Status Evaluation
No progress was reported from 5 th August 2017 to 5 th October 2017. The team members were unproductive where the activities were not completed on time. Programmers had to work for long hours to achieve the designated operations. The users changed their preferences, and the team experienced challenges in adopting the new processes. Further, programmers had to work overtime to maintain and fix problems in live systems. The legal department has provided a report that they will not deliver the written policy document in time. The legal section claims that there are important issues to handle before creating the regulations. In case the project team had requested for the policy reports earlier, the department would have met the deadline. The user section has raised issues on difficulties in acquiring test packs for conducting tests. The employees in the user department have taken leave to celebrate the Thanksgiving day. The programmers used inefficient codes that caused the original examinations to consume time in making responses. Bugs were present in the system, and they cause products to crash once a week.
The team is surprised about the changes that the user department wants to conduct. John, the project manager, has left the position. As a result, the project is in disarray, and some activities are not undertaken. The architect and database directors have different perceptions of the integration of information with suppliers’ reports. The two departments are not collaborating to provide solutions to the data issues. Consequently, the project team is experiencing challenges due to inefficiencies in data integration. The project members cannot define the testing method because there are no recommendations to the data issues. The project does not have existing techniques for recording reported information. It had developed matters in the development and user divisions in the project. The project managers are unhappy because there are budget deficits. The project has consumed more than 20% of the estimated funds. The suppliers have requested for pre-payments from the project to deliver the third and fourth module for the last payment that amounts to $ 75,000. Besides the other issues that the project is facing, the team has not examined the third module. Additionally, the project does not have a communication strategy, risk plan, TCO (total cost of ownership), and the systems incorporation method. Finally, there are conflicts among the project members due to the similar designation of roles. Some members experience time pressure because they occupy two positions in the project.
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Project Analysis
Scope creep a gradual process that involves small changes, but advances to projects. The projects can consume time before completion but some fail before they are completed (Larson, Gray, & Gray, 2011). Scope creep occurs for various reasons, but in the case of Medical Informatics, it is not evident. The institution is facing challenges on poor comprehension of the actual project and completing strategies. It is necessary to appoint a new project manager to make proper adjustments in the real scope of the undertaking. The new project manager is expected to reform the existing timelines. There is a need for new estimates to avoid overspending when implementing the project activities. The project team needs to communicate with the shareholders to provide information about the changes (Larson, Gray, & Gray, 2011). The aim of introducing the new techniques is to mitigate the project challenges.
There are three kinds of baselines in a project which include scope, schedule, and cost. The performance measurement is created by combining the three benchmarks. The efficiency measurement baseline is used to assess the project progress (Vanhoucke, 2013). The cost baseline has exceeded the actual amount by 20% based on the information provided in the status evaluation. It is presumed that the cost baseline will increase by 50% in case the project does not make changes in the payment system. We are behind schedule because the team is in disarray after the resignation of the project manager. There are project delays due to conflicts between the members. We can meet the deadline in case the project is launched on time. The scope baseline is not clear because the project has utilized more costs and there are delays. Thus, the team needs to adjust the project scope so that the tasks and deadlines are changed to fit the current situation.
The project requires a baseline to improve the costs. The programmers’ schedules will be accessed in a different division in the Medical Informatics after changing the baselines. The company has to pay the vendor payments by reducing expenses in another area. The project team must develop a module on the total cost of ownership. Currently, the baseline is manageable, but the members need to solve the issue on the unrealistic project timeline. The team should prioritize the issues on leadership and conflicts. Also, it is essential to develop an effective systems incorporation strategy. Subsequently, the team will focus on the schedule to establish the scope. The new manager will define the project baselines to the team. The members expect that the manager will understand the effect of deviations on project tasks. Consequently, the manager can create strategies to respond to the adjustments in the baselines.
Forecasting
Business forecasting involves making predictions on the anticipated economic conditions in the market. Forecasting is based on making references to the past and present performance of the economy. Further, business forecasting focuses on taking a prospective view of activities that influence on the future performance of the market (Hanke & Wichern, 2014). In case the project issues are consistent, the users will advise the programmers to make adjustments. The legal division will not complete the written law documents during the launching of the project. The products will continue to crush at least once a week due to the creation of ineffective codes. However, the project will not have a new manager. Another consequence is that the architects and database managers will not collaborate to develop mitigation strategies to the project challenges. The project might not have the testing methods, risk strategies, communication plan, systems plans, or total cost of ownership. The challenges in the project can increase the budget by 30%. The vendor might receive the pending payments at a later date due to the issues that affect the operations. There can be delays after launching the project if the team does not develop solutions. The adjusted budget can increase from 20 to 60%.
Impact of the Past
The lack of proper management could be the reason for the past failure of the project. Effective project management involves controlling the tasks, scope, and teams. The project manager is responsible for managing project activities effectively. The director should meet the organization standards on handling the project (Project Management Institute, 2017). All projects should follow the stated stages:
Definition: What is the name of the project?
Planning: What activities or tasks should the team conduct for successful incorporation and implementation of the project?
Execution: The project manager and team develop and launch activities as stated in the plan
Control: The project progress should be tracked and controlled
Closure: After completing the activities, the project can be closed. It is crucial to conduct a final examination
It is essential to define the project and describe its importance to the members. Planning is crucial because the team identifies the expectations of the managers and clients (Newton, 2016). Additionally, the members establish the tasks that are related to the successful incorporation of the project after knowing the plans. The execution phase deals with examining and coding the activities. In the controlling step, the director controls the team and solves conflicts among the members (Newton, 2016). The manager will implement the project successfully after adopting the steps.
Corrective Actions
The project team should take immediate actions for the successful completion of activities. The first action is to appoint a new project director to control the activities. Secondly, it is significant to hold a meeting with architect and database managers. During the meeting, the team should solve the conflict between the two employees. The member can complete the project scope where the users’ requests are fulfilled. We can revive the project activities after the second progress report is created. After establishing the corrective actions, the team can develop a concrete testing method, risk plan, communication strategy, TCO, and a structured plan to ensure the success of the project. The new project director and the team will meet the deadline after applying all the steps.
References
Larson, E. W., Gray, C. F., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management: The managerial process . New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Hanke, J. E., & Wichern, D. W. (2014). Business forecasting . Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Newton, R. (2016). Project management, step by step: How to plan and manage a highly successful project . Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall Business.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) . Newton Square, Pennsylvania.
Vanhoucke, M. (2013). Project management with dynamic scheduling: Baseline scheduling, risk analysis, and project control . Heidelberg: Springer .
