PM DQ Week 9 Assignment

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8

Project Planning & Project Executions

Terrell McGhee

QSO 640

SNHU

7/17/2022

QSO 640 Milestone Two

Project Planning

ECO-Trans is a European firm that develops and manufactures "driver assist" technology that can be installed in public vehicles such as buses, trains, and other vehicles essential for mass transit. The ECO-Steam system examines the current path of a bus or train, taking into account the anticipated arrival time, and then provides the driver with recommendations for improving fuel efficiency (MindEdge, 2022). The technology works by providing instructions to drivers that assist in reducing traffic delays and unsafe driving conditions, thus making public transport effective and safer.

Sunshine Rail Transit is a good example of a company that has utilized the ECO-Trans "driver assist" technology. The company provides light-rail commuter transport as it has signed a contract with ECO-Transit to install a tailor-made ECO Steam system in its 53 locomotives. The deal will see Sunshine Rail Transit increasing efficiency in its operations concentrated in the major cities and towns of the Southeast.

Business Requirements

The primary goal of a project is to fix a problem or improve existing business operations. To achieve this objective, it is critical to understand the business requirements, which aids in properly planning and Implementing the project. The Sunshine Rail Transit ECO Steam System project implementation has six core business requirements that must be implemented to guarantee the project's success. The project is scheduled to take one year and three months and is primarily focused on reducing fuel costs and environmental sustainability through a reduction in pollution ( MindEdge 2022). To effectively implement the project, the rail operators will need to be trained on the system's operation to eliminate the impact of delays on customer schedules by ensuring that operations are done within the schedule.

Requirement Number	Requirement Description	Priority
	Installation of ECO steam System to take one year and three months	High
1
2	Training of the company employees on the operation of the project	High
	Reduction in cost of Fuel	High
3
4	Environmental sustainability through a reduction in carbon emission	Medium
	Reduction of impact on commuter schedule	Medium
5
	Increased efficiency through operating within the schedule	High
6

Subject Matter Experts in the Implementation of ECO Steam System Project

Subject matter experts are individuals with high knowledge and skills, which are prerequisites for successfully implementing the project. The Sunshine Rail Transit, ECO- Steam System's project will require highly skilled individuals to ensure that the project meets the business requirements. As such, subject matter experts in this project will include project sponsors and various departmental managers of the company who will guide employees such as engineers. The project sponsor Mr. John Shaller will ensure that the project is operated and completed within the budget and schedule. The training manager of the transport department, Mr. Mark Osborne, will be instrumental in offering training to the employees on the operations and Implementation of the project. Besides, Ed Hallman and Bennie Hays, the company's mechanical department communication gurus, will coordinate the system implementation by ensuring the operations changes are timely communicated to the stakeholders, and the project review results are also communicated (MindEdge, 2022). On the other hand, Linda Lindstrom, the transport operations head, will provide operations guidelines to ensure that project schedules are met, while the front line experts will be the company engineers will be in charge of operations of the locomotives under the new dispensation.

Significance of format for capturing requirements

Capturing and documenting specific information about the project requirements is critical in ensuring consistency and helping the project manager effectively implement the project. To ensure the project's success, the project development team will have to collect and rank the business requirements to ensure that the project's scope covers all project needs. Since the project aims to impact various stakeholders, capturing project requirements guarantees that all stakeholders' interests are captured and implemented (Tereso et al., 2019). Additionally, project traceability will be possible if project requirements are captured, which helps to minimize risks of budget overrun and delays in project completion. Project requirements can be captured using focused group discussions, surveys, and interviews.

Project Budget and Schedule

The ECO- Steam System project is expected to take one year and three months, and considering 8 hours, each month will have 25 days. This means that the entire project period will be 3000 working hours. The project estimates indicate that the Sunshine Rail Transit will spend approximately $ 45000 per month. This will translate to the total project cost of $45,000*15 = $ 675,000.

Activity	Activity name	Duration	Start	Finish	Allocation
1	Identify business requirements and Milestones	Ten days	7/15/2022	7/25/2022	$ 15,000
2	Reviewing budget requirements with sponsor	15 days	7/26/2022	8/10/2022	$ 10,000
3	Staff training	One month	8/11/2022	11/11/2022	$ 45,000
4	Project Launch	Two months	11/12/2022	1/12/2023	$ 70,000
5	Purchase of equipment	One month	1/13/2023	2/13/2023	$ 200,000
6	The pilot project, installation of technology	Three months	1/14/2023	4/14/2023	$ 80,000
7	System testing and review	3months	4/15/2023	8/15/2023	$ 70,000
8	Phase 2 installation of technology	Two months	8/16/2023	10/16/2023	$ 90,000
9	Staff training review	One month	10/17/2023	11/17/2023	$ 60,000
10	Final project review	One month	11/18/2023	12/18/2023	$ 25,000
11	Completion	Five days	12/19/2023	12/24/2023	$ 10,000
	Total Project cost				$ 675,000

Project Execution

Projection Implementation Approach

The waterfall method is the most suitable technique for implementing the ECO Steam Systems project. This method works best in this case because it provides precise project implementation steps, which begin by providing the statement of customers' requirements. In its most basic form, the waterfall approach makes it possible for the project to flow logically from conception to conclusion, following the project milestones (Thesing et al., 2021). Considering the departmental organizational structure of Sunshine Rail Transit company, the Waterfall approach will be critical in assigning various project milestones to different departments of the organization. Departments will coordinate with other departments to ensure all project steps are effectively and timely implemented. The approach is extremely well-organized, which ensures that the attention is laid to finishing deliverables within the budget and schedule, thereby reducing impacts on the existing Sunshine Rail Transit system, which will be completely redesigned and brought up to date by utilizing ECO- Steam System technology.

Project Schedule Review

The Implementation of the project is often affected by some factors, which may result in budget overruns and delayed completion. As such project schedule will need to be reviewed consistently to capture emerging aspects that influence the project. Addressing changes in the project schedule involves using project compression approaches. Compression strategies are procedures that are regularly utilized to decrease the time of a project without harming the project's scope. Crashing is one way that can be used, and it refers to the process of adding resources to assist in the completion of essential project operations. These resources can include more workers, equipment, or other project requirements.

Communication Approach

The project manager's ability to effectively communicate with project team members and stakeholders is a key responsibility. The project manager must find a way to keep all project stakeholders updated on its development to avoid nasty consequences and guarantee that the project runs smoothly. Communication is essential in ensuring that all stakeholders know their role in the project and that the project deadlines are observed (Rajhans, 2018). The ECO Steam System will take 15 months to be completed as such communication will help to ensure that objectives are achieved since each stage of development will be communicated to the shareholders and any adjustments made.

The effectiveness of communication depends on various factors, which include the target audience, the frequency, the mode of communication, and deliverables, among others. The project manager will be instrumental in ensuring adequate planning and execution by working with the project implementation team. The communication approach of this project is summarized in the following table.

Type of meeting	The goal of the meeting	Frequency of the meeting	Mode of communication	Target audience	Owner	Deliverable
Project Launch	To inform stakeholders about the project objectives	Once at the start of the project	Face to Face	All Project stakeholders	Project manager	Project scope documents, agendas, and minutes
Project implementation meeting	To review project progress	Monthly	Face to face	Project development team	Project manager	minutes and update reports
Project review meeting with management	Project status review and adjustment	Monthly	Face to Face	Company management	Project manager	Minutes and progress reports.

References

Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., & Ferreira, M. (2019). Project management practices in private organizations. Project Management Journal, 50(1), 6-22.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/8756972818810966

Thesing, T., Feldmann, C., & Burchardt, M. (2021). Agile versus Waterfall project management: decision model for selecting the appropriate approach to a project. Procedia Computer Science, 181, 746-756.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050921002702

Rajhans, K. (2018). Effective communication management: A key to stakeholder relationship management in project-based organizations. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(4), 47-66.

https://www.projektassistenz-blog.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Effective_Communication_with_Stakeholders.pdf