"Project Management" Please I solution for this assessment . I've attached the assessment specification 

Introduction and Student Guide This assessment item is to be completed individually.

The case study simulates a project management scenario where the student takes on the role of

project manager. The case information is not complete so where necessary students will have to

make assumptions and argue the pros and cons for any recommendations they make.

If necessary, students are expected to find relevant information in the academic literature to justify

their answers.

To assist students in their assessment solution development the following information is provided:

?

?

?

? Product/project development case description

Specific assessment questions that must be answered

Information regarding the submission of the assessment

Marking guide Important notes regarding assignment submissions:

1. You must aim to submit your assignment at least 1 hour before the due date. This will avoid

unnecessary late penalties if you have any technical issues while submitting your

assignment.

2. If you do have a problem uploading your assignment online and cannot get help from TASAC,

make sure that you email your assignment files to your tutor before the due date. This will

allow your tutor to view the work that was completed before the deadline. Note that you

will also be required to submit the assignment online through Moodle.

3. Any drafts in Moodle may be automatically submitted by Moodle at the due date. However,

you should not rely on this for your submission as this behaviour can change. Note that this

also means that you should not leave something uploaded as a draft if you do not want to it

to be submitted automatically at the due date. If you upload after the due date (this

includes students with extensions) you must ensure that you press submit for marking or

you may incur a late penalty.

Preparation for the assignment

1. You must complete the MP practicals 1-2 before you start this assignment.

2. You must also complete practical 3 before you attempt to add resources to your assignment.

Note that you are required to take your current versions of your Microsoft Project practicals and

assignment 2 to your tutorial/practical classes from week 3 onwards. You are scheduled to

commence the practicals in week 3 and you are expected to start work on this assignment in week 6

(or earlier).

1|Page Case Description

This case study involves a major project of a multi-national company that offers professional services

to manage investments through superannuation, mutual funds and a share portfolio. For the

purposes of this case study, it will be known as ?Retirement Planning?. Note that the organisation is

able to provide financial services irrespective of the age of the client.

In addition to having major offices in the capital cities, Retirement Planning also operates franchises

throughout Australia. The table below shows the number of franchises that are operating within

Australia.

State or Territory

NSW

Vic

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Northern Territory

Australian Capital Territory

Tasmania Number of franchises

20

15

10

5

5

2

5

3 Retirement Planning regularly meets with the franchisees. At the last meeting the franchisees

expressed concern that they felt the current information technology systems used to support the

offering of advice and reporting to clients was increasingly not able to meet their requirements.

Fortunately, Retirement Planning management had heard this rumour before the meeting and

consulted with the Information Technology Manager (Mairi). Mairi said she recognised that not only

was the system probably not able to meet the franchisees? requirements, but that it was getting

more difficult for her staff to maintain as the system had undergone many changes over the years.

Further, the staff who had originally developed the system no longer worked for Retirement

Planning.

As a result of the meeting it was decided to commence a project that would develop a system to

meet the requirements of the franchisees and Retirement Planning. For the purposes of this

assignment, you can assume that all the appropriate approvals were negotiated between

Retirement Planning and the franchisees and that Dennis was appointed as the project manager.

Dennis knew that for any new system to be introduced and be successful there had to be

involvement by the users. However, when giving consideration to this Dennis knew that there would

be two key sets of users. There would be those at Retirement Planning and then the franchisees.

Dennis felt that the best way to identify users from Retirement Planning would be to get the Human

Resources Department to provide an organisation chart so that he could review it. After reviewing it,

Dennis consulted with management to determine the appropriate staff to be involved in the project.

Dennis asked management to inform all staff at Retirement Planning that there was to be a new

investor system to be developed in conjunction with the franchisees. He explained that he would

need some staff to act as representatives from the various stakeholder groups and that some staff

would need to be seconded to work on the project. Following this discussion, it was agreed that

initially one person from marketing, one from the share fund management research team, a

2|Page representative from client advisory and a liaison person who was normally in close contact with the

franchisees would be assigned as advisors to the project. Information Technology staff would be

seconded to work on the project as necessary. Other staff could be added to the project as required.

In addition to the above, Dennis also discussed the involvement of franchisees with management. It

was decided that as well as the company liaison person, it would be best to ask the franchisees to

appoint a couple of representatives.

At the first meeting of the project team (initial project briefing meeting), held 3/10/16, Dennis

outlined his brief from management. He was aware of the reports that the existing system was not

meeting current requirements and that modifying the system was difficult. He explained that this is

quite common in information systems and therefore should not reflect badly on the Information

Technology staff. He stressed that the main objective of the first meeting was to start to ?get a feel

for requirements?, although it was clear that a more detailed analysis would be required later. For

the purposes of this assignment make your project start date the date for this meeting (3/10/16)

and allow 1 day for this meeting.

The meeting agreed that all current inputs and outputs would be incorporated in one way or

another in the new system. Dennis was happy as this left open how things were to be done. This

provided the opportunity for new efficiencies even for current functions. At the same time, Dennis

asked those in attendance to start thinking about new functions that could prove of benefit to the

running of the operations within Retirement Planning and also at the respective franchise offices.

The meeting also agreed that it would be best to look at what was required at Retirement Planning

in more detail first and then at a later stage to investigate the requirements of the franchisees

further. At the same time, the Retirement Planning staff were to make suggestions on what they

thought might help the franchisees and the franchisee representatives were to comment on what

they believed the franchisees would require.

After the meeting Dennis quietly thought to himself that the project was off to a good start. The

team had outlined the general requirements in a manner that prevented the old system simply being

reinvented.

Dennis recognised that it was now time for the Information Technology staff to get to work to refine

the requirements. He was pleased that Gary had been released to the project. Gary had a reputation

for being a good analyst who could work with users to sort out requirements and then express them

in technical terms to his Information technology colleagues.

Dennis met with Gary the next day. Gary had been present at the initial project briefing meeting, so

Dennis and Gary talked about the general outcome of the meeting to ensure that Gary was clear on

the overall requirements.

Two days after the initial project briefing meeting Gary met with the staff from marketing, the

person from the share fund management research team, the person from client advisory, the liaison

person, William (a database expert from ITD), 3 programmers seconded to the project and the two

representatives of the franchisees who had attended Dennis?s first project briefing meeting. Call this

the ?initial requirements analysis meeting?. Gary stressed it was their responsibility to document

detailed requirements. However, he wanted them to concentrate on the fundamentals in the first

phase. During the analysis phase there was a lot of rigorous discussion within the group. Also, on

3|Page some occasions staff felt it necessary to seek clarification from others who had not been assigned to

the project and also to double check they had not overlooked any fundamental requirements.

The following requirements were initially identified. For the purposes of this assignment, assume

that the initial requirements analysis meeting to produce this table of requirements was held over 3

days.

Program Estimate for

detailed analysis

(for one

analyst/designer

2wks Estimate for

Comment

design

(for one

analyst/designer)

2wks

Obtained from an

industry supplier daily Quarterly investor reports

Retirement plans 1wk

3wks 2wks

3 wks Investment plans 2 wks 3 wks Client profile 1 wk 1 wk Financial adviser reports 2 wks 2 wks Daily Update of mutual fund

prices,

superannuation fund prices,

share prices For every client

For each client as

required; takes into

account anticipated

dividends, taxation and

financial requirements

of the investor

For each client as

required; takes into

account anticipated

dividends, taxation and

financial requirements

of the investor

Necessary for every

client before any other

processing can be done;

includes details

such as name and

contact details

To be produced

quarterly in conjunction

with Quarterly Investor

report but providing

more detailed

information than the

Client Investor Report For the purposes of this assignment, assume that detailed analysis of requirements is a

predecessor of the design task for each program. Similarly, assume that design is a predecessor of

development. You should also assume that the ?initial requirements analysis meeting? is the

predecessor for all the ?detailed analysis of requirements? tasks.

4|Page Gary was happy that a list of broad requirements for the first phase had been established. He was

able to report the details in the table above to Dennis after his meeting. He felt fortunate that

Dennis had been able to arrange for two other analyst /designers (Patricia and Grace) to join the

project team. He also received approval to commence the detailed analysis for the above.

At the beginning of the project it was also clear to Dennis that a database expert would be required

for the project. He therefore arranged for William to join the team. William also attended Gary?s

initial meeting. After hearing the overview of the requirements, William told Dennis ?You can expect

the Database design to take about five weeks, followed by about 6 weeks to make the changes.

However, I would not like to start the design until the detailed analysis of all the new programs is

completed.? Dennis agreed that this was reasonable and therefore asked Gary to keep William

briefed on requirements.

Dennis had also arranged for the secondment of programming staff. Three programming staff were

seconded to the project after the Dennis?s initial meeting. They were Elizabeth, Belinda and David.

They were all capable programmers with considerable experience. (They also attended Gary?s

meeting.) They told Dennis that based on their experience they felt the following estimates would be

a good guide. They also indicated that Dennis should allow 1 week at the end of all the software

development and database changes to do the final integration and testing of the new software

with the database. This task would require two of the programmers and William. Note that this task

(as well as the delivery of the SOEs which will be discussed shortly) is a predecessor for the

integration and testing of the software with the SOEs.

Program

Daily Update of mutual fund prices,

superannuation fund prices, share prices

Quarterly investor reports

Retirement plans

Investment plans

Client profile

Financial adviser reports Estimated Programming time (for one

programmer)

3 weeks

2 weeks

5 weeks

6 weeks

2 weeks

2 week From the initial conversation that Dennis had with the two franchisee representatives at the initial

project briefing meeting, Dennis became aware that each franchise seemed to have different brands

of computer equipment and also different versions of the Operating system. Dennis mentioned to

them that for the new system to work properly, it would be necessary for each franchisee to be at

an agreed minimum level. He told them he would get Jason to talk to them. Jason was a network

support analyst who was also seconded to the project. Jason met with the franchisee

representatives the day after Gary?s initial project team meeting. Jason explained that to achieve

efficiencies for Retirement Planning and the franchises, it was highly desirable that the franchises all

used a SOE. ?What on earth is that?? the representatives quizzed. ?It stands for Standard Operating

Environment. In simple terms? Jason told them ?it means you would all have the same hardware and

software.? He explained to them that this would allow network staff at Retirement Planning to

provide support by allowing them to access the systems remotely and fix any problems for them.

They were very pleased, as they had not expected this level of support. ?But how do we do it?? they

queried. ?Well it seems to me? Jason replied ?that it would be best for me to prepare a specification

of hardware and software requirements. I also recommend that we source the equipment from the

5|Page same supplier. That way, with so much equipment to be purchased we will get a discount for the

purchase. Also, I can arrange for it to be delivered with the software installed on each computer. The

representatives thought that this was a sensible way to progress, but decided that since it would

involve each franchise acquiring new equipment, they would need to consult with the other

franchisees. They agreed to get back to Jason with a final decision in 2 weeks. This decision is a

predecessor for the task to carry out the analysis and development of the requirements

documentation for the SOE shown in the table below. For the purposes of this assignment, assume

that the 2 week task to ?consult with franchisees regarding the SOE? follows the ?initial project

briefing meeting? (i.e. the initial project briefing meeting is its predecessor).

Jason also informed Dennis that with regard to the Standard Operating Environment the following

activities would be required:

Activity Estimated duration (for one network support

analyst)

Analysis and documenting SOE requirements

8 weeks

Preparation of SOE tender specification

8 weeks

Period SOE Tender left open

4 weeks ( no resource to be assigned)

Acceptance of SOE Tender

2 weeks

Assume that analysis and documentation of the SOE requirements is a predecessor of tender

specification preparation, the tender must be prepared before it can be ?open? and that the

processes that lead to a decision and acceptance of a tender will take 2 weeks after the 4 week

period that the tender is open.

Assuming that 5 ITD support staff are available for transferring franchisees to the new system the

planned sequence is:

State or Territory Sequence NSW

First

Vic

Second

Queensland

Third

South Australia

Fourth

Western Australia

Fifth

Northern Territory

seventh

Australian Capital Territory

sixth

Tasmania

seventh

Note that some of the staff are to be sent to the NT and some to Tasmania to complete the final

transfers in the same time period.

For the purposes of this assignment, you can assume that the franchisees all agree to the change to

the SOE and to the planned sequence for transferring to the new system.

A condition of the specification was that the Servers and Personal Computers were to be delivered

to the franchisees complete with the software installed. The equipment was therefore to be

delivered to the ITD department at head office 4 weeks after the acceptance of the tender where

staff from the ITD department would then install and test the new software on the new

equipment ready for shipment to the franchisees. 6|Page When all the systems for a particular state or territory are ready for shipment, they are to be sent

to the franchisees in that state. Allow one week for delivery after the systems are sent to the

franchisees. Once the franchisees in a particular state or territory have received their systems, a

member of staff from ITD support will travel to each site to help with the installation and transfer

to the new system. The ITD staff member will also provide onsite training for the staff. It was

estimated that it would take 1 ITD support staff member 1 week (5 days) for this process. Five ITD

staff were to be allocated for this, so that transfer and training activities would be able to take place

at five different sites at one time. Earlier, we stated that for the purposes of this assignment that you

should only allocate one of each of the types of resource required for a task, unless otherwise

stated. This is one of the places where you should allocate more than one resource to an activity.

For example, ?delivery and training for the NSW systems? should be one task with 5 ITD support

staff allocated. This will allow the 5 ITD support staff to carry out ?transfer and training? at 5

different sites in NSW simultaneously, i.e. it will take 4 weeks for the 5 staff to complete the

?transfer and training? at the 20 sites in NSW.

From the organisation chart supplied by the Human Resource Department, Dennis knew that within

the Information Technology department, there are security and privacy staff. From his experience,

Dennis knew that it was very difficult to retrofit security and privacy. Dennis therefore decided to

talk to Peter about possible requirements for the new system. Peter was pleased that at last

someone understood the importance of security and privacy being considered at the start of a

system.

Peter explained to Dennis that the franchisees and investors would not necessarily be aware of some

of the measures being employed. He said, ?There will need to be an identification number and

password which we will need to authenticate. Every user will be assigned one of these and will use

them to log on.? Peter also went on to explain to Dennis that he would take care of some other

security and privacy measures that franchisees, investors and users would not necessarily consider.

He told Dennis about the functions within an Operating System, Database Manager, Network

Management software, Virus Checkers and Firewall technology that would also need to be

incorporated. Dennis told Peter he was pleased to see he was giving thought to such matters.

Peter was tasked to develop the security requirements document and to be involved in the final

configuration, installation and testing of the final system to ensure that all the security requirements

were correctly implemented. It was estimated that it would take Peter 3 weeks to develop the

security requirements document, followed by a further 3 weeks to complete the security

development tasks. For the purposes of this assignment, assume that Peter began his task to

develop the security requirements document after the ?initial project briefing meeting?. The

completion of the security development tasks is also a predecessor to the ?integration and testing

with the SOE? tasks. Peter is also to supervise the configuration and testing of the systems ready for

shipment. The installation of the new software and configuration and testing of the software and

security measures on each new system would require the involvement of both Peter and 1

programmer. It was estimated that this would take 1 day per system with both Peter and the

programmer working together on the tasks. 7|Page Summary of resources involved in the project:

In summary, the staff that are to be allocated to specific tasks in the schedule are:

Resource

Staff allocated

$/hour

Number Available

Analysts/Designers

Gary, Patricia, Grace

$95.00

3

Programmers

Elizabeth, Belinda, David

$80.00

3

Database Specialist

William

$90.00

1

Network support analyst

Jason

$95.00

1

ITD support staff

$70.00

5

Security expert

Peter

$100

1

Do not include specific names such as Gary in your resource sheet. Use the role name when you enter

the resources in the resource sheet. For example, you would enter analyst/designer, 300%, $95.00 per

hour.

Assume that the costs for the involvement of the various representatives (franchisee representatives,

franchisee liaison person, client advisory staff member, marketing staff etc.) are not direct costs

associated with your budget for the project. You do not need to add them (or Dennis) as resources to

your resource sheet.

Note: For the purposes of this assignment, unless otherwise specified, you should only allocate one

of the required resources to each task.

Assumptions

As you develop your schedule and answer the questions below, there may be assumptions that you

need to make about the case study. If that is the case, make sure that you list all your assumptions at

the beginning of the document. Assumptions should not contradict information given in the

specification and must be reflected in your solution. Each assumption must be justified and stated

clearly. Marks will be deducted for any unreasonable assumption or for stating an assumption and

then ignoring it in your assignment. 8|Page Part A: Developing the schedule

For part A of the assessment you must complete the following tasks and questions. Read all the

questions before you commence the tasks. The schedule is to be developed in a Microsoft Project

2013 file named as specified below. The questions are to be answered in a Word document. As

stated above, any assumptions must also be listed at the beginning of the Word document.

Questions

1. Use Microsoft Project to develop the project schedule. Note that have been asked to include

the following in your schedule:

a) The project title as the overall project summary (as task 0 and WBS number 0). All

other tasks should be ?indented? according to the WBS structure shown below:

Initial Meetings and consultations

Initial Project Briefing Meeting

Consultation with franchisees

Initial requirements analysis meeting

New Programs / Changes

Update of prices ? Analysis

?. etc.

Database Changes

Design DB changes

Modify DB

Integration and testing with s/w Security

Security requirements document

? etc.

SOE

Analysis and documentation of requirements

? etc.

Integration and testing with SOE

NSW

? etc.

Delivery and Training

NSW

? etc. 9|Page b) A WBS column before the ?Task Name? column and a WBS Predecessors column

after the ?Task Name? column as shown below:

(task

number

? no

column

title) Task

Mode WBS Task

Duration Start Finish Predecessors Resource

Name

Names c) Resource allocation details. To simplify resource allocation for this assignment, there

is no need to assign resources to the initial meeting and consultation tasks. However,

the tasks must be included in the schedule. All other tasks should have the correct

resources assigned as specified in the case description.

d) Holidays. Assume that for this project you must include the following holidays:

Annual holiday: Monday 26th December 2016 ? Friday 6th January 2017

e) The critical path(s) automatically displayed in red on the bars of the Gantt chart view

of your schedule.

At this point there may be resource over allocation issues. Do not attempt to resolve these

before answering question 2. Save this version of your schedule in RP_PartAQ1.mpp. You

will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.

2. At this point ignore any resource over allocations. Save a copy of your RP_PartAQ1 file in

RP_PartAQ2.mpp. For the purposes of this question only you can assume that there would

be no resource constraints. You therefore ignore any resource over-allocation. Do not attempt

to resolve any resource over allocation (if any exists) at this point. Using your

RP_PartAQ2.mpp schedule:

a. Use the ?view tab? filter to display only the critical tasks. Provide a screenshot showing

the task names and the Gantt chart of all the tasks on the critical path(s).

b. If you were asked to reduce the overall duration of the project by reducing the duration of

some of the tasks in the project,...

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Sep 13, 2020

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