Project Management for Business: ACME Project Analysis & Execution

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of project management principles, methodologies, tools, and techniques within the context of business development, using the ACME Products PLC project as a case study. It explores key aspects such as the project lifecycle, success and failure criteria, project management systems and procedures, and the crucial elements involved in project termination and post-project appraisals. The report further delves into human resource management, including organizational structures, roles, responsibilities, and the assessment of necessary skills for project leaders, alongside the planning and specification of human resource requirements for the ACME new facility project. It also addresses the application of project processes and procedures, focusing on aspects like project duration, delays, the use of Gantt charts and resource histograms, cost and time performance analysis, change management, and project closure methods. The evaluation of the completed project provides insights into the overall effectiveness and success of the project management strategies employed.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR
BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 1: Understanding Project Management Principles..................................................................1
(a) 1.1 Describe the main principles of project management process and linked to the project
life cycle.......................................................................................................................................1
(b) 1.2 Suitable success and failure criteria for the new project..................................................3
(c) 1.3 Principles behind project management systems and procedures.....................................5
(d) 1. 4 Key elements involved in terminating projects and conducting post-project appraisals 6
Task 2 Be Able to Manage A Project’s Human Resource...............................................................7
(a) 2.1 Organizational structures, roles and responsibilities of participants within a project......7
(c) 2.3 Assessment of skills and qualities in project leader of ACME project............................9
(d) 2.4 Planning and specifications of human resources and requirements for the ACME new
facility project............................................................................................................................11
(e) 2.2 Work breakdown structure of ACME Project................................................................12
Task 3 Be Able to Apply Project Processes and Procedures.........................................................12
(a) 3.2 Final duration of the project...........................................................................................12
(b) 3.1/3.2 Delays in the activities.............................................................................................13
(c) 3.1 Use of Gantt chart and Resource histogram in order to improve the management of
ACME project............................................................................................................................13
(c) 3.2 Crash some activities in project to complete it more quickly........................................14
(d) 3.2 Analysis of cost and time performance for ACME project...........................................15
(e) 3.4 Methods of managing changes that are likely to be required during the life of ACME
project........................................................................................................................................15
(f) 3.1 Ways to close the project................................................................................................16
(g) 3.3/3.4 Evaluation of complete project................................................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
References......................................................................................................................................19

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Organisational Structure...................................................................................................8
Figure 2: WBS of ACME Project..................................................................................................12
Figure 3: Project change control procedures for the existing plan................................................17

INTRODUCTION
In general, project management can be defined as the process of planning and managing
the modifications within the organisation or a specific project. Project management is an
important skill for all managers, so the aim of this assignment is to allow readers and learners to
show a basic knowledge of project management principles, methodologies, tools, and techniques
as they may be used in any business. Further, with the help of this report, investigator will have
the opportunity to analyse and plan the activities needed to carry out the project, including how
to set up, how to control and execute the project, and to how to carry out their reviews ( Cheng
and Teizer, 2013). Thereafter, by undertaking ACME Products Plc. investigator will also have
the opportunity to explore the process of building a project team, so that desired project can be
conducted in an appropriate way. Herein, the business for which researchers will manage the
project (ACME Products PLC) wants to build a new facility for the manufacture of plastic
tableware suitable for outdoor dining and picnics. The range will include plates and bowls of
various sizes, cups, saucers and glasses. A building, production machinery, supply of raw
material, manufacturing and delivery of the finished products are included in the overall project
requirements.
TASK 1: UNDERSTANDING PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
(a) 1.1 Describe the main principles of project management process and linked to the project life
cycle
According to given scenario, implementing of new facility for ACME Products Ltd, it is
essential for the manager to consider project management process as well as the project life cycle
so as to ensure reliable execution. Further, there are several principles of process and life cycle of
project consist are as follows:
 Project Structure: While developing the outline or basic structure of the proposed project
of ACME Products Ltd, manager has to consider three main aspects, which are: goals of
the project, timeline and milestones. Therefore, during this phase, goals and deliverables
of the project are defined and on the basis of which different activities are defined with
the proper cost and outcomes (Reiss, 2013).
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 Definition phase: Under this principle, various inputs are presented by the stakeholders of
the cited firm. By the means of this, project manager can understand the expectations of
stakeholders and carry out entire project accordingly.
 Clear goals: According to this principle, it is essential for the project manager to define
the goals and deliverable of the project. Further, he/she should propose SMART
objectives so that the team members can be guided and directed in an appropriate
manner.
 Transparency about the project status: This is another major principle of project
management process because these manager has to prepare short status report at every
stage of the project and present it to the associates so that they can analyse and evaluate
the actual position of the cited project and if require potential measures can be employed
for the future contingency (Schwalbe, 2013).
 Risk Recognition: There are various risks and uncertainties associated with different
projects. However, it is the duty of the project manage to make sure that all the risk
assessment that were made at each stage so that uncertainties can be identified at early
stage and measures can be employed.
 Managing project disturbance: At the time of project execution there are several issues
and obstacles that creates disturbance. Therefore, project manager and team needs to
identify the disturbance and accordingly modify the approaches to generate the best
possible results (Gregory, 2003).
 Responsibility of project manager: There are several responsibilities and authorities that
project manager has to carry out. According to the current proposed project of ACME
Products Ltd, project manager has the role of managing alterations, integrating different
project management systems, reporting the actual status to the associates and delivering
the project on time and within cost.
 Project Success/Failure: In order to define the success and failure of the project, manager
has to set certain benchmark or criteria, on the basis of which deliverables can be
compared and decision can be made (Mallick and Prakash, 2006).
 Commitment: It is another important principle because, project manager and team should
ensure that all the commitments towards the project and its stakeholders need to be
fulfilled in effective way. Further, members should show adequate amount of dedication
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towards the work so as to achieve the desired deliverables of the project with quality, in
time and within overall cost etc.
 Tetrad-Trade off: The main purpose of this principle is that it assist in ensuring the
quality, cost, scope and time defined by the project manager are achievable and realistic
in nature. By the means of this, project manager can easily attain the goals and objectives
of the plan and meet the desired success level.
 Primary communication channels: Under this principle, there should be proper
communication between manager and client so that the transparency can be maintained at
each level of the project.
 Cultural environment: The selection of management team is based on the nature of the
project. However, with the help of suitable and reliable team management and strategies,
project manager can achieve the deliverables of the project.
 Process: Withthis principle, manager of the project should outline the process or
procedure of the implementation plan (Wright and Adviser-Gottwald, 2013). As well as,
they should define the role and responsibilities of each team member so that they can
carry out work in more appropriate way.
 Life cycle: This principle assist in showing all the steps that are indulged to successfully
carry out the entire course of project. Further, life cycle helps in providing clear image
from the initiation to project closure.
(b) 1.2 Suitable success and failure criteria for the new project
According to the given case, proposed project is related to the implementation of ACME
new facility. Therefore, it is important for the manager to define success and failure criteria so
that suitability and reliability of project can be measured. Further, through the means of this the
project manager can determine whether new facility should be developed as per the requirement
of ACME clients. Following are the success and failure criteria for the present proposed project:
 User involvement: It is important for the project manager to indulge clients and
stakeholders of the ACME new facility project in decision making process, in order to
ensure effective implementation of the entire project. However, lack of user involvement
will create obstacle for project manager in understanding and determining the needs of
project and may lead to failure of the project (Killen and et.al, 2012). While on the other
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hand, if project manager take the suggestions from the clients at every stage, it will help
in developing the new facility and achieving the success for the clients.
 Resource management: Project manager has the duty to make the optimum utilisation of
available resources so that the deliverables can made on time. While lack of skills in
allocating the resources will affect the course of project as well as create hindrance in
achieving the success criteria’s.
 Defining statements of requirements: Top level management of ACME Products Ltd has
to define clear goals and expectations from the project so that the manager can develop
strategies accordingly. However, if management is unable to define its own objective
regarding the new facility then it may possess different issues for the manager to develop
the ACME as per the requirements.
There are various other aspects that can affect the success of any project such as time,
schedule, budget and planning etc. However, it is important for the manager to given great
importance to all these factors and accordingly carry out the entire proposed new facility project
of ACME so that it provides successful results.
 Scope: It can be defined as the combination of fundamental elements and characteristics
which are achieved after the completion of entire project in the form of deliverables.
 Resources: Project manager should propose the budget for entire project and accordingly
allocate the costs to each activity. This is one of the major factor considered in the
success/failure of any project (Oke and Charles-Owaba, 2006).
 Schedules: In this, manager is able to determine the actual time required to complete the
project. In the present given case, the main aim of project manager is to accomplish the
ACME new facility project on time so that it can be considered as the successful project
else vice-verse.
Project success factors Project failure factors
Better leadership Lack of proper guidance or direction
Commitments of the team members Unskilled employees or members
Understanding the vision and mission of
project
Unclear goals and objectives
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Appropriate allocation of available resources Lack of resources
Motivated team Conflicts within the team members
Transparency with clients lack of communication
(c) 1.3 Principles behind project management systems and procedures
According to the present given scenario of ACME new facility project, there are three
core objectives of the manager which consist of cost, time and quality. However, in order to
achieve all these defined objectives, project management process and system plays significant
role for the manager.
 Time and Costs: In order to allocate time and costs effectively, manager of the ACME
new facility project has used resource levelling and activity based costing method. The
main purpose behind using these approaches is that it helps the manager in allocating
adequate amount of resources and funds to each activity and mitigate the duplication and
wastage of money and materials (Cavaleri, Firestone and Reed, 2012).
 Quality: TQM approach has been used for maintaining and enhancing the quality
standards for the ACME new facility project. Through the means of this, manager can
easily ensure higher quality in the deliverables to the client which satisfy each and every
expectations appropriately.
There are various principles of project management system that is important for the manager to
indulge are as follows:
 Proper coordination between the defined activities of the project.
 Provide clear visibility of the work.
 Effective communication within project manager, members and stakeholders will ensure
better execution of whole project (Davenport, 2013).
Following is the process of project management system that is used by the manager in ACME
new facility project:
 Propose a suitable plan for the project and accordingly define the activities and
scheduling with the help of software.
 Manager should allocate the sub tasks and deadlines to each activity.
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 Proper short report regarding crucial information about ACME project and share with its
user or stakeholder.
 Proper scheduling of meeting, activities and dates etc. related to the ACME project will
assist in developing transparency between the project and its associates.
 Lastly, monitoring of all the stages should be conducted so that the bugs and errors in the
project can be identified and accordingly potential measures can be employed (Leach,
2014).
(d) 1. 4 Key elements involved in terminating projects and conducting post-project appraisals
There are several key elements involved in the terminations of the project which should
be understood by the manager so that at the time of project closure it can be executed in a well
manner. In general, project termination refers to a hard and complex decision that are been made
by the team. However, it is the duty of project manager to define the project closer. According to
the given scenario, ACME new facility project consist of various key elements such as
completion of all the legal requirements, closing the agreement with associated suppliers and
contractors, making the payment of due amount, auditing, transferring the responsibilities and
authorities, sharing of information of the project etc. Further, there are several situations due to
which project manager can terminate the ACME project for the reason being such as technical
issues, incurring of high costs of execution as compared to budgeted amount, failure of primary
strategies, unexpected loss of human capital, execution of activities which are not based on the
plan or defined objectives.
Post Project Appraisals:
In general, post project appraisal refers to the evaluation of entire plan which assist in
determining the extent where the mission has achieved the defined set of objectives. In order to
carry out post project appraisal of ACME new facility project, it is important for the manager to
undertake following steps:
 Variance analysis: Through the means of this analysis the manager can easily compare
the generated outcomes with the expected results (Meredith and Mantel, 2011).
 Benefit analysis: Under this analysis, manager can determine all the benefits that ACME
will be achieving after implementing the new facility. For instance, initial investment of
the project will be high but it will assist in enhancing the production process of the
company.
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 Risk assessment: Through the means of this, project manager will be able to evaluate and
analyse all the risks associated with the ACME project as well as helps in indulging
potential measures for mitigating the risks and uncertainties.
Post project appraisal procedure:
TASK 2 BE ABLE TO MANAGE A PROJECT’S HUMAN RESOURCE
(a) 2.1 Organizational structures, roles and responsibilities of participants within a project
Organisational structure of the ACME new facility project:
The organisational structure of the cited firm can be defined in a matrix format through
the means of which, management has to follow more than two types of structure. But the main
purpose behind using such type of organisational structure is that it assist in making optimum
utilisation of the available resources as well as maintaining an appropriate coordination between
each departments, proper flow of communication, information and enhancing the level of
motivation within various departments (Turner and Müller, 2005).
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Figure 1: Organisational Structure
Following are the major human resources for the ACME new facility project and their
roles and responsibilities:
Participants for
ACME project
Roles and responsibilities in the form of job description ACME Project
specific
Project manager - Should be capable in planning and executing activities of the new facility
project.
- Making optimum utilisation of the available resources
- Maintaining and enhancing the quality of project deliverables.
- Able to manage risks and uncertainties.
- Should maintain the cost, time and quality factor of the cited project
- Monitoring and controlling the activities of ACME new facility project
Architecture - To develop smart and effective design of the building with proper details.
- Should pay attention to issues related to environment and sustainability.
- Should indulge energy saving technology in the specifications of the
ACME project (Whitty, 2010).
Quality analyst - Responsibility of providing review on the developed design of the project.
- Should find problems and issues within the ACME new facility project.
Mechanical engineer - Should employee cost effective equipment’s for the execution of
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construction project.
- Controlling and monitoring of plant equipment’s and systems.
- Planning new and effective production procedure.
Project team
members
- Working in coordination to achieve defined aim and objectives of ACME
new facility project.
- Ensuring high quality of deliverables (Zu, 2009).
Project sponsor - Approve the budget prepared by the project manager.
- Support financially to carry out the activities of ACME new facility
project.
- Undertake major actions and decisions regarding the construction project.
Project board - Approving the plan and strategies of the ACME project.
- Developing team of skilled employees.
- Prioritizing the tasks and operations and provide adequate amount of
information to the member regarding each activity.
Steering committee - Providing suitable and reliable guidance on the technical aspects of the
project.
- Monitoring the progress and success of the deliverables.
System administrator - Maintaining database
- Providing internal and external support to the project manager (Wysocki,
2011).
(c) 2.3 Assessment of skills and qualities in project leader of ACME project
There are various skills and qualities that a project manager should possess in order to
carry out the entire course of project in an effective and efficient manner. Considering the
attributes of present project it is important for the manager to have wide range of capabilities
which are as follows:
 Time management: Project manager should understand the importance of time and
accordingly employee different period management strategies to complete the work of
ACME new facility project in an effective manner.
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