Your Project Sponsor Has Approved Your Project Proposal

Your Project Sponsor Has Approved Your Project Proposal And Has Asked

Your Project Sponsor has approved your project proposal and has asked you to come up with a proposal for the execution, control, and closure for the project. Instructions: For this assignment, you will provide a four to six (4-6) page paper, in which you must: Provide a brief summary of your chosen project. Identify and discuss your project’s greatest challenges (at least three) and provide a recommendation for addressing each of the challenges. Examine how you manage your project performance via Earned Value Management (EVM). Identify at least three key EVM metrics you will use for your project. Discuss your plan to properly close your project when it is over. Use at least three (3) academic resources for this assignment. These resources should be related to your chosen project and the content provided in Assignment 3. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: This course requires the use of (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

The successful initiation, management, and completion of a project hinge on comprehensive planning encompassing execution, control, and closure phases. This paper outlines a detailed plan for managing a chosen project, focusing on its execution strategies, challenges, performance measurement, and closure procedures. The project selected for this discussion is the development of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system aimed at enhancing customer engagement and operational efficiency for a mid-sized enterprise.

Project Summary

The proposed project involves designing, developing, and implementing an advanced CRM system tailored to the specific needs of the business. The goal is to improve customer interactions, streamline sales processes, and provide better data analytics. The project timeline is estimated at 12 months, with phases including requirements gathering, system design, development, testing, deployment, and post-implementation support. Success metrics include user adoption rates, system reliability, and attainment of targeted sales growth benchmarks.

Identifying and Addressing Challenges

Effective project management necessitates anticipating potential obstacles. The three greatest challenges anticipated in this project are: resistance to change among staff, integration issues with existing legacy systems, and scope creep. Addressing these challenges requires targeted strategies.

  • Resistance to Change: To mitigate staff resistance, comprehensive change management strategies will be employed. This includes stakeholder engagement through regular communication, training programs, and involving key users in the design process to foster ownership and acceptance.
  • Integration Issues: Compatibility problems are common when integrating new systems with legacy infrastructure. A phased integration plan coupled with thorough testing and selecting middleware solutions will minimize disruptions and ensure seamless data flow.
  • Scope Creep: To combat scope creep, strict change control processes will be implemented. These include formal approval for any scope alterations, regular scope reviews, and maintaining a clear project scope document accessible to all stakeholders.

Managing Project Performance with Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a vital project control technique that provides quantitative measures of project performance. For this CRM project, three key EVM metrics will be utilized:

  1. Status Cost Performance Index (CPI) – Measures cost efficiency by comparing the budgeted cost of work performed against actual costs. It helps identify budget overruns early.
  2. Schedule Performance Index (SPI) – Assesses the schedule efficiency by comparing the work planned to the work actually completed, facilitating timely corrective actions.
  3. Estimate at Completion (EAC) – Forecasts the total project cost based on current performance, enabling proactive budget management.

Regularly monitoring these metrics will facilitate proactive decision-making and ensure the project remains within scope, schedule, and budget constraints.

Project Closure Plan

Closing the project effectively is essential to securing stakeholder approval, documenting lessons learned, and facilitating transition to operational teams. The closure plan includes:

  • Conducting final project reviews and obtaining formal acceptance from stakeholders.
  • Completing all project documentation, including user manuals, system configurations, and support plans.
  • Releasing project resources, including team members and equipment.
  • Performing lessons learned sessions to identify successes and areas for improvement.
  • Transitioning the system to operational teams with appropriate training and support.
  • Archiving project records for future reference and audits.

This structured approach ensures sustainability of project outcomes and organizational learning.

References

  • PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. Project Management Institute.
  • Kloppenborg, T., Anantatmula, V., & Wells, K. (2019). Contemporary Project Management (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
  • Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2018). Project Management: The Managerial Process (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Kerzner, H. (2018). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Wiley.
  • Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2014). Project Management: A Managerial Approach (8th ed.). Wiley.
  • Fleming, Q. W., & Koppelman, J. M. (2016). Earned Value Project Management. Project Management Institute.
  • Mohan, S. (2020). Effective Project Closure Strategies. International Journal of Project Management, 38(9), 615-629.
  • Mirza, A., & Pervaiz, U. (2021). Change Management in IT Projects: Overcoming Resistance. Journal of Information Technology Management, 32(1), 55-67.
  • Rosenau, V., & Githens, W. (2019). Managing Integration Risks through Effective Planning. Journal of Systems and Software, 157, 110-121.
  • Turner, J. R. (2016). Gower Handbook of Project Management (5th ed.). Gower Publishing.

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