MBA642: Levi's Jeans Project - Initiation, Planning, Execution Report

This report analyzes the project failure of Levi's Jeans and proposes a comprehensive project management plan to turn the situation around. It begins with an introduction that highlights the importance of project planning and the IPECC model (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Controlling and Monitoring, and Closure) as defined by PMBOK. The report provides a business overview of Levi's, discussing its history, operations, and the reasons behind the product's failure. A detailed project plan is then presented, outlining specific actions for each stage of the IPECC model, tailored to address the issues faced by Levi's. The report identifies major success factors, emphasizing the importance of avoiding past mistakes, proper resource allocation, and effective communication. It recommends MS Project software for managing the project and lists key data required for each stage. The conclusion reiterates the significance of teamwork, customer feedback, and the application of the proposed plan to ensure project success, while also stressing the importance of learning from previous failures. The report uses relevant research and common sense to create a practical project plan for Levi's Jeans.

Running head: PROJECT INITIATION, PLANNING AND EXECUTION
PROJECT INITIATION, PLANNING AND EXECUTION: Levi’s Jeans
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Business Overview..............................................................................................................3
Project Plan..........................................................................................................................3
Major Success Factors.........................................................................................................5
Appropriate Software for the Project...................................................................................6
Key Data required for the project........................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................7
References............................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
One of the important section of project management domain is the development of an
proper project plan relying on which the plan can achieve success or the project can flop. A
formal project plan can be defined as an official paperwork that is generally used to direct or
guide the project activities. This paperwork is usually generated to handle as well as implement
the whole project. A perfect project plan can be easily produced by proper interacting with the
stakeholders of the project and controlling the project program as well as supply (El Asmar,
Hanna and Loh 2013). This plan is a critical part for every project as depending on this plan all
project activities are executed. The project threats are documented in this project plan. Project
plans allow the members of the project to manage the project in a comfortable way. The
significant essentials of a project proposal are the project methodology, project goals and scope
(Kavanagh et al. 2013).
This specific report will be analyzing a project disaster. The project of Levi’s Jeans is
nominated for this report. In this report, an appropriate planning of the project will be done for
recovering the project of Levi. A strategic method will be given to Levi’s Jeans to drive their
project disaster into a successful one. This approach can benefit the concerned business to reduce
the effects of their failed product. The major factors behind the failure will be studied precisely
to guarantee that the same factors will not be repeated in this approach. The ultimate motive of
this approach is to facilitate the Levi’s jeans to tailor better jeans for their customers.
Business Overview
Levi is popular for their classical as well as innovative product design. Levi initated operating
from 1853. The first jeans pant was tailored by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in this year. The

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concerned business is governed from Brussels, Singapore and San Francisco (Levistrauss 2020).
Moreover, the business operates in more than 110 nations. The business is successful in
developing the brand image. The primary stuffs of Levi’s are the hats, belts, slacks, jeans and
skirts. However, the product of the business failed to attract the customer because of deficiency
in appropriate leadership and approaches. The concerned business efficiently attempted to bring
variations in the design of their product. This is also a reason behind the product failure of Levi’s
jeans (Nguyen and Chileshe 2015). Levi did not study the market scenario before marketing their
products in the market. The customer requirements were not cleared to the business. All the
factors will be considered in this approach and will be guaranteed that the determined factors
will not be iterated in new approach of Levi.
Project Plan
PMBOK divides a particular project in 5 different sections. Each of these sections has a
particular aim and methods. These sections can also be regarded as process groups. The sections
of a project are described below:
 Project Initiation: This is the initial stage of any project where the project is required to
be authorized and produced. Here, an overview of the project is prepared. In this
approach, the design of the jeans will be prepared such that the business can recover the
loss that is incurred from the previous project (Russell, Pferdehirt and Nelson 2018). In
this stage, a project lead will also be appointed by the project charter. Project risks,
project budget and project timeline will be assessed in this stage also the identification of
stakeholders will be carried out in this level. Therefore, it is a significant section of a
project as per which all the activities of the project will be executed.

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 Project Planning: After visualizing the project, a proper project plan is prepared
following the project activities are executed to complete the project in time (Zhang et al.
2015). This level comprises of numerous components like project success factors, project
scope, project procurement plan, risk management plan, human resource management
and change management. In this phase, a specific team will be appointed for designing
innovative designs required for Levi to achieve success in their project. Bringing
variations in the project can led to fruitful result for Levi.
 Project Execution: When the project plan is developed it is required to be executed as
per the expected approach. Each and every stakeholders of the project performs major
role in the execution phase of the project. The roles and responsibilities of the
stakeholders are assigned by the project lead (Kivilä, Martinsuo and Vuorinen 2017). A
project achieves success when every stakeholder of that project fulfill their targets
successfully. It becomes easier for the project members to achieve their project aims and
goals. Conversion of failed project into a fruitful one is a complex responsibility for
every project manager. Moreover, appropriate resources and skills are also important for
a project success.
 Project Controlling and Monitoring: Every project is required to control, monitor and
update every stage of the project. The lead can conclude with a positive view when he or
she is provided with positive feedbacks from the project stakeholders. Changes in the
project is done on the basis of their feedback (Abdi, Taghipour and Khamooshi 2018).
The lead should also ensure that the activities performed by the team should always drive
them to achieve the project aim and goal. Regular monitoring of the Levi’s product is

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also mandatory in this approach to ensure that Levi manufactures better product in this
approach. The project can be completed in time by thorough monitoring of the project.
 Project Closure: The project lead can close the project when he or she is ensured that the
project output fulfill all the requirements of the customers. The product feedback will be
taken from the customers and the required changes will be done on the basis of the
feedback (Mahboob and Devrim 2013). If the customers provide positive feedbacks
regarding the project then it is to be considered that the disastrous project of Levi’s jeans
is converted into a fruitful one.
Major Success Factors
The major success criteria for this approach of Levi’s is not to repeat the previous failure
factors. This can be maintained by informing the failure factors to every project members. This
will assist them to not repeat the same in this approach. Distribution of project roles to proper
person is also an essential requirement for Levi’s Jeans. The allocation can be done as per their
skills and expertise. This will guarantee that the project lead will get a positive response from
every section of the project (Albert, Balve and Spang 2017). Their positive response can allow
Levi’s to convert their defeat into success. High support from the top level of the management is
also required in this project. Assistance from the top management include supporting the project
members in every aspect of their roles and responsibilities in the project.
However, brainstorming is also a key success factor for this approach. This will assist
Levi in recovering its failed project (Rawlinson 2017). The project lead can have numerous ideas
and thoughts with the help of brainstorming. Engagement of previous project members will also
be conducted in this approach as they have the experience to face the project in real time.
Engagement of those members will facilitate the project lead to analyze the project in a more

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detailed way. Communication is another vital requirement for the Levi’s jeans. The whole
project should be conducted through a smooth and efficient communication medium. Trending
designs will be critically studied by the business (Wilson 2013). This will allow the business to
bring innovation in their product. Innovation in the products will provide a competitive
advantage to the business.
Appropriate Software for the Project
In this approach it is highly important for the business to manage and organize the project
deliverables carefully. Thus, MS Project is an efficient software to be used in this specific case
study. The Primary motive to choose MS Project software in this case are (Mizielinski et al.
2014):
 Offers numerous channels for communicating: The ability of integrating multiple
supplementary tools facilitate the project lead to efficiently communicate with the project
members. As discussed above, interaction is a vital element for every project. Developing
connection in every project management are is a significant necessity for this project.
 Can easily be integrated: Multiple MS tool can be collaborated in MS Project. For
example: MS Access, MS Word, MS Excel and MS Outlook. This help the project lead to
conduct multiple operations in a single software.
 Flexible to Use: As MS Project was released before 30 years ago therefore the software
has a huge experience in real world. Moreover, the project lead can easily use this
software for managing every activities of his or her project. MS Project is updated in a
regular phase by upgrading the features of the software (Tom and Paul 2013). This
provide multiple options to the lead regarding the method of managing their project.

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Therefore, from the above discussion all project deliverables can be organized and
handled easily with the help of the MS Project software.
Key Data required for the project
The major data needed to execute the project initiation segment are the project
stakeholders, project budget, project timeline, project scope and project scope.
The major data needed to execute the project planning segment are project risks,
deliverables, resources and schedule.
The major data needed to execute the project execution segment are the used resources in
the project, leftover project resources, regular project update report and the project deliverables.
For executing the concerned project few data is required like the method of approaching
the project problem for completing their responsibilities and the major issues tackled by them to
while performing their activities in the project.
The major data needed to close the project are the positive customer feedbacks and
overall project report.
Conclusion
According to the discussed factors it will be huge problem for every project member to
convert their flop project into a positive one. Therefore, the full project team will be requiring
cooperation and collaboration from each other to complete the project timely. The discussed
IPECC model is suggested to be utilized strictly by project team. Support from every
management level and the positive feedback form the customers are the two important project
requirements for Levi’s Jeans. As discussed above, MS Project is applicable for this project and

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the project deliverables can easily be handled using this software. The discussed success factors
should also be considered by the project team such that they achieve project success in this
attempt. The key factor to remember is that the factors of earlier project disaster will not be
repetitive in this time and all the project issues will be handled with care and with high priority.

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References
Abdi, A., Taghipour, S. and Khamooshi, H., 2018. A model to control environmental
performance of project execution process based on greenhouse gas emissions using earned value
management. International Journal of Project Management, 36(3), pp.397-413.
Albert, M., Balve, P. and Spang, K., 2017. Evaluation of project success: a structured literature
review. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
El Asmar, M., Hanna, A.S. and Loh, W.Y., 2013. Quantifying performance for the integrated
project delivery system as compared to established delivery systems. Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, 139(11), p.04013012.
Kavanagh, D.H., Dwyer, S., O'Donovan, M.C. and Owen, M.J., 2013. The ENCODE project:
implications for psychiatric genetics. Molecular psychiatry, 18(5), pp.540-542.
Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M. and Vuorinen, L., 2017. Sustainable project management through
project control in infrastructure projects. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6),
pp.1167-1183.
Levistrauss, 2020.Levis History - Levi Strauss & Co. [online] Levi Strauss & Co.
Mahboob, A. and Devrim, D.Y., 2013. Supporting independent construction online: Feedback in
the SLATE project. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 7(1-3), pp.101-123.
Mizielinski, M.S., Roberts, M.J., Vidale, P.L., Schiemann, R., Demory, M.E., Strachan, J.,
Edwards, T., Stephens, A., Lawrence, B.N., Pritchard, M. and Chiu, P., 2014. High resolution
global climate modelling; the UPSCALE project, a large simulation campaign. Geoscientific
Model Development, 7(4), pp.1629-1640.

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Nguyen, T.P. and Chileshe, N., 2015. Revisiting the construction project failure factors in
Vietnam. Built Environment Project and Asset Management.
Rawlinson, J.G., 2017. Creative thinking and brainstorming. Routledge.
Russell, J., Pferdehirt, W. and Nelson, J., 2018. Project Initiation, Scope, and
Structure. Technical Project Management in Living and Geometric Order.
Tom, A.F. and Paul, S., 2013. Project monitoring and control using primavera. International
Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2(3), pp.762-771.
Wilson, C., 2013. Brainstorming and beyond: a user-centered design method. Newnes.
Zhang, S., Sulankivi, K., Kiviniemi, M., Romo, I., Eastman, C.M. and Teizer, J., 2015. BIM-
based fall hazard identification and prevention in construction safety planning. Safety
science, 72, pp.31-45.