7201ENG Project Management Assignment 1: Walmart Automation Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of an automation project implemented in Walmart grocery stores. It begins with background details of the project, specifically focusing on the adoption of Alphabot, an automated system designed to enhance online grocery operations. The report then aligns the project with the theoretical definition of a project, emphasizing its structured activities and phased implementation. An exploration of the organizational structure, described as functional, highlights how different stakeholders collaborate based on their expertise. The challenges associated with managing the project, such as coordination and communication issues, are also discussed. Finally, the report describes the project lifecycle within the "Conception – Definition – Execution" framework, detailing the key stages from initial analysis to the execution of planned activities. The report utilizes resources such as academic papers to support the analysis and provide a comprehensive understanding of the project's various facets.

Running head: DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
Designing Automated Systems at Grocery stores in Walmart
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
Table of Contents
1. Background Details of Project.....................................................................................................2
2. Relevance of Project with Theoretical Definition of Project.......................................................2
3. Explanation of Organisational Structure.....................................................................................3
4. Challenges or Issues associated with Management of the Project’.............................................3
5. Description of Project Lifecycle under “Conception – Definition – Execution” framework......4
References........................................................................................................................................5

2DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
1. Background Details of Project
Automation is the most rising technological aspect, which has affected most industries
and business from all over the world. In the current context of the project, the discussion would
be focused on the development of automation technologies within the grocery stores at Walmart.
In the context of the project, Walmart has chosen Alphabot, which is an Alert Innovation’s
Goods-to-Person (GTP) concept (Nguyen, 2017). The automated system would be respponsible
for automating the operations performed within the online grocery stores with the use of
autonomous mobile robots. These robots would be capable of performing operations in all kind
of three dimensions within a certain multilevel storage structure.
This project has been chosen because it would help the business and customers in
delivering orders at a rapid pace while also lowering the costs incurred by the company. On a
further note, the project would also be able to bring in feasibility within the operations performed
by the business and better handle orders and customers.
2. Relevance of Project with Theoretical Definition of Project
The theoretical definition of project states the performing of activities or tasks that would
be scheduled under the scope management. These activities could also be defined in the form of
a Work Breakdown Structure, thus dividing the tasks in sub-sections (Cagliano, Grimaldi &
Rafele, 2015). A project could also be defined as the transformation of given inputs and gained
outputs.
In the given context of the project, it can be discussed that the implementation of
automation systems would fit according to the theoretical defintion of the project. The project

3DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
would be installed at the grocery stores on a phased wise manner. Different stages such as
initiation and planning, procurement of human and material resources, installation, testing and
future maintenance stages would be perfomed in the context of the project (Antunes & Gonzalez,
2015). A project manager would be responsible for managing each of the aspects of the project
in a scheduled manner.
3. Explanation of Organisational Structure
In the context of the parent organisation, the functional organisational structure would be
followed. Different stakeholders who would be involved within the project would be grouped
together based on their level of knowledge, skills and expertise. The working of functional
organisational structure would comprise of specialized units that would be primarily report to a
single authority, known as top management.
Employees comprising of similar experiences and skills would need to be grouped
together in order to make the production of the project in an efficient manner. The simplicity in
the hierarchical process makes it easier for the stakeholders at the lower level to understand the
person to whom they would be reporting for their works (Joslin & Müller, 2015). The functional-
based organizational structure helps in supporting a perfect environment for different employees
to work in a real-world environment based on theoretical information.
4. Challenges or Issues associated with Management of the Project’
The challenges or issues that would be considered to be associated with managing the
development and implementation of the automated systems at the grocery stores at Walmart
based on the organisational structure are:

4DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
a. Lack of proper coordination within team members working in the development phase
of the project might lead to inefficiencies in progressing over the project works. It might also
happen that managers might not provide timely reports, which might affect the project work.
b. Many employees performing a single work might lead to inefficiences in the concerned
area of work. Different employees would have a different midset during performing work.
c. Lack of communication between the various teams would lead to issues in meeting and
sharing of various perspectives (Hazır, 2015). This could be harmful for the progress of the
project work.
5. Description of Project Lifecycle under “Conception – Definition – Execution” framework
The lifecycle of the concerned project based in the development of the automates systems
at Walmart based on the “Conception – Definition – Execution” framework can be discussed as:
Conception – In this stage, the business managers would be performing a marketing
analysis and analysing the different alternatives of the product. These would be proposed and
compared based on considering the cost factors, quality factors and many others.
Definition – In the definition phase of the project, the scope of the project, the workfloew
management and list of available resources would be defined (Killi & Morrison, 2015). The final
outputs that would be gained from the definition phase are a scheduled work plan for the
execution phase, requirements of resources and a commitment made for the project delivery date.
Execution – The execution phase would detail the work activities that have been defined
in the definition phase. Based on the defined work activities, the project would proceed
accordingly.

5DESIGNING AUTOMATED SYSTEMS AT GROCERY STORES IN WALMART
References
Antunes, R., & Gonzalez, V. (2015). A production model for construction: A theoretical
framework. Buildings, 5(1), 209-228.
Cagliano, A. C., Grimaldi, S., & Rafele, C. (2015). Choosing project risk management
techniques. A theoretical framework. Journal of risk research, 18(2), 232-248.
Hazır, Ö. (2015). A review of analytical models, approaches and decision support tools in project
monitoring and control. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), 808-815.
Joslin, R., & Müller, R. (2015). Relationships between a project management methodology and
project success in different project governance contexts. International journal of project
management, 33(6), 1377-1392.
Killi, S., & Morrison, A. (2015). Just-in-Time Teaching, Just-in-Need Learning: Designing
towards Optimized Pedagogical Outcomes. Universal Journal of Educational
Research, 3(10), 742-750.
Nguyen, T. T. H. (2017). Wal-Mart’s successfully integrated supply chain and the necessity of
establishing the Triple-A supply chain in the 21st century. Journal of Economics &
Management, 29, 102-117.