Project Management for Business: ACME Facility Project Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of project management principles, methodologies, and tools within the context of ACME Products Plc.'s new facility project. It begins by outlining the main principles of project management, including project structure, clear goals, risk recognition, and the importance of transparency and communication throughout the project lifecycle. The report then delves into defining success and failure criteria, emphasizing user involvement, resource management, and clear requirements. It explores project management systems and procedures, highlighting the significance of time, cost, and quality management through techniques like resource leveling, activity-based costing, and TQM. Furthermore, the report addresses human resource management within the project, including organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities, as well as the assessment of skills and qualities in project leadership. It also covers the application of project processes and procedures, such as Gantt charts, resource histograms, and methods for managing changes and project closure, culminating in an evaluation of the complete project. The report offers insights into how to manage projects effectively, ensuring successful outcomes and the achievement of project goals.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FOR BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.....................................................................................................5
Task 1: Understanding Project Management Principles...................................5
(a) 1.1 Describe the main principles of project management process and
linked to the project life cycle.......................................................................5
(b) 1.2 Suitable success and failure criteria for the new project..................8
(c) 1.3 Principles behind project management systems and procedures. . .10
(d) 1. 4 Key elements involved in terminating projects and conducting post-
project appraisals.......................................................................................11
Task 2 Be Able to Manage A Project’s Human Resource................................13
(a) 2.1 Organizational structures, roles and responsibilities of participants
within a project...........................................................................................13
(c) 2.3 Assessment of skills and qualities in project leader of ACME project
...................................................................................................................16
(d) 2.4 Planning and specifications of human resources and requirements
for the ACME new facility project................................................................17
(e) 2.2 Work breakdown structure of ACME Project....................................18
Task 3 Be Able to Apply Project Processes and Procedures...........................18
(a) 3.2 Final duration of the project............................................................18
(b) 3.1/3.2 Delays in the activities..............................................................19
(c) 3.1 Use of Gantt chart and Resource histogram in order to improve the
management of ACME project....................................................................19
(c) 3.2 Crash some activities in project to complete it more quickly .........21
(d) 3.2 Analysis of cost and time performance for ACME project................21
(e) 3.4 Methods of managing changes that are likely to be required during
the life of ACME project..............................................................................22

(f) 3.1 Ways to close the project.................................................................23
(g) 3.3/3.4 Evaluation of complete project.................................................23
Conclusion.....................................................................................................24
References.....................................................................................................25

LIST OF FIGURES
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:
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 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). 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).
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 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
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
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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 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.
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 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
Appropriate allocation of available Lack of resources
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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:
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 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.
 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:
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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. 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:
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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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