Business Project: A Project Management Plan for a New Product Launch

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This project details the launch of a new shoe.

Managing a Successful
Business Project

Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 3
LO1........................................................................................................................................... 5
P1 Devise Project Objectives And Aims For A Chosen Scenario......................................5
P2 & M1 Project Management Plan That Covers Some Aspects of Cost, Time, Quality,
Resources, Communication, and Risk...................................................................................7
P3 Produce a Work Breakdown Structure and a Gantt-Chart to Provide Timeframes
and Stages for Completion.................................................................................................12
LO2......................................................................................................................................... 14
P4 and M2 Carry Out Small-Scale Research by Applying Different Research Methods
Appropriate For Meeting Project Aims and Objectives......................................................14
LO3......................................................................................................................................... 16
P5 and M3 Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques............16
P6 and M3 Recommendations As A Result Of Research and Data Analysis to Draw Valid
and Meaningful Conclusions.............................................................................................. 21
LO4......................................................................................................................................... 22
P7 and M4 Reflect On the Value of Undertaking the Research to Meet Stated Objectives
and Own Learning and Performance..................................................................................22
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 24
References..............................................................................................................................25

Introduction
Project management is an integral part of every business. Effective project management is a
combination of knowledge, skills, and technique. It works toward achieving the Aims and
associated Objectives of a particular project such as a product launching. The successful
management and implementation of the projects is the key of a successful business
operation. This assignment focuses on the role and importance of a project manager in
planning, developing, and implementing a project (Burke, 2013).
The assignment involves developing a project management plan for launching a new shoe
by a footwear Company, The Shoe Zone. The product being launched is a summer shoe and
is known as High-end Sneakers. It’s a specialised casual summer shoe with features that will
find favour among everyone. The assignment involves devising aims and objective for the
launch of this product and preparing a project management plan covering different aspects
like scope, cost, quality and time (Heagney, 2016). It also requires the production of
breakdown structure and Gantt chart providing stages and their respective timeframes.
Source: A High-end Sneaker
Small-scale research needs to be conducted by using qualitative and quantitative methods
and the collected data need to be analysed and results and conclusions are drawn (Quinlan

et al., 2019). The final requirement is the reflection on the value of the research and own-
learning from the project.

LO1
P1 Devise Project Objectives and Aims for a Chosen Scenario
There must be some objectives and goals so as to be achieved. The project goals lead the
direction of all the activities. It is thereby necessary to set clear objectives for the project so
as to avoid any miscommunication in the project.
A business project requires effective utilization of resources and application of varied skills
that help to achieve specified objectives within the specific time. Thus, a business project is
devised in order to launch a successful summer shoe by The Shoe Zone. Successful
implementation of the project requires outlining the market structure and detailed
investigation of the market.
As a project manager, it is required to recognize several parameters with respect to
resources, time and Quality that further helps us to achieve SMART goals. Thus, the
framework of the SMART goal can be utilized so as to set the time-bound and realistic goals.
Moreover, the strategy will support the company to fight healthy competition with big
brands like Adidas and Dun in the industry (Lo et al., 2011).
The SMART goals and objectives with reference to “The Shoe Zone” as follows:
 To produce a popular summer shoe model that can strongly compete with the shoes
of Brands like Adidas and Dun.
 To increase brand awareness of the company in the shoe industry.
 To generate more revenue by increasing the market share from 10% to 20% by the
end of 2021 (Lo et al., 2011).
 To analyze the market and conduct a research activity as per the current market
scenario.
 To make strategic planning with regard to budget and cost controlling activities.
 To increase 4 more shops in the UK by effectively allocating the resources and
responsibilities.
 To organize the sequence of activities so as to deliver quality results from the
projects.

 To increase the number of stakeholders within the next 5 years and achieve a
competitive market share (Tofade et al., 2012).

P2 & M1 Project Management Plan That Covers Some Aspects of Cost,
Time, Quality, Resources, Communication, and Risk
A project management plan is referred to as formal and approved document that can be used to
manage the project execution. The main purpose of the plan is to describe to describe every phase
of projects including planning, executing, monitoring and controlling. A successful plan is devised
after taking the input from key stakeholders and the project team. Thereby, the project
management plan covers various deliverables and elements that help us to coordinate and integrate
the planning efforts.
 Project Scope
 Time Scale
 Cost
 Quality
 Communication
 Risk & Other resources
The Scope of the project
Project scope refers to the work that needs to be accomplished so as to achieve the desired
results. It considers several sets of processes that need to be accurately defined and
mapped. Thus, the scope management technique helps the project manager to define the
fundamental boundaries and responsibilities of the project manager (Kerzner, 2017).
 The main aim of the project is to develop a luxurious and premium shoe brand.
 The project manager needs to define the work required to be done.
 The controlling and tracking the project changes needs to monitor by the project
manager.
 Ensure the completion of deliverables in the allotted time.
 The project manager requires innovative marketing strategies in order to capture the
market and launch the High-end Sneaker in the London Fashion Week.
Project Time and management skills
Successful launching of a business project must be completed within a specific time period.
The project manager can also use the techniques of operational management in order to
decide the start and stop time with respect to the accomplishment of the task (Meredith

and Mantel, 2011). The technique will further help to identify the critical path of the project
so as to complete it within minimum time.
A project plan with respect to the launch of summer shoe by “The Shoe Zone” required to
be completed by the end of 19th February 2019. The different phases of the project must be
considered on a time scale so as to accomplish the task on time. Thus, the effective time
schedule has been designed in order to determine the deadline dates (Meredith and
Mantel, 2011).
TASK ACTIVITIES TIME
REQUIRED
TASK 1 To conduct the preliminary meeting with the
board of The Shoe Zone along with the
designated experts to plan the project and device
Aims and Objectives.
1st and 2nd
Week
TASK 2 To Assess the available data in order to design a
project management plan
3rd Week
TASK 3 Developing the work breakdown structure and
the Gantt chart for establishing timelines.
4th Week
TASK 4 Data collection through mediums like a
questionnaire.
5th and 6th
Week
TASK 5 Analysis of the collected data and its application. 7th and 8th
Week
TASK 6 Documentation of the research, conclusions, and
suggestions.
9th Week
TASK 7 Assessment of the overall study and the work
progress
10th Week
TASK 8 Execution of the plan of launching the High-end
Sneakers at the London Fashion Week.
11th Week

Cost and other resources
A budget needs to be set out so as to control the overall project costs. The fund must be
allocated appropriately as per the requirement of the resources.
Resource Requirement Project Specifications Budgeted - cost
Management Resources Support and active
involvement of top
management
£1250
IT Resources and
Infrastructure
WLAN network and smooth
internet connection
£2000
Machines and Equipment’s Several machines and tools
for manufacturing summer
shoe.
£3000
Manpower Skills Appropriate training and
proper recruitment of staff
for the timely
accomplishment of the task.
£2500
Miscellaneous Resource Design of charts, proposals
and other stationery
requirements (Harrison and
Lock, 2017).
£1750
Total
£10500
Quality assurance
The project manager needs to ensure that quality standards are properly incorporated
throughout the project development (Turner, 2019). The aspects of the quality requirement
are important principles for the success of the project. Thus, the quality controls tools and

techniques must be monitored effectively for achieving the desired quality at every path of
the project.
Communication plan
Another important aspect of the project management plan is Effective Communication. This
is a major aspect that ascertains the transparency with regard to the flow of
communication. Thus, it is an ongoing process that guides the stakeholder of the company
at every phase of the project (Turner, 2019).
What To whom Mode Frequency
Plan Updation Employees Emails Weekly
Status report Managers Meetings Monthly
Report
assessment
Project manager Emails Half-yearly
Significant
findings and
observation
Participants Letter and Report On completion
of the project
Components of Risk
The project risk must be clearly ascertained so as to identify the specific criteria of the
project. The analysis of risk is a complex task that helps us to identify its impact and
probability of occurrence. Thereby, a risk plan is designed so as to eliminate or reduce the
impact of risk.
Risk Assess its Impact Mitigation factors
Recognize the potential
impact of risk on the project
Devise the strategy so as to reduce

Description of Risk
cost, time and structure. risk occurrence (Kerzner, 2017).
Issues
Evaluating the impact of risk
including the consequences
of benefit.
Remedial measures to be taken in
order to resolve the issue.
Describe the
dependency
Consider the dependency of
the project on external
efforts.
The efforts need to be coordinated
and integrated through appropriate
communication strategies.

P3 Produce a Work Breakdown Structure and a Gantt-Chart to Provide
Timeframes and Stages for Completion
Gantt-Chart is an important tool for project planning and management. It’s a Bar chart that’s
used for providing a graphical illustration of a project schedule and it’s beneficial for
planning, coordinating, and tracking different project tasks (Geraldi and Lechter, 2012).
Source: Gantt-Chart Example
Activity Tasks Required
Time
Duration Start Date End Date
1 Planning and
designing aims
and objectives
Week 1
and 2
14 10/12/2018 23/12/2018
2 Data
Assessment
Week 3 7 24/12/2018 30/12/2018
3 Developing
work
breakdown
structure and
Week 4 7 31/12/2018 06/01/2018