Project Management Report: ABC Ltd. and DEF Ltd. Acquisition

This report provides a detailed analysis of a project management assignment focusing on the acquisition of DEF Ltd. by ABC Ltd. The report covers key characteristics of the project, including its scope and work breakdown structure (WBS). It presents a Gantt chart, identifies the critical path, and outlines approaches to initiate a budget. Furthermore, it addresses project risks and proposes responses, along with the implementation of quality control methods. The report includes an executive summary, introduction, WBS, project budget, Gantt chart, discussion on project manager skills, project scope statement, and phases of project management. The project involves planning, implementation, and termination of the acquisition, aiming to ensure effective project initiation and successful profitability. The budget includes various direct and indirect costs, and the Gantt chart details task durations and dependencies. Risk management strategies, including scope, scheduling, resource, and technological risks, are also discussed.

Managing Projects

Table of Contents
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1) Key characteristics of the project............................................................................................1
2) Scope of the project and Work breakdown Structure (WBS) for it........................................1
3) Gantt Chart and identification of critical path.........................................................................1
4) Approaches to initiate a budget...............................................................................................4
5) Rise of project risk and various responses to it.......................................................................5
6) Implementation of quality control methods on the project.....................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................7
Introduction..................................................................................................................................7
Work breakdown Structure..........................................................................................................7
Project Budget.............................................................................................................................8
Gantt Chart...................................................................................................................................9
Skills and competencies of Project Manager.............................................................................13
Project Scope Statement............................................................................................................13
Phases of project management...................................................................................................13
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

TASK 1
1) Key characteristics of the project
The present project discusses regarding ABC which has been able to has a successful mergers and acquisitions. It has already
been able to bring various brands into control. ABC is now planning to acquire DEF Ltd. which is the frozen food retailer and have
variety of outlets in all major cities and town of UK. The responsibility of handling acquisition is given to John, where he is
responsible for handling acquisition project management function with the help of external consultants. In order to proceed with this
project management, it is required to indulge in to planning, implementation and termination of this acquisition project. It will help in
ensuring that project is initiated in effective manner which will thereby result in withdrawing successful profitability through it (Bassi
and et.al., 2017).
2) Scope of the project and Work breakdown Structure (WBS) for it
The scope of the project is quitter wide as ABC is planning to enhance its area by acquiring an organization which deals in
frozen food. It will help in enhancing the profitability and market share aspects of ABC ltd. Scope of the project helps in creating
unique deliverables by preparing specific as well as achievable aim and objectives of the project. It helps in understanding the
boundaries of project and analyse the role of stakeholders in each and every step.
Work breakdown structure is one of the key project deliverable that helps in organizing work of the team into various
manageable sections (Eskerod, Huemann and Savage, 2015). It is required to be executed by project team so as to have maximum
amount of profitability out of it.
3) Gantt Chart and identification of critical path
Task
Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors WBS
Auto
Scheduled Task A 5 days Wed 13-06-
18 Tue 19-06-18 1
Auto
Scheduled Task B 4 days Wed 20-06-
18
Mon 25-06-
18 1 2
1

Auto
Scheduled Task C 2 days Tue 26-06-18 Wed 27-06-
18 2 3
Auto
Scheduled Task D 3 days Tue 26-06-18 Thu 28-06-18 2 4
Auto
Scheduled Task E 5 days Thu 28-06-18 Wed 04-07-
18 3 5
Auto
Scheduled Task F 7 days Fri 29-06-18 Mon 09-07-
18 4 6
Tasks 1 2 3 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Task A
Task B
Task C
Task D
Task E
Task F
2

3

Critical Path for above project includes, Task A, task B, Task D and Task F.
Hence Total critical durations of the project = Task A+ Task B + Task D + Task F
Total duration of project = 5 + 4 + 3 + 7
= 19 days
The above network diagram shows that it is required for the project manager to invest 19 days to bring the project to closure. It
indicates that it is the longest path which will take shortest duration to complete the tasks that are being mentioned. It also indicates
that Task A, Task B, Task D and Task F are not replaceable in nature and hence can not be skipped.
4) Approaches to initiate a budget
Researchers have stated that project budgeting is one of the most important aspect when opting for any type of project. It is the
financial aspect that is attached to it which ultimately helps in determining overall feasibility of the project ad assess cost benefit ratio
attached to it as well. It also has greater emphasis on estimates of cost which can help in planning expenditure aspect also ( Lyapina
and et.al., 2017). There are various elements that are required to be taken into consideration. These can be in the form of following:
Direct Cost
4

 Labour
 Material
 Travel expenses
 Training program
Indirect Cost
 Office and general administration expenses
 Communication expenses
 Insurance charges
Considering these expenses, while preparing budget, helps in analysing various types of risks that are involved in the project.
Further, estimated expenses can be decided based on it.
5) Rise of project risk and various responses to it
A unique aspect of the project which not be directly related to it but have adequate role in deciding successful implementation is
related to leadership and administration. Further, analysing these issues helps in deciding that whether project will appropriately be
implemented or not. Risks in the project are also identified so as to ensure that all the important aspects are taken into consideration
and there is no existence of any negative impact on overall outcomes of the project. There can be various types of risks in the project.
These are, risk of scope, which may occur due to addition of new requirements in the project. Another risk is related to scheduling
which is related to error in estimation and unidentified delays (Bresnen, 2016). Resource risk is another type of risk involved in the
project where the team may not be able to manage essential resources to serve the requirements of project. In the end, technological
risk can also be faced which may arise due to machinery or computer system defects.
The team can manage these risks by preparing better project management report and considering all the important aspects that
are related to it. Risk can also be transferred to third party so that it can be handled effectively.
5

6) Implementation of quality control methods on the project
Quality plays a significant role in project management as it helps in ensuring that appropriate deliverables are ultimately achieved
by the team. There are various tools and techniques that are used to measure and corrective actions that can be taken by the team for
effective output. It also helps in ensuring that the ultimate quality of deliverables is able to meet expectations of the team. Some of
these methods are mentioned as follows: Trend monitoring: It helps in matching estimated cos, resources and schedules with the of actual ones. Documentation control: It assist in finding out that which all documents and information are important so as to reach to relevant
as well as decided outcomes. Acquisition: It plays substantial role in process of acquisition of project equipment, which are in the form of raw material and
other related resources (Calvo-Mora, Navarro-García and Periañez-Cristobal, 2015). Specification control: It helps in preparing review of deliverables which helps in analysing that whether quality requirements are
being met or not.
Some important quality control tools are, check sheets, control charts, work flow chart and inspection.
6

TASK 2
Executive summary
The main aim of this project is to smoothen the process of acquisition. In the present scenario, ABC Ltd. is planning to acquire
DEF Ltd which will help in enhancing overall scope of the business. Hence, operational analysis will be conducted so as to ensure that
project can be implemented in a well-defined manner. Project management have discussed regarding budget of the project,
communication plan and various phases of underlying project initiated by ABC Ltd. These five phases of project are, Initiating,
Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing. There are various tools and techniques that are used by project
managers for its effective implementation. These are, scope, cost and schedule which hold adequate amount of relevance in project
management.
Introduction
Project management plays an important role in finding out that whether overall project will be able to deliver as per its
objectives and desired outcomes or not. The present report aims at analysing acquisition project which is taking place between ABC
Ltd and DEF Ltd. The report makes an assessment of Work breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt Chart which include all the
activities. The overall framework of project management inclusive of all the elements will be included in it. These are, Initiating,
Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.
Work breakdown Structure
Work breakdown structure helps in allocating expected time which will help in completing all the deliverables related to project.
It is considered to be one of the key basis based on which overall project is designed. Further, it plays a substantial role in achieving
overall objectives of the project being framed by the project manager also. Work breakdown Structure for the particular project has
been prepared as follows:
Deliverables Task Name Completion time
7

Deliverable 1 Pre-Initiating phase 15
Deliverable 2 Project feasibility phase 13
Deliverable 3 Initiating project phase 4
Deliverable 4 Planning phase 28
Deliverable 5 Execution 5
Deliverable 6 Monitoring and controlling phase 11
Deliverable 7 Closing 2
Project Budget
Particulars Amount ( In GBP )
Working space 1500
Land and building 2500
Purchase of machinery 2000
Equipment cost 2000
Freezers 1000
Cost of machinery 800
Human resource salary 2000
Labour 1000
Material 2500
Training and development 3000
Travel and transportation 2000
8

Total 20,300
There are various objectives that have been considered while preparing the above budget. Some of them are mentioned below:
 To finish off the project within budgetary monetary limit, that is of 20,300 and all the functions which require certain monetary
transactions can be considered.
 To bring acquisition in the best possible manner that can help in initiating adequate profitability in the company.
 To monitor all departments, that are, Finance, HR, Operations, Sales, etc.
 To generate numerous performance reports so as to initiate effective functioning.
Gantt Chart
Task
Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Task A Collecting data 12 days Mon 18-06-
18 Tue 03-07-18
Task B preparing overall design
of the project 10 days Wed 04-07-
18 Tue 17-07-18 1
Task C Getting approval from
concerned authorities 8 days Wed 18-07-
18 Fri 27-07-18 2
Task D Meeting project team
involved 7 days Mon 30-07-
18 Tue 07-08-18 3
Task E
Communicating overall
development to
stakeholders
5 days Mon 30-07-
18 Fri 03-08-18 3
Task F Contracting to suppliers 6 days Mon 06-08-
18
Mon 13-08-
18 5
9

Task G Developing budget and
allocating resources 6 days Tue 14-08-18 Tue 21-08-18 5,6
Task H Allocating responsibilities
to team members 5 days Wed 22-08-
18 Tue 28-08-18 7
Task I
Organizing training and
development for
workforce
10 days Wed 29-08-
18 Tue 11-09-18 8
Task J Overall review of the
project 4 days Wed 12-09-
18
Mon 17-09-
18 9
10