Project Management Report: London University Campus Refurbishment

This project management report details a plan for the refurbishment of London University's campus. It begins with an introduction to project management principles and the context of the university's infrastructure development. The report includes a Project Initiation Document (PID), stakeholder analysis, and a comprehensive risk register identifying potential challenges such as resistance to change, communication issues, and resource unavailability. A Gantt chart is presented to illustrate the project timeline and task dependencies. Furthermore, the report addresses risk management strategies and the application of the PRINCE2 approach. The project aims to improve the learning environment through upgrades to classrooms and computer labs. The report provides recommendations for successful project implementation, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder communication and proactive risk mitigation strategies. The report is a valuable resource for students studying project management, offering practical insights into planning and execution within a university setting.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
(A) PID........................................................................................................................................3
(B) Stakeholder analysis.............................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Risk register................................................................................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Gantt Chart..................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
(A) Risk management plan.......................................................................................................11
(B) Prince 2 approach...............................................................................................................11
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Project management is a process through which a particular activity is carried out in a set
format so that the desired objectives can be achieved. It involves planning of all those activities
that need to be carried out while completing a particular project. Through this activity the
resources like time, cash etc. are allocated in the required manner so that wastage can be avoided
and hence deviations are minimised in the final results. There is a specific goal behind starting a
project and at the end the success of the same is measured against the expectations that were kept
against it (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). Prioritising of work is done so that the required standards
of work is maintained and for the same collection of information is done so that the project is
completed meeting all the required criteria’s. London campus is one of the biggest university in
United Kingdom as it is the largest institute that is giving postgraduate’s enrolment. In order to
meet with the rising competition, the quality assurance team of the same institute is planning to
develop its present scale of infrastructure and technology so that the staff members and students
are provided with maximum satisfaction. This will lead to a great change in the campus and
hence require that proper planning is done regarding all the actions that need to be taken. The
following report will discuss how this change will take place along with the barriers that would
be faced by the management while implementing this change. For same a Gantt chart will also be
produced in the following report that will show the time taken by different activities and will also
reflect which task is more important and which is less crucial while carrying out a project plan.
TASK 1
(A) PID
In order to start with a new project in university of London it is required that an initiation
document is prepared so that the user can get the clear idea about what is the objective of the
work done and how the same will be carried out.
Project background – With the change in present technology and increased competition it
is required that improvements in the present operations is maintained. In order to create a better
working surroundings, the London university quality team wish to bring some changes. these
changes need proper planning and allocation of resources so that the desired results can be
achieved (Kerzner, 2013). This university firmly believe that they should use latest technology in
their organisation to the students so they can provide them high quality of education.
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Refurbishment of computer lab and library is essential part of infrastructure and it is required for
providing better education to the students.
Budget – The estimated budget for this project is 60000 pounds as this amount will be
enough to implement new technology and infrastructure. This cost includes the cost of
procurement of various resources and implementation of same. Maximum ratio of this budget
will be spent on buying the additional furniture and other resources which are important for
creating a better working surroundings.1
Start date – 1st March 2018
Finish Date – 9th October 2018
Project sponsor - XYZ
Project manager - XYZ
Objective – The main objective of this project is to facilitate change in the classrooms and
labs of the London University so that better environment can be established and their satisfaction
level is raised to maximum.
Scope – This project will only cover information related to refurbishment of classroom and
computer. It will not talk about quality of education which is provided to students and some
other issue. Details related to install of new computers, air conditions etc. are under the scope of
this firm.
Approach – In order to implement all the required changes, it is important that appropriate
approach is used so that the desired outcome is achieved. Recommendations from the staff
members and students can be taken as they are in direct contact and are associated with the
change (Meng, 2012). This way the work can be done in a proper manner and maximum return
can be achieved from the investment made.
(B) Stakeholder analysis
In the London university the stakeholders play an important role. They are the one who
has their direct and indirect interest in the institution and therefore need to be updated with
whatever change that is taking place. various stakeholders of London university are discussed
below which will show why it is important to keep them informed in case of any new action is
being taken.
1 Refer to Appendix 1 for budget calculations
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Name of the stakeholder Why is he/she important
Students A large number of students are studying in the
referred institution and are directly associated with
the change quality team wish to bring. It is
important that they are in favour with same as if
they do not find t good than it may have a direct
impact on the quality of their performance.
Teaching staff In order to keep the employees happy, it is
important that every change is first discussed with
working staff so that they feel recognised and do
not resist to the same (Meredith and Mantel Jr,
2011).
Head of finance As the project involve high budget it is important
that this department is kept informed about the
investment plan made to raise the quality of
working surroundings. This will help in
facilitating the change with the available
resources.
Library managers If the changes are proposed in the libraries too
than the officials of the same also need to be
informed and hence act as an important
stakeholder whose consent is of equal importance.
TASK 2
Risk register
Whenever any project is carried out there is always risk which is associated with the same.
The degree of constraints may vary but every problem has less or major impact on the project
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that need to be competed. While carrying out the change different risk that may be faced by the
management are as follows:
Serial No. Risk Likelihood and Impact Actions to reduce
the risk
1. Resistance by
stakeholders
In an enterprise showing
resistance by employees against
any change is normal. It is due to
the fact that they are in a habit of
doing work in a particular
manner and switching to new
system requires training which is
not favourable (Ramazani and
Jergeas, 2015). As they are one
of the most important stakeholder
it is required that their consent is
there so that continuity in the
work can be maintained.
The most effective
way to minimise this
risk is through
ensuring continues
communication with
the various
stakeholders.
Transparency should
be maintained with
them so that they can
be made aware about
the positive side of
the proposed change.
2. Lack of
communication
Since there are a number of
people involve in the project
implementation there are chances
that the communication may go
in effective. It is due to the fact
that project managers are
strangers for one another which
further limits their interactions.
This can lead to high risk as an
important messages may fail to
reach the associated person
which may affect the quality of
final results.
By establishing
proper and continuous
meetings among the
project department
connection between
them can be
developed which
helps in
3. Non In order to implement change it This risk can be
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availability of
technology
is required that the advance
applications for the same are
available as non-availability of
these may lead to fall in the
required standards (Larson and
Gray, 2013.).
reduce by doing
effective market
resect beforehand so
that the changes are
planned as per the
available technology
in the market.
4. Inappropriate
construction of
budget
Forming a budget is a complex
activity. It involves excess of
planning and hence it is required
that people responsible for the
same are capable of doing it so
that the money and time spent on
the preparation of final budget do
not get wasted.
In order to reduce the
risk of budget failure
proper people should
be appointed who has
adequate knowledge
regarding the
formation of budgets
as this will raise the
quality of final limits
prepared.
5. Gap between
actual and
expected
results
Any project which is started is
commenced with a particular
intention. In case of failure of the
same the money and time spent
against the project goes in vain.
In case if the referred institute
does not get the expected results
than this will lead to risk of
failure.
In order to reduce the
gap between actual
and expected results
continuous
monitoring can be
ensued as through this
deviations are
recognised at the
same time which
further assist in
making corrections
and reducing the gap
(Meredith and Mantel
Jr, 2011).
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6. Unavailability
of resources
In order to do proper
refurbishment a number of
resources are required and there
are chances that some of them
are not available or easily
accessible by the project
management team. This may
again act as a risk
In order to reduce the
risk of non-
availability of
resources it is
suggested that
planning is done
according to the
resources that are
already availed in the
market.
7. Change in
external
surroundings
As the market is dynamic
changes take place on continuous
basis.
Proper environmental
audit can help in
identifying change
8. Failure of new
applications
In case of the technology which
is substituted gives less quality
results.
Pre testing of the
applications can help
in reducing the
failure.
9. Absenteeism
of project
managers
Due to uncertain factors like
illness, accidents etc. project
managers may fail to attend the
meetings.
Through ensuring
effective
communications the
risk of non-
availability of
different parties can
be reduced.
10. Difficulty in
understanding
change
Students, employee’s other
managers will be directly
affected by the refurbishment and
hence they might find it difficult
to cope up with the same.
This risk can be
minimised by
interacting with
different parties and
making them aware
about the advantages
of bringing this
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innovation.
TASK 3
Gantt Chart
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TASK 4
(A) Risk management plan
In order to reduce the various risk, it is important that a management plan is used so that
cost and time is saved. In order to achieve the results it is of great need that all those risk which
are identified are dealt in advance so that their impact can be reduced. The importance of risk
management plan is discussed below;
 When risk is identified in advance it becomes easy to make arrangements again same
 The standards of overall work one is maintained as it involves less errors.
 When work is done with last errors the motivation level of employees is raised
(B) Prince 2 approach
In order to achieve the desired results from a project management plan the sponsors should
ensure that they are using the correct methodology. They can use the prince 2 approach as
through the same the gap between actual and desired outcomes is reduced. According to this
approach particular project must be justified along with the clear allocation of roles and
responsibilities so that effective communication is established (Serrador and Turner, 2015). The
strength and weaknesses of this approach are as follows:
Strength Weaknesses
 It helps in avoiding uncertainty in the
project as this method makes the
work done in a project to be
 There are a number of procedures that
are followed in this approach which are
difficult to be implement on practical
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predictable.
 Achieving the desired results is the
basic requirement of different project
and Prince 2 approach helps in
achieving same with least deviations
(Schwalbe, 2015).
grounds where risk of dynamic
surroundings exists.
 In order to implement this approach
proper training is required so that the
outcome is received which is expected.
Recommendations
After going through the above discussion it is suggested to the London university that in
order to get the desired results Prince 2 approach should be adopted by them. it will help in
reducing the deviations and will assist in implementation of change in the most effective manner.
Though there are drawbacks of the same concept but on the same hand it offers various
advantages too which makes it an effective option for the QMC.
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