Develop A Lessons Learned Document For The Worldview Project

Develop a Lessons Learned document for the Worldview project with these specific action items

Develop a Lessons Learned document for the Worldview project with these specific action items: Write three project success criteria that would have been included in the charter—you may use or reference the project objectives you wrote in Unit One. Explain your criteria. Using the addenda items detailed above in addition to information you creatively develop, write your lessons learned based on the criteria and the three components of cost, schedule, and performance (you may use these as individual sections of your paper). Note, not all the addenda items may even be pertinent. Answer the following in a summarizing, final page: Was the project a success? Why or why not? If not, were portions of the project a success, and what was the impact of those success areas on the overall determination of project success? 3-5 pages

Paper For Above instruction

Develop a Lessons Learned document for the Worldview project with these specific action items

The Worldview project undertaken by the Ohio Department of Human Services (ODHS) provides a comprehensive case study for analyzing the success and challenges inherent in large-scale technology upgrades within government agencies. In this lessons learned report, we critically evaluate the project based on predefined success criteria, and analyze the outcomes in terms of cost, schedule, and performance. This reflective process aims to inform future projects, ensuring more effective planning and execution.

Three Project Success Criteria and Their Explanation

The project success criteria articulate the fundamental objectives that gauge whether the project has achieved its intended goals. For this project, three key success criteria were identified:

1. On-Time Delivery of Key Deliverables: The project should have adhered to the scheduled completion of all five key deliverables as specified in the contract, without causing significant delays. Punctual delivery reflects effective planning, resource management, and vendor performance.
2. Within Budget Allocation: The project costs should have remained close to the planned budget of $1.25 million, with a permissible variance of up to 10%. Staying within budget demonstrates effective financial management and vendor negotiations.
3. Achievement of Performance Objectives: The upgraded email system should meet specified performance standards, including compatibility with existing network infrastructure, security protocols, and user satisfaction levels. Success here indicates successful technical implementation and user acceptance.

These criteria collectively emphasize timeliness, fiscal responsibility, and technical efficacy—essential components for assessing project success in a government technology upgrade context.

Lessons Learned: Cost

The project’s total cost exceeded the planned budget by approximately 25%, culminating in a final expenditure of $1.56 million against the planned $1.25 million. Several factors contributed to this overrun. Firstly, the project required 14,960 hours, significantly exceeding the planned 12,000 hours, indicating underestimation during initial planning phases. Additional costs were incurred due to the late delivery of some key vendor milestones and the need for extensive rework to address unresolved issues, particularly with infrastructure compatibility.

Vendor negotiations also played a role, especially with the Globalupgrades vendor, which charged approximately 20% more for the Version 9.0 licenses than prior versions. The escalation in licensing costs, coupled with unforeseen expenses related to infrastructure adjustments, underscored the importance of rigorous upfront cost estimations and contingency planning. Furthermore, high staff turnover, primarily driven by salary dissatisfaction, led to additional onboarding and training expenses, further inflating costs.

Lessons Learned: Schedule

Originally scheduled for nine months, the project extended to approximately ten months, reflecting a delay of about 11%. The delay was partly attributable to vendor deliverable lags, including one deliverable that was 30 days late, which resulted in cascading schedule impacts across subsequent phases.

Furthermore, the 20% staff turnover rate introduced inefficiencies, requiring additional time for onboarding and knowledge transfer, which contributed to schedule slippage. The migration of Mahoning County’s infrastructure, which was incompatible with the new system, was deferred to a subsequent project but revealed deficiencies in infrastructure assessment during the planning stage. Proper infrastructure evaluation could have mitigated delays by better preparing the transition.

Lessons Learned: Performance

The system performance largely met expectations, with the exception of the spam filter, which required a different network configuration than initially designed. This discrepancy reflected a gap in initial requirements gathering and testing, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive needs analysis and pilot testing phases. The project team successfully deployed the Globalcom product for the Ohio Department of Corrections, which users reported as very satisfactory, demonstrating that technically, the product met performance standards.

However, the project exposed weaknesses in scope management, especially concerning infrastructure compatibility and ancillary system adjustments. Early engagement with network and security teams could have identified configuration needs beforehand, improving overall system performance and ease of deployment.

Summary and Overall Project Success

Assessing the project against the established success criteria reveals a mixed outcome. While the project was completed within the revised schedule, it exceeded the initial budget, indicating limited financial success. The timely delivery of all deliverables was compromised by provider delays, but ultimately, all five key milestones were achieved; nonetheless, the delays impacted the project's overall efficiency.

In terms of performance, the upgraded system delivered functional enhancements and high user satisfaction in the Ohio Department of Corrections, which suggests technical success. However, infrastructure challenges in Mahoning County highlight the need for thorough initial assessments.

Overall, the project had both successes and shortcomings. The achievement of a functional, user-approved email system indicates a degree of success, especially in terms of performance. Nonetheless, cost and schedule overruns signify areas for improvement. Future projects should focus on comprehensive planning, realistic estimations, and proactive risk management to replicate technical successes while minimizing financial and schedule risks.

References

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