................................24
3.3 Monitoring implementation of CRM system.......................................................................25
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................26
TASK 5..........................................................................................................................................30
5.1 Reporting all the project procedures utilized throughout the project of CRM system........30
5.2 Outcomes of project in presentation....................................................................................32
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................32
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................33

INTRODUCTION
Project development is the procedure in which transportation as well as improvement
takes place with an assistance of construction. There is greater need for the development of
strategies in order to develop and implement projects. Project management involves series of
activities as well as process that can be used by the firm with the aim to align and integrate
resources to attain business vision and mission (Borghoff and Pareschi, 2013). There is stronger
relationship between strategic management and project management which in turn results in
development of unique product and service. For the present study, the project taken by Nexus is
launch of CRM (Customer relationship management system) for one of its client McDonald. The
present study involves development of project specification. Further, it covers planning for the
launch of project for implementation of new product, service or process. The report evaluates as
well as presents the outcomes of project.
TASK 1
1.1 Analysis of factors that contributes to process of project selection
The management consultant hired by Nexus Ltd suggested launch of CRM system. There
is existence of several factors that helps management consultant in the process of project
selection. These are enumerated in the manner below:
As firm like McDonald is growing at an increasing rate thus, it faces various issues
regarding data management of business. This calls for the need of CRM system for the
organization. It is a kind of technology that assists in keeping database of employees as well as
customers of business. This would assist in maintaining database of the firm and act as an aid in
increasing the security of data. Due to such reason, particular product that is CRM has been
selected for McDonald. Market Research: The role of market research is effective in contributing towards
selection of project. The data gained through carrying out investigation in the market
assists management consultant in gaining insight to the need of CRM in McDonald. With
this, preferences of clients can be known and thus, effective products can be offered to
them that can comply with their needs and requirements. The SWOT analysis of
McDonald includes the following:
1

 Strength: Major strength of the firm is diversified income streams. The revenues of fast
food chain come from several countries, region as well as products. Further, the firm
possesses major strengths relating with consistency of food. Weakness: McDonald has major weakness relating with weaker development of product
that has resulted in declining its market share. Opportunity: Company has major opportunity of international expansion. Further, it can
have joint ventures with other retailers. Threat: This includes factors such as recession or economic downturn within economy
that can affect the sales of retailer. In addition to this, strength of competition is the major
threat for McDonald. Data Collection: Another factor is related with data collection. Under this information is
gathered through which the decision can be taken regarding selection of particular project
by the organization. Data can be collected from primary as well as secondary sources
which assist in making selection of project with greater effectiveness. The data is
gathered from employees so that need for CRM system can be known in an effective
manner. The sample of data collection will be 30 respondents. Financial factor: It is regarded as one of the most essential factor that assists in selecting
the project. The focus of business is on various aspects related with finance that includes
profitability, net present value, payback period as well as internal rate of return to decide
the viability of the project. In addition to this, firm determines the amount of finance
required for the whole process of project development of CRM in McDonald. There is
huge impact of recession, depreciation and inflation factor on the financial factor within
the organization. This because such affects the availability of finances to a greater extent.
In situation of inflation the level of prices of goods and services increases. Thus the
availability of funds increases to a greater extent. Recession is the condition of economic
downturn that influences the financial factor for business to a significant level.
Management consultant at Nexus needs to be careful and should add all these financial
factors in the price of the project. After this final price of the projects client has to decide
if they are going to launch the project or may refuse the project. CRM at McDonald will
be a continuous process; however the initial implementation will take 2 months with
2

approximately £120,000 of required finance. McDonald and Nexus ltd needs to get agree
on the financial side of the projects along with some other hidden or unexpected
expenses. Marketing factor: There is greater requirement to attract large number of customer for
the product and services offered by McDonald. Thus the major focus of the firm is on
marketing related factors especially to introduce the new CRM system, which will than
help bring new customers into the business. While making the company determines the
size of potential market, target audience, impact of its new product on existing line of
product, estimated product life cycle, and to address the issues that they may had in the
past by introducing the new services and in this research it is CRM system. Along with
this, determination of market share and its acceptance among the employees is major
factors that are considered. Technical factor: The most critical factor considered for CRM system is technological
aspect. It is essential for McDonald to determine the types of machines, equipment’s,
software, applications and techniques needed for launching the new CRM system. Personnel factor: It involves training and development programs needed, skills, abilities
and knowledge required with respect to introducing new CRM system. Further, it
involves resources allocation and roles and responsibilities of the personnel while
implementation of the entire CRM system. In order to accomplish different activities of
the project plan different manpower is required, for instance, in order to carry out
customer research the role of Research and Development team is crucial. Legal factors: It is also the main factor which has high level of influence upon the project
selection. Thus, management consultant also requires accomplishing his project by taking
into consideration the limits which are imposed by laws and legislation. It is important
for Nexus Ltd. to comply with the legal aspects relating with particular project. For
instance, in case of development of CRM system, it is essential that none of the personal
information of customers and employees is shared with anyone. It is important for
company to comply with this for the accomplishment of these laws as it can affect the
operations of business in the long run and thus its profits as well.
3

 Social factors: It is also major factor that needs to be taken into account while making
selection of project. There is greater need to consider the need for the project for clients
in order to provide greater satisfaction to them. For instance, the preferences of customers
play an essential role in development of the software in an effective manner
1.2 Development of outline project specifications
The product for which Nexus hired Management Consultant is related with CRM system
for McDonald Company. It is the kind of technology that keeps database of the employees and
customers of the firm. The major aim of the product is good performance, better data storage and
data redundancy.
 To develop system for appropriate management and storing company's information.
 To ensure data security from unauthorized access (Walker, 2007).
 To minimize data redundancy for effective information management. To enhance performance for achievement of objectives. Cost: There are various types of cost involved in formation of CRM system and its
launch. The different cost involves CRM system development, training and development
cost, cost of labor, technological cost, marketing cost etc. The cost estimated for the
project will be £120000. Time scales: The time needed for completing the project is 2 months, which includes
system CRM system design, implementation, monitoring and review. Resources: The organization requires resources for the launching the CRM system
includes financial resources, human resources, technological resources, quality assurance,
monitoring and review. Ethics: It is essential for the firm to lay emphasis on the safety and security of the
personnel while developing the product. Further, they are required to train them as per
product requirement so as to enhance their skills and knowledge. Quality: In order to monitor the quality of product launch, there is a big role of quality
manager. It is important to measure the product quality by Nexus Ltd. through
implementation of techniques such as TQM and six sigma.
4

 TQM: It is referred as s management approach that describes the culture, attitude and
business of firm. It further strives towards offering customers with the products that can
result in fulfilling their requirements.
 Six Sigma: It is regarded as data driven approach that results in the elimination of defects.
Summary of project specification can be seen as under:
Description Details
Cost of project £120,000
Human resources £36,000 (Salaries of 50 staff members)
Technological resources £80,000
Quality £4000
Duration 2 months
Required human resources
The involvement of people plays a significant role in launching the project. This includes
project manager, quality manager, marketing manager, contract officer as well as staff members.
This has been explained in the table stated below:
Table 1: Breakdown of Human resource
Job description Staff required
Quality manager 2
Marketing manager 5
Technical staff 2
Contract officer 10
Project manager 1
Staff members 30
Total 50
Technological resources
This involves resources such as tools and devices that offer information and assistance
for launch of project. Such is comprised of Hardware and Software, Office equipment,
5

Miscellaneous Facilities, Internet cables and other systems, Networking systems as well as ERP
system.
Table 2: Breakdown of Technological resource
Technological Resources Allocated budget(£)
Hardware and Software £5000
Office equipment £2000
Miscellaneous Facilities £3000
Internet cables and other systems £5000
Networking systems £5000
ERP system £60000
Total £80000
Table 3: Breakdown of cost
Human resources £36,000
Technological resources £80,000
Software £4000
Total cost £120,000
1.3 Producing appropriate specification for CRM system
The major reason behind suggestion of management consultant relates with the formation
of such product that assists the organization in making storage of data in an effective manner.
Further, this helps in improving business performance. The main goal of the product is to bring
improvement in company's management by using appropriate tools. This offers greater
opportunity to the personnel in developing their skills and knowledge for long term success. In
addition to this it laid emphasis on attainment of business goals (Dorfman and Cather, 2012). In
order to implement this product, it is essential for project manager to determine suitable budget
and comply with system development life cycle (SDLC). This assists in making proper analysis,
6

testing as well as implementation. The role of SDLC assists in utilizing resources and funds
through suitable management time that minimizes total cost. Manager needs to assign the task as
per the competency of the personnel (Winter and et.al., 2006). Through determination of
schedules in accordance with time scale of CRM, manager can maintain work performance of
employees. Further, he needs to make decision on the technology needed for formation and
launching of product. This assists in reducing time and cost. Further, the manager has to hire new
employees as required by the new project. The specification for the CRM system involves
carrying out market research followed by competitors’ research. Next in the series analysis as
well as planning is done. Further, steps involve product development, supplier & logistics,
production, launch, sales and review. The plan involves the time period required to accomplish
the project. In addition to this the cost involved in the project is also specified in the project plan.
The personnel resources required to accomplish the different activities have been presented in
the plan.
No. Specification Details Cumulative cost
1. Cost of project £120,000 (£80000+£40000)
Technological resources
Hardware and Software £5000 £5000
Office equipment £2000 £7000
Miscellaneous Facilities £3000 £10000
Internet cables and other
systems
£5000 £15000
Networking systems £5000 £20000
ERP system £60000 £80000
Human resources
Quality manager £4000 £4000
Marketing manager £6000 £10000
Technical staff £7000 £17000
Contract officer £8000 £25000
7

Project manager £15000 £40000
The activities involved in the accomplishment of the project involve carrying out research
for targeting of customers. Further this is followed by analysis of the competitors. This later
includes analysis of the clients and market. Next in the series is planning and deciding process.
Further it is followed by development of product and deciding on the supplier and logistics. Later
the production is done and sales are done. At last, review of the plan is being done in order to
examine whether the desired target has been achieved in an effective manner.
TASK 2
2.1 Project plan for launch of CRM system
Project plan demonstrates proper planning of the activities along with the time of
completion. The activities needed for CRM system are enumerated as below with the time period
in months.
Table 2: Project plan
8

S.No Task
Mode Task Name Durati
on Start Finish
Pred
ecess
ors
Resource Names Cost
1
Manual
ly
Schedul
ed
CRM system
launch project
64
days
01-04-
2016
29-06-
2016 $114,400.00
1.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Customer
Research 7 days 01-04-
2016
11-04-
2016 $9,600.00
1.1.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Questionna
ire 2 days 01-04-
2016
04-04-
2016
Marketing
Manager $1,600.00
1.1.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
Feedback
Forms 2 days 05-04-
2016
06-04-
2016 1.1.1 Quality Manager $800.00
1.1.3
Auto
Schedul
ed
Observatio
ns 3 days 07-04-
2016
11-04-
2016 1.1.2 Project Manager,
Quality Manager $7,200.00
1.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
Competitor
Research 8 days 12-04-
2016
21-04-
2016 $3,600.00
1.2.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Finding
Market Share 2 days 12-04-
2016
13-04-
2016 1.1.3 Marketing
Manager $1,600.00
1.2.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
SWOT 1 day 14-04-
2016
14-04-
2016 1.2.2 Project Manager $2,000.00
1.2.3
Auto
Schedul
ed
Planning
and Executing
Strategies
5 days 15-04-
2016
21-04-
2016 1.2.2 $0.00
1.3
Auto
Schedul
ed
Analysis 14
days
22-04-
2016
11-05-
2016 $17,200.00
1.3.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Analysis of
Market 2 days 22-04-
2016
25-04-
2016
Marketing
Manager $1,600.00
1.3.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
Customer
Analysis 5 days 26-04-
2016
02-05-
2016 1.3.1 Marketing
Manager $4,000.00
1.3.3 Auto
Schedul
Analysis of
Competitor
4 days 03-05-
2016
06-05-
2016
1.3.1 Marketing
Manager
$3,200.00

ed
1.3.4
Auto
Schedul
ed
Business
Analysis 3 days 09-05-
2016
11-05-
2016
1.3.2,
1.3.3
Marketing
Manager, Project
Manager
$8,400.00
1.4
Auto
Schedul
ed
Planning 4 days 12-05-
2016
17-05-
2016 $12,400.00
1.4.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Selection of
ideas 2 days 12-05-
2016
13-05-
2016
Marketing
Manager $1,600.00
1.4.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
Scope of
project 1 day 12-05-
2016
12-05-
2016 1.4.1 Project Manager $2,000.00
1.4.3
Auto
Schedul
ed
Feasibility
Study 2 days 16-05-
2016
17-05-
2016 1.4.2 Project Manager,
Technical Staff $4,800.00
1.4.4
Auto
Schedul
ed
Allocation
of resources 2 days 13-05-
2016
16-05-
2016 1.4.3 Project Manager $4,000.00
1.5
Auto
Schedul
ed
Product
Development
10
days
18-05-
2016
31-05-
2016 $23,200.00
1.5.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Feature
Specification 3 days 18-05-
2016
20-05-
2016 1.4.4 Project Manager,
Technical Staff $7,200.00
1.5.2
Auto
Schedul
ed
Developing
Prototypes 5 days 23-05-
2016
27-05-
2016 1.5.1 Project Manager,
Technical Staff $12,000.00
1.5.3
Auto
Schedul
ed
Intellectual
property rights 2 days 30-05-
2016
31-05-
2016 1.5.2 Project Manager $4,000.00
1.6
Auto
Schedul
ed
Suppliers &
Logistics 2 days 01-06-
2016
02-06-
2016 $1,600.00
1.6.1
Auto
Schedul
ed
Selection of
distributors 2 days 01-06-
2016
02-06-
2016 1.5.3 Marketing
Manager $1,600.00
1.7
Auto
Schedul
ed
Production 2 days 03-06-
2016
06-06-
2016 $1,600.00
1.7.1 Auto
Schedul
Production
optimization
2 days 03-06-
2016
06-06-
2016
1.6.1 Marketing
Manager
$1,600.00