Ubertour - Written Report
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Final Written Report
Nick Foster, Tian Tian, Yulin Lu, Zhengda Wang
Project Management in the Information Age
MASY1-GC1250.100
August 3, 2017
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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Initiate Process Group (Yulin) ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Project Integration Management ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Stakeholder Management ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Planning Process Group (Nick) ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Integration Management ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Scope Management ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Time Management ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Cost Management .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Quality Management .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Human Resources Management ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Communications Management ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Risk Management .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Procurement Management .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Stakeholder Management ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Execute Process Group (Tian) ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Project Integration Management ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Quality Management .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Human Resources Management ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Communications Management ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Procurement Management .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Stakeholder Management ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Monitor & Control Process Group (Zhengda) ........................................................................................................................ 6
Project Integration Management ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Scope Management ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Time Management ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Cost Management .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Quality Management .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Communications Management ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Risk Management .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Procurement Management .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Stakeholder Management ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Closing Process Group (Yulin) ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Project Integration Management ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Procurement Management .................................................................................................................................................. 8
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Introduction
This report will outline RapidTrak’s general approach to managing the construction of the Los Angeles – San
Francisco high speed rail line. We intend to follow a predictive project life cycle, given the disruptive impact that
our actual construction activity will have within the State of California and the bureaucratic nature of working
with so many public-sector stakeholders. Therefore, the following tasks within each of the five processes groups –
Initiate, Plan, Execute, Monitor and Close – are worthy of immediate consideration in this summary.
Consult the attached Master Plan document for comprehensive management plans for the Time, Cost, Risk and
Stakeholder management knowledge areas.
Initiate Process Group
Project Integration Management
We have already produced a Project Charter, which provides a basic outline of the business need, stakeholders,
success criteria and project objectives. Refer to the Charter itself for complete details.
Stakeholder Management
Our group will need to identify stakeholders so that we can classify and properly engage with them. See the
complete Stakeholder Management Plan in the Master Plan document for additional detail.
Planning Process Group
Project Integration Management
The Project Management Plan serves as the guiding document for the overall project. Expanding on what has
already been delivered in the Project Charter, the project manager and key stakeholders will create a
comprehensive plan for how to manage every other knowledge area, which are outlined in this report and in the
attached Master Plan document. These include the communications plan, risk management, quality and scope
management, and more. It will be very important for this project that we pay close attention to how the plan might
change, given the risks and complexities at play.
Scope Management
The project’s scope dictates what we will and will not endeavor to construct and manage throughout the long
timeline of RapidTrak’s project. To this end, our steering committee and project sponsor will have to collect
requirements for the project, many of which have already been captured in our Project Charter. To define the
scope further, our project team and key stakeholders in California’s transportation authorities to plan around any
specific challenges and particulars of building within the California landscape. Finally, we will create a work
breakdown structure, owned by Project Manager John Henry, Jr., that will specify smaller and more manageable
packets of activities within this scope. For instance, the work of constructing the track could be broken into mini-
projects of 10 miles at a time. The WBS will be maintained in our project management software.
Time Management
Schedule planning helps the team budget its time and money towards executing the project on-time, on-budget
and on-scope. Reference the complete Time Management Plan in the Master Plan document for detail plans for all
six relevant processes in the Planning stage.
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Cost Management
Cost planning helps the project team estimate costs and set budgets for the life of the project. Within the Planning
process group this includes three processes: Plan Cost Management, Estimate Costs and Determine Budget. See
the complete Cost Management Plan in the Master Plan document.
Quality Management
Inherent to the creation of a railroad is the creation of rigorous safety standards and quality control mechanisms.
Inputs include our project management plan, risk register, stakeholder register, our requirements documentation
and a consideration of the California environment in which RapidTrak operates. As a result of this process we will
generate a set of quality metrics and a plan for managing the project to meet those metrics. Some of the basic
quality requirements are outlined in the Project Charter.
Human Resources Management
Our high-speed rail project will require a highly competent project team and a vast number of contractors, such as
the construction workers who will actually build the train line. Our human resources plan will take care to define
reporting structures within RapidTrak and outline the skills needed and selection criteria for new hires.
Additionally, in the course of creating this plan we will, in conjunction with cost planning, determine whether to
bring new employees into RapidTrak as full time employees or as projectized contractors (the latter being
increasingly common).
Communications Management
Given the size of this project and the range or necessary stakeholders, developing a winning communications plan
will be critical. This document, owned by the project manager and created in concert with the steering committee
and project sponsor, will specify what information should be communicated about the project, with what
frequency, in what format, to what degree of detail from the project team to different classes of stakeholders
throughout the project. For instance, communications to the Governor of California would (and should) be to a
different standard than the press releases our organization might release to the general public about the state of our
project.
Risk Management
Risk management planning will help the project team stay aware of emergent risks and know what to do if known
or unknown risks arise to threaten (or benefit) the project. In the Planning process group this includes five
processes: Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks, Perform Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Analysis and Plan
Risk Responses. See the complete Risk Management Plan in the Master Plan document.
Procurement Management
This project will require a massive procurement effort, so our procurement management plan will have to specify
what to acquire and when. Our Business Case and Project Charter have already answered the make vs. buy
question – we plan to import Japanese Shinkansen-style train technology – but there are still many other variables
to settle. For instance, how many construction companies do we need to hire, and when? What kind of equipment
do we need to acquire? Procurement also includes the acquisition of land necessary for building our rail line. We
know how much we will need, but have acknowledged in our Project Charter that we may have to be flexible in
where exactly to purchase and build. In concert with our risk, scope and cost management processes, our project
team will create a procurement management plan that answers these questions.
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Stakeholder Management
Anyone who will be affected by the project or has influence over it, even if they only perceive that they do, is a
potential stakeholder and must be identified and managed in order for the project to run smoothly and find a
receptive audience. See the complete Stakeholder Management Plan in the Master Plan document.
Execute Process Group
Project Integration Management
At this phase, the challenge is to direct and manage project work to the letter of the plans outlined thus far. If we
receive change requests in the course of our project’s work, which is highly likely, here where they will be
evaluated and integrated.
Quality Management
This is a shared responsibility of the Project Manager and RapidTrak CEO Tommy Tressle for ensuring that high
quality plans are produced by reviewing all plan submissions and attending plan review meetings. The process
essentially makes sure the quality standards and operational definitions are being used during project execution.
As you might expect, some outputs of this process are change requests and updates to the project management
plan and project documents.
Human Resources Management
This is the process of confirming human resource availability and obtaining the team necessary to complete
project activities. The key benefit of this process consists of outlining and guiding the team selection and
responsibility assignment to obtain a successful team. Determining project roles, responsibilities, and reporting
relationships culminating in the staffing management plan.
In the course of this work we’ll have to acquire project team and assign them to project tasks and schedules. Over
the course of the project, these staff will have developed and managed through means like performance
assessment, on-the-job training and team-building. The HR department will act on behalf of project manager for
gathering team members directed and will generally be the execution staff for the PM. When hiring outside
contractors, the hire and the project manager will sign a contract that outlines the scope of the contractor’s work
responsibilities.
Communications Management
According to the guidelines laid out in our Communications Management Plan, our team will keep stakeholders,
vendors and RapidTrak teams informed and coordinated. In the course of this communication, we will receive
change requests, learn about risks and assess project performance.
Procurement Management
Key activities in this project include selecting a seller, awarding a contract, and signing an agreement. Key inputs
to this process are the make-or-buy decision (reference our Project Contract), the source selection criteria, the
seller proposals, and the procurement statement of work. We already have a general sense of what we need to
procure, and from whom, given our plan to import and replicate Japanese high speed rail systems.
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Stakeholder Management
This is the stage when project management staff have to engage with stakeholders, in the manner outlined by the
Stakeholder Management Plan, in order to increase their levels of engagement. Refer to the complete Stakeholder
Management Plan in the Master Plan document for full details and examples of outputs.
Monitor & Control Process Group
Project Integration Management
At this stage, the Integration Management knowledge area includes two processes. First, to monitor and control
project work, we will track, review and report on our progress towards our objectives, as defined in the Project
Management Plan.
• Monitor is to collect project performance data with respect to a plan, produce performance measures, and report and disseminate performance information.
• Control is to compare actual performance with planned performance, analyzing variances, assessing trends to effect process improvements, evaluating possible alternatives, and recommending appropriate
corrective action as needed.
Second, we will perform integrated change control. This is the process of reviewing all change requests and
approving and managing any resulting changes to deliverables, organizational process assets, project scope
management and project management plan. Whenever a change is requested, it is advisable to identify the impact
of proposed change on project cost, quality, risks, resources, scope, and also on customer satisfaction.
Scope Management
Scope control is the process of monitoring the status of the scope of the project. This section also details the
change process for making changes to the scope baseline. The project manager and the project team will work
together to control of the scope of the project. The project manager will oversee the project team and the
progression of the project to ensure that this scope control process is followed and progress is reported through
project scope measurements tools.
Time Management
The project manager will be responsible for monitoring and controlling the project schedule to ensure project
team members complete project deliverables in accordance to the schedule timeline and keep tracking what
factors will delay the schedule or trig other problems. Refer to the complete Time Management Plan in the Master
Plan document.
Cost Management
The project team and the financial department will work together to provide accurate information regarding the
project progress on a regular basis. The project manager and the financial officers will review all the information
and find out the most important indicators for the project sponsors and steering committee. The project sponsor
will be responsible for approving any changes to the project cost baseline over $100,000; the CFO will be
responsible for approving any changes to the project cost baseline below $100,000. Refer to the complete Cost
Management Plan in the Master Plan document for additional details.
Quality Management
Quality control for the project will be achieved by defining the relevant quality criteria for the outputs, or what
characteristics make them “fit for purpose.” In this section, define who or what groups will be involved in specification of the output quality criteria and how ‘fitness for purpose’ will be determined. Confirmation of
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“fitness for purpose” criteria requires meaningful and measurable goals, which can assist in the quantification of
project target outcomes. Relevant methodologies, standards and guidelines may be used to assist. These usually
contain technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions
of characteristics, to ensure that any materials, products, processes and services required for output development
are fit for their purpose. It is essential that output acceptance by the Project Sponsor is appropriately defined and documented. Output
acceptance also includes acceptance of related ongoing management responsibilities and accountabilities.
Communications Management
This entails monitoring communications over the entire project lifecycle to ensure that the information needs of
the project stakeholders are met. It involves sharing the project status reports and measurements with appropriate
stakeholders. The key benefit of this process is that it ensures an optimal information flow among all
communication participants, at any moment in time. It is important to take note that the control communications
deal with different pieces of project communication which include personnel performance feedback reports,
progress on schedule, information related to new baseline and costs status and forecast. Moreover, different
communication activities are also involved in control communications which include internal, formal, official,
oral and vertical reports. Generally the inputs are project management plan, project communications, issue log,
work performance data and organizational process assets. The outputs are work performance information, change
requests, project management plan updates and organizational process assets updates.
Risk Management
The level of risk on a project will be tracked, monitored and reported throughout the project lifecycle. A “Top Ten
Risks List” will be maintained by the project team and will be reported as a component of the project status reporting
process for this project. All project change requests will be analyzed for their possible impact to the project risks.
Management will be notified of important changes to risk status as a component to the Executive Project Status
Report. Refer to the complete Risk Management Plan for additional details.
Procurement Management
It is the process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, and making changes
and corrections to contracts as needed. During this process, the seller must meet the procurement requirements,
and the buyer must perform according to the terms of the contract. This includes appropriate and timely payments
and also contract change management. In the specific context of our project it could include making sure that
Shinkansen rolling stock is working to specifications, and seeking recourse with the vendor if it should be flawed.
Stakeholder Management
The project team must continue sustain stakeholder’s engagement. However, because the project will be well
underway at this stage, and in keeping with the current process group, the project staff will have a wealth of
project work performance data that informs their communication to stakeholders. Refer to the complete
Stakeholder Management Plan for more details.
Closing Process Group
Project Integration Management
The closing project phase involves getting acceptance of our produced deliverables from the project sponsor.
Project closure also includes formally transitioning control of the rail line to an operational management team. On
a technical level, the rail line must meet or exceed defined safety standards, achieve an average speed of 200 mph,
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and ensure that the tracks, stations, and IT systems are operational. Once project is formally approved, the
resources attached to the project will be formally released; any historical data or final lessons learned gained from
the project will be captured and documented.
Procurement Management
The closure of procurements is analogous to closing the phase of a project. It will be involve some formal way of
having the buyer sign off on the final deliverables provided by the seller. The buyer will verify the product
produced by the seller and determine that the entire product has been delivered. Provisions for this is included in
the quality management plan.