Project Managment free essay sample

Question #1: What was Fay’s role in initiating ResNet? Why did she succeed when other NWA employees in the IS department, who had similar ideas years earlier, did not? Answer: Fay Beauchine became VP for Reservations at NWA while the company was using 30 years old technology at their reservation system (PARS). She knew that developing a new information system was critical for implementing a vision, that focused on sales rather than service and she wanted to sponsor this new information system. So from the project management perspective the role she took in initiating ResNet project, was the role of executive sponsor. Her success key factor in ResNet internal marketing was the fact that all previous unsuccessful efforts were made by IS people who were prejudged by the upper management as technology biased. Therefore, a strong and new executive sponsor from outside IT was actually the trigger needed to provide the vision for the project and convince senior management of its importance. We will write a custom essay sample on Project Managment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Question #2: What role did senior managers, Peeter, and Arvid have in initiating ResNet? Did they make good decisions? Explain your answer. Answer: Peeter Kivestu was teamed into ResNet by Fay Beauchine as a project director (manager) and he asked Arvid Lee to join the ResNet initiative as a project plan developing leader. The threesome of Fay, Peeter and Arvid played a significant role in project initiation, each in his own â€Å"field†. Fay in internal marketing among upper management, while Peeter and Arvid were dealing with project planning and the proof of concept. Peeter and his team estimated a net present value of $37. 7 million for the project, based on a five-year system life cycle and an 11. percent discount rate. Fay’s success was only partial due to the fact that the NWA financial committee approved the project but forced the team to divide the project into three phases, to minimize the financial and operational risks. While Fay convinced senior managers at numerous meetings that her vision of focusing on sales would turn around the poor financial performance of the reservation centers, Peeter and Arvi d have developed a detailed project plan for a Beta phase of ResNet, with modest budget and proved the feasibility of the first (beta) phase. Although planning is often the most difficult and most unappreciated process in project management, Peeter and Arvid succeeded in the complicated task of planning, by receiving the approval from NWA board. The main reason for their success (in addition to the fact that the $500,000 they were asking for were a reasonable investment, given the huge potential benefits from the project) was the feasibility proof and non ambiguous schedule of the first phase. In summary, the key decisions made by the trio were correct, especially their ability to change the plans and adopt the board directives, regarding the 3 phases of project. Question #3: What were some of Peeter’s strengths as a project manager? How do these strengths relate to concepts discussed in earlier chapters? Answer: Peter Kivestu has brought to the project his vast knowledge and experience in airline business combined with engineering education and strong financial background. Peeter strengths included high proficiency in human resource management. His formal education and background helped him to clearly communicate with various stakeholders throughout the entire organization, including both technical and financial personnel. Project risk management was implemented in a very clear and comprehensive manner by the project planning team, which was led by Arvid Lee, but under Peeter’s responsibility. An additional strength of Peeter as a project manager is his broad understanding of the organization culture of NWA. Peeter was able to use this knowledge to assist his executive sponsor (Fay) to communicate and find the key stakeholders and managers, in order to promote the ResNet project. Exercise #1: Review the actions taken by Peeter and other senior managers that helped get ResNet off to a good start. How do these actions compare to what earlier chapters presented as good project management practice? List each action and find specific statements in earlier chapters of this book, that support (or do not support) each. Answer: Peeter has made the following actions that helped him to give the ResNet project, off to a good start: 1. Quickly assembling a strong project team. Peeter had twenty people working on ResNet before there was even an official budget for the Beta ResNet. In other case studies discussed in previous chapters the initial staffing was one of the major problems, e. g. in JWD case the project manager position was assigned after key decisions in initials phase were made. 2. Getting key stakeholders involved in the project early. Peeter included stakeholders from all of the areas involved in ResNet, especially top management, marketing, the user community, and the IS Department. 3. Preparing detailed analysis of the business problem and developing project measurement techniques. Peeter knew that senior management would constantly question the value of ResNet. There for, even before the ResNet Beta project officially started, Peeter had developed a plan to prove that the system would save the company money. Peeter knew this project would be scrutinized, so he made sure they had evidence to show that the new technology was indeed, increasing productivity. 4. Preparing useful, realistic plans for the project. Arvid Lee had worked on several information technology projects for NWA and understood what was involved in all phases of ResNet.