Case Study: Project Selection Methods & PMBOK in Uber's App Redesign

This report examines the project selection methods used by Uber in its app redesign initiative, focusing on improving the driver and rider experience. It discusses the application of the Benefit Measurement Method (BMM) and PMBOK principles to ensure project success, considering factors like cost, technical requirements, and legal aspects. The report details the roles of the product manager, engineering lead, designers, and development team, emphasizing the importance of a user-friendly interface and efficient project management techniques to enhance profitability and user satisfaction. The analysis concludes that a well-planned project, incorporating PMBOK and appropriate selection methods, is crucial for achieving Uber's objectives and maintaining its competitive edge.

Running head: PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
Project Selection Methods based on Uber Case Study
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
Executive Summary
This report discusses about the implementation of a new design of the interface of Uber. The
organization has been focusing on the needs of the drivers and riders who have requested for a
change of the interface. This report discusses about the various project management aspects for
designing of the project. Within this project, the different considerations based on PMBOK have
been considered. The project management team would be able to guide the project managers, the
designers and development team to make use of the proper project management technique in
order to complete the project.

2PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Discussion....................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Overview................................................................................................................................3
2.2 Purpose of the Report............................................................................................................4
2.2 Examination of Project Selection Methods...........................................................................4
2.3 Consideration of PMBOK.....................................................................................................5
2.4 Description of Initial Process Group and Project Documents...............................................6
3. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

3PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
1. Introduction
Uber is considered as one of the largest cab service provider company. Each day, more
than 3 million Uber drivers log in to the website of the ride-hailing application. The different
services provided by Uber are mostly meant to satisfy the riders and drivers (Mullins, 2015). In
the largest ride hailing application, there are different contract workers who are mostly arranged
into a consistent labour force that is powered by a highly efficient software. In the highly
competitive market, Uber has always tried to maintain their worldwide position by providing
different facilities and amenities to their drivers and riders (Mittendorf, 2017). The company has
always tried to implement the latest technologies within the application in order to stay ahead of
their competitors and make huge business profits.
The presently discussed project is based on the discussion about the implementation of a
new kind of interface and business structure that would be helpful for supporting drivers and
enhance their experience that they share with the organization.
2. Discussion
2.1 Overview
With the changing scenarios of the business, the company has made a decision to bring
about a new kind of interface to their drivers. This kind of new business strategy would be able
to bring about a major kind of transformation within the transportation marketplace. The building
of the new application and interface would be a rebuild version of the driver application (Stanney
& Hale, 2014). Uber has also planned for rebuilding of the rider-side application and implement
new kind of technical components within the application. There was also a need for creating new
features for the drivers. Uber has also analysed that their drivers and riders would need an

4PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
application that would be fast and simple. Riders also want an application that would have an
easy to use interface. Thus the experience of the application should be deeper.
2.2 Purpose of the Report
With such kind of insights, the designers and developers of Uber have accumulated all
the necessary improvements that should be included within the application. This would help both
parties to understand the needs of customers from the organization (Park et al., 2015). The new
application has been planned to be rolled out for use in the next few weeks, which would help
the users to make use of the newly implemented features. The drivers and riders are always
considered as an important asset of the organization and thus Uber has always strived for
improving the experience. In order to implement the best kind of experience for both parties, the
product manager and engineering lead have made various insights to bring different technical
experts to design the new interface within the application (Rigby & Winter, 2016). The primary
purpose of the report is to describe about the new design process that would make use of the old
software and thus implement new kind of features.
2.2 Examination of Project Selection Methods
With the process of designing of a new kind of application, there would be a high level of
research and building process of the new application. The product manager would have to make
vital decisions with the project manager who would guide the entire team throughout the entire
development of the project (Oppermann, 2017). A high level of research into the problems faced
by the drivers and riders with the existing application would help them to understand and
empower to develop a high level of application.
The selection of a proper method of method for developing the project is one of the
important concern of the project management team. Based on several considerations, it could be

5PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
considered that the Benefit Measurement Method (BMM) can be used for initiation of the
development of the project. The BMM is time-consuming as it employs some methods that
would be essential for creating of an effective business plan (Freeman III, Herriges & Kling,
2014). The Benefit Measurement can be defined as a technique of project selection that is based
on current value of estimated inflow and outflow of cash. The other benefits from the cost are
widely calculated and then these are compared with other projects in order to come to a certain
conclusion.
The BMM technique is defined into the following phases. These are – Cost or Benefit
ratio, analysis of economic model, payback period, scoring model, net present value, internal rate
of return, discounted cash flow and opportunity cost (Dillman, Smyth & Christian, 2014). With
the use of the project selection technique, it would be useful for the management team at Uber to
carefully design and implement the technique into their business model. Certain tests would be
conducted on a prototype version of the application. The prototype would help the designers to
understand the necessities of the application for the user. They would gather feedbacks from the
user and then identify the possible gaps within the application. After the success of the prototype,
the design would be applied to the internal processes of the organization. Hence, with the help of
this technique, the internal management team would be able to implement the best procedures
within the organization.
2.3 Consideration of PMBOK
The primary objectives of PMBOK if applied to the present project development would
define a new measure for the criteria of success of the project. The development of the new
application for Uber would include each of the functional requirements such as business assets,
cost, technical and quality aspects (Brioso, 2015). The definition provided by PMBOK also

6PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
defines that each of the objectives defined by the project management team should have a fixed
metric, relative or absolute value and a particular attribute. As per the knowledge gained from
PMBOK, the requirements needed for the approval of the project by the organization should also
be highly considered (A guide to the project management body of knowledge, 2016). Meeting
the requirements of the project would be helpful for deciding whether the project would meet the
set objectives and success criteria.
With the help of the PMBOK knowledge, the project management team would be able to
implement the best kind of practices. The techniques learnt from PMBOK would be able to
implement the strategies of project management and thus implement those for making changes
within the project development phase. After the initial plan of the project have been discussed
thoroughly, each of the initial process groups who would be involved within the project could be
defined. In the present project, the design and development team would be called for planning a
new interface for the drivers and riders that would be extremely user-friendly. The business
structure and planning of Uber should follow the PMBOK standards and thus define a new way
to subsidize the riding costs, define a new strategy for payment of drivers and accept low cost
from riders, which would finally result in a profitable approach.
2.4 Description of Initial Process Group and Project Documents
The development of the new project based on redesigning of the existing application
would include the product manager, engineer lead, designers and the development team. The
product manager would spearhead the new design process of the application (Sherman & Craig,
2018). This would also seek the idea of the designers and development team who would provide
the best kind of idea to the project management team. The project manager would look over the
entire project scenario. They would thus document the entire processes that would be needed for

7PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
the development of the project (Grønbæk et al., 2017). The development team would be guided
by the project manager and product manager who would consider each of the project aspects.
The project manager would design and document the entire application design that would
be able to produce the equivalent effects to the organizational success. The design of the new
interface would be needed to be documented properly. The project manager should consider the
financial aspects that would be incurred for the project (Grudin, 2017). The proper defining of
each of the costs incurred for the project would be extremely crucial for providing each of the
resources with the required costs. Another most important aspect that could be considered by the
project management team is the legal aspects that could be incurred within the project (Locatelli,
Mancini & Romano, 2014). As the project would be live to the drivers and riders, it might also
lead to problems if one of the parties launches a complaint in relation to legal terms. These
documents would be able to help the project to achieve the success criteria’s.
3. Conclusion
From the discussion of the report, it could be concluded that there is vast level of
importance for considering the project management aspects during the development of the
project. The Uber Company is on a new venture to implement latest technical facilities and
introduce a new advanced and enriched feature for their users. This report thus discusses about
the various aspects for designing the project. This project would undergo a huge amount of
planning that would help in achieving the set objectives for the project. The project management
team would thus make use of the PMBOK to define the objectives for the new project. The
project management team would consider the financial, legal and other important aspects of the
project. In this discussion, the primary method of the selection of appropriate project
management technique is considered. The selection of the proper technique would help in

8PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
meeting the set goals of the project. With the development of a new interface for the riders and
drivers, Uber would be able to provide the best kind of support to them. This would incur more
drivers and riders to make use of the current feature, which would in turn lead to the generation
of more profits for the business.

9PROJECT SELECTION METHODS BASED ON UBER CASE STUDY
References
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project scheduling problem by including value considerations. IEEE Transactions on
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Brioso, X. (2015). Integrating ISO 21500 guidance on project management, lean construction
and PMBOK. Procedia Engineering, 123, 76-84.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode
surveys: the tailored design method. John Wiley & Sons.
Freeman III, A. M., Herriges, J. A., & Kling, C. L. (2014). The measurement of environmental
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