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Final Graded Case Study: Comprehensive Project Analysis, Part I

Project Selection and Initiation

After having been recently laid off from his job of 35 years as a Sales Manager at Hightower Global Solutions, Tony DiBello got a call from his former boss Peter McKenzie asking him to return to the organization to help get a new initiative off the ground.

The Project

Based on McKenzie's brief description over the phone, DiBello understood that the project was to develop a "sales training intranet" (code named HighLEARN) for Hightower's 350 geographically dispersed sales associates. A Fortune 500 firm specializing in financial services technology and outsourcing solutions, Hightower had more than 100 complex products and services to offer its diverse client base of banks, mutual fund complexes and insurance companies. In addition, Hightower's executive leadership was pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy, buying small companies and further expanding the product portfolio. As a result, both new and experienced sales associates were struggling to get up to speed on all of the Hightower offerings, and sales leadership was concerned that they were missing opportunities to pitch new products to clients. McKenzie, the Head of Hightower's Sales organization, had become an evangelist for what he called "Blended Learning" ‐ combining traditional classroom training with online learning opportunities - and he was determined to develop a highly interactive "portal" to help improve sales performance. He envisioned a custom intranet where Hightower sales associates across the globe could log on to get comprehensive product information and presentations, access webinars and videos with product specialists, and share tips and feedback through blogs, forums and social features.

McKenzie's enthusiasm for the intranet project was infectious. Even Carol Bailey, Hightower's CEO, had come to believe that connecting people in this way was critical to ensuring Hightower's success and sustainability in the global market. Due to the breadth and diversity of the company's product offerings ‐ and the rate at which they were acquiring new products ‐ there was immense pressure on everyone in the sales organization to become experts on as many products and services as possible in order to meet aggressive sales targets.

As the sponsor for HighLEARN, McKenzie compiled the Project Charter based on his own research, as well as input gathered from Bailey and the three sales division leaders:

HighLEARN Project Charter

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Project Title

HighLEARN Interactive Sales Learning Portal

Date November 18, 2013

Business Case

Hightower sales associates are responsible for mastering the features, value propositions and client needs for an expanding array of complex products and services. At the same time, people are located in hundreds of different offices globally so it is not financially or logistically feasible to train everyone in a classroom setting. HighLEARN is an efficient way to share sales information, increase people's product knowledge and support sales associates to meet aggressive sales targets.

Project Purpose

HighLEARN will give secure, personalized access to the most up-to-date product information, client presentations, sales case studies, webinars, demos and the ability to interact in real time with colleagues on how best to pitch products and handle specific sales situations. This will increase breadth and depth of sales knowledge, decrease reliance on product specialists, and help integrate sales forces from acquired companies. It will also reduce costs on travel and training expenses for in- person classroom sessions. Sales directors and associates will be invited to suggest features and functionality to include in the project, as it unfolds.

Project Objectives

Each sales associate must reach individual sales quotas, while contributing to division quotas. The more associates know about Hightower's products and how to position them to meet clients' needs, the more they will succeed in meeting the quotas. With a customized interface and user experience, HighLEARN will offer easy navigation to relevant and up-to-date information that supports client interactions. The portal will serve sales associates' needs and empower them to achieve personal and corporate goals.

Project Personnel

Team Members:

Ricardo Contin, Director of Learning and Development Steve Quan, Hightower IT Operations Specialist Shannon Valley, Hightower IT Systems and Security Monica Ianucci, Content Specialist Jonathan Brant, Content Specialist

All project decisions must be authorized by Peter McKenzie, Project Sponsor, prior to implementation.

Risks

Site does not meet user requirements or functionality Necessary people are not available to contribute to project Marketing department is against approach, believes they should go with Microsoft SharePoint system Security of intranet/portal ‐ must ensure no external access beyond firewall

Project Deadline: End of the year The project team will establish deadlines for specific project deliverables:

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Schedule Summary

Select software development vendor and execute contract Provide business requirements to vendor Develop functional specifications Approve site architecture and security specifications Purchase necessary hardware and security certificates Approve user interface design Complete login and registration system Code pages (multiple phases) Create, edit and upload Product content (multiple phases) Approve pages and content Complete site testing and QC Log all bugs/problems for tracking and resolution Complete employee pilot

Budget Summary

The approved budget for the project is $1.5 million, including the following:

Outsourced software development (vendor contract) Project management (contract employee) Hardware, Software licenses Contracted resources (content development, IT) Travel and expenses (contractors, employees) Materials (paper, printer and laptop usage, toner, etc.)

Allowed variance: 15% Budget changes must be authorized by Peter McKenzie, Project Sponsor.

Measurable Success Criteria

Usage statistics (% of sales associates logging on and frequency) Favorability surveys of sales associates within first 3, 6, 12 months after launch "Lift" in ability to meet sales quotas within first 3, 6, 12 months after launch (% increase in year-over-year sales) Completion of project within budget (% and $$ over or under) Completion of project within specified time frame

Other Project Limitations

Vendor control/ability to meet timelines Ability to launch portal at August sales offsite (captive audience) Availability of product subject matter experts (SMEs) to work with Content Specialists to create various types of product content Ability to integrate portal within existing corporate IT environment Site hosting capacity Continuity and ongoing content maintenance after launch

On DiBello's first day back at the Hightower headquarters, he was welcomed back warmly by his old colleagues who were delighted to see him. After spending much of the morning catching up and hearing the latest office gossip, he was eager to get started on project planning.

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DiBello began by compiling a stakeholder list, based on his understanding of the project and the people identified for the project team:

HighLEARN Stakeholder List

Name Role Interest Power Classification

Peter McKenzie Executive Sales Director, Project Sponsor Very High

High Strong Supporter

Tony DiBello Project Manager High Medium Supports Project

Ricardo Contin Director of Learning and Development High Medium Supports Project

Steve Quan Hightower IT Operations Specialist Medium High Neutral

Shannon Valley Hightower IT Systems and Security Medium High Neutral

Monica Ianucci Content Specialist High Low Supports Project

Jonathan Brant Content and HTML Specialist High Low Supports Project

Software Development Vendor (TBD)

Site developer for Content Management System and all intranet features and applications

High Medium Supports Project

Jose Colon Sales Director of Bank & Brokerage Division Low High Neutral

Cathy Rich Sales Director of Mutual Fund & Insurance Division

Medium High Neutral

Rob McDermott Sales Director of Corporate Institutions Divisions

High High Supports Project

After thinking over the above list of stakeholders, DiBello decided to remove the three sales division directors who would likely serve in an advisory capacity but not participate directly in the completion of project tasks. In his experience, limiting the list of stakeholders to project team members would prevent other people from interfering with the project work and timeline. For example, McKenzie had confided that Eileen Allard, Hightower's Chief Marketing Executive, was problematic in her vocal opposition to the HighLEARN concept. She had repeatedly dismissed the need for a custom intranet, arguing instead that Microsoft SharePoint could provide plenty of out-of-the-box functionality at a much lower cost. DiBello wanted to avoid potential chaos from having "too many cooks in the kitchen", and he figured that other stakeholders such as Allard, Contin, Rich and McDermott, could easily be added along the way.

On past projects, DiBello had created a milestone chart at the outset, but he decided to skip this step for now since the team would be creating a more detailed schedule later in the planning phase.

Before you move on to the next section of the case study, identify the problems and/or issues that QSO 640: Project Management

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you'll need to include in your analysis. Document this information, and consider how you will integrate it into your evaluation of the project.

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Final Graded Case Study: Comprehensive Project Analysis, Part I

Project Selection and Initiation

The Project