Review The Scenario Unit 1 Introduction And Addenda Items

Review The Scenario Unit 1 Introand The Addenda Items Detailed Below

Review the Scenario (unit 1 intro) and the addenda items detailed below. ODHS selected the Worldview Globalcom product for implementation in the Email Upgrade Project. The project was completed in 14,960 hours versus the planned 12,000 hours, with a total cost of $1.56 million versus the planned $1.25 million over a ten-month schedule instead of the planned nine months. The Worldview vendor team had five key deliverables, one of which was delivered 30 days late and another 10 days early. The Ohio Department of Corrections is deploying the Globalcom product based on the project's outcome. Users report high satisfaction with the new email system. However, Mahoning County’s outdated infrastructure prevented immediate deployment; they will be migrated next month as a separate project. The Worldview contract was completed within the established budget. The Globalcom product’s spam filter requires a different network configuration than the current setup. The project experienced a 20% turnover rate, mainly due to salary concerns, as revealed in exit interviews.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

The evaluation of project success extends beyond mere completion within schedule and budget; it encompasses the achievement of predefined goals and the realization of benefits. The Email Upgrade Project utilizing the Worldview Globalcom product provides a rich case study for deriving lessons learned, particularly in understanding the factors influencing project success. This paper discusses three project success criteria that would have been included in the project charter, analyzing the actual results against these criteria. Developing lessons learned based on these criteria and pertinent addenda information sheds light on project management practices and their outcomes related to cost, schedule, and performance.

Project Success Criteria

The inclusion of clear success criteria in the project charter is vital for measuring project outcomes. For this project, three criteria are identified:

1. Completion of the project within the approved budget and schedule.

2. Delivery of all key vendor deliverables on time and meeting quality standards.

3. Achievement of user satisfaction and successful deployment across intended user groups.

Each criterion aligns with core project management principles crucial for evaluating overall project success.

Lessons Learned: Cost

The project exceeded planned hours and costs, indicating issues in project estimation and scope management. While the contract stayed within the financial bounds, the overrun of hours (14,960 vs. 12,000) and increase in total cost ($1.56 million vs. $1.25 million) highlight a need for improved risk assessment and contingency planning. The project scope may have been poorly defined initially, causing scope creep or unforeseen complexities, particularly with the restrictive infrastructure inadequacies at Mahoning County. The vendor team's late deliveries and need for additional network configuration further increased costs, emphasizing the importance of detailed vendor management and thorough requirements analysis upfront.

The high turnover rate of 20%, primarily due to salary issues, also contributed indirectly to cost escalations, affecting project continuity and increasing training and onboarding expenses. Addressing human resource management and implementing retention strategies could mitigate such impacts in future projects, ensuring staffing stability and reducing associated costs.

Lessons Learned: Schedule

The schedule overrun from nine to ten months indicates challenges in project planning and execution. Delays in key deliverables, notably one delivered 30 days late, reflect potential gaps in vendor management, resource allocation, or communication channels. The early delivery of another key component suggests that schedule flexibility and contingency planning were partially effective.

To improve, future projects should incorporate more realistic timelines based on detailed work breakdown structures and vendor capacity assessments. Regular schedule monitoring and proactive management of lagging tasks are critical to minimizing delays. Additionally, external factors such as Mahoning County’s infrastructure limitations impacted the broader deployment timeline, illustrating the importance of pre-deployment infrastructure assessments and planning for contingencies related to environmental constraints.

Lessons Learned: Performance

In terms of performance, the users’ reported satisfaction with the new email system signifies successful delivery against the performance criteria. Despite delays and overages, the project delivered a functional system that met user needs, which is the ultimate goal of such technology deployment initiatives.

However, the critical performance challenges involved the incompatibility of the spam filter with the existing network configuration, indicating a gap in technical requirements analysis and testing procedures. Better early-stage assessment of network architecture and test phases could have mitigated issues post-deployment, reducing rework and enhancing overall system performance.

Furthermore, the project’s ability to support Ohio Department of Corrections’ deployment indicates successful scalability and applicability of the product, affirming the project’s impact positively on organizational operations.

Overall Project Success

In summation, the project was partially successful. It achieved user satisfaction and enabled follow-up deployments, demonstrating core success in fulfilling organizational objectives. However, failure to meet the original schedule and budget reduces the overall success perception. The outcomes suggest that while technical and user acceptance goals were met, project planning, risk management, and scope control need strengthening.

Portions of the project, particularly user satisfaction and successful procurement, were successful and contributed positively to organizational goals. These areas helped justify the project investment even amidst budget and schedule overruns, highlighting the importance of measuring multiple success criteria rather than relying solely on time and cost.

Effective lessons from this project underscore the need for comprehensive planning, stakeholder engagement, realistic scheduling, and proactive risk and resource management to ensure balanced success across all criteria in future projects.

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