Assignment1: Memo
TO: the Director, Project Support Office
FROM: Project Manager, Project Support Office
DATE: June 23, 2016
SUBJECT: Servers and Database Upgrade: Midwest Division
The aforesaid project regarding the upgrading of the Severs and databases at our Midwest division was not only a great idea whose time has come but also a critical move. It is clear from the proposed projects budget that the IT department of the Midwest division was either very small or inexistent as evidence by the fact that the initial Data Center cost projections was nil. However, the project itself was a disaster from the word go: even if every single detail in the initial proposal had been followed to the later and the approved budget had been enough for the aforesaid project, it would still have amounted to a huge waste or resources, without any foreseeable means for recouping the losses.
Project plan
A careful perusal of the projects budget shows a total cost of US$ 471,000, with the project duration being 6 months. This was well within the mandate of the Divisional manager Jerry Stein who was able to approve the budget without reference to upper management or the Board. It is however worth noting that the project was circumspectly kept within the pecuniary confines of the Divisional Manager’s mandate. From an overview of the budget, the company was to buy a system worth a total of US$30,000 then spend an additional USD$75,000 to contract its installation over a period of 6 months.
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However, during the process of installation, the company would also spend US$18,000 in leased material and its maintenance, US$18,000 in software maintenance and/or licenses, US$15,000 in data center costs and a monumental US$270,000 on salaries for 9 extra employees specifically attached to the project. In a nutshell, the company was to spend US$ 441,000 to install a US$30,000 project.
Implementation
In an interesting twist, the anticipated program manager Mark Wimmer whose brainchild the project must have been resigned just as the project was getting underway and was replaced, on a provisionary basis his to be assistant manager Joyce Cutler; however, Wimmer and the consulting company he let to work for were brought back in as consultants, definitely at a cost. The project got underway on January, characterized by extreme augmentation of the cost that saw the January budget overshoot the set initially set budget by over 24%, the budget for February also overshot the initial amount by 20% while that of March overshot the initial budget by 23%! It is at this moment in time that the Divisional Manager aforesaid, forwarded the project to your office.
The overshooting of the budget is quite curious in nature, whereas the hardware and software components of the system were to be purchased at even rates of US$5,000 per month, the initial purchase amounted to US$25,000 and immediately the Data Center costs rose to US$5,000 the level it was anticipated to start at on the 4 th month of the project. This can only mean that the entire system, or in the very least over 75% of the system had already been purchased and was operational. This however stands in sharp contrast of the fact that the contractual cost for installation rose by a staggering 40% with further system purchases of US$10,000 yet the cost of what must now have been a very vast Data Center remained constant.
March and last moths also saw system and installation costs equal to February but with an equal Data Center cost. The hardware lease maintained a constant US$7,000 which was more the double the projected amount while the licensing rose steadily from the projected US$3,000 from In January which rose to US$4,500 in February and again to US$6,000in March albeit the amount had been anticipated to remain as a constant.
Conclusion
This is a vital project as it is unimaginable for any operations in the Midwest region to be carried out without up to date and sophisticated IT servers and databases, the project should therefore be completed at all costs. However, the level erroneous planning and implementation of this project rises beyond the scope of both error and incompetence and create an impression of misappropriation of funds. I would therefore want to investigate the matter further before a final decision is made regarding this project.
Assignment 2: Memo
TO: Upper Level Management at the HQ
FROM: Project Manager, Project Support Office
DATE: June 25, 2016
SUBJECT: Servers and Database Upgrade: Midwest Division
At the beginning of January this year, a project to upgrade the servers and databases at our Midwestern division was commenced having been planned and approved by the Divisional manager Jerry Stein as it was within his pecuniary and durational jurisdiction. However, after the project had been going on, Jerry noticed that the project was overshooting his pecuniary jurisdiction and was also not going according to plan and to salvage it, referred it to our department where it ended up under my docket. I am addressing this matter to you since I am reliably informed that a decision to shutting down the project in its entirety is being deliberated on.
Necessity of the project
Before addressing the specifics of the project, it is important to point out that this is a vital if not critical project for the Midwestern Division. We you are well aware, the Midwest, which includes great cities such as Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska; provides a major market for our products and also entails a techno-savvy. It therefore follows that out IT department in that division should to both topnotch and up to date. This should be the primary consideration in your decision on whether the project should be canceled and if I may venture a humble opinion, the project should be brought to fruition.
Cost implications
I have taken a careful look at the available material regarding the project (which material I admit was scant) and the impression I get is that with proper supervision and management, the project can be completed and only consume the remaining balance of the already approved and provided for budget, which amount currently stands at US$146,000. I have been authorized by my immediate superior to take over this project and due to its critical nature I intend to make it my immediate and main priority: I therefore plan to make a project site visit as soon as possible and find a way to ensure that the project is a success.
Way forward
Whereas there are other underlying issues relating to this project in general and its level of failure despite the high cost thereof which I intend to thoroughly investigate and report on, it is my informed position that the continuation of the project should run contemporaneously with this inquest as time is of essence. It is therefore my request that your good office withholds any adverse actions with regard to this project, even as I and my department, in collaboration with the Midwestern Divisional management endeavor to remedy the situation.
Assignment 3(a): Agenda
Day One
| Time | Description |
| 9:00am – 9:45am |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with the Divisional Manager for icebreaking and overview on the visit. |
| 9:45am – 10:15am |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with the Divisional manager and Project manager to get a brief on the project and communicate my expectations. |
| 10:15am – 11:15am |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with Divisional manager and Project manager Mark Wimmer, the Consultant to get a grip on his contributions and inform them on the anticipated report the next day. |
| 11:15am – 11:45am |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with Divisional manager, Project manager and Mark Wimmer, the Consultant along with the lead contractor to get a picture of how the project is being ran as I brief the contractor on the anticipated full report. |
| 11:45am – 12:45pm |
Site Visit: Inspecting the main offices that either deal with the IT elements of the office as well as the departments that make the most use of IT services including the marketing and sales departments to see how the current systems work and the scope of work already done. |
| 12:45pm – 1:30pm |
Venue: To be determined by the Divisional manager Lunch with the business team |
| 1:30pm – 2:30pm |
Site Visit: The office holding the Servers that are being created as well as the nerve center for the IT system being installed so assess the level or work done and the remaining part. |
| 2:30pm – 3:00pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with the Supervisor of the IT Technical Team to gauge their level of understanding of the project and training of business staff members. |
| 3:00pm – 4:00pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with Head of procurement for the project to get an general overview of the vital department, find out the general procurements procedures and the levels of oversight as well as instruct him on the nature of report I anticipate the following day. |
| 4:00pm – 4:20pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with the senior most finance and accounting officer for the project to get a general understanding of how the accounting department operates their levels of oversight and the end-of –day process. |
| 4:20pm – 4:40pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with Mark Wimmer, the Consultant to try and understand his company’s contribution to the project and the necessity thereof. |
| 4:40pm – 5:00pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Meeting with the Project manager Mark Wimmer, the Consultant |
| 5:00pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Small briefing with the Divisional Manager as my host; to share my experiences of the day and plan for the second day |
Day Two
| Time | Venue: |
| 8:30am -10:00am |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Extensive meeting with the project manager together with Mark Wimmer, the Consultant which involves a thorough presentation of the initial project plan, the implementation thereof and the reason for the major pecuniary variations. |
| 10:00am –12:45pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Extensive meeting with the procurement officer alongside the accounting officer for the project with the project manager in attendance to discuss the major purchases and the payments thereof, the major services procured and the payments therefore as well as the remaining necessary purchases and services to be procured for the project to come to fruition and the anticipated costs thereof. |
| 12:45pm – 1:30pm |
Venue: To be determined by the Project Manager Lunch with the technical team. |
| 1:30pm –4:00pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Extensive meeting with the management installation contractor team with the project manager in attendance for a complete report of the work done so far, the challenges faced; the remaining part as well as the cost and duration thereof. |
| 4:00pm – 4:30pm |
Venue: The Midwestern Divisional Headquarters Final meeting with the Divisional manager together with the project manager. |
Assignment 3(a): Outline
|
Time |
Outline |
Person Responsible |
| 9:00am – 9:45am |
Meeting with the Divisional Manager:- To inform said manager of my mandate by the Director, Project Support Office that I now in operational control of the project pursuant to his erstwhile request to the project support office. Indicate to the manager that my role rises beyond that of project management sine it also entails a general enquiry in to the project. Communicate that albeit his general assistance is obligational, any assistance beyond obligation shall be positively reflected in my report. |
Divisional Manager |
| 9:45am – 10:15am |
Meeting with the Divisional manager and Project manager:- To get an understanding of the relationship between the business team and the technical team. To enquire on their opinion on the project so far, general challenges and probable solutions. To inform the Project Manager on the nature and scope of the expected report the following day. Place the Project manager on notice that the report may have professional and personal ramification as a good faith gesture. |
Divisional Manager |
| 10:15am – 11:15am |
Meeting with Divisional manager and Project manager and Mark Wimmer, the Consultant: Enquire on the working relationship between Wimmer, now an independent consultant and the Divisional manager, an ex-colleague and the project manager, his former junior and how the prior relationship is affecting their current working status. Enquire on the current contributions of Wimmer in the project and the necessity thereof. Give notice to Wimmer that my enquiry will also entail his acts and omission within the project in its formative stage. |
Divisional Manager |
| 11:15am – 11:45am |
Meeting with Divisional manager, Project manager Mark Wimmer, the Consultant along with the lead contractor To understand how far the project has gone, what parts of the same are remaining. Establish if there is a good working relationship between these four parties. Informs Consultant and Contractor of the requirements and scope of our individual longer meeting the following day. Generally advise them on the general implications of the enquiry in good faith. |
Divisional Manager |
| 11:45am – 12:45pm |
Site Visit: to the IT department and the offices that utilize IT services the most. Find out the nature of the previous IT system and its effectiveness. Gauge the staff’s preparedness for the new IT system and their level of training for the same. Find out how much change has already taken place now that the project is halfway done and the business teams opinion on that project. |
Project Manager |
| 12:45pm – 1:30pm |
Lunch with the business team Fraternization and getting the general opinion of the business team towards the project. |
Project Manager |
| 1:30pm – 2:30pm |
Site Visit: to the venue of the new servers and the new IT pool. Informally check on the new hardware and software. Find out the extent of the project already completed and the remaining portion. |
Project Manager |
| 2:30pm – 3:00pm |
Meeting with the Supervisor of the IT Technical Team Being a part of the Project technical team, this liaison between the contractor and the business team and I should find out their relationship with both the contractors and the business team. Gauge their knowhow regarding the project and their opinion on its implementation so far. Find out if there is any training going on regarding the business team, its extent and any challenges thereof. |
Project Manager |
| 3:00pm – 4:00pm |
Meeting with Head of procurement for the project Understand the procurement procedures and their checks and balances. Give elaborate guidelines on the anticipated report in the second meeting the following day. |
Project Manager |
| 4:00pm – 4:20pm |
Meeting with the senior most finance and accounting officer Find out how project finances are disbursed and accounted for. Give an overview of the anticipated meeting the following day. |
Project Manager |
| 4:20pm – 4:40pm |
Meeting with Mark Wimmer, the Consultant Try to understand the grounds for the timely departure. Informally enquire on any extra-official relationship between him and the project off the record. |
Project Manager |
| 4:40pm – 5:00pm |
Meeting with the Project manager Mark Wimmer, the Consultant Generally explain my experiences during the day and prepare for the following day. |
Project Manager |
| 5:00pm |
Small briefing with the Divisional Manager as the host Generally explain my experiences during the day and share the morrows program. |
Divisional Manager |
Day two
|
Time |
Outline |
Person Responsible |
| 8:30am -10:00am |
Extensive meeting with the project manager together with Mark Wimmer, the Consultant Get a clear picture on the bloated nature of the projects expenses and how it managed to get even larger yet less effective. |
Project Manager |
| 10:00am –12:45pm |
Extensive meeting with the procurement officer alongside the accounting officer for the project with the project manager in attendance Get a detailed report with substantiation of every purchase and expenditure. Get a clear report with substantiation of the remaining purchases and their anticipated costs. |
Project Manager |
| 12:45pm – 1:30pm |
Lunch with the technical team: Fraternization and getting a general feel of their opinion towards the project off the record. |
Project Manager |
| 1:30pm –4:00pm |
Extensive meeting with the management installation contractor team with the project manager in attendance Get a full report of all that has been done and its costs with full substantiation. Get a report on what remains for the project to ne commissioned. |
Project Manager |
| 4:00pm – 4:30pm |
Final meeting with the Divisional manager together with the project manager Vote of thanks and informal report. |
Divisional Manager |
Assignment 4: Brief Memo
TO: File
FROM: Project Manager, Project Support Office
DATE: June 29, 2016
SUBJECT: Staff interrelationship in the Servers and Database Upgrade: Midwest Division
There are 4 different human resource teams in this project, each with an independent management and an unclear chain of command: these include:-
The Business team led by the Divisional Manager Jerry Stein. As the permanent members of staff at the site, they ordinarily consider themselves the hosts and therefore in charge of the office and by extension the project. Indeed, it was Jerry Stein who authorized the project and also invited the project support office.
The Technical team under Joyce Cutler: as opposed to the business team, they have been deployed specifically to deal with the project and feel that they alone own the project. It is also plausible for them to feel a bit superior to the business team who they feel they have come to help, and perchance train. There is ambiguity on the chain of command between Jerry and Joyce.
Mark Wimmer and his team: These have been brought in as consultants and will automatically carry the pompous and superior feeling that consultants adopt. The matrix is complicated by the attitude by Wimmer that he initiated the project and was retained since he is indispensable in the project’s success.
The contractors: These are outside technicians who are under instructions from their outside supervisors. They are there purely on commercial bases and have their eyes solely on the overheads and profit margins. They are not answerable to anyone on the ground and a long management chain is necessary for information to trickle down from the technical or business team to this contractors.
The very existence of four centers of power in a singular sight without a definite chain of command is a recipe for disaster, with a good project plan and impeccable management, the project would still be more likely to fail that succeed: with the flawed project plan and questionable management, this project did not even stand a chance for success. The most effective key to resolve this impasse is the elimination of two centers of power and the creation of a fluid relationship in the remaining two. Marl Wimmer and his team should be compensated on a quantum merit basis and dismissed. Joyce Cutler and one or two of her team members should provisionally be co-opted into the business staff of the Midwestern Division under the Divisional manager who may or may not be Jerry Stein. Finally, a fluid means of real time exchange of ideas and the implementation thereof should be established between the contractor and the Divisional manager and the same reduced into a contract that becomes an addendum to the already existing contract between the two parties.
