Project Management Report: Cloud-Based MIS Project, Australia

This report analyzes the project management aspects of Sunshine Homes, a real estate company in Australia, planning to develop a new cloud-based Management Information System (MIS) and upgrade its IT infrastructure. The report covers various stages of the project lifecycle, including initiation, planning, execution, and closure. It details the creation of a stakeholder register and communication management plan, outlining stakeholder roles and communication strategies. A project charter is provided, summarizing key project elements. The report also includes a project network diagram and calculations of the project's net present value. Furthermore, a work breakdown structure is developed to organize project tasks. The report highlights the importance of systematic project management, risk assessment, and effective resource allocation for the successful completion of the project within the stipulated timeframe and budget.

Project Management

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
1. Explanation of different phases of project life cycle...............................................................1
2. Creation of stakeholder register and communication management plan for the project.........3
3. Creating the project charter for the project..............................................................................6
4. Creating the project network diagram for the project..............................................................7
5. Calculation of net present value cost of the project.................................................................7
6. Creating the project breakdown structure for the project........................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Project management is a wide term which is focused with different types of activities that
are performed to carry out all the tasks of project in systematic manner. These are planning,
organising, controlling, evaluating, monitoring, assessing etc. If the manager who is handling the
project is not able to pay attention towards all of them then it may result in inappropriate
execution of all the activities which may leave negative impacts upon success of the project
(Cicmil and Gaggiotti, 2018). This assessment is focused with the project of Sunshine Homes
which is a real estate company and engaged in the rental of accommodation activities in
Australia. It is planning to develop a new cloud-based MIS and upgrade the IT infrastructure of
the company. For this purpose, different aspects will be covered in this report which includes
phases of project life cycle, stakeholder register, communication management plan, project
charter, project network diagram etc. Additionally, work breakdown structure will also be
created along with calculations of project cost and net present value of the project
MAIN BODY
1. Explanation of different phases of project life cycle
The real estate industry of Australia is very big and one of the successful entities which is
involved in rental of accommodation is Sunshine Homes. The company has grown so far in last
few years. The number of agents which are employed by it is around 90 and it has opened five
new offices. The management of the enterprise decided to upgrade the infrastructure of the
organisation. Apart from this, it has also been planned by them that they will be developing a
new cloud-based management information system. The directors of the company decided to
outsource the web development and for this purpose a contract is signed with PB web deign
which will be working on the project of development of cloud-based MIS. While working on the
project it will be very important for all the managers to make sure that they are paying attention
towards all the stages of project lifecycle (Ekrot, Kock and Gemünden, 2016). There are four
different stages of it which are initiation, planning, execution and closure. Description of all of
them is as follows:
Project initiation: It is first stage of project life cycle where the need for business is
identified along with the problem which is affecting the goals. When it is identified then the
managers try to find the best way to deal with the problem and resolve it in systematic manner.
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In order to meet all the future goals and objectives of the organisation it is very important for the
managers to make sure that they are able to analyse that project is feasible or not. As Sunshine
Homes is planning to upgrade the IT infrastructure and develop the cloud-based management
information system so the managers have to analyse the need of it. The cloud-based MIS will be
outsourced by the organisation from PB design. There are various types of aspects that are
required to be focused at this stage (Elias, 2016). There are project objectives, deliverables,
dependencies, risks, priorities etc.
While working on the project of development and upgradation of Sunshine Homes it will
be very important for the project managers to make sure that they are sharing details of all these
elements with the stakeholders so that they can analyse the project. If the details regarding the
project will not be shared with them then it may result in lower engagement of them in the
project. While selecting an entity to outsource the web development it will be very important for
the management teams of the organisation to assure that they select more than one contractor so
that one of the could be selected. This activity was performed by the enterprise and then PB
design was selected to outsource the MIS. This stage is also focused with formulation of the
objectives so that project could be completed on time. The main aim of the project of
development and upgradation is to complete it within 3 years and ignore the overspending of the
budgets.
Project planning: At this phase the main responsibility of the project managers is to
formulate plans which are required to be focused for completing the project successfully. If they
will not be able to form the plan effectively then it may leave negative impacts upon the
functionality of the project. There are various types of plan that are formed at this phase. These
are related to budget, cost, risk assessment, progress measurement, identification of alternatives
for the project execution etc. As the managers of Sunshine Homes have decided to complete the
whole project of upgradation and development in 3 years so it is very important for them to
formulate effective plans (Galli, 2017). It has been planned by them that the progress of all the
activities will be measured on quarterly basis so that it could be estimated that it will be
completed in the predetermined time limit. Apart from this, it also been planned that the
monetary resources will be assigned to all the teams on the basis of their tasks and requirements.
With the help of it, possibility of overspending of the budget could be ignored. If the funds will
not be allocated according to needs of all the divisions then it may affect the successful
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completion of the project. In order to select the best management information system, the
managers analysed different alternatives that were presented by the PB design. After analysing
all of them one was selected which will be developed for the organisation.
Project execution: At this phase all the plans that were formulated previously are
executed so that all the planned goals and objectives could be achieved. If the plans will not be
executed in systematic manner then it may result in failure of the project. Apart from this, it will
also be very important for the management teams to determine the risks that may leave negative
impact upon the project. As the managers who are working on the project of upgradation and
development of Sunshine Homes planes to monitor the progress of the project on quarterly basis
so at this phase the progress will be measured by them so that they can deal with all the issues. If
they will measure the progress then it will be very easy for them to assure successful completion
of all the activities that are performed by the entity. Additionally, all the risks such as
overspending of funds and lack of funding for activities will also be dealt at this stage. For this
purpose, effective allocation of funding will be focused and the monetary resources will be
allocated on the basis of requirements of all the departments. If it will not be possible for the
management to determine the actual stats of the tasks then it may result in failure of project.
Information regarding the progress of the project is also shared with stakeholders at this stage so
that they can get aware of actual status of the project (Izmailov, Korneva and Kozhemiakiz,
2016).
Project closure: It is forth and last phase of project lifecycle. Here, the managers try to
make sure that they have performed all the activities in systematic manner. Apart from this, the
project managers take corrective actions for future so that they can demobilise all the resources
that were used for the purpose of carrying out all the resources. As the project of Sunshine
Homes was related to upgradation and development of IT infrastructure and new cloud-based
management information system so it is very important for managers to close it properly. Apart
from this, it will also be essential to make sure that information of the completed project is
shared with all the stakeholders. It will help to clear all the dues and receive the outstanding
payments.
2. Creation of stakeholder register and communication management plan for the project
Stakeholder register: The document which is used by the project managers to keep
detailed information of all the stakeholders and their power along with interest and concerns is
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known as stakeholder register. While planning to meet all the expectations of all the stakeholders
it will be very important for project managers of Sunshine Homes to make this register and keep
information of all the stakeholders. The register for the project of the entity is as follows:
Name
of
stakeh
older
Title of the
stakeholder
s
Influe
nce of
stake
holde
rs
Powe
r of
stake
holde
rs
Desired
engagem
ent level
of
stakehol
ders
Current
engagem
ent level
of
stakehol
ders
Concerns of
stakeholders
Interest of
stakeholders
Jack
Fry
Team leader
of IT
High Low Supporti
ve
Leading Providing
supervision to
all the team
members
Improvement
in the
performance
of all the
employees
John
Martin
Director
General
Manager
High High Supporti
ve
Neutral Ignoring issues
in the
operational
execution
process
Enhanced
business
performance
Phil
Brown
Director
(Outsourcin
g)
Low High Supporti
ve
Leading Making sure
that needs of
clients are met
Making sure
that services
are
outsourced
properly
Richar
ds
Woods
Finance
manager
High High Leading Neutral Appropriate
allocation of
monetary
resources to all
the teams
Using all the
monetary
resources in
systematic
manner
Bes
West
Director
Finance
High High Supporti
ve
Neutral Reducing
possibility of
Proper
utilisation of
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overspending
of funds
the funding
Kate
Rose
IT manager High High Leading Supporti
ve
Ignoring the
issues in IT
infrastructure
Developing
the
infrastructure
successfully
Silvia
Archer
Operations
manager
Low High Supporti
ve
Unaware Removal of
issues from
operational
activities
Developing
the enterprise
Mary
Appleb
y
Administrat
ion
manager
Low Low Supporti
ve
Unaware Ignorance of
management
related issues
Proper and
effective
management
of all the
operations
Dave
Hunt
Customer
service
manager
Low Low Supporti
ve
Unaware Dealing all the
issues of
clients
Enhancement
of the
satisfaction
level of
customers
Communication management plan: It is a detailed document in which the details
regarding the way in which all the details of the project will be shared with the stakeholders and
other authorities of the organisation (Javed and Liu, 2019). The plan for Sunshine Homes is as
follows:
Description Frequency Method Audience Owner
Contribution to
department
newsletter
Monthly basis Sending
newsletter
All the
departments of
the organisation
Managers
working on the
project
Project team
meeting
Daily basis Personal meeting All the members
of project team
Manager of the
project
Board meeting Weekly Formal meetings All the board Project manager
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members
Updates to
stakeholders
Every two weeks Emails or video
conferencing
Stakeholders
related to project
Project manager
3. Creating the project charter for the project
Project charter is a document which is also known as the summary of the project It
provides brief information about all the key elements of the project that are required to be
analysed by main authorities monitoring the project. The project charter for the project of
Sunshine Homes is as follows:
Project Charter
Project Name Upgradation of the cloud-based new
management system and development of IT
infrastructure
Objective Completion of the project in predetermined
time period and ignorance of overspending of
budget
Organisation Sunshine Homes
Scope Performing all the tasks of the project in the
decided time limit
Time 3 years
Budget
Quality The hardware and software which will be
used for the project will be monitored on the
basis of good and average quality.
Key resources Human capital
Hardware
Monetary resources
Software
Stakeholders Jack Fry
John Martin
Phil Brown
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Richards Woods
Bes West
Kate Rose
Silvia Archer
Mary Appleby
Dave Hunt
4. Creating the project network diagram for the project
Project network diagram: It is a type of diagram which is used to reflect the way in
which all the activities will be performed and completed in systematic manner (Martens and
Carvalho, 2016). The network diagram for Sunshine Home’s project is as follows:
5. Calculation of net present value cost of the project
Project cost: The total amount which will be spent by an organisation on the project will
be the cost of it. It is calculated in the following table for Sunshine Homes:
# Units/Hrs. Cost/Unit/Hr. Subtotals
WBS
Level 1
Totals
% of
Total
WBS Items
1. Project Management $2,95,938 19%
1.1 Project manager 900 $95 $85,500
1.2 Project team members 1800 $80 $1,44,000
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Contractors (10% of
software development and
testing) $66,438
2. Hardware $87,000 6%
2.1 Handheld devices 120 $550 $66,000
2.2 Servers 5 $4,200 $21,000
3. Software $6,16,800 40%
3.1 Licensed software 120 $190 $22,800
3.2 Software
development* $5,94,000
4. Testing (10% of total
hardware and software
costs) $70,380 $70,380 5%
5. Training and Support $2,07,750 14%
5.1 Trainee cost 120 $450 $54,000
5.2 Travel cost 13 $750 $9,750
5.3 Project team
members 1800 $80 $1,44,000
6. Reserves (20% of total
estimate) $2,55,574 $2,55,574 17%
Total project cost
estimate $15,33,442
Net present value: It is the difference between the cost of the project and the inflow of the
project (Paton and Andrew, 2019). For the project of Sunshine Homes the net present value is as
follows:
Discount rate 9.00%
Assume the project is completed in Year 0 Year
0 1 2 3 Total
Costs 1,50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000
Discount factor 1.00 0.92 0.84 0.77
Discounted costs 1,50,000 55,200 58,800 61,600 3,25,600
Benefits 0 1,50,000 2,00,000 2,50,000
Discount factor 1.00 0.92 0.84 0.77
Discounted benefits 0 1,38,000 1,68,000 1,92,500 4,98,500
Discounted benefits - costs (1,50,000) 82,800 1,09,200 1,30,900 1,72,900 NPV
Cumulative benefits - costs (1,50,000) (67,200) 42,000 1,72,900
ROI 53%
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Payback in Year 1
6. Creating the project breakdown structure for the project
Work breakdown structure: It is a document which is used by the entities to segregate
all the key elements that are required to be focused for the purpose of meeting all the goals and
objectives of the entities (Monteiro, Santos and Varajão, 2016). The WBS for Sunshine Homes is
as follows:
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it has been concluded that project management is a critical
approach which is required to be focused by all the entities so that the planned activities could be
performed in systematic manner. There are various key elements of it which are phases of project
life cycle, stakeholder register, communication management plan, project network diagram and
work breakdown structure. Apart from this, different elements such as net present value and cost
of the project is also required to be focused.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Cicmil, S. and Gaggiotti, H., 2018. Responsible forms of project management education:
Theoretical plurality and reflective pedagogies. International Journal of Project
Management. 36(1). pp.208-218.
Ekrot, B., Kock, A. and Gemünden, H. G., 2016. Retaining project management competence—
Antecedents and consequences. International Journal of Project Management. 34(2).
pp.145-157.
Elias, A. A., 2016. Stakeholder analysis for Lean Six Sigma project management. International
Journal of Lean Six Sigma.
Galli, B. J., 2017. Risk management in project environments: Reflection of the standard
process. The Journal of Modern Project Management. 5(2).
Izmailov, A., Korneva, D. and Kozhemiakin, A., 2016. Project management using the buffers of
time and resources. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 235. pp.189-197.
Javed, S. A. and Liu, S., 2019. Bidirectional absolute GRA/GIA model for uncertain systems:
application in project management. IEEE Access. 7. pp.60885-60896.
Martens, M. L. and Carvalho, M.M., 2016. Sustainability and success variables in the project
management context: an expert panel. Project Management Journal. 47(6). pp.24-43.
Monteiro, A., Santos, V. and Varajão, J., 2016. Project management office models–a
review. Procedía computer science. 100. pp.1085-1094.
Paton, S. and Andrew, B., 2019. The role of the Project Management Office (PMO) in product
lifecycle management: A case study in the defence industry. International Journal of
Production Economics. 208. pp.43-52.
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