Prepare a professional looking document for the R3C project team (Rutherford Community Computer Centre – Small Business Database System) by answering the 4 questions. Essay Example

Project Risk Management

Questions 2

The first response strategy is rescheduling of activities in the work breakdown structure to reduce the possibility of the delays expected from the six weeks that have been lost by the 2W while pushing for the approvals. This strategy will seek to allocate less time to each phase of the project in an attempt to mitigate the penalties and costs associated with the delay in project completion. Some of the costs could include the overheads resulting from additional labour hours. If the entire project is slated to go for six months with six phases, then the 6 weeks that have been lost will be compensated by subtracting a week in the duration allocated to each phase.

The second response strategy is having more man hours in the support desk in order to address the risk of lacking or limited IT skills among the clients to help them maneuver the new system. This is the risk that will lead to lower usage of the RC3 facilities because the some of the clients do not have the necessary technical skills to log into the new system to register and seek services. This response strategy involves having more people or allocating more labour hours to the support staff who will help the clients to navigate through the new system. The support staff will help the clients in logging in and registering and equip them with some knowledge regarding the operation of the new system. This will mitigate the impacts of this risk.

The other response strategy involves lowering the number of the teaching staff and allocate them other responsibilities especially the one that will allow the ease of use of the new system. This is to address the risk of possible drop in the number of clients following the government’s decision to increase the number of SeniorNet Learning Centres. The impact of this risk is that some of the senior clients currently using the RC23 will quit and join the new facilities. This strategy will ensure that a lot of labour hours are not allocated to teaching a decreasing number of clients. Earlier, the teaching staff had complained of having enough responsibilities to manage the new systems. Therefore, one response to decreasing number of students to teach is assigning one teacher the duties of managing the system to ensure that they are not rendered idle by the drop in numbers and to reduce the overheads once the system is in place and running.

The fourth response strategy is expansion of the objectives and amending the project deliverables in the planning. This is to address the risk that was identified regarding the need for a new technical requirement to develop and accommodate feedback option while developing the new program system. The impact of this is that it will help the management in managing the client satisfaction once they have a system in place. Currently, the management team have been having paper sheets where the clients write their feedback. Having a system in place that will manage the feedback will be efficient. This strategy is proposed to ensure that in the expansion of objectives and deliverables, the necessary resources that will be identified can be obtained and planned for.

The final response strategy is the fresh allocation of duties amongst the RC3 management team members. This is to address the risk of lacking enough professional manpower to manage the new system as the current available teachers are complaining of having enough to do. This is made possible by the realization of the threat of possible reduction in the number of clients using the services. It has also been identified that the new system will need technical manpower to manage it. Therefore, the fresh allocation of duties will take into account the added labour requirements and the decreasing client demands to be served by the current staffs. This will be in the IV phase of the project management.

Question 3

A drop in the number of clients using the facilities daily: This is where the RC3 facilities will start to have a fewer number of clients visiting the premises on a daily basis. This is the major risk. The possible causes of this risk is among other things the competition for the clients from the SeniorNet facilities that will reduce the number of senior clients. The other possible cause for the decrease in the number of clients using the facility is the technical requirements that will introduced in the login and the registration once the new system comes into place. This will make the clients who cannot be able to perform these technical tasks refrain from suing the facilities. The effect of this risk includes the reduced efficiency as the resources including the physical resources and manpower will be underutilized. The other possible effect of this risk is the reduced or declined funding as a result of few clients and lacking efficiency. This risk is illustrated using the diagram below.

Additional technical requirements

Increase in SeniorNets

Reducing number of Clients

Reduced efficiency at RC3

Reducing support services

Leaving of key project member: this is possibility of the 2W or RC3 members leaving the team during or after the execution of the project. This could happen from a myriad of reasons that could make any member to decide to leave the team. One of the causes is the growing workload that could be a demotivating factor resulting in some of the team members deciding to leave the group. This is possible because it was expected that the new system after the project is complete will need additional labour for management. This also happens in the project execution as there is the need to amend the deliverables to include the feedback system in the new system (Kendrick, 2009). The other possible cause of this risk is the springing up of new opportunities once the government start to execute its plan to increase the number of SeniorNet Learning Centres. This will make some of the team members to seek better opportunities in these new centres. The other possible cause of the members leaving the group is the funding uncertainties. It has been seen that among other reasons that the approval is necessary is to allow the financiers to fund the project. The effects of the team members leaving before the project was complete include delays in the delivery as well as jeopardized quality of the project. This is described in the diagram below

Growing work load

Funding uncertainties

Better Opportunities

Leaving team members

Question 4

1. Sponsors: the sponsors of the project are the Thornden District Council. The District Council made the decision to fund an initiation of the RC3 two years ago. Since that time, the Council has been funding the RC3 and thus remained the sponsors. Following the plan to stop funding because of inefficiencies. However, the council made a decision to fund the project for another year. The possibility of future funding depends on how well the project is managed. And to grow the efficiency, the management team of RC3 has decided to invest in a new system to improve service delivery. Therefore, the RC3 management also sponsors itself.

2. Targets: the target is the group of people that will change after the new system is implemented (Marchewka, 2015). The clients or the customers who the RC3 has been serving are the targets. The new project is aimed at increase the quality of service that is offered to the residents of the Rutherford suburb of the Thornden District that is low in economic and social development ratio. The attempts to introduce a development of ICT facilities in the area is necessary to improve the economic and social lives of the residents.

3. Agents of Change: the change agents is the management team of the RC3 that comprise of the computer class teachers and other staff for the help-desk services. The management is composed of Rob the coordinator, Cath the IT admin, and Li and Raj who are the teachers. These are the people who want to introduce the change, and therefore, the agents of change.

Board members willingness, readiness, and the ability to effect the change is demonstrated by decision to run the initiation of RC3. The Board went further ahead to fund the initiative of a new system that will make service delivery better. Currently, as the management ponders to introduce a system to streamline the management, the Board has made a decision to fund the initiative for another year. Their willingness is therefore demonstrated especially at the time when the service delivery is about to improve.

The teachers’ willingness, readiness, and the ability to change can be put to question. This is because, at the critical time when they are asked to take up the role of managing the new system, they have complained of having enough responsibilities already.

The strategy for change will adopt a power-coercive approach (Marchewka, 2015). This is where the Board will use its power, authority and rewards to make the agents of change comply with the changes. The teachers who have complained of growing responsibilities will be required to have the management of the system as part of their mandatory duties. The individuals who were supposed to prepare and compile progress reports will be tasked with management the new system. This will be the facility policy where every stakeholder will be forced to adhere to. The members will be forced to take classes to know what it entails to run the system.

References

Kendrick, T. (2009). Identifying and Managing Project Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Marchewka, J. T. (2015). Information Technology Project Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.