Project Management for Competitive Advantage - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theProject Management for Competitive Advantage. Answer: Introduction Project Management Involves broad ranges of activities which have are highly integrated with each other. It allows a manager to use a methodical approach to guide the process from initiation to completion stage. The deliverables and all the objectives have to be achieved with the highest quality. Project managers use best practices, strategies and methodologies to gain competitive advantage (Moniruzzaman and Hossain, 2013). There are certain important aspects which have to be considered by the manager such as interest of stakeholders, risk management, project delivery, alignment of activities, benchmarking techniques etc. All these tools ensure that there is effective project management and everything is recorded for documenting the lessons learned during the project. The aim of this paper is to implement Continuous Improvement Plan on the construction of pathways and bikeways of Quota Shared Park in Australia (Mackay Region). Waterfall linear sequential life cycle model will be appl ied in the project. Along with this, strategies, methodologies and implement action plan have also been included in the project. Waterfall Methodology Waterfall Methodology contains different stages which are highly dependent on each other. It has an elaborated documentation phase which ensures that all the things are considered in the planning stage of the project. It has to be followed till the project is completed. This process involves record keeping in the entire process (Kerzner, 2013). This information can be very useful for accomplishing a similar task in the future. But it allows the manager to understand the deliverables, size, budget, time lines and standards. Waterfall method follows a sequential approach towards the completion of the task. The functional specifications which have been mentioned by Mackay Regional Council (MRC) will be examined and distributed in the initial stage. Project managers adopting this method ensure that specifications and deliverables are carefully evaluates in the planning stage only. Ineffective planning and analysis can result in the failure of the project. The Mackay Regional Council (MRC) requires a foot path and bikeways in the park which connects all the facilities and centers together. There are certain deliverables which have to be completed during the process. It includes placing crossing arrows, shred paths construction, direction and information signs, renovation of centers, landscaping etc. These deliverables have to be included in the initial stage of the process and it should be broken down into smaller tasks. It will allow the team members to work on it and make sure that it is of high quality (Ferrario, Simm, Forshaw and Whittle, 2014). Review stage of the method takes into consideration all the measures for testing the standards and quality of the deliverables. All the changes are made before final closure of the project. It is matched with the checklist to make sure everything has been achieved by the team members. Documentation Documentation and record keeping is an essential part of Waterfall method as the entire projects as well as team members are dependent on it. The major documents which will be required by the project manager for undertaking the Quota Shared Park project are construction contract, bid documents, purchase orders, schedules, project diary, order logs, employee payroll documents, stakeholder?s approval etc (Martinelli and Milosevic, 2016). Apart from this, they will also need an approval from the Mackay Regional Council (MRC) to begin the project. Furthermore, the project manager has to create estimates and cost reports. A correspondence file can also be maintained by the manager which will have the details and letters from different parties (Boud, Cohen and Sampson, 2014). Waterfall method focuses on design documents, information log, outlines and submitted logs. It helps the manager to understand and structure everything. He can use it to guide the team members and the workers. Records and documents are necessary for a project. Quota Shared Park project has many deliverables and allocation of budget has to be done according to it. Diagrammatic Explanation The sequential events (Diagrammatic explanation) which have to be followed by the manger are as follows: Documenting and planning: Waterfall method lays stress on documentation, record keeping and planning. Project managers have to spend more time on this stage because all the processes and systems will be based upon it. The documents which will be required in Quota Shared Park project are instructions forms, preliminary agreements, approvals, time extension claims, bills of materials, drawings of the project, schedules, budgets and miscellaneous documents such as insurance (Gonzalez Aleu, Van Aken and Van Aken, 2016). Project manager has to ensure that all the requirements and expectations of the stakeholders are recorded carefully. Waterfall method follows a systematic approach and changes during the project may not be possible. It will affect the outcome of the project and the budget will extend. Apart from this, documents of SOW or Statement of Work will be required. It contains the broad scope of Quota Shared Park project. A well designed scope can reduce the disturbances and devia tions in the systematic workflow. Similarly, statements, instructions and conditions associated with each task have to be documented in this stage only. Setting standards: After Documenting and planning, the next stage is setting standards for the delivery. Quality deliverables are essential for the success of a project. But a manager has to ensure that balance allocation of resources is done to all the systems and processes (Heizer, 2016). The standards are set at this stage of the project and approval has to be taken from the Mackay Regional Council (MRC). These standards have to be followed in the entire project. Any deviation will affect the outcome of the entire project. Hence, it is the duty of the manger to make sure that Quota Shared Park project follows the predetermined standards. Designing: All the requirements and details given by the stakeholders are studied. The plans and outlines of the pathways are designed according to it. It is essential for the manager to work in close relation with the developer or designer to make sure everything is outlined as per the plan. Designs are blueprints which decide the structure and various other processes of the project. Quota Shared Park requires connectivity to different facilities with the help of pathways (McLean, Antony and Dahlgaard, 2017). The outline should ensure that it takes into account timescales and resource allocation. They cannot proceed with the project which has the longest path. Implementation: The planned process is implemented by allocating tasks to different team members. It is essential for the manager to follow the standards which have been created in the initial stages. Project managers have to ensure that everything is documented in the development of pathways. It will allow them to review it and changes can be made accordingly. All the tasks are interconnected to each other and the sequential process have to be followed by the team members (Harvey and Lynch, 2017). Project manager has to monitor the progress of the Quota Shared Park project. Different communication channels can be used to interact with other members of the team. Integration and review: This stage is very important for the success of Quota Shared Park project. The manager has to ensure that the work is completed as per the standards. If he finds any deviation in it then corrective actions have to be taken to remove such defects. For example, Mackay Regional Council (MRC) needs crossing arrows, direction and information signs in the pathways to control traffic. The team members have to ensure that these sign boards are placed at the right positions which cause no disturbances to the visitors (Ferrario, Simm, Forshaw and Whittle, 2014). Review is an important part of Waterfall method as it focuses to continuous improvement and development. Furthermore, all the activities and processes should be integrated at this stage for the final review. Closure: The closure stage consists of preparation of project reports and closure of the project. Project managers usually use a checklist to ensure that they have fulfilled all the essentials and deliverables of the project such as quality, timescales, budget, objects of the project etc. The activities and lessons learned are recorded in a diary. It can be used in future projects to improve the performance of the next task. Project managers also measure the value achieved from the project after its implementation (Boud, Cohen and Sampson, 2014). For instance, Quota Shared Park project will have positive social impact as it will improve accessibility in the park. It will connect all the facilities together which will ensure better connectivity and link. Similarly, there are other measurable values such as financial impact, customer impact, client impact etc. All these things are included in the Waterfall strategy and continuous improvement plan of project management. Implementation of Continuous Improvement Plan: The final stage of Waterfall method is Implementation of Continuous Improvement Plan or maintenance. Project manager has to monitor the progress of the Quota Shared Park project. Different communication channels can be used to interact with the stakeholders to ensure their satisfaction. Review after implementation is an important part of Waterfall method as it focuses to continuous improvement and development (Kerzner, 2013). The project should give long term benefits to the stakeholders. Continuous Improvement Method Continuous Improvement method can be useful in the Quota Shared Park project because it will streamline the entire process. Furthermore, it will ensure not that there is no deviation from the path which gives excellent results. Project Managers have to follow the guidelines and ensure the entire workflow. Quota Shared Park project consist of different processes and practices such as construction, renovation, increasing accessibility and improving connectivity in the park. To accomplish all these objectives, the main priority for the manager should be service standard quality (Martinelli and Milosevic, 2016). He has to ensure that all the processes are completed in time and budget. Reworks and defects should be removed during the testing stage of the process. It increases the probability of the success of the project. Continuous Improvement method such as Waterfall can streamline the entire work. It uses efficient workflows which are productive. It is suitable for this project because it complex in nature and there will be shift in deadlines. Along with this, the priorities may require readjustments during the process to ensure the outcome of the project. It can only be possible with the help of Waterfall method. Quota Shared Park project has limited budget and it will be beneficial for the manager to know how much time it will take to complete each activity. It will reduce ambiguity and proper schedule as well as estimations will be produced. The biggest advantage of using Waterfall method is that it allows the managers and workers to adapt continuous learning process (Harvey and Lynch, 2017). The stakeholders of the project need two pathways in the park. One each for visitors and other for the bikers. Similarly, it should connect all the centers and offices tighter to improve the accessibility in the park. Team members of the project can use a to-do list to make sure everything is completed as per standard. Deming Cycle (PDCA) It is a quality improvement model which has series of steps for continuous improvement and development. It includes: Plan: It involves creating objectives as per the requirements of the client. Do: The implementation of the plan is done at this stage. The information is collected for the subsequent stages. Study: Analyses and ascertainment of the differences are at this stage. The actual progress is compared with the standards to find out the deviations. Act: This stage involves taking corrective measures to remove any differences from the project. The changes are done to improve the performance of the project. It is analyzed again with the help of all the stages to make sure that all the objectives in the checklists are met. Conclusion It can be concluded from the above that project management is important for the success of a project. It allows the manager to create a work breakdown structure which enables him to accomplish all the objectives. The Mackay Regional Council (MRC) requires pathways in the park which connects all the facilities and centers together. There are certain deliverables which have to be completed in the stipulated time and cost. It includes placing crossing arrows, shred paths construction, direction and information signs, renovation of centers, landscaping etc. Continuous Improvement method can be useful in the Quota Shared Park project because it will streamline the entire process. It will reduce ambiguity and proper schedule as well as estimations will be produced. The project manager will be able to improve the chances of project success. Furthermore, he has to ensure that he prepares and collects various documents because Waterfall method follows a pre defined structured approach. Rework s and defects should be removed during the testing stage of the process. It increases the probability of the success of the project. References Boud, D., Cohen, R. and Sampson, J. eds., 2014. Peer learning in higher education: Learning from and with each other. Routledge. Ferrario, M.A., Simm, W., Newman, P., Forshaw, S. and Whittle, J., 2014, May. Software engineering for'social good': integrating action research, participatory design, and agile development. In Companion Proceedings of the 36th International Conference on Software Engineering (pp. 520-523). ACM. Gonzalez Aleu, F., Gonzalez Aleu, F., Van Aken, E.M. and Van Aken, E.M., 2016. Systematic literature review of critical success factors for continuous improvement projects. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 7(3), pp.214-232. Harvey, G. and Lynch, E., 2017. enabling continuous Quality improvement in Practice: the role and contribution of Facilitation. Frontiers in public health, 5. Heizer, J., 2016. Operations Management, 11/e. Pearson Education India. Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Martinelli, R.J. and Milosevic, D.Z., 2016. Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley Sons. McLean, R.S., Antony, J. and Dahlgaard, J.J., 2017. Failure of Continuous Improvement initiatives in manufacturing environments: a systematic review of the evidence. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 28(3-4), pp.219-237. Moniruzzaman, A.B.M. and Hossain, D.S.A., 2013. Comparative study on agile software development methodologies. arXiv preprint arXiv:1307.3356.