HND Business Project: Schuh's Digital Strategy Implementation Report

This report presents a comprehensive project management plan for Schuh, a UK-based retail organization, focusing on the implementation of a digital strategy. It outlines the project's aims and objectives, including assessing the benefits of digital strategies, analyzing market environments, and managing digital disruption. The report details a project management plan covering scope, quality, communication, cost, time, risk, and resources, along with a project schedule and milestone schedule. Furthermore, it includes a work breakdown structure and Gantt chart to illustrate timeframes and completion stages. The study incorporates small-scale research using both qualitative and quantitative methods, followed by an analysis of the research data. Finally, it provides recommendations based on the research findings and reflects on the value of the research in meeting the stated objectives, personal learning, and overall performance of the project. The report emphasizes the importance of digital strategy for business growth and stakeholder impact.

UNIT 6: MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROJECT
STUDENT NAME:
STUDENT ID:
PROFESSOR NAME:

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 3
P1 Project aims and objectives and timeframes [M1, D1]................................................3
Project Aim................................................................................................................... 3
Project Objective...........................................................................................................4
P2 Project management plan covering aspects of scope, quality, communication, cost, time,
risk and resources [M1, D1]............................................................................................. 4
Project Management Plan.............................................................................................4
Project Schedule...........................................................................................................6
Milestone Schedule.......................................................................................................6
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart to provide timeframes and completion stages
[M1, D1]............................................................................................................................7
P4 Small-scale research with application of qualitative and quantitative methods to meet
project aims and objectives [M2, D1]...............................................................................8
Quantitative Method......................................................................................................8
Qualitative Method........................................................................................................9
P5 Analysing research and data with proper tools and techniques [M3, D2].................10
P6 Communicating proper recommendations through research and data analysis [M3, D2]
....................................................................................................................................... 11
P7 Reflecting on undertaking value of research to meet stated objectives, own learning and
performance [M4, D2].................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 12
Reference List:...............................................................................................................13
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Introduction
Implementation of digital strategy has been prioritised by the managements of the
organisations since the last few years for the purpose of enabling sustainability growth. It is
also liable to encourage the organisations to expand their businesses in the global
competitive markets. For this purpose, the study has considered Schuh, which uses to be a
private retail organisation of UK since 1981. This study has developed a project management
plan for Schuh in regards to their priority on digital strategy implementation. In addition to it,
this study also has conducted a small-scale research in order to develop findings and
recommend needful actions by the originations.
Figure 1: Head Office of Schuh
(Source: schuh.co.uk, 2017)
P1 Project aims and objectives and timeframes [M1, D1]
The aims and objectives of the project plan have been aligned with the understanding and
development of the digital strategy at Schuh. In addition to it, the supports and competitive
advantages through the prior implementations of the digital strategy are also supposed to be
included within the project aims and objectives. In the words of Peppard and Ward (2016),
implementations of the digital strategies at the organisations have been found extensively
successful in terms of business growth in last few years. This study has tried to shed light on
the diverse avenues related to the implementation process of digital strategy followed by the
supports and competitive advantages anticipated from it.
Project Aim
The aim of this project is to assess the benefits of the digital strategies at both the large-scale
organisations and small-scale entrepreneurships. In this regard, the project is also supposed
to conduct investigation on both the business and market environments. The aim of the
project also includes the process of analysing how major challenges of digital disruption and
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transformation have been managed by the modern business managements. Following this
up, this study also aims at developing better understanding on the supportive and competitive
advantages of digital strategies at the organisations through the inclusion of project structure,
objectives, size and scope. In this regard, the aim of this project also includes the impact of
digital strategies on both the internal external key stakeholders.
Project Objective
 To identify the variables of digital strategy implementations within organisations
 To address the advantages and disadvantages of digital strategy within organisations
 To anticipate the supports and competitive advantages of digital strategy
implementations
 To assess the impacts of digital strategy implementation on key stakeholders
 To recommend effective ways of further implementations of digital strategies
P2 Project management plan covering aspects of scope, quality,
communication, cost, time, risk and resources [M1, D1]
Project management plan is always aligned with categorising the components of a process
that leads the managements of the organisations to their targeted successes. In the words of
Patanakul and Shenhar (2012), project management plan uses to prioritise the considerable
factors of a project, on the basis of which the entire project can be planned. In this context,
this project plan has prioritised the components of the project aspects of Schuh that are
related to the digital strategy integration within their workplaces.
Project Management Plan
Project Aspect Discussion
Project Cost The cost of the entire project is associated with the
implementation of digital strategy in Schuh. However, it also
indicates at the prior inclusion of the cost of maintenance and
follow-up the implementation processes. Thus, $9 million has
been considered for this project that is supposed to suffice all
the needs of digital strategy implementation accordingly.
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Project Scope The scope of this entire project is associated with the
development of the organisational growth in terms of business
expansion. The fundamental scope of this project includes the
organisational development regarding administration,
communication, production and storage and distribution.
Administration, in this regard, refers to the implementation of
cloud technology. Communication, on the other hand, refers to
the emphasis on social media and mobile technology planning.
As per the scope of this project is concerned, production is
aligned with artificial intelligence followed by the implication of
big data analytics for the purpose if enhancing innovative
product growth. Storage and distribution in this project are
supposed to be aligned with connecting and integrating
technological advancements throughout the business structure
of Schuh.
Project Time Project time is always considered to be a potential part of any
project and it is meant to be addressed by the managements of
the organisations during the project management planning.
The management of Schuh is supposed to consider 12 months
for the prior implementations of this project, among which 3
months are required for supervising the implemented
processes.
Project Quality Project quality is another potential aspect of project
management planning, where the managements of the
organisations are required to assess the implication process
critically and foresee the benefits in regards to the
organisational advantages. The management of Schuh
requires shedding light on this component via prior
communication process, which is supposed to play pivotal role
in this project. In addition to it, they are also required to focus
on the prior usages of diverse factors, such as documentation,
qualitative and quantitative data collection, manuals and
multiple training aids for the purpose of ensuring desired
project quality.
Project
Communication
Project communication is mostly associated with the process of
generating knowledge or data regarding the project plan. In this
context, the management of Schuh is required to ensure prior
communication processes between the employees and the
employers in order to prioritise the needs for executing the
project. Developing communication with all the key
stakeholders are recommended to The management of Schuh
in this regard.
Project Risk Project risks are usually associated with the fallacies in the
execution of the project planning. As per the case of Schuh is
concerned, the major project risk indicates at the finance
generation from the shareholders, which can be potential
enough to cause harms in the implementation of project plans.
Time constraint is another major risk for this project
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management plan, failing which may lengthen the process and
budget as well for company.
Project Resources Project resources can be associated with diverse factors,
objects and people. As per this context, starting from the
technological components to supplies of raw materials and
people are subjected to be addressed as the project resources.
Table 1: Project Management Plan for Schuh
(Source: Self-developed)
Project management plan for an organisation is always required to be supported by the
project schedule in order to definite time management goals keep the implementation
processes towards the right direction. According to Hill (2013), project schedule emphasises
on scheduling the timeframes for each process required for executing the project
management plan. Henceforth, it is supported by the milestone schedule that subdivides the
processes and finalise the dates of process completions.
Project Schedule
Project Aspect Time Duration
Identifying project requirements 2 Months
Anticipating scope 6 Months
Planning cost 4 Months
Determining time 2 Months
Ensuring quality 6 Months
Developing communication 6 Months
Assessing risks 10 Months
Managing resources 12 Months
Table 2: Project Schedule for Schuh
(Source: Self-developed)
Milestone Schedule
Milestone Description Date
Gathering knowledge and
data regarding
requirements
Collecting required information for
the purpose of enabling needful
digital integration.
31/01/2018
Planning for digital
strategy with prior
assessment on the
advantages and
disadvantages
It refers to the primary step to
acknowledge all the practical
implementation processes. It is also
liable to address the possible risks
in the project management plan.
28/02/2018
Enabling cloud
technology
Technological implementation of
cloud system in the organisation.
31/03/2018
Designing plan for social
media and mobile
technology
Enabling social media approaches
for the purpose of marketing and
online promotions through mobile
technology.
31/05/2018
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Empowering artificial
intelligence and big data
analytics
Enabling empowerment for
technological advancements and
data storage facilities
31/08/2018
Connecting and
integrating system within
organisation
Ensuring the process and benefits of
cloud, social media and mobile
technology.
30/09/2018
Training employees Making employees capable of
managing the implementation
processes.
31/10/2017
Recruiting new
candidates
New candidates are required to be
recruited, who are competent
enough to run and maintain
technological upgrades.
31/12/2017
Table 3: Milestone Schedule for Schuh
(Source: Self-developed)
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart to provide timeframes and
completion stages [M1, D1]
Work Breakdown structure reflects information about the key variables of a project plan,
which are essentially recommended for the managements of the organisations. In the opinion
of Sharon and Dori (2015), Work Breakdown structure enables the managements of the
organisations to categorise the needful efforts as per the tangible actions. In addition to it, this
structure also ensures the most efficient avenues for the actions to be executed. The
management of Schuh has developed it for the purpose of ensuring timely approaches with
the prior application of both Work Breakdown structure and Gantt chart.
Figure 2: Work Breakdown Structure for Schuh
(Source: Self-developed)
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Figure 3: Gantt chart for Schuh
(Source: Self-developed)
P4 Small-scale research with application of qualitative and quantitative
methods to meet project aims and objectives [M2, D1]
This study requires acknowledging the research philosophy, methodology and ethics for the
purpose of providing proper direction to this study. Thus, it is meant to categorise them and
consider them according to the needs. As per the research philosophy is concerned, this
study has found Positivism as the most effective in comparison to post-positivism, realism,
phenomenology and interpretivism (Padilla-Díaz, 2015). The reason behind selecting this
research philosophy is to gain structured data and knowledge that are usually derived from
large samples of respondents.
In research methodology, this study is required to emphasise on selecting the inductive
research approach followed by descriptive research design, survey strategy and probability
sampling. According to Creswell and Poth (2017), inductive research approach is supposed
to help this study in preparing questionnaire for both qualitative and quantitative research. On
the other hand, descriptive research design is liable to present tangible knowledge from the
different sources of sampling (Yin, 2013). Selecting survey strategy is also capable of
gathering knowledge through the consideration of qualitative and quantitative research and it
is recommended since this study has considered the inductive research philosophy (Tuohy et
al. 2013). The selection of probability sampling is supposed to allow this study to gather data
and information from survey and interview questionnaires.
The ethical implications always play a pivotal role in any research study, as it enhances
trustworthiness of the research. This study is required to acknowledge the government
regulations and legislations in this regard for ensuring the ethical balances for this study.
Acknowledging the Data Protection Act is supposed to be capable o allowing them to utilise
the ethical values for this research (legislation.gov.uk. 2017).
For the purpose of assessing the needs of digital strategy implementation, this study has
focused on conducting Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. In the words of
Arvidsson et al. (2014), qualitative and quantitative data collection methods are extensively
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useful in terms of gathering knowledge from both the ends of general stakeholders and
classified employers or managers. With the help of both these methods, this study is
supposed to increase knowledge about the possible outcomes from digital strategy
implementations followed by the integrations of cloud system, social media planning, mobile
technology, artificial intelligence, big data analytics and internet of things as subsections. For
this purpose, this study has considered 33 employees of Schuh, who have been found liable
to participate in the survey questionnaire under the quantitative method. On the hand, 2
senior managers of Schuh have been managed for conducting the qualitative method through
interview questionnaire.
Quantitative Method
1. Do you think that integration of digital strategy at Schuh can enhance their business
potential?
Options Response in
percentage
Total response Total respondents
Strongly agree 66.67% 22 33
Agree 24.24% 8 33
Neutral 3.03% 1 33
Disagree 3.03% 1 33
Strongly disagree 3.03% 1 33
Table 4: Effectiveness of digital strategy implementation at Schuh
(Source: self-developed)
2. How much effective cloud storage implementations can be for the management of Schuh?
Options Response in
percentage
Total response Total respondents
High 63.63% 21 33
Considerable 27.27% 9 33
Low 9.1% 33 33
Table 5: Effectiveness of cloud storage implementation at Schuh
(Source: self-developed)
3. Do you think that artificial intelligence and big data analytics can play potential roles in
production of Schuh?
Options Response in
percentage
Total response Total respondents
Strongly agree 30.3% 10 33
Agree 54.54% 18 33
Neutral 9.1% 3 33
Disagree 3.03% 1 33
Strongly disagree 3.03% 1 33
Table 6: Efficiency of artificial intelligence and big data analytics
(Source: self-developed)
4. Do you believe that ‘the internet of things’ can be useful to enhance the effectiveness of
storage and distribution at Schuh?
Options Response in
percentage
Total response Total respondents
Strongly agree 21.21% 7 33
Agree 69.7% 23 33
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Neutral 6.06% 2 33
Disagree 3.03% 1 33
Strongly disagree N/A 0 33
Table 7: Usefulness of ‘Internet of things’ in storage and distribution
(Source: self-developed)
Qualitative Method
1. What are the possible outcomes from the implementation of digital strategy followed by
cloud storage integration at Schuh?
1st manager 2nd Manager
In my opinion, we have been lagging
behind in the competitive market until we
have focused on the digital strategy
implementation. With the emerging needs
of digital strategy in the global markets, we
are also supposed to implement it in our
organisations for the purpose of enhancing
business growth.
Implementation of digital strategy in our
organisation is expected to bring massive
business expansion for us. In addition to it,
the cloud system integration is supposed
to enhance our inventory management as
well.
Table 8: Possible outcomes from Digital integration at Schuh
(Source: self-developed)
2. How much efficiency is required to implement social media and mobile technology for
communication followed by artificial intelligence and big data analytics for production?
1st manager 2nd Manager
Implementing social media strategies and
mobile technology require more
competencies from the end of our
employees, for which we are supposed to
conduct training sessions for them.
Additionally, we are also required to
employ new candidates that are already
aware of artificial intelligence and big data
analytics.
Proper implementation of the integration
strategies according to the project
management plan is supposed to play the
most efficient role. However, we are also
required to keep maintain the process and
following up the outcomes in order to
ensure the effectiveness of the strategic
implementations.
Table 8: Effectiveness of social media and mobile technology for communication
followed by artificial intelligence and big data analytics for production at Schuh
(Source: self-developed)
The conduction of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods has helped this study
extensively in terms of providing knowledge regarding the possibilities of digital strategy
implementations at Schuh. As opined by Pagani (2013), the combined efforts from both
qualitative and quantitative methods implications are always found liable to enhance
knowledge extensively. In this context, this study has managed to gain knowledge from the
employees regarding their perceptions and views about digital strategy implementations. On
the other hand, the qualitative method helped the study to acquire knowledge from the
classified perceptions, which is actually liable to ensure the project plans to be executed. In
addition to it, this study also has acknowledged the government legislations, while conducting
these methods. Data Protection Act 1998 has allowed this study to maintain the safety and
confidentiality of the collected data received through interview and survey (legislation.gov.uk,
2017).
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The decision of conducting both the qualitative and quantitative methods had been derived
from the critical assessment on appropriate research methodologies, where the significance
of the research had been discussed analytically. The categorisation of research significance
had been followed by the selection of research philosophy, design, and approach and data
collection method (Young, 2014). As per the requirement of this study, Interpretivism research
philosophy had been chosen followed by the Descriptive design for shedding light on the
issue more categorically. It has been followed by the deductive research approach in order to
provide theoretical approach to the issues and ensure gathering knowledge from real life
participants.
P5 Analysing research and data with proper tools and techniques [M3, D2]
The research methodology and data collection methods have been found playing potential
roles for this study by enhancing knowledge on the issue. In addition to it, they also have
sufficed the needs of essential information regarding the digital strategic implementation at
Schuh. However, it requires analysing the research and data in this regard to convert the
collected data into tangible for the management of Schuh. As per the findings of quantitative
data, 99.91% of the respondent employees agreed that the implementation of digital strategy
is liable to enhance the business growth of Schuh. Additionally, 63.63% of the total
respondents of the survey have praised the strategic consideration of cloud system within
Schuh. On the other hand, 84.84% of the respondents agreed to the possible success if
artificial intelligence and big data analytics, among which 30.3% have strongly comprehended
them. 69.7% of the respondents believe that the strategic integration of ‘internet of things’ can
play the most efficient roles in terms of business expansion Schuh. In qualitative method, the
first manager Schuh has confessed that they strictly need the digital strategies for their
organisational benefits in the competitive markets. The second manager, in this context, has
agreed that the implementations of social media planning, mobile technology and cloud
system are supposed to provide those benefits by acknowledging all the key stakeholders. In
addition to it, the second manager also elaborated that the consideration of all the strategic
implementations is liable to promote their businesses to more competitive markets. However,
the second manager has pointed out at the needfulness of training session for the employees
and recruiting more competent candidates.
P6 Communicating proper recommendations through research and data
analysis [M3, D2]
The outcomes of data analysis have allowed this study to recommend needful steps to the
management of Schuh in regards to their digital strategy implementation. According to Grant
(2016), the recommendations regarding strategic implementations are usually based on the
findings developed from collected data. In this context, the needfulness of digital strategy
implications at Schuh has been strongly recommended since they are still lagging behind in it.
However, they are required to emphasis on the social media planning and mobile strategy in
comparison to other implementation goals since they extensively intend to promote their
business in the competitive global markets. In addition to it, the management of Schuh is also
recommended to empower their cloud system followed by artificial intelligence and data
analytics for the purpose of enabling the most efficient system. Additionally, they are also
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supposed to encrypt their data through these for the confidentiality purpose. Executing all the
strategic plans accordingly keeping the risks in mind is always recommended to them.
Eventually, they are recommended to prioritise the process of monitoring and follow-up in
order to ensure continuous growth.
P7 Reflecting on undertaking value of research to meet stated objectives,
own learning and performance [M4, D2]
The objective of this study has been aligned with the prior assessment on the digital strategy
implementation at Schuh. In the words of Kane et al. (2015), discussing the undertaking
values of research is always found liable to reflect the study whether has succeeded or failed.
For this purpose, the objectives of the study are required to be compared with the outcomes
of the data analysis and findings. This study has clearly identified the variables of this project
on the basis of which it had become capable of addressing the advantages and
disadvantages of the digital strategy implementations. For this purpose, this study has found
massive optimism from the ends of both the employers and employees of the organisation. In
addition to it, the outcomes of data analysis regarding the specifications of digital strategy has
also ensured the findings aligned with the competitive advantages from digital strategy
implementations. Allowing the participants from the employee groups has allowed this study
to assess the impacts of this project from their end. Eventually, this study has been found
capable of recommending needful actions and further steps for the project based on the
findings of data analysis.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the strategic implementation of digital technology in the organisations is
strongly recommended for the organisations of this era for the purpose of ensure
sustainability in the growth market. This study has developed a project management plan in
this regard to develop the strategies regarding digital technology at Schuh. Additionally, it also
has conducted small-scale research through qualitative and quantitative method, on the basis
of which certain findings had been developed. These findings helped the study to develop
recommendations in regards to the organisational development through digital strategy
implementation.
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