MBFSA Application Development: A Comprehensive Project Management Plan

This document presents a comprehensive project plan for the Mobile Based Farmer Support Application (MBFSA), designed to enhance farmers' knowledge of optimal crop cultivation. The plan is structured into six key sections, beginning with the definition of Measurable Organizational Value (MOV), i...Read More

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Description/Overview..........................................................................................................3
Part One: MOV....................................................................................................................3
1.1. Area of Impact..........................................................................................................3
1.2. Project Value............................................................................................................5
1.3. Stakeholders’ Expectations and Target Metric.........................................................5
1.4. MOV Timeframe......................................................................................................6
1.5. Summary of the MOV..............................................................................................6
Part Two...........................................................................................................................7
2.1. Scope.........................................................................................................................7
2.2. Resources..................................................................................................................7
Part Three.............................................................................................................................9
3.1. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)..........................................................................9
3.2. Deliverable and Milestone........................................................................................9
3.3. Resource Assignment.............................................................................................12
3.4. Project Budget........................................................................................................13
Part Four............................................................................................................................16
4.1. Assumptions...........................................................................................................16
4.2. Risk Identification Framework...............................................................................16

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4.3. Risk Ownership Strategy........................................................................................16
Part Five.............................................................................................................................19
5.1. Team’s Philosophy.................................................................................................19
5.2. Verification Activities............................................................................................19
5.3. Validation Activities...............................................................................................19
Part Six...............................................................................................................................20
6.1. Project Closure Checklist.......................................................................................20
6.2. Evaluation of Project MOV....................................................................................20
Bibliography......................................................................................................................21
Appendix............................................................................................................................23
Annotated Bibliography.................................................................................................23

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Introduction
The plan for project execution is developed which will be followed by the Virtucon team
members to execute and deploy the MBFSA project application. The plan that is developed
provides a description of the project to be implemented, the MOV linked with the project, the
impact area and the project value identified. The plan is divided into six distinct parts. The
second part of the plan identifies the scope and the resources need of the project while the third
part of the project plan provides the scheduling details of the project to be implemented. It is
vital to identify the risks linked with the project and therefore the detailed risk assessment and
management process is covered in the fourth section of the report. The fifth section provides
details of the quality management plan and the sixth section of this project plan provides the
needed details of project evaluation and closure.
Description/Overview
Globex has identified the need of increasing the knowledge of the farmers regarding
which crop is to be grown in a particular time of year so that it can provide maximum benefit.
The Globex farming has named this program to be Mobile Base Farmer Support application
(MBFSA) and to manage this entire program, a proposal of developing a MBFSA application is
made. A project plan for this proposed project is discussed in the following section.
Part One: MOV
The measurable organization value defines the value that a project is expected to bring to
its clients or the related organization.
1.1. Area of Impact

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Area of Impact Rank Effect
Customer 1 The MBFSA will have a large
effect on customer and hence it is
ranked one. The effect will be
positive and the success of
project will largely help in
reducing the loss.
Financial 2 The project will have a large
financial benefit since the
execution of the project will
considerably reduce loss incurred
by the farmers growing crops.
Operational 3 The application will have less
operational issues as it is
developed by Virtucon and
therefore is ranked in third
position
Social 4 The application will have major
social benefits and therefore, it is
ranked four.
Strategy 5 Globex has identified a good
strategy of educating the farmers
and hence it is ranked in the fifth
position.

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1.2. Project Value
The project values that are linked with the project include Do more and Faster. The
execution of this application will help in further growth as farmers will have a better idea of the
weather related data needed for crop growing. The project further helps in increasing the
efficiency of the crop growth and therefore, the value of faster is identified.
1.3. Stakeholders’ Expectations and Target Metric
Stakeholder Expectations Metric
Virtucon To deliver a complete MBFSA
application to Globex and
Farmers
To deliver the same within 6
months.
Globex To make the MBFSA program
successful by providing
necessary training to the farmers.
To complete the same within 1
month after the launch of the
MBFSA application
Farmers Will show maximum enthusiasm
in learning about the application
It should start from the 1st month
Wholesalers Along with the farmers, the
wholesalers too need to show
enthusiasm in execution of the
project
Right from the beginning of the
project
Government To offer maximum financial
support and support with the
information need regarding the
execution of the project
Right from the start of the
project, from the first month

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1.4. MOV Timeframe
The timeframe of achieving this MOV is represented in the figure below-
Figure 1: The Timeframe of MOV
1.5. Summary of the MOV
MOV Summary
Description This section provides a detailed description of the
project MBFSA.
Impact Area The impact on MBFSA is indicated in this section
Value The values that MBFSA will bring to the client will
identified in this section
Stakeholder In this section, the target of the stakeholders are set
Timeframe No more than 6 months

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Part Two
2.1. Scope
The scope of the project identifies the opportunity linked with the execution of a project.
The in-scope and Out-scope of the project is indicated as follows-
In-scope
 The development of the MBFSA application within the constrained time of six months Training a specific group of farmers for the MBFSA project
Out-scope
 Checking if all the group of farmers are accustomed to use of mobile Cross-checking the accuracy the weather data provided by local government
2.2. Resources
The resources considered for deployment of the MBFSA application are indicated as
follows-

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Figure 2: Showing the Resource sheet as generated from MS project

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Part Three
3.1. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Certain assumptions are considered in developing the work breakdown structure. These
assumptions include completion of project within 6 months and continuous resource availability.
The WBS of MBFSA project is illustrated in figure 3-
Figure 3: Illustrating the WBS
3.2. Deliverable and Milestone

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The task activities represents or the deliverables and the milestone linked with the
MBFSA program are indicated in figure 4.

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Figure 4: Illustrating the Milestone and the Deliverables
3.3. Resource Assignment
The resources assigned against the tasks that are implemented in the project are indicated
as follows-

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Figure 5: Illustrating the Resources Assigned
Figure 6: Illustrating the Resource Overview
3.4. Project Budget
The set budget of the MBFSA program is indicated in figure 7

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Figure 7: The Budget

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Figure 8: Representing the Task Cost Overview

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Part Four
4.1. Assumptions
The critical assumptions linked with the execution of MBFSA program is indicated as
follows-
 It is a part of the assumptions that mobile devices with stable internet connection
is available to the farmers
 It is a part of the assumptions that the MBFSA program will be executed in a
considerably lower cost than any other projects implemented by Virtucon
4.2. Risk Identification Framework
The risk identification framework is explained in the table below-
Risks Framework
Technical Risks Technical instability gives rise to these risks in a
project
Financial Risks Financial shortfalls gives rise to these risks in a
project
Operational Risks Ineffective performance of the delivered product
helps in identification of this risk
Resource Risks Issues with resource management give rise to this
risk
Scheduling Risks Scheduling issues give rise to this risk
4.3. Risk Ownership Strategy

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Five most critical risks are identified in the MBFSA program.
Risks Description Severity Probability of
Occurrence
Risk Owner
R1: Technical
Failure
The MBFSA
application is
showing technical
errors
High Medium Technical Expert
R2: Insufficient
Budget
The project cannot
be completed
within the set
budget
Medium High Business Analyst
R3: Operational->
performance issues
Performance lag is
seen in the project
High Medium Virtucon project
team
R4:Resource
shortage
The resources are
not continuously
available
Medium Low Resource Manager
R5: Schedule Issue The project may
not be completed
within 6 months
High High Project Manger

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Figure 9: Representing the Risk Register

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Part Five
5.1. Team’s Philosophy
The philosophy of the of the Virtucon team is to deliver Globex with an application that
can be easily handled by the farmers and the wholesalers quite easily.
5.2. Verification Activities
 The requirements based testing is followed
 Test specifications reviews are followed
5.3. Validation Activities
 Reviewing the codes
 Checking if the application can be used by the farmers

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Part Six
6.1. Project Closure Checklist
Project Closure Yes/No
All the deliverables of the project are validated Yes
All the testing phase are completed No
Resources are realised Yes
Documentation are archived No
6.2. Evaluation of Project MOV
Evaluation of a project is a critical aspect of project execution and management. The
evaluation of a project validates the requirements and the specifications of the project (refer to
appendix). In evaluation of MOV, all the requirements set by Globex is needed to be validated.

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Bibliography
Bourne, L. (2016). Stakeholder relationship management: a maturity model for organisational
implementation. Routledge.
Crawford, J. K. (2014). Project management maturity model. Auerbach Publications.
Eskerod, P., & Jepsen, A. L. (2016). Project stakeholder management. Routledge.
Eskerod, P., & Vaagaasar, A. L. (2014). Stakeholder management strategies and practices during
a project course. Project Management Journal, 45(5), 71-85.
Fleming, Q. W., & Koppelman, J. M. (2016, December). Earned value project management.
Project Management Institute.
Harrison, F., & Lock, D. (2017). Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Heagney, J. (2016). Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.
Leach, L. P. (2014). Critical chain project management. Artech House.
Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014). Project
risk management methodology for small firms. International journal of project
management, 32(2), 327-340.
Mir, F. A., & Pinnington, A. H. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: linking
project management performance and project success. International journal of project
management, 32(2), 202-217.

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Serra, C. E. M., & Kunc, M. (2015). Benefits realisation management and its influence on
project success and on the execution of business strategies. International Journal of
Project Management, 33(1), 53-66.
Xu, Y., & Yeh, C. H. (2014). A performance-based approach to project assignment and
performance evaluation. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 218-228.

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Appendix
Annotated Bibliography
Serra, C. E. M., & Kunc, M. (2015). Benefits realisation management and its influence on
project success and on the execution of business strategies. International Journal of
Project Management, 33(1), 53-66.
According to Serra and Kunc (2015), Project evaluation, which is an important
characteristics of project management is crucial to ascertain that the team has validated the
project requirements prior to the delivery of the project. Therefore, a link between project
evaluation and benefit realization is generally found in execution of a project. Benefit realization
has a large influence on the successful execution of the business strategies within the project.
One of the most common business strategies include evaluation of the benefits that a project or
an investment can provide. A successful project closure is never possible if all the elements of
the project plan is not fulfilled in an effective manner. There is no denying the fact that the
organizations, that fail to deploy effective business strategies in management and execution of a
project, cannot achieve success in executing a project. Project evaluation plays a large role in
identification and evaluation of the strategies that have been used in executing the project. Since
the closure phase is associated with releasing the final deliverables to the customer it becomes
vital to cross check if all the deliverables are met. The job of the project evaluation technique is
to check whether the project has considered all the pre-planned aspects in its execution. The
closure checklist that is followed in validation of the critical characteristics of a project also
involves project evaluation.

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Xu, Y., & Yeh, C. H. (2014). A performance-based approach to project assignment and
performance evaluation. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 218-
228.
Xu and Yeh (2014), gives an idea of a performance based approach in evaluation of the
project processes. There are a number of approach that is important for integration of assignment
of the resources in a project and the project evaluation process. The project evaluation process is
needed to maximize the benefits that can be achieved throughout the execution of the project.
This particular approach of project evaluation provides an optimal mechanism of facilitating
those principles of the project which are objective focused. The evaluation phase of a project
therefore is directed towards analysing wether the project would be able to deliver the value it is
expected to deliver. The evaluation tool of the project helps in providing a detailed analysis of
the outcomes of the project. The management of the project is linked with effective evaluation of
the project that helps in identification of the actual project requirements. Project evaluation in
project management is therefore it is necessary for successful execution of a project. It is
necessary to ascertain that the project is executed as per the specifications set by the client. The
efficiency of the project implemented is increased as a result of enforcing effective verification
and validation activities. This verification and the validation activity of the project is mainly
executed in the project closure and evaluation phase and therefore it is one of the most critical
phases of project execution.
Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014).
Project risk management methodology for small firms. International journal of
project management, 32(2), 327-340.

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Marcelino-Sádaba et al. (2014), indicates that project evaluation is an essential criteria of
management and evaluation of the risks within an organization. The risk management process is
largely linked with project evaluation and the former helps the project team to eliminate all the
uncertainties linked with the execution of the project. Thus it can be said that evaluation and
closure are two most significant needs of a project team and it examines whether the critical risks
in the project is eliminated or not.