Project Management Report: CRM System for Consultancy Business

This project report examines the implementation of a CRM system for a consultancy service provider undergoing an office relocation. It outlines the business objectives, which include enhancing income and profitability while reducing costs. The report details the selection of a CRM project, its sub-division, and resource estimations, including time and cost. It evaluates the use of the PRINCE2 methodology for project management, assessing its feasibility. The report also presents a management and administration structure, including roles and responsibilities, along with a job description and person specification for a project manager. Furthermore, it includes a project plan, assesses alternative project team structures, designs a quality management process, and manages project change proposals. The report identifies potential issues and risks, designs a monitoring system, and concludes with the tasks needed for project completion.

Project Management in Business
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................5
ACTIVITY 1........................................................................................................................................5
1.1 Business objectives and identification of the project that will be required to carry out the
relocation.........................................................................................................................................5
1.2 Developing sub-division of project and estimation of resources including cost and time........6
ACTIVITY 2........................................................................................................................................7
1.3 Evaluation of suitable methodology for chosen project............................................................7
1.4 Assessment of feasibility of CRM project.................................................................................7
2.1 Structure for the management and administration of the project...............................................7
2.2 Roles and responsibilities of staff who will manage CRM project...........................................8
3.2 Job description and person specification for a Project Manager...............................................9
ACTIVITY 3......................................................................................................................................10
2.3 Project plan..............................................................................................................................10
ACTIVITY 4......................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Assessment of alternative project team structure.....................................................................10
3.3 Designing of process for quality management of the project..................................................11
3.4 Managing project change proposals........................................................................................12
ACTIVITY 5......................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Issues and risks that may impede a project..............................................................................13
4.2 Issues and risks likely to be encountered in the final stage of CRM project...........................14
4.3 Designing of monitoring and appraising the status of a project..............................................15
5.1 Detecting and managing issues arising in the course of projects............................................15
ACTIVITY 6......................................................................................................................................16
5.2 Assessment of the tasks needed to be completed in the final stages of a project....................16
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................16
References..........................................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX........................................................................................................................................19
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Illustration Index
Illustration 1: Sub-division of CRM project ........................................................................................7
Illustration 2: Structure for the management and administration of CRM project...............................8
Illustration 3: Gantt Chart of CRM project........................................................................................10
Illustration 4: Network Digram of CRM project................................................................................10
Illustration 5: Alternative project team structure of CRM project......................................................11
Illustration 6: Process for quality management..................................................................................12
Illustration 7: Change Control Process...............................................................................................13
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Index of Tables
Table 1: Issues and risks that may impede a project...........................................................................13
Table 2: Detecting and managing issues arising in CRM project.......................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Project management is regarded as an effective discipline of planning, initiating and
executing the work of a team with a motive to accomplish the aims and objectives of a project.
Further, it is well known fact that for carrying out any specific project, it is necessary to consider all
the range of activities which are crucial (De Bakker, Boonstra and Wortmann, 2010). Behind
implementation of any specific project, there are some objectives and for their accomplishment,
proper plan has to be developed. The present study being carried out is based on project
management where case of consultancy service provider business has been undertaken. Business
enterprise has to relocate its office to new place with a motive to reduce the overall cost. Apart from
this, report covers various aspects such as appraising the business objectives, considering list of
projects, alternative project structure etc.
ACTIVITY 1
1.1 Business objectives and identification of the project that will be required to carry out the
relocation
Objectives of Business
Considering the present case study, consultancy service provider business wants to relocate
office from present place to new one (Burke, 2013). Further, the location decided for the same is
around Banbury, Oxfordshire where the main motive is to reduce cost. For the same, there is a need
to develop small team and involve consultants with a motive to execute the overall plan in an
appropriate manner. Moreover, various objectives have been set which are linked with the move of
office such as retaining earning capacity of business, enhancing profitability level etc. (Turner,
2014). Following are the key business objectives which are associated with moving of office and
these are as follows:
 To enhance the income level of business by 10% on the annual basis
 To retain earning capacity of the company.
 To enhance profitability level on the partial basis with a motive to decrease the physical cost
linked with the accommodation (Kerzner, 2013).
 To improve overall quality of support that office provides to the clients along with other type
of consultants.
 To boost technological advancement in terms of IT systems and other tools adopted within
the workplace (Wysocki, 2011).
 To reduce the overall cost related with human resource in area of redundancy, training along
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with recruitment.
So, these are some of the main objectives which are directly associated with the new project
and by considering these, it is possible to focus on the overall accomplishment of desired aims.
(Blomquist, Hällgren and Söderholm, 2010). Apart from this, different types of projects are being
present which can be supported at the time of office relocation and these are as follows:
 Transaction processing system
 Customer relationship management system
 Business intelligence system
 Implementation of total quality management for quality enhancement
 Building construction tools
So, these are some of the key projects which can be undertaken and in order to implement them
in an appropriate manner, it is necessary for business to consider various activities so that large
amount of benefits can be easily obtained with the help of this (Pemsel and Wiewiora, 2013). Apart
from this, various stages have to be developed which need to be followed in a proper sequence for
the effective implementation.
1.2 Developing sub-division of project and estimation of resources including cost and time
For effective implementation of customer relationship management project, it is necessary
for management to determine well in advance the range of resources required along with the time
and cost (Mir and Pinnington, 2014). Further, this project has been selected which can easily meet
with an aim of relocation of office. One of the main reasons behind choosing this project is that
through this project, it is possible to meet with the requirement of the company in an appropriate
manner. Moreover, it is well known fact that enhance relationship with target market is one of the
main objectives of every business and therefore, undertaking this type of project can easily bring
favourable results (Ajmal, Helo and Kekäle, 2010). By undertaking this activity, it is possible for
company to focus on its sales along with enhancement in the profitability level. Apart from this,
objective linked with enhancement in the income level of 10% is possible which is also fruitful for
the company. Further, through this system, it is possible for organization to know about actual need
and requirement of the target market and it can surely act as a development tool for the business.
Moreover, it will develop IT system of the company in the most effective manner and overall targets
of the consultancy service provider of the business can be accomplished easily. So, in order to
complete the entire project, time along with resources are important (Koppenjan, Veeneman and
Leijten, 2011). The overall time required for completing this project is 3 months along with the
resources such as human, technological, financial etc. So, the overall cost for the development of
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new system is £ 700.
Illustration 1: Sub-division
of CRM project
ACTIVITY 2
1.3 Evaluation of suitable methodology for chosen project
In order to evaluate the project of CRM in an effective manner, PRINCE 2 as a methodology
will be employed. As per this method, the entire project is segregated into manageable along with
controllable stages (Turner, 2014). This methodology aligns various elements of the work along
with the objectives. On the basis of evaluation, it has been found that this method directly supports
in managing quality of the work and helps in delivering expected outcomes. Apart from this, it
assists in keeping control on the projects and supports in deviation from the aim on the basis of
which project is carried out (Tiwana, 2000).
1.4 Assessment of feasibility of CRM project
Assessment of project is considered to be quite important and before implementation, it is
necessary to know whether project is feasible or not. It has been identified that project of CRM will
totally focus on new technology and will highlight the objectives of the company estimation of right
internal resources and completion of the project aim as per the set budget (White and Fortune,
2002). Apart from this, all the range of resources required for implementation are present within the
workplace along with the cost and due to this reason, project of CRM is highly favourable for the
business and in turn, it can provide additional benefits to the company.
2.1 Structure for the management and administration of the project
For effective implementation of project, it is necessary to develop appropriate structure of
management along with administration so that expected results can be gained easily (Murphy and
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Ledwith, 2007). Further, for this, it is necessary to develop an efficient project team which involves
skilled along with knowledgeable workforce. This team will assist in separating parent organization
from other units. One of the main reasons behind proposing this structure for administration along
with management is that it can help all the members to share common goals which are defined for
the project and clear responsibilities of each and every member can be known easily (Oliver and
Electronic Data Systems Corporation, 1999). Apart from this, every employee can know the
responsibilities assigned to them and in turn, they can work efficiently.
Illustration 2: Structure for the management and administration of CRM project
2.2 Roles and responsibilities of staff who will manage CRM project
In order to carry out the CRM project in an appropriate manner, it is necessary for the entire
company to assign proper roles and responsibilities to the employees so that they can work
efficiently (Rodrigues and Bowers, 1996). Further, the key roles along with duties which will be
assigned to employees are as follows:
 Sharing ideas and other type of important information with the employees so that they can
easily carry out the assigned responsibilities in an appropriate manner.
 Analysing the scope of the project along with additional benefits which it can provide to the
company.
 Following the range of project plan steps and development of related documents in order to
monitor progress of the entire work being carried out (Kerzner, 2013).
 Coordinating and preparing effective plan for carry out all the activities in a proper sequence
 Making effective plan for resources so that situation such as its inadequacy may not arise in
near future.
 Identifying the range of issues faced by other staff members at the time of implementing the
new project (Nummelin, Young and Lanata, 2001).
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Therefore, these are some of the main roles along with responsibilities that are assigned to
staff members during implementation of this project. Further, it is the major duty of management to
ensure that every employee is playing assigned duties in an appropriate manner so that favourable
outcomes can be accomplished easily (Koppenjan, Veeneman and Leijten, 2011). Apart from this,
every individual has to plan actions as per the project requirement so that business enterprise can be
benefited with the help of this in every possible manner and this can bring favourable results.
3.2 Job description and person specification for a Project Manager
Job description
Job Title: Project Manager
Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire
Country: UK
Scope of position: The Project Manager should be responsible for formulation and execution of
CRM system. He should also have knowledge regarding change management methods and
effectively keep control over the project plan.
Key Responsibilities: Project manager should be able to develop a project plan, predict budget
and time needed to accomplished project. He should also be able to use resources in an optimal
mode. In addition to this, he should measure and manage related risks with the project.
Person specification
Job Title: Project Manager
Qualification:
 Graduate in Information Technology field and MBA in Operation from any recognized
university.
 Having maximum 8 years’ experience in project management field.
Interpersonal Skills:
 Decision making
 Good communication skills
 Leadership
 Motivator
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ACTIVITY 3
2.3 Project plan
Attached in Appendix
Illustration 3: Gantt Chart of CRM project
ACTIVITY 4
3.1 Assessment of alternative project team structure
For the proposed CRM project, it is needed to develop a new project team structure.
Evaluation of existing team structure shows that team members reported to more than one senior
members (Wysocki, 2011). This situation has created confusion for them and it has the reason of
miscommunication between the top management and staff. Along with this, project team members
have not any kind of power to take decision without involving the higher management. To
overcome such situations, a new and alternative project team structure is required to be developed.
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3.3 Designing of process for quality management of the project
For CRM project, it is essential to manage quality of entire work because it ensures that
expected outcomes have been delivered to the client or not (Kerzner, 2013). Quality management
can be helpful to manage the quality of entire CRM process. The process of quality management is
given below:
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Illustration 5: Alternative project team structure of CRM project

Illustration 6: Process for quality management
(Source: Quality management process, 2016)
It will help in the management of quality in each step of the process and the deliverables. So,
it will be beneficial for the team to use quality management to complete the CRM process.
3.4 Managing project change proposals
There is a possibility that any change can be occur in the existing project plan of CRM. In
this situation, it is the responsibility of project manager to manage those changes in a right manner
so that impact of modifications can be minimized over project plan (Pemsel and Wiewiora, 2013).
The process of managing project change for CRM project is as follows:
Find scope of change: Project manager has determined the scope of proposed changes. It
has helped to ensure that proposed modifications are in the favour of delivering expected outcomes
of work or not (Mir and Pinnington, 2014).
Identify the impacts of new changes: Here, project manager has explored the impacts of
proposed modifications on different areas such as project plan, resources, budget, scheduling of
activities etc(Ajmal, Helo and Kekäle, 2010). On the basis of this, a change request form has
developed and send to the project control board.
Gain approval or rejection regarding the changes: The rejection or approval process
regarding the changes can be take few days or few weeks. The project board has analysed the
alterations as well as its impact on the different aspects of project plan (White and Fortune, 2002).
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