Business Project Management Assignment Sample

Introduction

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Project Management is an exceptional business idea for logical thinkers, organized planning and detail oriented professionals. Every business organization is having its own set objectives and goals. To achieve it or successful completion of those targets, it becomes important to make a careful planning, management of the resources and its organization. This all can be attained with the application of project management (Hwang and Tan, 2012). It is a very useful method that focuses over completion of the work with effective and optimal utilization of resources such as time, finance, technology etc. The present research is based on business project management where a case study of University of Exeter Business School, Turner and Townsend is taking into the consideration. As per the given case study, it has been clear that Turner and Townsend was appointed project manager for the construction of the University of Exeter Business School in December 2007. In January 2011, the university building was opened on time and under the budget. The purpose of this project was to providing the university will additional world class research, social, learning and teaching facilities. The key objective of this plan was to deliver a building that can able to enhance the position of the institute as an international business school (Kerzner, 2013).

Assessment Tasks

1. Discussing the Project in the Case Study

The given case study is based on University of Exeter Business School in which institute was appointed Turner and Townsend person as a project manager. In December 2007, the building of university was reconstructed and in January 2011, it was opened for the students within the set budget and timeframe. The objective of carrying the following project was to enhance the position of university at the international level as international business school. Along with this, another purpose of executing this plan was to develop sustainable education facility with “Wow factor”. Further, in addition, there was one more challenge in front of the project manager i.e. maintain student satisfaction during construction (Bredillet, 2010). This project was providing the University of Exeter Business School with additional world class research, social, teaching and learning facilities. At the time of development of project plan, there was some key objectives set such as enable the business school to deliver its vision, enhance position as an international business school at international level, creation of a state of the art educational facility, creating a sustainable building with reducing CO2 emissions etc (Burke, 2013).

On the other hand, several resources were used for the following project. The budget was 14 million pounds. The human resources were appointed in this plan was project manager, project management staff, cost management team, client, architects HLM, consulting engineers Hoare Lee and civil and structural company Opus International. The estimated total cost of University of Exeter Business School project was 13 million pounds with annual cash flow of 500,000 pounds. Apart from this, the key challenge for the project team was to satisfy the demand of various stakeholders with various expectations (Bredillet, 2010). They had to work hard regarding completing the project plan under the given time duration and manage complex problems. Further, project team members worked closely with university and take reliable and appropriate decisions. Beside all of these, to meet the expectations of the stakeholders and manage complexity level of plan, a good communication was required. To reduce the significant delay in completion of the work and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding situation, project management team was needed to establish a proper communication by formal and informal methods. After end of three years, the whole University of Exeter Business School plan was completed within 14 million pounds by achieving all objectives and deal with challenges (Meredith and Mantel Jr, 2011).

2. Evaluation of the Application of the Concepts and Principles of Business Project Management

There are three concept of business project management: time, cost and quality. These three are most important factors which are not easy to control. Evaluation of application of the following concept in the context of University of Exeter Business School, it has been found that the plan would be completed within the 3 years under the 14 million pounds budget by meeting various quality standards. After the completion of the work, it has determined that whole event had been done as per the set three major constraints (Schwalbe, 2015).

By moving towards the principles of business project management, it related to objectives of the plan. In the context of University of Exeter Business School, there were three objectives set by project manager which are as follows:

• Enable the business school to deliver its vision and enhance its position as an international business school at international level.
• To maintain student satisfaction during construction of university building.
• To provide additional world class research, learning, teaching and social facilities (Wysocki, 2011).

3. Preparing Project Plan Documents for the Case Study by Assumptions

1.Time Management Plan

Time management can be defined as managing time in an effective manner so that a right activity can be completed within the right time duration. With the help of different time management activities, it becomes easy to assign particular time frame to events. In the case of University of Exeter Business School project, project manager has adopted a time management plan in order to manage the whole project plan and complete it within the given time duration (Patanakul and Shenhar, 2012). For this, a time management plan within the context of cited plan is as follows:

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
University of Exeter Business School	824 days	Mon 12/3/07	Thu 1/27/11
Initiation	55 days	Mon 12/3/07	Fri 2/15/08
Project charter	10 days	Mon 12/3/07	Fri 12/14/07
Feasibility study	20 days	Mon 12/17/07	Fri 1/11/08	3
Defining project scope and objectives	3 days	Mon 1/14/08	Wed 1/16/08	4
Planning	50 days	Thu 1/17/08	Wed 3/26/08
Appointing project team	20 days	Thu 1/17/08	Wed 2/13/08	5
Setting of project organization chart	3 days	Thu 1/17/08	Mon 1/21/08	5
Work breakdown structure	5 days	Thu 2/14/08	Wed 2/20/08	7,8
Contract suppliers	20 days	Thu 2/21/08	Wed 3/19/08	9
Assigning resources	5 days	Thu 3/20/08	Wed 3/26/08	10
Execution	590 days	Thu 3/27/08	Wed 6/30/10
Build deliverables	500 days	Thu 3/27/08	Wed 2/24/10	11
Project status report development	30 days	Thu 2/25/10	Wed 4/7/10	13
Managing change request	30 days	Thu 4/8/10	Wed 5/19/10	14
Risk assessment	30 days	Thu 5/20/10	Wed 6/30/10	15
Monitoring and control	78 days	Thu 7/1/10	Mon 10/18/10
Measuring objectives	20 days	Thu 7/1/10	Wed 7/28/10	16
Checking quality deliverables	30 days	Thu 7/29/10	Wed 9/8/10	18
Evaluating performance	28 days	Thu 9/9/10	Mon 10/18/10	19
Project close	73 days	Tue 10/19/10	Thu 1/27/11
Releasing resources	30 days	Tue 10/19/10	Mon 11/29/10	20
Project documentation	20 days	Tue 11/30/10	Mon 12/27/10	22
Project punch list	20 days	Tue 12/28/10	Mon 1/24/11	23
Sign off project	3 days	Tue 1/25/11	Thu 1/27/11	24

Gantt Chart

From the above Gantt Chart of University of Exeter Business School, it has been clearly seen that after completion of one activity, other events have started. All tasks have interrelated with each other and complete within the assign time frame (Walker, 2015).

1.Work Breakdown Structure

2.Payback period

To determine payback period for the present project, the project manager has assumed cash flows for the 6 years. In this context, the invested amount has been received in 2.14 years. 

Year	Cash inflow in £	Cumulative frequency in £
1	3,000,000	3,000,000
2	5,000,000	8,000,000
3	7,000,000	15,000,000
4	9,000,000	24,000,000
5	12,000,000	36,000,000
6	15,000,000	51,000,000
Payback periods in years for Project A		2.14 years

1. Quality Management plan

Quality management helps in ensuring the quality of services and products as per the set standards. It is considering as an important parameters for the organizations that make the businesses differentiate from its competitors. There are various quality management methods available which uses by the firms to make ensure the quality of the goods. TQM, Quality Control, Six Sigma etc. These all are essential for meeting the customer satisfaction by offering quality commodities (De Bakker, Boonstra and Wortmann, 2010). For the present project, Quality Management Plan is as follows:

Project Quality Management Plan
Project Title: Management Information System	Date of prepare:
Quality role Establishing quality standards for project. Reviewing requests of client (Morris, 2010). Looking new ways to enhance and maintain quality of expected outcomes. Giving suggestions to making modifications in quality standards (Morris and Pinto, 2010).	Quality responsibilities Assisting in development of quality plan. Helping the project manager and relating expectations of stakeholders for project by developing Quality Control Procedures (Portny, 2010). Conducting supplementary quality control audits on demand of the project manager. Providing feedback to project manager in project plan (Heising, 2012).
Quality assurance approach: Cost of quality, Control charts, Benchmarking, Flow charts, Cause and Effect Diagrams and Pareto Chart.
Quality control approach: Statistical Quality Control, Acceptance Sampling, Histogram and Scatter Diagram.
Quality improvement approach: Total Quality Management, PDCA cycle, ISO standards, LEAN technique, Quality Circles, Kaizen

Communication plan

Communication planning is the combination of art and science to reach to the target audience by using different medium of communication channels. In the case of project management, it means communicate the information with the project members about the progress of plan (Jun, Qiuzhen and Qingguo, 2011). In the context of University of Exeter Business School project, a communication plan followed by project manager is as follows:

Stakeholders	Communications Name	Delivery Method/Format
University of Exeter Business School	Monthly Status Report	Hard copy and meeting
Project Manager	Daily status report	Meeting
Cost management team	Daily Status report	Meeting
Quality analyst	Weekly Status report	Email
Risk assessment analyst	Weekly Status report	Email and Meetings
Project board	Monthly Status report	Hard copy and meeting
Architects	Monthly Status report	Email
Consulting engineers	Monthly Status report	Hard copy and meeting
Civil and Structural Company	Monthly Status report	Email
Contractor	Monthly Status report	Hard copy

Change management plan

In the case of University of Exeter Business School project, the project manager has planned to bring some changes in the plan and its related activities. For this, a Change Management Plan has followed which is as follows:

Changes that needed to be implemented	Why to make changes
Assess change	Because of unique nature of project and it will positively affect the final outcomes of the plan.
Adopt new communication methods	The poor and ineffective communication method will affect the communication process and create confusion while understanding the information (Morris and Pinto, 2010).
Change in leadership	Because of increase the involvement of project management team in project decision making.
Process and technology	To ensure the progress of the plan and measure quality of deliverables.
Client involvement needed to increase	To determine need and expectations of university regarding project (Jun, Qiuzhen and Qingguo, 2011).

Risk Management plan

Risk management plan uses by the project manager to determine the risks in the plan, the level of impact on activities and the strategies to mitigate them. With the help of this, it becomes easy the hazards and their effects on all over the events. By considering University of Exeter Business School project, a risk management plan is as follows:

Risk	Pre mitigation probability (a) (1 to 5)	Pre mitigation impact (b) (1 to 5)	Pre mitigation rating (a*b)	Mitigation strategy	Post mitigation probability (c) (1 to 5)	Post mitigation impact (d) (1 to 5)
Scope risk	3	4	8	Clearly defining goal and objectives of project.	1	4
Scheduling risk	4	2	8	Adopting various scheduling methods such as Work Breakdown Structure etc.	2	1
Human Resource risk	5	5	25	Appointing skilled members who are having the good knowledge in civil and structure areas	3	4
Design risk	3	3	9	Preparing flexible and feasible design of plan in order to make changes if required.	2	3
Technical risk	2	1	2	Making sure stability, security, scalability, usability and availability of new technical equipments and system.	1	1
Communication risk	3	2	6	Use formal and informal communication methods to communicate the information with project management team members.	1	1

Conclusion

From the above study, it can be concluded that University of Exeter Business School has wanted to change its education system completely with the aim of creating a new image at international level as an international excellent business school. For this, the project manager has set out some objectives along with the constraints. At the time of preparation of project plan documents, various areas have included in it such as Gantt Chart, Work Breakdown structure, change management plan, risk management plan, payback period etc.

Refrences

Books and Journals

Artto, K., Kulvik, I., Poskela, J. and Turkulainen, V., 2011. The integrative role of the project management office in the front end of innovation. International Journal of Project Management, 29(4), pp.408-421.

Bredillet, C., Yatim, F. and Ruiz, P., 2010. Project management deployment: The role of cultural factors. International Journal of Project Management,28(2), pp.183-193.

Bredillet, C.N., 2010. Blowing hot and cold on project management. Project Management Journal, 41(3), pp.4-20.

Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

Caniëls, M.C. and Bakens, R.J., 2012. The effects of Project Management Information Systems on decision making in a multi project environment.International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), pp.162-175.

De Bakker, K., Boonstra, A. and Wortmann, H., 2010. Does risk management contribute to IT project success? A meta-analysis of empirical evidence. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), pp.493-503.

Heising, W., 2012. The integration of ideation and project portfolio management—A key factor for sustainable success. International Journal of Project Management, 30(5), pp.582-595.

Hwang, B.G. and Tan, J.S., 2012. Green building project management: obstacles and solutions for sustainable development. Sustainable development, 20(5), pp.335-349.

Jun, L., Qiuzhen, W. and Qingguo, M., 2011. The effects of project uncertainty and risk management on IS development project performance: A vendor perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 29(7), pp.923-933.

Kerzner, H.R., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Killen, C.P. and Hunt, R.A., 2010. Dynamic capability through project portfolio management in service and manufacturing industries. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 3(1), pp.157-169.

Lee, S.K. and Yu, J.H., 2012. Success model of project management information system in construction. Automation in construction, 25, pp.82-93.

Mantel, S.J., 2011. Project management in practice. Wiley,.

Meredith, J.R. and Mantel Jr, S.J., 2011. Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Morris, P. and Pinto, J.K. eds., 2010. The Wiley Guide to Project Organization and Project Management Competencies (Vol. 8). John Wiley & Sons.

Morris, P.W., 2010. Research and the future of project management.International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 3(1), pp.139-146.

Patanakul, P. and Shenhar, A.J., 2012. What project strategy really is: The fundamental building block in strategic project management. Project Management Journal, 43(1), pp.4-20.

Patanakul, P., Iewwongcharoen, B. and Milosevic, D., 2010. An empirical study on the use of project management tools and techniques across project life-cycle and their impact on project success. Journal of General Management, 35(3), pp.41-65.

Portny, S.E., 2010. Project management for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.

Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Walker, A., 2015. Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.

Wu, P. and Low, S.P., 2010. Project management and green buildings: lessons from the rating systems. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 136(2), pp.64-70.

Wysocki, R.K., 2011. Effective project management: traditional, agile, extreme. John Wiley & Sons.