University of Sydney: QBUS2350 NT Conversion Project Case Study

This document presents a comprehensive analysis of a case study centered on Young's NT conversion project, addressing key questions regarding her actions and shortcomings. The analysis begins by outlining how Young should have responded to the director's concerns, emphasizing accountability, problem-solving, and proactive communication. It then delves into the specific mistakes Young made, including communication breakdowns, lack of risk management, poor planning, and insufficient leadership skills. Furthermore, the analysis proposes strategies for Young to have better managed the project, such as improved communication, proactive planning, risk assessment, and the effective utilization of team resources. The overall focus is on identifying and correcting the leadership and management failures to ensure successful project outcomes. This case study serves as a valuable resource for students and professionals seeking to enhance their project management and leadership capabilities.

QBUS2350: Project Planning and Management 2016 S2
Questions
1. If you were Young, how would you respond to the director in the meeting?
Answer. I would assure the director that I would do my level best to solve the problem and at the
same time will apologize for the deleted Word Perfect files, as they cannot be recovered. I would
own up for the situation and apologize for not coordinating my efforts with others and especially
those who were affected by the problems. I would explain the reason behind all these mistakes
and not try to sugar coat my words or make an excuse for it. Next, I would have explained the
reason of occurrence of these mistakes and would take full responsibilities of the mishappenings
instead of blaming my team and others. Having said that, I would acknowledge the fact that the
project has been suffering from various issues and would enlighten the director regarding those
problems that can be solved easily. I would explain explicitly to the director regarding my
response to the mistake and would suggest various steps for implementation of a solid solution
towards these issues. While discussing these solutions, I would present my capabilities to finish
the project in a very confident manner and would note down all the issues and problems that
were identified by the director. I would inform him that all the staff members will be presented
with an e-mail for reporting the issues being faced by them so as to address and rectify them as
soon as possible. I would mention that cooperation from the staff will be appreciated.
I would ask for any other issues that people in the organization might be facing. I would
additionally, note down the name of the people who suffered from my mistakes and will make
sure that their problems are fixed later. Following that, I would personally apologize to everyone
who was affected by these issues and would try to regain my self-confidence among all the
stakeholders present in the meeting. Finally, I would request for another meeting where I would
be able to take notes on the remaining issues and would admit my mistakes, ask for their
opinions and thoughts regarding the project and promise to be more transparent in the near
future.
2. What mistakes did Young make that contributed to the problems of her NT
conversion project?
Answer.
Young committed various mistakes while doing her NT conversion project. These are listed as
provided below:

QBUS2350: Project Planning and Management 2016 S2
1. Communication Issues: Young did not inform Greene about all the issues she had been
facing in the project. She was seen to attend only those meeting which was supporting her
agenda and therefore failed to establish a feeling of trust of familiar bond with anyone.
Communication level with her assistants, superiors, and staff was inadequate leading to
various issues in the project. Poor communication further added to the extent of issues
present in the project. She did not attend any meeting and did not even utilize that time
with their staff so know the situation of the proposed plan. For example, her problems
with Eggert led to aggravating the situation as Eggert was not able to confide comfortably
in Young and she failed to identify the problem in the Netscape web pages. Therefore, it
was her responsibility to be highly accessible and approachable towards her superiors and
staff.
2. No risk management: Young failed to predict the fire safety issues and failed in
researching the fire and safety requirements. She even ignored the Smokey, the bear sign
which presented a negative impact on the IS department.
3. Lack of an effective plan: She did not propose any plan of what was needed to be done
and no idea regarding the compatible issues before she agreed to the conversion project.
She did not consult her team and members regarding the execution and status of the plan.
Additionally, no one was reminded of the conversion dates and their time slots. Adding to
that, she did not research the hardware of all the computers present in the office for their
driver issues. She did not account the number of people she required for completion of
the project and did not even provide any contingency plan to her team workers.
4. Carelessness: Young acted carelessly throughout the course of the plan. She expected
the researchers to be highly proficient in the e-mailing and database programming and

QBUS2350: Project Planning and Management 2016 S2
even got irritated when they called her regarding these issues. Adding to the chaos, she
simply e-mailed the project support to anyone in question and did not approach the non-
responders personally leading to various issues in the workplace. Without any planning
and thought, she erased various information and things off Director’s computer without
his permission.
5. Lack of communication and leadership skills: Young was not able to communicate
with her superiors, colleagues, team workers, etc. Additionally, she was not able to guide
her team workers well which created further issues in the project.
3. How could Young have better managed the NT conversion project?
Answer.
 She could have explored the various opportunities and could have gained the skills and
knowledge regarding the new system and the various benefits of it. After doing so, it
would be easier for her to make people understand the importance of the project. With
enhanced knowledge, she would have guided her team members effectively and would
not have encountered the problems up to such an extent.
 As the WOI staff was working on irregular hours which led to ineffective communication
in the staff. She should have scheduled a weekly meeting where the team members would
brief about the status of the project. She should have emphasized on the importance of
increased attendance level clarifying about the various issues. She should have set up a
follow-up e-mail for reminding the time slot to the employees. This would have helped
her to schedule for the up gradation of the system, and any changes would have been
communicated well with the staff.
 She should have invested in building up a cordial and personal relationship with all the
employees. With better communication among the employees, she would be in a better

QBUS2350: Project Planning and Management 2016 S2
position to understand their issues and implement some changes. With proper
communication plan, should would have created awareness in the staff regarding the
importance of the project. Networking with the employees would have helped her to
attain higher level of cooperation from the employees and the staff. She should not have
avoided the weekly staff meeting and should have spent more time with the staff to
understand the culture of the organization which would have resulted in increased
support.
 She was provided with five bright part-time students who were highly passionate and
were capable of given the higher level of responsibility. She could have utilized their
capabilities and talent by guiding and supervising them effectively. This would have
helped in improved communication flow with helpful and beneficial ideas from her team
members.
 Young should have had the proper implementation of the plan and done things
sequentially. This would have helped her in understanding the flaws in the plan, and she
would have been aware of the slack time available for ensuring that the project is
completed in the stipulated time.
 She should have informed Green beforehand regarding all the issues she had been facing
and about the status of the report. As she thought this job to be similar to the one she was
working before, she thought her only work was related to the computers and demanded
same responsibilities as Evergreen system.
 With the vigilant eye on the progress of the project, she would have been able to identify
the risks associated with the project and would have created a risk assessment along with

QBUS2350: Project Planning and Management 2016 S2
risk response matrix. With her experience in Evergreen Systems, she would have utilized
it perfectly in this situation.