Project Objective
The Globex organization is the IT company which is looking forward to transform their manual tactics and business operation plan to the automatic Enterprise resource planning system. The implementation of the ERP system within the working environment of the company increases its efficiency and profitability. ERP is the software which is used for managing the project management activities. The automation in the financial and other departments can be effectively managed by developing the ERP system. The purpose of this paper is to design and implement ERP system for improving the operational functionality of the business unit.
The objectives of this paper are:
To design an ERP system for the Globex enterprise
Identifying the role and responsibilities of the working stakeholder
Identifying the in-scope and out-of-scope project activities (Kaziliunas, 2012)
Developing the communication strategic plan
Developing the Stakeholder management program
Developing the risks management plan
Development of the procurement management plan (Hans, 2013)
Development of the quality management plan
The aim of the project is to design and implement ERP system for improving the operational functionality of the business unit by developing the effective key knowledge areas of the project management methodology.
The scope of the project focuses on defining the in-scope and out-of-scope activities of the project. The in-scope activities of the project are defined as to design an ERP system for the Globex enterprise, Identifying the role and responsibilities of the working stakeholder, Identifying the in-scope and out-of-scope project activities, Developing the communication strategic plan, Developing the Stakeholder management program, Developing the risks management plan, Developing project schedule (Devi, and Reddy, 2012), Developing procurement management plan, Development quality management plan, and Analysing the contribution of stakeholder engagement program. The out-of-scope activities of the project are Developing monitoring and control project structure, Developing continuous improvement plan, and Scheduling and organizing of training and development program. The success criteria of the project should be clearly evaluated so as to measure the performance of the completed project which are classified as Finishing the tasks within the given time line, Finishing the tasks within the specified cost, and Achieving quality standards of the project (Tonder, and Bekker, 2014). It should be assumed that Good quality human and physical resources used, Creative and expertise staff members, and Variety of skills in the project team in the accomplishment of the proposed project.
The cost management plan helps in developing effective budget for the project development life cycle so as to complete the given tasks within the estimated cost per activities. The baseline of the cost helps in completing the project successfully and improving the performance. The estimated cost should be clearly defined to the team members so that they can effectively utilized the physical and human resources. The duration of working hours and rate of the labour charges helps in calculating the cost per activities effectively. The tracking of costs are comprised of the taxes and resources used in finishing the given tasks. The clear specification should be done about the funds associated with the development of the project. The cash inflow and outflow should be measured for omitting the difference between the actual cost and estimated cost of the developed project. The cost variance should be calculated for measuring the performance of the project by subtracting the planned value with the actual cost. The cost variance helps in calculating the cost performance index.
Project Aim
The human resource management program helps in managing the distribution of roles and responsibilities effectively. The organization of hierarchy and flow of information between the working employees helps in managing and improving work coordination (Monnappa, 2017). The planning of the human resources focuses on managing the time and coordination among the team members which ultimately helps in completing the tasks with in the specified time mentioned in the working schedule of the project. The active participation of the team members provides flexibility to the project so as to implement change of request effectively in the defined activity schedule. The employees should be positively motivated by organizing the reward and award system. The psychological and physical need of the project team should be fulfilled so that their throughput can be improved in the healthy environment of the project.
The communication plan helps in improving the management and work coordination among the working units. The formal and informal communication tools improve the efficiency and capabilities of the employees. The technology should be implemented for improving the flow of communication between the working units of the project (Belout, 2014). The information should be provided to the right person, at right place, and at right time so as to improve the work coordination among the working units of the projected activities. The emphasis should e givne on managing the information effectively by making use of different communication tools such as email, circulars, newsletter, round table discussion, group discussion, face to face meetings, social networking platform, and others. The team members should be comfortable in circulating the information. The emphasis should be given on managing the required confidentiality, integrity, and accuracy of the information. The interactive communication between the team members helps in increasing the connectivity between the team members which results in improving the works performance of the underlying working authorities. The push communication is in the form of order and request from higher level to the sub-ordinates which directs them to complete the given task effectively. The preparation of the report helps in tracking the flow of information and work completion so as to measure the quality of the end product. The effective communication helps in implementing the innovative plan for improving the work coordination among the team members.
The identification of risks at an early stage of the project helps in finishing the tasks effectively. The systematic approach should be followed for identifying the risks severity and risks likelihood for estimating the risks impact and risks mitigation plan. The risk breakdown structure and risks register summarises the uncertainty associated with the project. The risks severity and risks impact should be measured so as to prioritise the risks for mitigation for settled down the uncertainty associated with the project (McDonald and et. al., 2013). The development of the risks management plan helps in bridging the gaps which exists in the developed project schedule. The decision making process can be effectively improved for the undertaken project. The potential uncertainty can be neutralized by decreasing their impact on the systematic project schedule. The qualitative and quantitative risks analysis processes are implemented for evaluating the risks severity and likelihood associated with the identified risks.
Project Scope management plan
The procurement process is the process which is designed for buying the resources from outside for completing the assigned tasks and activities. The focus should be given on selecting the contractor so that he can make available resources on time. The balance should be developed between the supply and demand of the resources so that the work efficiency of the project team members can be improved (Otieno, 2014. The overrunning of the cost can be reduced by planning the purchasing of the resources used. It helps in developing the effective cost estimation plan. The controlling of the procurement process results in minimizing the under-stocking and overstocking of the resources.
The quality management plan is the conformance of the satisfaction level by analysing the difference between the planned schedule and actual output of the project. The evaluation of the checklist based on the requirement specification plan helps in measuring the quality of the output received with the project completion. The acceptance of the project can be measured by evaluating the difference between the output and the success criteria set for the scheduled project. The quality assurance helps in updating the project schedule so s to meet the success and performance criteria of the designed project. The monitoring and tracking of the quality measures helps in controlling the project quality so as to meet the quality standards developed.
The stakeholder management plan helps in managing the contribution and resources levelling so as to manage the work distribution among the stakeholders effectively. The focus should be given on evaluating the rate per hour so as to calculate the labour cost according to the work done in finishing the given tasks effectively. The working hours of the labour should be scheduled so that the resources can be levelled according to the project requirement. The stakeholder management program is comprised of four processes which are classified as identification of the stakeholders in the project initiation phase, development of the stakeholder engagement program during the project planning phase, fostering and managing need and requirement of the stakeholders in the project designing phase, and controlling the work schedule during the monitoring and control of the project.
Resource Name |
Type |
Material Label |
Initials |
Group |
Max. Units |
Std. Rate |
Ovt. Rate |
Cost/Use |
Accrue At |
Base Calendar |
Project Manager |
Work |
P |
100% |
$80.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Project Sponsor |
Work |
P |
100% |
$90.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Planning Manager |
Work |
P |
100% |
$60.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Software Engineer |
Work |
S |
100% |
$70.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Design Engineer |
Work |
D |
100% |
$50.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Project Owner |
Work |
P |
100% |
$100.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Finance Manager |
Work |
F |
100% |
$65.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
||
Testing Engineer |
Work |
T |
100% |
$50.00/hr |
$0.00/hr |
$0.00 |
Prorated |
Standard |
The project activities should be scheduled with the specified start and finish date of the project. The estimation of the time helps in minimizing the variation in the scheduled date and actual date of the project. The schedule variances of the project helps in calculating the schedule performance index by subtracting the actual start and finish date with the planned start and finish date. The focus should be given on identifying the slack and float value and the interdependencies of the activities.
Implementation of ERP system in the Globex Enterprise |
231 days |
24-Oct-18 |
11-Sep-19 |
Project Planning |
56 days |
24-Oct-18 |
09-Jan-19 |
Proposal of the ERP implementation |
7 days |
24-Oct-18 |
01-Nov-18 |
Project Scope |
6 days |
02-Nov-18 |
09-Nov-18 |
Project Schedule |
14 days |
12-Nov-18 |
29-Nov-18 |
Cost Estimation plan |
9 days |
30-Nov-18 |
12-Dec-18 |
Development of roles and responsibilities |
10 days |
13-Dec-18 |
26-Dec-18 |
Development of the project charter |
7 days |
27-Dec-18 |
04-Jan-19 |
Approval of the project charter |
3 days |
07-Jan-19 |
09-Jan-19 |
Requirement Gathering and Analysis phase |
41 days |
10-Jan-19 |
07-Mar-19 |
Qualitative and descriptive data collection methods |
12 days |
10-Jan-19 |
25-Jan-19 |
Quantitative and sampling data collection methods |
10 days |
28-Jan-19 |
08-Feb-19 |
Arrangement of interviews and questionnaire session round |
7 days |
11-Feb-19 |
19-Feb-19 |
Development data analysis matrix |
7 days |
20-Feb-19 |
28-Feb-19 |
Need and requirement of hardware and software |
5 days |
01-Mar-19 |
07-Mar-19 |
Designing and Development |
40 days |
08-Mar-19 |
02-May-19 |
Designing of the ERP implementation plan |
21 days |
08-Mar-19 |
05-Apr-19 |
Designing of the training and development program |
12 days |
08-Apr-19 |
23-Apr-19 |
Changing the organization structure |
7 days |
24-Apr-19 |
02-May-19 |
Programming and Coding |
30 days |
03-May-19 |
13-Jun-19 |
Developing programming code for the deployment of ERP system |
30 days |
03-May-19 |
13-Jun-19 |
Testing and Evaluation phase |
34 days |
14-Jun-19 |
31-Jul-19 |
Testing the automation functionality of the ERP system |
7 days |
14-Jun-19 |
24-Jun-19 |
Developing Test plan |
7 days |
25-Jun-19 |
03-Jul-19 |
Result and Outcome |
3 days |
04-Jul-19 |
08-Jul-19 |
Feedback for improvement |
7 days |
09-Jul-19 |
17-Jul-19 |
Upgrading the system |
10 days |
18-Jul-19 |
31-Jul-19 |
Implementation and closure phase |
30 days |
01-Aug-19 |
11-Sep-19 |
Implementation of the ERP system |
15 days |
01-Aug-19 |
21-Aug-19 |
Interconnection of different departments with the central working environment |
10 days |
22-Aug-19 |
04-Sep-19 |
Project Handover |
3 days |
05-Sep-19 |
09-Sep-19 |
Project Closure |
2 days |
10-Sep-19 |
11-Sep-19 |
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the implementation of ERP system helps in improving the project management program of Globex enterprise. The automation in the financial and other departments can be effectively managed by developing the ERP system.
References
Belout, A. (2014). Effects of human resource management system on project effectiveness and success (1st ed.). Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0263786397000112 [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Devi, R. and Reddy, V. (2012). Work Breakdown structure of the project. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.416.8659&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Hans, R. (2013). Work Breakdown Structure: A tool for software project scope verification. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://airccse.org/journal/ijsea/papers/4413ijsea02.pdf [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Kaziliunas, A. (2012). Problems while implementing quality management system for a sustainable development of organization. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://www.su.lt/bylos/mokslo_leidiniai/ekonomika/2012_4_28/kaziliunas.pdf [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Mansfield Community. (2013). Introduction to project management. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at:https://www.mansfield.vic.gov.au/Libraries/Community_Development/Intro_to_Project_Management_Manual.sflb.ashx [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
McDonald, K., Sundaram, V., Bravata, D., Lewis, R., and Lin, N. (2013). Closing the quality gap: A critical analysis of quality improvement strategies. Journal of object technology, 7(9). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44015/[Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Monnappa. (2017). Project scope management: What it is and why it is important. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://www.simplilearn.com/project-scope-management-importance-rar89-article [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8942.pdf [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]
Tonder, J., and Bekker, M. (2014). Analysis of a methodology to obtain a work breakdown structure built up from interdependent key project deliverable package. 1st ed. [ebook] Online. Available at: https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.projectmanagement.org.za/resource/resmgr/conference_proceedings_2002/10.pdf [Accessed on 24 Oct, 2018]