Week 4 - Tree Trimming Project

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Tree Trimming Project Analysis

In this analysis I will be analyzing Thomas Johnson’s Christmas tree farming business. Thomas has a farm of Christmas trees that he shears for the holiday season. He has 24,000 Christmas trees that are sheared by hand by the workers he hires during the holiday season. He attended a project management course during the off season and wondered about the use of Earned Value and if he was using EV when it came to his business.

For informational purposes, he agreed to a business deal with a customer that is going to pay him $30,000 to shear all 24,000 trees in his farm, with a partial payment after the project has commenced. Thomas figured that within those five days, 6,000 trees would be sheared, which would account for 25% of his trees, which he calculated would be a $7,500 payment for the first five days, being $7,500 is 25% of the $30,000 agreed amount. This would mean every five days his customer would need to pay him $7,500 and that also means Thomas must shear at least 6,000 trees every five days as well. According to Thomas’ plan and schedule, he will have sheared all 24,000 trees within 20 days. With the information provided, there was no agreement made as to when exactly the trees would need to be sheared and completed by, so in this case, if Thomas finishes shearing 24,000 trees within 20 days, he will be on his own personal plan and schedule. Being that he already met the first five days and sheared 6,000 trees, he is currently on schedule.

Earned Value, or EV, is a process of monitoring a project plan to ensure a project is on track for completion and it tracks work whether in process or completed. In this case, I do not believe Thomas is using EV properly. Although this may be due to not having sufficient information per the description of his process, the description mentioned no tracking what so ever of his process other than the first 6,000 tree he had sheared within the first five days. There is no tracking that shows how many trees were sheared each day, how many workers he had to accomplish shearing 6,000 trees, no information as to whether he had workers work overtime, and no information if he will be able to utilize his resources to be able to complete 6,000 tree every five days. There are numerous variables Thomas must account for when using EV and there is no proof or information if he has utilized the use of EV properly.

Thomas needs to establish his budget for the project which will allow him to figure his cost variance and schedule. Cost variance is summarized as the difference between the estimated cost of a project and the actual cost of the project. If he is at or below his estimated budget when the project commences, it is considered favorable. If he is above his estimated budget for the project, it is unfavorable for obvious reasons, going over budget. Thomas knows what his customer is paying for the 24,000 trees. He must determine how much it will cost to shear all 24,00 trees which should include the cost of hiring laborers as well as costs for equipment and materials that may be required to accomplish the project. Thomas also already knows, per the information provided, that he needs to shear at least 6,000 trees every five days. With the known information, Thomas can schedule laborers to ensure 1,200 trees are sheared every day, which will give him an idea of how many laborers he needs, how much he pays them, and if they need to work overtime. Luckily, he already completed the first 6,000 trees. Which means he knows what it takes between laborers, equipment and materials needed. He needs to gather all the information and establish a schedule based on that information and the budget he decides he wants to establish. This will allow him to track the project to ensure he is on schedule and on budget which will also give him his cost variance.

Now there are risks that are associated to this project, which include the risk of Thomas’ customer changing the scope of the project by wanting the shape of the trees to be sheared differently. There are numerous steps Thomas can take to approach this type of situation. Step one is for Thomas to be vigilant of any possible change from day one. This will ensure he is prepared to take on any change or deny a change that comes from the customer. Step two is to understand what his customer wants. What is it that the customer is looking for in the Christmas trees and be sure to properly define the scope in the early stages of discussion with his customer. Step three is to understand the requirements of the project and in this case, it is 24,000 trees sheared a specific way per the customer’s request. Step four is to ensure Thomas has a process for changing scope shall it arise. This process should define what the changes will be, how they will be implemented, and what costs are incurred because of the change. Step five would be to guard against gold plating. This is when additionally features or extras are pitched and can hinder a project. Basically, keep it simple when pitching to the customer the different options with nothing extravagant or a limited amount of options. The next step, step six, is to utilize online project management software. The description of the situation did not mention if Thomas is using project management software. If he is not, he should because that allows him to easily approach his project to include his budget, planning, scheduling, problems and any possible changes. The seventh step is to know when to say no. Although this is something no business owner likes to do because it dissatisfies the customer, there are times when a change in the scope of a project can be detrimental to the project schedule or budget to the severity where a project manager should say no. The eighth and final step would be to provide alternatives if saying no is not an option. This is something every project manager should prepare for, because in this case, Thomas may not be able to say no because the customer is adamant about changing the shearing of the trees.

Thomas is using a traditional method of project management. Although this method works, there is another method he can use to accelerate his project which is the use of the Agile Project Management method. With this method, there are numerous practices of Agile Project Management that he can use such as assuming simplicity, maximizing value, embrace change, incrementally change, quality deliverables, and create documentation. There are many more practices with Agile Project Management, but with those mentioned alone, Thomas can use those practices to accelerate the project completion.

Thomas’ performance on this project is mediocre. He is an experienced businessman and has been farming Christmas trees regularly for the seasons as they come. Although his process has worked for him thus far, he can increase his earnings by utilizing different processes that would increase his earnings and his efficiency. His planning is poor and does not properly assess risk management. With increased earnings and efficiency, he may also be able to provide his services and trees at a cost that would increase his earnings and availability for his customers.

References

Accounting Coach (N.d.). What is a Cost Variance?

Retrieved from: https://www.accountingcoach.com/blog/what-is-a-cost-variance

Clark, T. (2014). How to Manage Scope Creep – and Even Prevent It From Happening.

Retrieved from: https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/manage-scope-creep-even-prevent-happening/

Fernandez, D. & Fernandez, J. (2008/2009) Agile Project Management – Agilism Versus Traditional Approaches.

Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/232574512/fulltext/3BCA97E601244D8PQ/1?accountid=35812

Haughey, D. (N.d.). What is Earned Value?

Retrieved from: https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-is-earned-value.php