Practices in Project Management Essay

AbstractThe St. Dismas medical checkup Center (SDMC) Assisted Living Facility (ALF) tolerate was authorized to create a new service course of instruction to counteract a blood of inpatient activity. The get word objectives are to build c light- and heavy-assist units in a standalone residential instalment with a sheltered connection to SDMC by upstart-July 2001 and within an $11 billion calculate. The particular deliverables, constraints, assumptions, exclusions, and work breakdown structure are outlined in the flip Scope Statement. Brainstorming and scenario abbreviation bequeath be used in the risk strategy, while cost-benefit analysis go forth be the primary tool in plan tincture management.A bug out work list and milepost schedule illustrates the critical path for the 102-week expression phase. And, the $10 million budget is little by activity and twenty-five percent to reconcile the multiple cost perspectives of aggroup members. forcing out proctoring pass on primarily use earned value poetic rhythm along with the Gantt chart and budget. Data get out be analyzed and reported weekly to the aggroup, and significant deviations from the visualise are subject to the potency strategy milestone status reporting and meeting with the Board of Trustees and submission of transfigure requests to get the designing back on track. The plan will conduct a statuesque closeout process to include an audit, closeout meetings, a final report, closeout meetings, and record archival.Project Purpose and JustificationOver the past few months, there has been a steady decline of the inpatient people at St. Dismas Medical Center (SDMC) due to the increased usage of seatbelts and bicycle/motorcycle helmets. A planning retreat was held toidentify trade opportunities and a solution was proposed to build an assisted living installation on the St. Dismas campus. The purpose of the mould is to plan and implement Assisted Living Facility (ALF) as authorize d by the Board of Trustees in May 1999. The project is being completed in post to create a new service line to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the shortage of medically-focused and highly specialized facilities available throughout the country and a growing geriatric population.We project that the ALF, the for-profit subsidiary of SDMC, will bring in a net income between $9,000 and $12,000 per unit and a net cash flow of about $1,500,000 annually. Both outpatient referrals and inpatient population are expected to increase. Furthermore, we hope that the project will have an hyperkinetic syndromeed benefit of strengthening the organisational focus on reimbursable preventive and wellness programs for healthier maturement community.Project RequirementsThe ALF Project Steering Committee has identified several(prenominal) actions and processes that drive to be met, including facility design and plaitoperational inevitably for food services, housekeeping, and plying festering of operational policy and procedures basis of an operating budgetcreation of payroll and accounting systemscharacterization and dress up of telecommunications and information system needs prelim selling plans, with community and staff communications plans phylogeny of medical assessment tools for incoming residents designation of clinical services offeringsdevelopment of an organizational structure naming of government regulations and industry standards.Primary Project ObjectivesThe primary project objectives of the ALF Project are as travel alongs The cost objective is to fall in between $8.5 to $11 million for the construction of the facility. The snip objective was to complete construction and open by July 2000, but was later revised to a duration of two years, with completion by late July 2001. The electron orbit objectives are to build a standalone residential facility with a sheltered connection to SDMC that can access thecafeteria and hospital services, con taining 100 units that accommodate up to 150 single and couple residents with 15 to 30 heavy-assisted units and the remaining units light-assisted.Assumptions and ConstraintsThe following is assumedProject funds will be released in a clock timely manner.Project group members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and experience needed to complete the project. The constraints are as followsThe construction cannot begin until after the November 1999 city elections. The facility needs to open by late July 2001.Operational and administrative policies, procedures, and systems need to be created and regulations and standards need identification. high-altitude RisksAs with all projects, there is a risk of running over budget, over schedule, and/or falling short on scope. There are several high-level risks for the ALF project. One particular sweep of concern was the short seven-month time finis for the complex construction project, but that has been extended about another year. Further, the organizational complexity is high with the number of people involved across many functions and the decision-making body being the Board of Trustees. This complexity may lead to delays in decision-making.The project is similarly much larger than SDMC has handled in the past with only one team member having construction experience. The operational and administrative regulations and standards for construction and healthcare industries will be complex and have not yet been identified. Construction projects have a strong potential to impact the local ecology which will add a risk factor to the project. Further, weather poses a high-level risk to the project and may negatively impact the schedule by delaying supply deliveries and construction work.Major Project MilestonesMajor project milestones include1. Facility design and construction2. acknowledgment of operational needs3. Project and operating budget development4. Creation of payroll and ac counting systems5. Define telecommunications needs and system setup6. Define information systems and system setup7. Creation of a preliminary marketing plan and communications package8. Organize major ground breaking event9. Clinical Services10. Design of assessment tool for incoming residents11. Identification of demands for clinical services12. Development of facilitys management structure13. Identification of governmental regulations and industry standardsPreliminary Budget EstimateThe preliminary budget estimate for the completed project is between $8.5 and $11 million, which includes the land purchase, facility construction, facility furnishings, and construction of the sheltered connection from the assisted living facility to the Medical Center.Key StakeholdersIllustrated below is the key stakeholder analysis matrix, which demonstrates the key stakeholders, their levels of power and interest, and an engagement plan. The matrix is followed by a communications chart that outline s stakeholders, their responsibilities, and their communication needs.The project scope is to build a standalone residential facility for the purpose of providing assisted living services to up to 150 single and couple residents. The product will also include a sheltered connective structure that provides access to St. Dismas Medical Centers cafeteria and hospital services. The facility will contain 100 residential units with 15 30of those units that accommodate residents that need heavy assistance and the remaining units categorized as light-assisted. The cost to construct the facility should fall within $8.5 to $11 million range. Acceptance of the project requires that construction may not begin until after city elections in November 1999 and the facility must open to the public by late July 2001.Project ConstraintsThe construction cannot begin until after the November 1999 city elections. The facility needs to open by late July 2001.Operational and administrative policies, proce dures, and systems need to be created and regulations and standards need identification. The budget cap is $11 million.Project AssumptionsThere are several assumptions that may also impact the implementation of the project if they prove to be faithlessly (Project Management Institute, 2013) Project funds will be released in a timely manner.Project team members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and experience needed to complete the project.Project Deliverablesfacility design and constructionoperational needs for food services, housekeeping, and staffing development of operational policy and procedurescreation of an operating budgetcreation of payroll and accounting systemscharacterization and set up of telecommunications and information system needs preliminary marketing plans, with community and staff communications plans development of medical assessment tools for incoming residents designation of clinical services offeringsdevelopment of an organizational structureidentification of government regulations and industry standards.Project ExclusionsItems that are not included in the scope includedesign and construction of a parking lot or garagedesign, construction, and furnishings of patient frolic and activity athletic fields design, construction, and furnishings of exercise and fitness areas design and development of landscaping, walking paths, and gardening areas design, construction, and furnishings of private visiting areas design, construction, and furnishings of salon and barber services area design, construction, and furnishings of dining areaProject Risk and Quality Management StrategyProject Risk StrategyThe project team has held a brainstorming session with a conclave of consultants in several relevant areas of expertise to identify an exhaustive list of risks by questioning what could go wrong with tasks. The scenario analysis method has also been utilized to identify, analyze, and prioritize risks from high-to-low impact. This method entails utilizing critical thinking skills to realize events that may likely impact the project (Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton, 2011). Additionally, the work breakdown structure (WBS) and project profile were scrutinized to advertize identify highly probable risks as suggested by Mantel et al. (2011). The following highly probable risks have been identifiedBad weather wanting(predicate) staffingInadequate budgetProject management team inexperienceRegulatory and industry requirementsCost estimation errorsComplex organizational structure and decision-making processBroad set of stakeholders that have yet to weigh in on the project Environmental impact from constructionProject communication and coordination issuesInadequate deliverables (e.g. parking garage)Inadequate time scheduleThe strategy for handling risks is to develop a risk reply plan as advised by Mantel et al. (2011). The risk response plan will include contingency plans to handle event s that do happen, with more than one contingency plan and supporting logic charts developed for high-impact risk. Furthermore, risk identification and response planning will be ongoing through the project duration.Project Quality Management StrategyThe ALF project quality management strategy is to follow the Project Management Institute (PMI) (2013) guidelines identify quality requirements, document compliance levels of quality requirements, perform quality assurance auditing, and control quality by winning action to address poor quality measurements. Inevitably diverges will have to be made to manage events or unsatisfactory quality results. The ALF Project change management strategy is to include provisions in the original contract to accommodate change as suggested by Mantel et al. (2011). An integrated change control process will be created and implemented, as advised by PMI (2013) to reduce project risks through holistic analysis of proposed changes. This process will outline how change requests will be reviewed, approved or denied, and how those changes will impact other aspects of the project (policies, documents, plans, etc.) (Project Management Institute, 2013). Two tools that will be used to manage quality arecost-benefit analysis, which compares the cost of the proposed change to the expected benefit. cause-and-effect diagrams which utilizes the questionwhy to discover the root cause of a problem in order to correct it. Cost-benefit analysis will be useful in presenting problems and their possible changes to the decision-making body in order for them to fully assess their options and identify the solution that best suits their requirements. The cause-and-effect diagram will be beneficial in recognizing the true problem that needs to be addressed. Finding a solution for the root cause will serve well the team avoid unnecessary be, time, efforts, and rework in addressing the wrong issues.Construction Phase Milestone ScheduleBelow is the work list and milestone schedule for the construction phase of the St. Dismas Assisted Living Facility project. The critical path (B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-K-L-O-P-S-T) is illustrated in green on the milestone schedule. The project is scheduled to be completed in 102 weeks, just shy of two years. The assumptions for this schedule are the following The milestone schedule will be approved by the Board of Trustees. The project will begin in August 1999 after action plans are submitted. Project funds will be released in a timely manner.Project team members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and experience needed to complete the project.Project BudgetBelow are the summary-level budget and flesh out budget for the St. Dismas ALF Project. The assumption from examining the provided cost information chart is that the Chief Operating Officer and the Construction Project Manager provided the estimates for the facility design and construction activities of the ALF project , and focal ratio management dictated the administrative and contingency budgets, and both did so honestly. Bottom-up budgeting utilizes the work breakdown structure in a way that cost estimates of from each one activity are completed by the team members responsible for carrying out those tasks, while top-down budgeting produces estimates based on the judgments and experiences of top managers (Mantel et al., 2011). The combination use in this project of top-down and bottom-up budgeting is ideal, according to Mantel et al. (2011). The advantage of top-down budgeting is that it generally has a high degree of accuracy, although it can include conceiveable miscalculations for low-level activities bottom-up budgeting is opposite in that it provides accuracy for low-level activities and the possibility of considerable miscalculations for high-cost activities (Mantel et al., 2011).The detailed budget is also divided by task and expected quarter of expenditure to address the multiple pe rspectives of cost between the project manager (PM), the accountant, and the controller. Mantel et al. (2011) plosive out that the PM is concerned with commitments made against the budget, accountants track costs as they are incurred, and controllers are responsible for the organizations cash flow. Dividing costs by activity and quarter allow all three parties to find their relationship to the project. In this budget, the bulk of the detail outlines only one deliverable from the projects scope statement and work breakdown structurefacility design and construction. The other deliverables are clumped into the central and direct administrative costs categories.Although the budget may sufficiently cover the costs of the labor that needs to go into the other deliverables (identifying needs and regulations, and developing plans, systems, and budgets), it may insufficiently cover the costs for other aspects of some of the deliverables, such as setting uptelecommunications and information systems, and organizing a major ground-breaking event. Furthermore, consideration should be given to the fact that project exclusions from the Project Scope Statement, such as design and construction of a parking area and activity and entertainment areas, are not factored into this budget. The current budget totals $10,000,000, which is still $1,000,000 under the original estimated budget and leaves some room to add deliverables if necessary.Project abridgment BudgetProject Monitor and Control StrategyThe ALF Project monitor and control strategy is as follows. The project team will continuously monitor schedule progress via the Gantt chart and monitor budget progress via the detailed budget. Monitoring these will give the team a comparison of the time period against the actual plan. However, the team will utilize earned value (EV) metrics to not only compare the current situation with the plan, but also consider the actual progress at the point of evaluation (Mantel at al., 2011). The data from these control tools will be collected and analyzed weekly and reported to the team on a weekly basis as stated in the communication chart. The project management team will assess if any deviations from the plan are significant enough to employ control measures. If the project management team feels that intervention isnecessary, data (including the project milestone status report), assessments, and suggestions will be communicated with the Board of Trustees, and change requests will be submitted with the aim to reduce the differences between the plan and the actual circumstances.Earned value metrics is the ALF Project preferred observe tool for the purposes of monitoring and controlling. Earned value metrics allow the team to compare the plan with the actual progress at any given point in the project, to see how efficiently our schedule and costs are being maintained, and providing an estimate of cost if the project is continued at the current rate (Mantel et al., 201 1). Utilizing a go/no-go control, such as the milestone status report, allows us to compare the project output (using milestones as checkpoints) to the existing standard, assess what are needs are in terms of physical assets, human resources, and/or finances for particular tasks, and employ the necessary steps to meet those needs in order to get the project schedule, budget, and/or scope aligned with the plan (Mantel et al., 2011).Project CloseoutThe ALF Project will conduct a formal project closeout primarily to help the organization improve its project management skills on future project (Mantel et al., 2011, p. 273). The formal project closeout will allow SDMC to understand project mistakes, accomplishments, performance, and project team and management efficiencies and deficiencies, and document these in the organizational knowledge base. Furthermore, a formal close out deals with all those involved in the project in a way that has positive impact on morale and trust. The organiz ation and the project managers show they are reliable when they finish what they start, communicate to each department that it is time to finalize their project activities, and deal with project staff and their reassignments in a tactful manner. The project closeout will follow the suggestion of Mantel et al. (2011).After the project manager ensures that all project work is complete, the project must go through the project acceptance phase. Acceptance needs to be gained from the Board of Trustees, and project management team, and officially recorded. A detailed audit will be performed to assess the progress and performance of the projects plan through question of its methodology and procedures, its records, properties, inventories, budgets, expenditures, progress, and soon (Mantel et al., 2011, p. 275). Audit findings as well as the complete project history will be written in a final report. The final report will include the project failures, successes, and lessons learned.The fina l report will also document the project activities and management techniques, the location of the organizations assets, and recommendations for improvement. The final report will be distributed to stakeholders upon completion. Closeout meetings with contractors and department heads (financial, legal, purchasing, organizational, facility, etc.) will be head to notify them of project termination, provide direction to clear the project activities in which they are responsible, and address final issues. A closeout meeting with project personnel will be conducted to address reassignments and stress, and provide closure. Finally, the project books will be closed, organizational assets will be updated, and records will be archived.ReferencesMantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., & Sutton, M. (2011). Project Management in Practice (4th ed). Hoboken John Wiley & Sons. Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed). Newtown Squa re PMI Publications.