SIM335 Managing Projects: Merger Acquisition Project Management

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of project management principles and their practical application. Task 1 covers key project characteristics, scope statements, work breakdown structures (WBS), Gantt charts, budget development, risk analysis, and quality methods. It defines project characteristics like customer orientation and temporary activities, explains the importance of scope statements and WBS in project definition, and illustrates project scheduling using a Gantt chart. The budget development process is detailed, and project risk analysis methods are discussed, including risk response strategies. Project quality methods are also explored, emphasizing monitoring and control processes. Task 2 presents a project management plan for the merger acquisition of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd., utilizing an agile development methodology. The plan includes project scope, milestone lists, project schedules, work breakdown structures, project lifecycles, deliverables, change management, communication management, resource management, cost budgets, risk management, and project control management strategies. The report concludes with insights into the successful merger of the two companies through effective project management practices. Desklib offers a wealth of similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
Faculty of Business and Law
Module: SIM335 Managing Projects
Assignment Code: SIM335
Student Name:
Student ID:

1PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
1. Key Characteristics of Project.................................................................................................2
2. Scope Statement of Project and WBS.....................................................................................2
3. Gantt Chart of the Project........................................................................................................2
4. Budget Development Process..................................................................................................4
5. Project Risk Analysis...............................................................................................................4
6. Project Quality Methods..........................................................................................................5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
Introduction and Background......................................................................................................6
1. Project Management Approach...............................................................................................6
2. Project Scope...........................................................................................................................7
3. Milestone List..........................................................................................................................7
4. Project Schedule and Work Breakdown Structure..................................................................8
5. Project Lifecycle....................................................................................................................11
6. Project Deliverables...............................................................................................................11
7. Change Management Plan.....................................................................................................12
8. Communication Management Plan........................................................................................13
9. Resource Management Plan..................................................................................................13
10. Cost Budget.........................................................................................................................14
11. Risk Management Plan........................................................................................................15
12. Project Control Management...............................................................................................15
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................16
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................17

2PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
Task 1
1. Key Characteristics of Project
The key characteristics of the project are dependent on the implication of the operations and
the nature of the project for analysis. Some of the key characteristics of a project are,
a) Customer Oriented: Projects are customer oriented and the final decision of the
project is based on the client’s approval
b) Temporary Activities: The activities in the project are temporary and may vary
depending upon the situation
c) Unique Requirements: The project comprises of specific planning, activities, and
functions that are unique in nature and can be used for that specific project only
d) Profit and non-profit base: There is no bar on the type of the project as projects can
be either profit or non profit based
e) Structure: The projects depends upon the nature of works that can be cross
functional, cross organization or both simultaneously
2. Scope Statement of Project and WBS
The project scope statement is the details of the deliverables of the project and helps in
describing the objectives of the project. The measurable project’s success criteria can be
understood by the help of the project scope statement.
The work breakdown structure is helpful for breaking down the completed project in sub
projects and individual work packages. The combination of the work packages would help in
defining a specific alignment of the activities favouring the final project achievement. The work
breakdown structure would help in forming the alignment of objectives that could be summed as
the project scope statement.
3. Gantt Chart of the Project
The project schedule information is shown in the table below,
Tasks Precedence Time

3PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
a - 5 days
b a 4 days
c b 2 days
d b 3 days
e c 5 days
f d 7 days
The Gantt chart of the project is shown below,
ID Task
Mode
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
0 0 Project 1 19 days 04-06-2018 28-06-2018
1 1 a 5 days 04-06-2018 08-06-2018
2 2 b 4 days 11-06-2018 14-06-2018 1
3 3 c 2 days 15-06-2018 18-06-2018 2
4 4 d 3 days 15-06-2018 19-06-2018 2
5 5 e 5 days 19-06-2018 25-06-2018 3
6 6 f 7 days 20-06-2018 28-06-2018 4
S T T S M W F S T T S M W F
03 Jun '18 10 Jun '18 17 Jun '18 24 Jun '18
Figure 1: Gantt chart of the project
The critical path of the project has been shown in the Gantt chart as the highlighted red boxes of
timeline. The critical activities of the project are,
abdf
The completion of the project would take 19 days. The summation of the duration of the
critical path would provide us the total duration of the project,
Task Duration
a 5
b 4
d 3
f 7
Tota
l
19

4PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
4. Budget Development Process
The following steps must be implied for the development of the final project budget
estimation for the project,
Step 1: Understanding and calculating the direct labour cost
Step 2: Estimation of the material cost for the project
Step 3: Accessing transportation costs required in project
Step 4: Summing the salaries of employees of the project and contractor payment (if any)
Step 5: Equipments and Software cost is calculated
Step 6: Summing all the costs identified and calculated
Step 7: Making proper documentation of the budget cost estimated for project activities
5. Project Risk Analysis
Causes of project risk: The project risk can be caused intentionally or unintentionally
due to several factors that can be classified into internal or external factors. Some of the causes
of the risk in project are poor preparation, inadequate documentation, bad leadership, failure in
parameter determination, inexperienced managers and workers, inaccurate estimation of the
costs, lack of communication, and competing priorities.
Risk Response: The response to project risk can be done by the implication of the risk
management process. The risk mitigation planning would include the following steps,
Step1: Identification of the factors of risk
Step 2: Analysis of the impact of the risk factors
Step 3: Characterization of the root causes of risk
Step 4: Evaluation of the mitigation for risk causes
Step 5: Prioritization of the risk mitigation alternatives

5PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
9 d 12
11 3 14
5 b 9
6 5 11
9 c 11
11 2 14
12 f 19
12 7 19
0 a 5
1 5 6
12 e 17
14 5 19
Step 6: Selection of resources required for risk mitigation and implementing it
6. Project Quality Methods
The implication of the project monitoring, evaluation, and control would be helpful for
the development project quality methods. The deployment of the project quality methods would
be helpful for the implication of the effective implication of the operations favouring the
utilization of the successive implication of the activities. The monitoring of the project would be
used for identifying the activities favourable for the implication of the operations utilizing the
implementation of the effective control methods.
Figure 2: Project Control Process

6PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
Task 2
Introduction and Background
The following is the project management plan developed for the project of ABC PLC and
DEF Ltd. merger acquisition. The project management plan is documented for the execution of
the effective implication of the project activities for aligning the deployment of the operations
using the project management concepts. The project management plan document consisting of
project management approach, project scope, milestone list, project schedule and work
breakdown structure, project lifecycle, project deliverables, change management plan,
communication management plan, cost management plan, project scope management plan,
quality management plan, risk management plan, resource management plan, and project control
plan.
The project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is deployed for the
implication of the effective merger acquisition of the two companies. The alignment of the
effective operation development had supported the deployment of the operations favouring the
implication of the improved operations for the merger of the two companies. ABC PLC is a large
food and drink company that has been well established. The company has been planning for
acquisition of DEF Ltd. The merger of the two companies would be deployed with the help of
proper alignment of the activities and deployment of the operations.
1. Project Management Approach
The agile development methodology is implied for the alignment of the effective
implication of the operations for the project development. The acquisition of the DEF Ltd by
ABC PLC would be based for the development of the improved operation development. The
utilization of the agile methodology would help in forming the iterative management of the
activities. The profound development of the activities of the project by using the agile
development would be developed for implying in the operation development. The use of agile
would allow the successive formation of the activities for the project. The iterative step by step
deployment of the activities would be helpful for the alignment of the operations for merger of

7PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
the two companies. The project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is deployed for
the implication of the effective merger acquisition of the two companies.
2. Project Scope
The project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is deployed for the merger
acquisition of the two companies. It would involve the implication of the successive management
and development. The project has the following scope,
a) Development of the effective structure feasible for the operations of the two
companies
b) Inventory development for the data and information transfer among the two
companies
c) Various plans like communication plan, culture integration plan, staff retention
plan, and project integration plan
d) Merger of the two companies based on the factors of structure, operations, and
business
3. Milestone List
The project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is deployed for the
implication of the merger and acquisition for the two companies. The plan development would
be based on the use of agile methodology. The milestones of the project are given in the table
below,
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
M1 Kick off 0 days 24-05-2018 24-05-2018
M2 Structured 0 days 14-06-2018 14-06-2018
M3 Integrated Inventory 0 days 26-06-2018 26-06-2018
M4 Plan Approval 0 days 10-07-2018 10-07-2018
M5 Closed 0 days 15-08-2018 15-08-2018

8PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
4. Project Schedule and Work Breakdown Structure
The schedule for the project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is given in the table below,
WB
S Task Name Duratio
n Start Finish Predecesso
rs
0 ABC, PLC, and DEF merger acquisition 71 days 10-05-2018 16-08-2018
1 Initial Phase 11 days 10-05-2018 24-05-2018
1.1 Analysis 3 days 10-05-2018 14-05-2018
1.2 Documentation 5 days 15-05-2018 21-05-2018 2
1.3 Objective Definition 2 days 22-05-2018 23-05-2018 3
1.4 Documents are signed off 1 day 24-05-2018 24-05-2018 4
M1 Kick off 0 days 24-05-2018 24-05-2018 5
2 Structure 15 days 25-05-2018 14-06-2018
2.1 Establishing guidelines 3 days 25-05-2018 29-05-2018 6
2.2 Structure for merged company is outlined 4 days 30-05-2018 04-06-2018 8
2.3 Expansion of the structure 8 days 05-06-2018 14-06-2018 9
2.4 Considering Business, System, and Operations 3 days 30-05-2018 01-06-2018 8
M2 Structured 0 days 14-06-2018 14-06-2018 10,11
3 Inventory 8 days 15-06-2018 26-06-2018
3.1 Pre Close Data Transfer 3 days 15-06-2018 19-06-2018 12
3.2 Strategic Level of meetings are executed 5 days 15-06-2018 21-06-2018 12
3.3 Tactical support plan development 2 days 20-06-2018 21-06-2018 14
3.4 Integration of Strategy and Governance 3 days 22-06-2018 26-06-2018 15,16
M3 Integrated Inventory 0 days 26-06-2018 26-06-2018 17
4 Plan 10 days 27-06-2018 10-07-2018
4.1 Develop Communication plan 3 days 27-06-2018 29-06-2018 18
4.2 Develop Culture Integration plan 2 days 02-07-2018 03-07-2018 20
4.3 Develop staff retention plan 4 days 04-07-2018 09-07-2018 21
4.4 Develop Project Integration Plan 7 days 02-07-2018 10-07-2018 20
M4 Plan Approval 0 days 10-07-2018 10-07-2018 22,23
5 Execution 30 days 06-07-2018 16-08-2018
5.1 Implementation of Plan 2 days 11-07-2018 12-07-2018 24
5.2 Execution of the Project Integration Plan 14 days 13-07-2018 01-08-2018 26
5.3 Monitoring the Business, System, and Operations 30 days 06-07-2018 16-08-2018 26FS-5 days
5.4 Lesson learnt is documented 3 days 13-08-2018 15-08-2018 28FS-4 days
M5 Closed 0 days 15-08-2018 15-08-2018 29
The following is the Gantt chart for the project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition,

9PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
ID Task
Mode
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
0 0 ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. Merger
acquisition
71 days 10-05-2018 16-08-2018
1 1 Initial Phase 11 days 10-05-2018 24-05-2018
2 1.1 Analysis 3 days 10-05-2018 14-05-2018
3 1.2 Documentation 5 days 15-05-2018 21-05-2018
4 1.3 Objective Definition 2 days 22-05-2018 23-05-2018
5 1.4 Documents are signed off 1 day 24-05-2018 24-05-2018
6 M1 Kick off 0 days 24-05-2018 24-05-2018
7 2 Structure 15 days 25-05-2018 14-06-2018
8 2.1 Establishing guidelines 3 days 25-05-2018 29-05-2018
9 2.2 Structure for merged company
is outlined
4 days 30-05-2018 04-06-2018
10 2.3 Expansion of the structure 8 days 05-06-2018 14-06-2018
11 2.4 Considering Business, System,
and Operations
3 days 30-05-2018 01-06-2018
12 M2 Structured 0 days 14-06-2018 14-06-2018
13 3 Inventory 8 days 15-06-2018 26-06-2018
14 3.1 Pre Close Data Transfer 3 days 15-06-2018 19-06-2018
15 3.2 Strategic Level of meetings are
executed
5 days 15-06-2018 21-06-2018
16 3.3 Tactical support plan
development
2 days 20-06-2018 21-06-2018
17 3.4 Integration of Strategy and
Governance
3 days 22-06-2018 26-06-2018
18 M3 Integrated Inventory 0 days 26-06-2018 26-06-2018
19 4 Plan 10 days 27-06-2018 10-07-2018
20 4.1 Develop Communication plan 3 days 27-06-2018 29-06-2018
21 4.2 Develop Culture Integration
plan
2 days 02-07-2018 03-07-2018
22 4.3 Develop staff retention plan 4 days 04-07-2018 09-07-2018
23 4.4 Develop Project Integration
Plan
7 days 02-07-2018 10-07-2018
24 M4 Plan Approval 0 days 10-07-2018 10-07-2018
25 5 Execution 30 days 06-07-2018 16-08-2018
26 5.1 Implementation of Plan 2 days 11-07-2018 12-07-2018
27 5.2 Execution of the Project
Integration Plan
14 days 13-07-2018 01-08-2018
28 5.3 Monitoring the Business,
System, and Operations
30 days 06-07-2018 16-08-2018
29 5.4 Lesson learnt is documented 3 days 13-08-2018 15-08-2018
30 M5 Closed 0 days 15-08-2018 15-08-2018
Analyst
Documenter
Analyst
Documenter
24-05
Negotiator
Acquisitor
Acquisitor
Negotiator
14-06
Database Department
Executives
Acquisitor
Executives
26-06
HR manager
HR manager
HR manager
Planner
10-07
Project Manager
Project Manager
Analyst
Documenter
15-08
S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T
29 Apr '18 20 May '18 10 Jun '18 01 Jul '18 22 Jul '18 12 Aug '18 02 Sep '18 23 Sep '18
Figure 1: Gantt chart of the project
(Source: Created by the author)
The following is the work breakdown structure for the project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition,

10PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
0
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
M1
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
M2
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
M3
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
M4
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
M5
- ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition project
- Initial Phase - Structure - Inventory - Plan - Execution
- Analysis
- Documentation
- Objective Definition
- Documents are signed off
- Kick off
- Establishing guidelines
- Structure for merged company is outlined
- Expansion of the structure
- Considering Business, System, and Operations
- Structured
- Pre Close Data Transfer
- Strategic Level of meetings are executed
- Tactical support plan development
- Integration of Strategy and Governance
- Integrated Inventory
- Develop Communication plan
- Develop Culture Integration plan
- Develop staff retention plan
- Develop Project Integration Plan
- Plan Approval
- Implementation of Plan
- Execution of the Project Integration Plan
- Monitoring the Business, System, and Operations
- Lesson learnt is documented
- Closed
Figure 2: Work Breakdown Structure of the project
(Source: Created by the author)

11PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT
5. Project Lifecycle
The project plan for ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition is developed using agile
methodology. The project plan can be divided into initial phase, structure, inventory, plan, and
execution. The summation of these phases would result in forming the implication of the
effective utilization of the project management principles for the development. The project life
cycle has been explained below,
Initial Phase: The initial phase of the project comprises of analysis, documentation,
objective definition, and documents are signed off. The kick off is the milestone of this phase
and the completion of the phase would result in forming the initiation of the project.
Structure Phase: The structure phase would be helpful for the development of the
structure for the two merge companies. It includes establishing guidelines, structure for merged
company is outlined, expansion of the structure, and considering business, system, and
operations. The milestone of the phase is structured.
Inventory Phase: The inventory phase involves pre-close data transfer, strategic level of
meetings are executed, tactical support plan development, and integration of strategy and
governance. It would help in forming the transfer of information among the two merging
companies. The integrated inventory would act as the milestone of the project.
Plan Phase: The plan phase involves develop communication plan, develop culture
integration plan, develop staff retention plan, develop project integration plan and plan approval.
The plan approval is the milestone of the project and the completion of the project would be
resulted in completion of the plan.
Execution Phase: The execution phase would involve the implementation of plan,
execution of the project integration plan, monitoring the business, system, and operations, and
lesson learnt is documented. The milestone of the project is closed and it would be aligned for
the implication of the operations.
6. Project Deliverables
The deliverables of the project of ABC PLC and DEF Ltd. merger acquisition are,